.. Still havn't seen it.

I dunno, I thought it was amazing.

The supporting characters had strong reasons to do what they did, and had all the included fallibility of people with strong convictions in a world with alot of variables.

The main two human characters got on better as they learned to respect each other, as two highly trained agents from very different schools of training and thought might. With no stupid romantic subplot, nice.

It expanded upon the worlds background, from the Khyber temple to small scale terraforming to emphasizing the half nazi and half roman politics of the imperial military.

The comic relief was not a buffoon, nor weak or craven. Thank you disney.

The feeling of sacrifice for the cause was very strong throughout the movie, intensifying towards the end. That building emotion was A+.

It answers the question of why a single blockade runner was in the outer rim carrying crazy stolen plans in an area nowhere near the rebel base.

The Imperials, including the storm troopers, were not incompetent for the sake of plot. Thank you, yes, Ill have another.

7 hours ago, ISD Avenger said:

TFA was objectively not a great movie, even by my 'I love Star Wars so I go easy on it standards.

Waayyy to derivative of Ep4, villain was a winy emo boy with no presence and I'm saddened they could come up with a better evil super weapon than a super-duper Death Star.

R1 was miles better, a bit slow in places. I thought Tarkin was mostly ok & looked a lot better than leia.

"Cocaine's a hellluva drug."

8 hours ago, Grey Mage said:

The Imperials, including the storm troopers, were not incompetent for the sake of plot. Thank you, yes, Ill have another.

Except the main Imperial who made sure to take an extra long time monologuing so he could get shot in the back by the guy he assumed was dead. Not only is that pretty darn incompetent, but that's also the tropiest trope there ever was. And why use the most overused villain death conceivable? So they could kill Jyn in a different way 3 minutes later.

The only way it could've been worse is if the audience hears the blaster fire and then the camera shows close ups on each character's stunned face while we wait to find out who got shot.

10 hours ago, Sekac said:

Except the main Imperial who made sure to take an extra long time monologuing so he could get shot in the back by the guy he assumed was dead. Not only is that pretty darn incompetent, but that's also the tropiest trope there ever was. And why use the most overused villain death conceivable? So they could kill Jyn in a different way 3 minutes later.

The only way it could've been worse is if the audience hears the blaster fire and then the camera shows close ups on each character's stunned face while we wait to find out who got shot.

Because its the only time those two characters interact. Jyn and the wife are the reason Galen Erso abandoned the DS project which made Krennic's life living hell. Jyn is a known rebel and is responsible at least in Krennic's mind for the Eadu facility being destroyed and now the Scarif base falling under siege. Remember Krennic is in a do or die situation and this woman, Jyn, has constantly impeded his rise. The wife's dead, Galen's dead, so Jyn is the end of the line and the focal point for his all anger and ferocity. Sure it may be a trope but there's a reason it is. Without the monologue what really is there?

Its not really incompetence either. Again this monologue is the accumulation of twenty so years of frustration on Krennic's part and in his mind he's finally won or is going to win. He thought he killed the other dude and they're in a highly secure Imperial facility. Jyn was completely at his mercy. So yes if I were him i'd take a moment to relish my victory and maybe monologue for a couple minutes.

20 hours ago, Drasnighta said:

.. Still havn't seen it.

My suggestion when you do try to go into it with low expectations and temper hype. That's not a bash on the movie but when I originally went to see it I had such low hopes that Rogue One would be any good. That is perhaps why I enjoyed the initial viewing experience as much as I did. I may have different tastes in movies then you so while I love the film I suggest going into it cooly.

14 minutes ago, Forresto said:

My suggestion when you do try to go into it with low expectations and temper hype. That's not a bash on the movie but when I originally went to see it I had such low hopes that Rogue One would be any good. That is perhaps why I enjoyed the initial viewing experience as much as I did. I may have different tastes in movies then you so while I love the film I suggest going into it cooly.

Its kind of irrelevant.

I'm not going to see it until at least its out on DVD... If I can't even afford it then, it'll be when its on Netflix in say August.

4 minutes ago, Forresto said:

Because its the only time those two characters interact. Jyn and the wife are the reason Galen Erso abandoned the DS project which made Krennic's life living hell. Jyn is a known rebel and is responsible at least in Krennic's mind for the Eadu facility being destroyed and now the Scarif base falling under siege. Remember Krennic is in a do or die situation and this woman, Jyn, has constantly impeded his rise. The wife's dead, Galen's dead, so Jyn is the end of the line and the focal point for his all anger and ferocity. Sure it may be a trope but there's a reason it is. Without the monologue what really is there?

Its not really incompetence either. Again this monologue is the accumulation of twenty so years of frustration on Krennic's part and in his mind he's finally won or is going to win. He thought he killed the other dude and they're in a highly secure Imperial facility. So yes if I were him i'd take a moment to relish my victory and maybe monologue for a couple minutes.

Getting shot by a guy you assumed was dead but didn't bother to check because you had a monologue to get to is incompetence. Doing stupid things because you're emotional doesn't make them any less stupid.

What they should have done to make that scene less eye-rollingly lame, was have Krennic monologue and then actually shoot her and think he'd won. As he basks in the glory of his victory, he gets sniped by the Death Star. No tropes, maximum shock for the audience, and no pointless plot armor for already doomed characters.

Like I said, I did overall like the movie, but the character drama was extremely poor. I enjoyed the visuals and action. I thought the morally gray, philosophical themes were great and set the stage for Luke being the hero of the rebellion extremely well. I thought it was woven together with Episode IV very cleverly.

It honestly felt like the kind of script I could come up with. An overall story arc, some themes I'd want to hit, and some cool action scenes, but the complexities of character interaction and development are beyond my skill. Which is why I'm posting things on the internet and not writing Hollywood scripts.

Just saying, the sound track is pretty damned epic. The Imperial Suite and the Hope Suite are really firmly cemented into my head at the minute.

52 minutes ago, herod1204 said:

Just saying, the sound track is pretty damned epic. The Imperial Suite and the Hope Suite are really firmly cemented into my head at the minute.

Oh yeah and it gets better the more times it's listened to. People expect a Star Wars soundtrack to be a hit immediately but i've noticed that it takes time to realize the motifs and allusions, especially in TFA soundtrack.

"Your Father Would be Proud" is one of the most beautiful tracks in all of Star Wars as the visual sequence that accompanied it.

I will never get over the shot of Admiral Raddus as he stares in awe at the massive explosion on Scarif as the chorus and music crescendos.

1 hour ago, Forresto said:

Oh yeah and it gets better the more times it's listened to. People expect a Star Wars soundtrack to be a hit immediately but i've noticed that it takes time to realize the motifs and allusions, especially in TFA soundtrack.

"Your Father Would be Proud" is one of the most beautiful tracks in all of Star Wars as the visual sequence that accompanied it.

I will never get over the shot of Admiral Raddus as he stares in awe at the massive explosion on Scarif as the chorus and music crescendos.

This is the problem I have at the moment, I have only seen the film once and desperately need to see it again to put the music to the scenes.

The sound track was flat out rushed due to the original guy hired to write it bailed. Effort was put into the score where it mattered most, the rest was just filler sound. I think this hurt the movie the most but when there are only 4 weeks to put the score together, what can be done. There are a few good tracks though and I hope the DVD has an improved score but probably not.

Also, the characters are fine as is. You really don't want to get overly attached to them. It was pretty obvious they were dead at the end when they announced the movie. They did a few reshoots just to get a bit more character time. I am not sure any of these characters need to develop. They are adults after all, doing a job. It is about the job, not growing up. It's a good throw back to all the old war movies like the Dirty Dozen.

1 hour ago, Mep said:

Also, the characters are fine as is. You really don't want to get overly attached to them. It was pretty obvious they were dead at the end when they announced the movie. They did a few reshoots just to get a bit more character time. I am not sure any of these characters need to develop. They are adults after all, doing a job. It is about the job, not growing up. It's a good throw back to all the old war movies like the Dirty Dozen.

You can develop characters without writing a coming of age story. It's not like they decided not to develop characters, they just did a poor job of it. There was no development for the first 2 acts and then they tried to throw it all in at once between the 2nd and 3rd.

Meh Better than the OT, not even. Better than Prequels, well yes but that's not a high bar. Better than Episode 7, I think so but others will disagree so maybe.

I will say this. I won't mind Rogue One playing in the background as I play a game of Rebellion. They seem to fit each other better than the original movie.

Guys. I might be alone on some points here but to hell with it. I adore rogue one. Best Star Wars to date. The space battle was amazing. Character chemistry on point. There wasn't supposed to be a romance thing. The story was such an epic tale. I honestly loved tarkin in this. Look how far cgi has come. The Vader scene was the coolest thing ever. I went home and played battlefront after that. I killed so many rebels. Seen it six times and if it was still in theaters near me I'd go again

2 hours ago, Sekac said:

You can develop characters without writing a coming of age story. It's not like they decided not to develop characters, they just did a poor job of it. There was no development for the first 2 acts and then they tried to throw it all in at once between the 2nd and 3rd.

Not sure we saw the same movie. The Rogue One I watched set Jyn's back story in the first scene. That is character development. What you really don't see is a change in character save for them becoming dedicated to the job at hand. They don't follow the hero's journey and they really don't need too. That one has been way over done although for some people, if they don't follow the formula, they did it wrong.

We can argue semantics if you like but in movies it is a good idea to have characters change in some way throughout. If they are exactly the same at the beginning as they are in the end then they are usually quite boring. They become passive participants watching the plot unfold around them, yet are immune to the changing circumstances. Essentially 2 more audience members who just happened to be on screen. Going to a place and doing a thing does not make characters engaging or interesting. That's what extras are for. Characters should usually have character. The leads didn't.

The only interesting character was Krennic, but they undermined all his scenes by having him talk to gimmicky prop.

I wouldn't call them passive even if there were things going on around them beyond their control. That was sort of the point of the movie and the Rebellion, there were all these things the Empire was doing and no one had a say in it. They could however act on their own to effect change which they did. Yes the standard formula of falling in love or having some life altering epiphany did not happen here so the characters may seem a little wooden but it was a war movie. The characters aren't suppose to make dramatic changes until the end when they get turned to ash.

Many war movies have good and interesting characters. Saving Private Ryan for instance. War movies and good characters are not mutually exclusive, and I don't give war movies a pass for having bad ones.

Anyway, I've prattled on more than long enough about this. I'll leave it alone.

8 hours ago, Sekac said:

We can argue semantics if you like but in movies it is a good idea to have characters change in some way throughout. If they are exactly the same at the beginning as they are in the end then they are usually quite boring. They become passive participants watching the plot unfold around them, yet are immune to the changing circumstances. Essentially 2 more audience members who just happened to be on screen. Going to a place and doing a thing does not make characters engaging or interesting. That's what extras are for. Characters should usually have character. The leads didn't.

The only interesting character was Krennic, but they undermined all his scenes by having him talk to gimmicky prop.

If you didn't see any shift or growth of these characters you weren't paying attention.
Andor goes from the guy who shoots his allies in the back for expediency to coming back to save them.
Baze Mobus acepts the guidance of the force even after Imwe kills himself.
Jynn opens up from a hardened exterior to prove she's still human.
Nope. No character development here.

Can only say this…

Saw it first time (3D). Didn’t know anything about it. Tend to avoid trailers. It got some luke warm attention from friends who were bothered about lame characters etc.

Now Im not in the “age group” any longer so I was mentally prepared to just relax and have a fun time with what ever they throw at me. I just saw ANH some two weeks before by fluke and when I saw R1 I realised that there was sooo much “Starwars” I almost became a kid again. They pretty much nailed everything (down to the smallest details). It was like a tribute to ANH. I was in FFG Armada over my head. Even my girlfriend pointed at the screen at a Nebulon-B saying loudly “There’s my ship!!” (well you know which side she’s playing). Hilarious.

So as I didn’t see ANH back in the 70’s I decided to see R1 one more time just for the feeling. This time like row 6 of 24 in the theatre.

OM*G!!!

Even the cheesy moments became acceptable here. I just realised that when you sit further back in the theatre the actors performances disappear over the distance, you cant see all the facial expressions and gets distracted by everything happening around them (as action and audience). This close to the screen it was you and the actors, and roller-coaster in space.

It was great to see the first real Starwars movie since 1983. Never thought I would get to experience some thing like that.

Also when people is having doubts about weak characters I realized the second time I saw it that it’s not an general action adventure movie in the traditional sense, its more of an mission movie. The main characters are actually only supporting cast, just as all the other heroes like the pilots in their X, Y and U-wings. The main focus is the “battle plans” and its story, like a sort of documentary. The real stuff begins in the sequel ANH.

And yes. Bring me more MC75 cruisers, hammer heads and the Brahatok gunship pls so I can buy more Armada stuff

/Gold-6

On 2/20/2017 at 9:06 PM, FourDogsInaHorseSuit said:

If you didn't see any shift or growth of these characters you weren't paying attention.
Andor goes from the guy who shoots his allies in the back for expediency to coming back to save them.
Baze Mobus acepts the guidance of the force even after Imwe kills himself.
Jynn opens up from a hardened exterior to prove she's still human.
Nope. No character development here.

It also takes place, childhood aside, in the space of a couple weeks give or take/depending on hyperspace time.

3 hours ago, Grey Mage said:

It also takes place, childhood aside, in the space of a couple weeks give or take/depending on hyperspace time.

Maybe even only a couple days.

The only scene Rogue One DIDNT have and shouldve was the scene where the characters interact just prior to the final battle. Every War movie has it to some degree. They couldve done a quick five minute scene on the imperial shuttle as they flew to Scarif.

I also think they shouldve used the moment prior to arriving at Scarif to do another dream sequence for Jyn showing her father and even Krennic younger. They had five to seven minutes they could have used to knit together all of the characters one last time.

I absolutely love Rogue One, and I think its a good sign when onrs only criticism is that we wished there was a little more.

On 2/18/2017 at 0:07 AM, Sekac said:

Am I the only star wars nerd that didn't love Rogue (Rouge) One to an all caps/large font level?

I mean it was good and I'd very much like to see it again. But when your reaction to seeing the two leads of the movie die is "Huh. I didn't expect Disney to do that" and not "oh no, I'm going to miss those characters", then you're script, acting, and/or direction have serious problems.

Zero chemistry between main characters and counting a "we're about to die" hug as the only character development is a huge problem. When your comic relief is more compelling than your main characters, you've got a problem.

It felt like they started the movie with a gimmick (CG Tarkin) and then wrote a fan fiction script around it. Then right before production they realized they didn't have any main characters so they threw a couple in at the last minute and they just kind of just...happened to be around while they explained plot holes in episode IV.

Basically a bunch of really cool scenes strung together by a poorly written and executed script.

Objectively speaking 6/10, but I'll give it a 7 because it's star wars.

I have still not seen it, after reading lots of people talk about how it is almost as good as Empire. I am guessing by that they mean Empire Strikes back, and going on that, I found Empire Strikes Back to be the worst of all of them, so if it is almost as good I have no interest in seeing it. I may see it when it comes out on DVD, but not sure if I will even then.

I want the Ramming ability of ships to push them out of place/off the board.

I also feel bad for the storm troopers that took the beach and were tragically killed by Tarkin; my heart is sad as an Imp player.