Fantastic entry into the Star Wars franchise and for me a better film than Force Awakens (which I enjoyed). Whilst TFA feels like a soft reboot that asks more questions than it answers with an unnecessary galactic threat, Rogue One gives us a familiar setting with a new sense of threat and foreboding. The Empire is seen as others see it, not as a bumbling buffoon with a new toy but an all-imposing presence, its stormtrooper jackboot on faces across the stars.

The film assembles a badass crew of unlikely heroes, which begins to feel like the Dirty Dozen or Blade II (including the same asian actor). It's a relatively slow start and some scenes push the boundaries of how silly action can be, but as it progresses things get darker and more desperate, as it should be. The entire final action setpiece is terrific.

Some flaws for me:

CGI Faces - excellent but still in uncanny valley. Maybe not necessary
Underused Forest Whitaker badassery
Darth Vader CRINGEWORTHY pun and sassy walk
Could've had more satisfying sacrifices for the characters (asian guy should have fought Vader).

God damn it, just made a thread... I'll delete it.

>>2
Ah sorry bro didn't see, had this up for a while in a tab lol. Post in here or vice versa?

>>3
My mistake, you posted like 30 seconds before me :-l

Agreed on most fronts.

Those X-Wing sequences were completely fucking amazing. I could watch a whole movie with those. I wonder if I'll ever get to play a game that feels like those sequences. I'd play nothing else.

Agree with the flaws, although I liked the sacrifices. I liked that they weren't too bombastic and just sort of died as if they were just regular soldiers in something bigger. It was hard seeing some of them go. The blind dude was a little annoying at times however. A little too much. Loved Baze though.

The first Vader encounter felt off, the voice didn't seem that menacing. I did love the finale appearance. He felt powerful, ruthless and scary as f/ck. The whole final scene was really intense, even though you kinda knew what would happen. But yes, the CGI faces are still just slightly off enough to matter. In time.

Beautiful movie with a wonderful atmosphere. An almost perfect combo of fresh and familiar.

Those X-Wing sequences were completely fucking amazing. I could watch a whole movie with those. I wonder if I'll ever get to play a game that feels like those sequences. I'd play nothing else.

... *ahem* X-Wing Alliance + Upgrade Mod.

*cough*

Yeah I agree, the movie was great. The first half or act was a little slow here and there, but the final part was quite amazing.

X-Wing Alliance + Upgrade Mod.

I just frantically googled this, kinda expecting something jaw-dropping. Now I'm jaded and depressed. Thanks. 😖

It's kind of exactly what you want though. If you want better graphics or something Battlefront offers space battles, including ones over Scarif, but the gameplay isn't as good.

It's not just about better graphics. It's about the sense of frantic speed and evading debris and visceral explosions and immersive sound design and.. stuff :(

It's kind of hard to convey a sense of speed since you're always in space, and in first person, but when you go up against bigger ships and bases you'll feel it. You do lack debris but I want to say that once a capital ship or a Star Destroyer or anything large blows up you'll have debris floating about.

I don't know what video or so you watched but setting up a skirmish against two squadrons of TIE Fighters is intense as feck, and there are actual missions where you have a huge base to take out by blasting its hatch, going inside, blowing up the core and flying out in time, all while TIEs being scrambled from a Star Destroyer right outside are chasing you and your wingmen.

That being said, I want a new entry in the X-Wing franchise. Modern graphics and more debris and stuff would be aces.

Side note...

(including the same asian actor)

That's Donnie Yen...he's fricking great!
If you havent seen Ip Man yet i suggest checking it out...heres one of my favorite scenes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upwyWKzozII

Sorry I don't actually listen to the opinion of 'critics' aka all people

Your loss.

Agree with this. It felt a bit slow early on, but the really turned up the quality when they were going after the plans.

Yeah but that Vader pun and bitch walk was the highlight of the film.......so ridiculous

The ending more than made up for it, imo. That final slaughter was fucking amazing and you finally get to see why Vader is as feared as he is. You see him fight in the original trilogy and shit but it's always kind of stiff and slow and.. well awkward. Vader's saber glowing at the end of the hallway and turning 20 rebels into mush in such a determined, machine-like fashion was just

What was the Vader line? "Talk to da hand"?

"Careful not to choke on your aspirations Krennic." Along those lines.

>>18
Hahahahahahahahahaha that's actually p. good.

You need to see his sassy walk and look while he says it.

It's also in some Sauron-esque fortress on top of where he fought Obi-Wan (I think).

Hahah I don't really know about the sassy walk you're referring to, he just walked away, stood still and turned around, revealing his Force choke move, he did pace around Krennic for a while though.

The pun was funny too, kind of surprising but not really that jarring since he's had some dry lines before.

I also appreciated that they had the red tinted eyes just like in IV!

I wonder if the tower was something they've created or used from the Expanded Universe, it had that feel to it.

Yeah, sounds like a Vader line. "I find your lack of faith...disturbing", "Apology accepted...Captain Fgt", "You've failed me for the last time, Starscream", "Careful not to choke on deez robot nuts, Krennic".

It works for sure.

And let's not forget "The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am hahahahaha get it".

Sass walk was when he first entered. Really, check out his hips when he enters the frame, he's going down a catwalk lol.

Force-choke reveal was more like a wrestling special move, turns round like "OH SH!T HERE COMES THE STONE COLD"

Looked like a basic stern walk to me!

You need to move your hips more, Smerch!

Haha yeah, we didn't need to see him show what he was doing, he could adress Krennic and release him from the hold while walking away, but it was still fun to see. It also looks like something he does in the first Star Wars, whereas in Empire he does it entirely with his mind.

I for one loved the entire sequence...line and all had me all giddy.

I enjoyed it immensely. K2-SO was a delight. Definite buy once on Blu-ray.

6/10

Terrible dialogue (unintentionally hilarious at times)
No likeable characters, or at least nobody to care about
Ropey cgi
Excellent final 20 minutes.

This film is helped massively bt a large portion of member berries.

Wasn't really member berries, in fact the worst bits where the fan service and cameos. More like, "this is how the original trilogy should have been used in the first place". Lucas must be digging a pen into his leg during the screenings.

I get it's all opinionated, but I couldn't disagree with you more. Every single character was extremely likable and each actor absolutely knocked their role out of the park.

The CGI was actually one of the best in the Star Wars sagas and on top of that the film looked gorgeous. I would say it is the best looking Star Wars film to date.

I f-cking loved it. Watched the whole film with a huge grin on my face (well from the point where they get to Jedah onward at least).

I didn't mind Vaders quip at all - reminded me of lines like "Apology accepted, Captain Needa" and "You are in command now ... *Admiral* Piett". I was more bothered that his presence in the entire film was not strictly necessary. Was a nice touch how he first appeared unmasked in the bacta tank though. I was also underwhelmed by Saw Gerrera. I like the idea of him as a foil to Vader (like a twisted-and-evil-more-machine-than-man Rebel) and expected more of him. Also not sure why he decided to die on Jehda for, like, no reason, but whatever.

I also had trouble with the (re)animated Cushing. He looked like a great rendering for a video game, but not quite good enough for a live action movie. I am interested to see what non-gamers think of him, as to me, he looked only just above Uncharted 4 levels.

Other than that, I give the movie a 9. But I expect it no rate less highly amongst more casual fans. That said, I loved the range of Easter eggs for both the entry level and seasoned Star Wars geek: Gold Leader and the other Xwing pilots' reappearance, Ponda Baba, blue milk, the conversation about the redundant T20 or whatever inane conversation those Troopers were having, Vader's castle etc.

Yeah as poor as Tarkin looked, Gold Leader looked fantastic! I guess because they used him correctly; quick shots, properly lit and covered behind a helmet. Looked great!

I think they just straight up used the same footage of Gold Leader though.

I am actually watching it again tonight, so if you don't mind standing by, I'll report in.

Bit of both: quick cuts and cleverly extending dialogue over to the next shot meant they were mostly using original footage for the pilots. Mostly.

Added bonus: Tarkin looks a little less bad and if you liked it first time round, the film definitely holds up on a second viewing.

Cool!👍

I doubt I'll rewatch it on the big screen unless some friends who've missed out want to but I'll definitely rewatch it when it hits Blu-Ray.

Ye Saw was awesome and I see no reason not to have him and his ragtag band of extremists involved in the final battle.

not sure why he decided to die on Jehda for, like, no reason, but whatever.

He could barely walk. Wasn't exactly a choice.

Saw it earlier today. Didn't plan to after the underwhelming response it got, and after having seen Another New Hope I wasn't exactly dying for more Star Wars.

It was great. This is so much better than Another New Hope. This actually got the overwhelming threat of the empire through. The death star is actually a genuine threat, and not just "eh, let's just blow it up." The stakes just get increasingly higher as the movie goes on. Just gets darker and darker. Did not expect the movie to end like that. Great action scenes. Feels like someone actually took a risk with a high-budget Star Wars movie.

Didn't mind CG Raddus. Yeah, you could see it, but it was still good and the dude has been dead for more than two decades now. It was fine and there was a reason for it.

Thought Vader's final scene was excellent. Nice to see force powers be portrayed as, like, a movie monster. The scene was shot like a horror movie. A terrifying, unstoppable entity effortlessly tearing its way through hordes of soldiers.

A few gripes, though. A few cringe-moments. Too many call-backs and references that the movie would've been stronger without.

The death star is actually a genuine threat, and not just "eh, let's just blow it up."

Are you comparing to its appearance in the older movies (Return of the Jedi's as well) or were you thinking of Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens?

Oh and you mean Tarkin! I agree, I mean I'm sure they could've solved it differently, you didn't really need to have him there in order to convey the inner workings and conflicts of the Empire and how he gains control of the Death Star but I still kind of love that they just went with it all the way.

Definitely Another New Hope, but to a also to a lesser extend the old movies. Never thought the weapon of that magnitude was handled all that well.

Oh, right. Tarkin. Peter Cushing. I blame a severe lack of sleep for that weird slip-up. Well, considering how closely A New Hope follows this one, you'd need to have him there since he was in charge in that movie, and you couldn't have him be in charge of it in this because that would require too much screen time from him. I've heard a few people say it ruined the movie because it was distracting, but... it's Star Wars. If fake-looking characters bother you this much, then you should've been out by, like, the first movie. I did mind the other CG cameo, though. That was just unnecessary and cringe worthy.

I mean you could have Vader go "Imma hand this over to mah boi Tarkin" or something, or any other Imperial official dude or dudette, including a possible quick shot of him. It would be enough for fans because they know who he is and if you somehow hadn't seen that one before you'll realize that oh it's some other Imperial dude or dudette.

Yes not too fond of that CG cameo either but I think that one actually was more essential. It'd be lame if you didn't see her face and it would be jarring if it was some other actress, especially if you're going right into A New Hope, and lastly it would be kind of lame if you didn't see her at all to be honest, in that case it should've been another ship, and had someone onboard deliver it to her ship later on. That would actually kind of explain her lame excuse in the original even better.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm on a..."
"Really? I *beep* saw you leave. I was right there. I ugh, zap her."

You could, but then you'd probably lose a lot of Krennic's character. I don't know. Thought it worked well here.

Guess you needed something like that to end on instead of, say, focusing on the rebels that managed to escape saying they need to get the message to whoever.

Lame excuse? Been a long time since I've seen A New Hope.

She denies his accusations. Before you knew she was bluffing, but you see why she was trying it out, and Vader's just being someone who'll not buy it. Now it's turned into watching your kid grab a cookie out of the jar, the kid noticing you, running away and being like "nu-uh".

Yeah overall I liked both of them and I liked that they went with it, but I certainly think they could have pulled it off, in both cases, without them, really.

I just read a thread on this. The key point is that leia didn't know how much Vader knew. Also, crucially, the plans were no longer on board (they were in R2 by then).

They'd also gone into light speed to tatooine, so some time had passed. To use your cookie jar analogy, the kid didn't know how much you saw and he ate the cookie an hour ago...

I suppose, but something along the lines of "I ain't telling you anything!" would suit better. Anyway, it's just some nitpicking, it still works really well and it makes you want to watch the original Star Wars right afterwards so kudos, Edwards. 👍

I heard someone say that Rouge One is the best Star Wars movie since Empire Strikes back. Would you agree?

>>46
Yes.

Yes, it was great. I especially loved Felicity Jones in the lead role.

I'd say so, but, then again, that's not exactly a high bar to pass. Return was terrible. Didn't like any of the prequels. Another New Hope was enjoyable enough, but nothing special. Way too safe and familiar to be noteworthy, which pretty much killed my interest in seeing this one.

Yeah, probably.

Spoiler: no star wars is great they are for girly fanboys that like to dance with swords and stupid costumes I hope no one gets mad at me for this HUGE spoiler.

I loved this film, I think it had the best action and visuals in any Star Wars film. The characters were also pretty good and promoted courage and teamwork. I also think it has the best droid in SW, everything he said was hilarious

He was probably the closest thing we'll get to HK-47.

Oh, wow, just remembered this was made by Gareth Edwards. Congratulations to that dude for finally making a genuinely good movie.

It's 3 for 3 imo

Monsters is pretty great, there's nothing like it

I only saw it recently and was impressed. Expected more of a B-movie terror type thing but it's just a really nice love story (with some monsters).

Darth Vader CRINGEWORTHY pun and sassy walk

It's just not the same without a young David Prowse (most famous mime) portraying him! The pun was cheesy but not too out of place. James Earl Jones' voice has changed somewhat over the decades, or perhaps they (people other than Ben Burtt) are not synthesizing it properly.