Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

[Ozymandias]

Unfortunately I found this movie kinda dull.  The first act is messy, the 2nd and 3rd acts come together more but still feels more like scenes happening without oomph or thrust.  I also think it lacked a strong protagonist like Luke and Rey.

 

There were some moments I really liked like Vader's lair on the lava planet and the 2 main characters dying on the beach at the end.  And CG Tarkin looked and sounded great.

 

B-, maybe C+

 

 

Edited December 16, 2016 by Ozymandias

[4815162342]

It's kinda sad that THE signature shot of all three trailers, Jyn + Cassian + others rushing the beach in a desperate charge against Imperial Walkers....is not in the movie. In fact it's evidence of reshoots having a major effect on the events of the final battle since in that shot you can see that Jyn is running with the Death Star data tapes.

[The Panda]

The first two acts were solid, but not-particularly memorable.  It took a bit for me to get into the film, but once I did, I was completely on board.  The final act was great and really ties well into A New Hope.  It wasn't nearly as good as TFA, nor did the visuals really do their job at popping until the final act.  It's a well-made film though and is a solid B+, with an ending that resonates as a high A/A+ final act.

 

I definitely won't be skipping this one in my Star Wars marathons.

[lilmac]

Gareth is no AAA class director but he and Gilroy crafted a film that was better than any of the prequels which, is a big sigh of relief. I won't repeat what's been already covered but again, I am happy that it wasn't bad. I'm in the under $450m club and I think that's possible. 

 

A- (boosted the score a bit because it set the spinoffs off on the right footing)

 

 

 

James Newton Howard please, for the next score. 

[Plain Old Tele]

 

 

That is my review. 

[The Stingray]

I thought it was great. Once it finds its groove, it's thrilling and spectacular stuff. The third act! The ending! Vader!

+ gorgeous cinematography
+ top-notch art direction and world building
+ Ben Mendelsohn

- patchy, rushed first 30 min (too much planet-hopping)
- some poor/clunky characterization (I wasn't emotionally invested in Jyn like I was in Rey), which seems to have become Edwards' Achilles heel
- awful, bring-you-out-of-the-movie CGI Tarkin & Leia

Overall, I was thoroughly entertained.

1st half: 7.5/10, 2nd half: 9.5/10 => 8.5/10

 

Edited December 16, 2016 by The Stingray

[Plain Old Tele]

I was blown away by Tarkin and Leia. Seriously impressed with what ILM pulled off... can't wait to see some serious behind-the-scenes on how they put that together.

[The Stingray]

Just now, Grand Moff Tele said:

I was blown away by Tarkin and Leia. Seriously impressed with what ILM pulled off... can't wait to see some serious behind-the-scenes on how they put that together.

 

[Ozymandias]

Tarkin was probably the most impressive CG creation yet dare I say

[The Stingray]

2 minutes ago, Ozymandias said:

Tarkin was probably the most impressive CG creation yet dare I say

 

Still way too much uncanny valley, imo.

[Ozymandias]

Just now, The Stingray said:

 

Still way too much uncanny valley, imo.

 

It wasn't quite 100% perfect, but we're clearly getting to the point where you can bring back characters from movies played by actors that are either dead or too old to return.

 

CGI Tarkin in this was a 1000 times more impressive than anything in Jorge Lucas's prequels.

[Plain Old Tele]

Yes, this was a well-known actor playing a (dare I say) iconic character, in the same age range as his previous performances, and it worked almost flawlessly. The level that our eyes scrutinized him (on an unconscious level) is far beyond what any major CG character has experienced (human or otherwise). Young Jeff Bridges in TRON LEGACY was decent, but not there yet... they've done some excellent de-aging work recently (RDJ in CIVIL WAR), but this was something else entirely.

[Plain Old Tele]

btw, am I out of my mind or did a bunch of Red Squadron and Gold Squadron from ANH have CG-assisted cameos too?

[Deep Wang]

17 minutes ago, Grand Moff Tele said:

btw, am I out of my mind or did a bunch of Red Squadron and Gold Squadron from ANH have CG-assisted cameos too?

 

Red Leader was definitely there, but he did not look CG to me at all. 

[Plain Old Tele]

13 minutes ago, Rallax said:

 

Red Leader was definitely there, but he did not look CG to me at all. 

 

Confirmed with some help from the gang in the Spoiler Thread. Red Leader and Gold Leader both... probably using outtakes from ANH with a lot of contemporary CG clean-up and polishing.

[RobinHood26]

Holy balls amazing final 3 minutes, fantastic 3rd act!!!!!! Great action, high stakes. I like the characters, although thought they were underdeveloped overall.

 

The first act was shaky and I felt the whole film should be from Jyn's pov and there was no need to jump around and meet them individually. Too much planet hopping (didn't like planet names on screen ether)

 

Donnie Yen needed alittle more to do in the 3rd act.

 

The score was weak!!! disappointed, held the movie back a point or two.

 

Had a huge smile on my face and my Jaw was open wide the whole 3rd act. VADER VADER VADER baby. 

B+ (88)

[Plain Old Tele]

It's funny how the little choices they made to separate themselves stylistically from other SW movies felt momentarily unsettling: the slates for planet names, for example. But how great was see these various different planets? Each felt like new environments, very much their own thing. Very nice to feel the SW universe expanded, so to speak.

 

Interesting that Vader's awesome castle location wasn't titled. I assume that was Mustafar? Interesting and ironic, if so, that he'd choose to spend so much time in the Dark Force area where he fell from grace (literally and figuratively).

[Jake Gittes]

You're going real soft old man.

[Noctis]

I'm not a fan of Star Wars,  but I enjoyed Rogue One. I think the first two acts were a bit over-long and some of the characters in the group just didn't make any impact whatsoever. But Felicity Jones was great and elevated the character. The third act was very good, and I loved that there was genuine gravitas. 

 

B+

 

The movie was so beautifully shot. 

[RandomCat]

I'm definitely still running on a high watching it with friends. It's a movie that takes a bit of time to get going, but it's more like a large engine needing time to get all thelse pieces together rather than a film with no direction. 

 

Characters are over the place in my care field, and it felt obvious certain characters were going to bite it by the end. The fact the movie actually killed all of them is still surprising to me, as well as the audience cheering at the end, after what was the death of all our cast. Which means however good/bad Leia was, it was a pretty important beat to leave on a high rather than a low.

 

Yen was awesome, I liked Jones and her co-star, though felt a bit awkward with their sudden love ending. K was pretty much made the KotOR nerd in me ecstatic. The other characters were there, but the pilot got a real short shrift.

 

Oh, and Two Rebels references. The call forwards and backs were ok, even if 3PO was a tad much. And I'm going to have to look for the character Warrick Davis played.