Criticisms Of Rogue One

I'm wondering how you would expect a film that takes place literally just days and, at the end, minutes, before Episode IV to NOT rely upon the "entire context of A New Hope." It's the lead it. The entire context of a New Hope is the context for this film. Heck, it's not just the contextual background, it's the film.

You say you were bored with it, and compare that to the PT and OT. Like yourself, seen them all too many times to count (saw A New Hope in August 1977 for the first time so I've been a fan for more years than I can count). Having said that, this film for me had what the PT didn't. Good acting. Emotion and feeling. "Anakin, your breaking my heart!" Blah. The entire team getting wiped out to get the plans off Scariff and up to Leia, wow.

I'm sorry for your lack of enjoyment. For myself (and apparently others), it was a damned good Star Wars film. I saw it three times in the theater and I've already watched it twice on iTunes. The PT films... I can't watch episode I or II anymore. Saw both twice in the theater but that was it. I own them on iTunes (of course), but find them to be unwatchable. Episode III I can watch from time to time, but the acting is atrocious. I can see why Liam Neeson didn't want to reprise his role as Qui Gonn.

Personally, Rogue One is second only to Empire for me. But, to each his own.

 

Its funny when he said with each viewing he liked the movie less and less.
I had the same reaction to TFA.
Cant say the same about R1 tho, but I only watched it once and the only thing I remember from the movie are the two Vader scenes and the cool space battle at the end.

edit: The movie aint "bad" tho

 

I bet you could count to 40 if you really had to

 

Maybe he's missing a few toes

 

I just got done watching the Blu Ray and I'm even less impressed with it than I was when I saw it in the theater, when I thought it was just OK. Maybe because I was sober this time. I didn't think it was terrible but I couldn't help noticing that the movie was just a pile of war movie cliches/tropes with Star Wars lipstick slapped on and how the Alliance are such a bunch of baggers that I almost wanted to cheer for the Empire. It seemed like Star Wars without any heart (or much brains) trying to cater to the CoD crowd.

 

I have a problem. After watching my DVD copy of the movie, I wondered why someone like Cassian Andor could not have come up with a viable plan to steal the Death Star plans. Because the plan they actually used was crap . . . and rushed.

 

It's the least liked movie from all the franchise , i've seen it 2 times and that's about it i think , don't think will get to 2 digits as number of reruns like all other sw movies , for 1 simple reason : no force users , is like making a Jurasic park movie without dino's in it.
I hope Han Solo will be better, i know it wont have force users aswell , at least i hope to be more fun , considering the main character.

In my humble opinion Disney got it all wrong with these stand alone movies : they should take 1 character from ot ( could be even pt or even st for that matter ) and make an all new story , and , if you are a good producer,director etc. make it even bigger than ot,pt,st , sky is the limit ;

take yoda as an example ( could be palpatine, maz kanata ...) , maybe what he went trough since the Skywalkers apeared into his life was actually pretty dull and boring , as compared with what he experienced before that ( 900 years old person !!! ) , make me believe that , i want new stories , not just fractures of ot viewed from a different angle.

 

My wife and I have been a little tight on money this month so we've not purchased the blu-ray yet, but I saw it twice in the theaters. I have to say, while I respect the intention of the movie to be "about the grunts" as someone stated upthread, and that yes, of course, we know going in, its not likely for the main characters to make it out, I just think it lacks a lot. There is way too much fan service and not enough in the way of actual character development. The movie is fine, and far better than any of the prequels, but it feels like its just a chance for fans to see their dream of Vader mowing down faceless Rebels onscreen. That's fine, if that's your thing. Its just not mine. I wanted depth to my characters. I wanted to feel something for them as they died. In the end, I was only invested in a few characters: Chirrut, K-2SO and maybe Krennic. But there was so much more they could have done with them and the other characters if they streamlined the story a little bit. I feel like the sequences on Jedha and Eadu could be simplified, combined or restructured in a way that makes more sense and allow for more character development.

I think a lot of criticisms in this thread are reasonable and I think my biggest criticism other than the characters is the final Vader scene. It felt like an afterthought. I've seen an idea or two here and there about fixing them. Here's mine:

First, Bodhi really doesn't have much to do in the movie so why not give him the most important role of all? He actually survives Scarif. The transmission tower is taken down before Jyn and Cassian are able to get it up to Raddus' command ship. They do manage to find a smaller transmitter and get the plans to Bodhi, who has along with a handful of troopers manage to fight their way off planet and jump to hyperspace. Jyn and Cassian meet a similar end as the finished film. Bodhi's ship reverts to normal space outside of the battle zone and start transmitting to another ship, thinking they're safe, but in jumps the Devastator. Bodhi's ship is pulled in by a tractor beam and the signal is being scrambled. While Bodhi works to get a signal through the noise, the ship docks and the lights are disabled.

The scene with Vader continues pretty much as in the finished film except its probably longer to give Bodhi time to get the signal through. He manages to do so, getting the plans through, and smiles. His victory and smile is short-lived as a red saber bursts through his chest and Vader's breathing is heard. The saber disengages and using the Force, Vader spins the chair around. Bodhi, just hanging on, telling the Dark Lord he's too late. Vader tells him that its too late for him, reengages the lightsaber, and decapitates the pilot.

The scene shifts to the Tantive IV where Artoo and Threepio are monitoring the communications system (no cameo on Yavin). They tell an officer a signal is coming through from the spies on Scarif. The officer then informs Captain Antilles, who orders him to transfer the information to disc and delete the file from the computer. Antilles is handed the disc who takes it onto the bridge. He hands the disc to a figure in white, saying, "Your highness, the transmission we received. What is it they've sent us?"

Princess Leia Organa turns towards the camera, responding with one word: "Hope," as the ship jumps to hyperspace.

This keeps the Vader scene intact and gives Bodhi a true heroic moment, as well as actually making you care about that scene and the people in it by connecting it to the characters we just spent two hours with as opposed to just having Vader mow down nameless Rebels.

Just my $0.02. Its not how the film ends, but I just think it would work better in continuity as well as make it more connective tissue as well as an more emotional moment.

 

I had a similar train of thought. I would have kept it more simple though. Have the climax play out how it did except with Vader making his way to the control room on the Profundity just as the plans are 'beamed' to the Tantive. It removes Leia's ship from the battle (which makes no sense) and preserves the continuity.

Bodhi, I think, should have simply been shown interacting with Galen earlier so we know why he was happy to sacrifice his life for whatever reason. That's just my two hundredths of an American dollar though

 

Apparently I haven't posted enough here to like, so consider this a like!

Your idea would certainly work and does simplify things more. I don't dare dream to take away from your idea, I just like the idea of giving something to a "main" character who needed more to do.

But interacting with Galen more would have done that too.

 

^^^^^^^^^^Nothing upsets me more than bilious Star Wars fans disliking everything that is new.^^^^^^^^^^

 

Good thing that's not what's happening here then. Nothing upsets me more than an upset Ammianus Marcellinus

 

Having criticisms against a film and disliking a film are two very different things. I enjoyed Rogue One. But I think it has problems. Its very possible to do both. Boiling everything down to black and white is why we have so many problems in the world.

Plus, I like Rebels. I loved Force Awakens. So what's your point?

 

Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

 

So I've watched Rogue One now easily 30+ times, and while it's a good movie and definitely has its place in the pantheon of great sci-fi movies, I do have some criticisms:

- Chirrut should have been a former Jedi at the very least, or Jedi in hiding. I think it would have rounded out the character nicely. Also, the contradictions with his character: he's supposedly not FS, yet he can sense the Force darkening around Cassian? He can hear/sense kyber crystals, but he's not FS? I know he's a Guardian, but still, it seemed half done to me. Overall, Chirrut was my favorite character from this film and I would have loved to see him as a little more important than just some blind monk Jedi fan boy. I think it coulda made for a great standalone in and of itself, but I don't really care to get interested in a non FS character when there's like, Jedi and Sith and stuff that have already laid claim to the limited space in my brain. Unless of course he/she is a total badass, like Chirrut. I'd actually be ok with his character being re-written as a Jedi and we just didn't know about it in Rogue One or something.

- Cassian was kinda weak. The end.

- Jyn Erso is just too much to be believable. Before the whole wave of "you're a misogynistic pig" slams into me, hear me out. This woman weighs in at what, a buck-o-five and has what appears to be very little muscle tone yet she can straight up physically wreck 6'0" + Storm Troopers like it's no big deal. Okay, BS flag flying proudly here. I definitely buy in on Rey's badassery, she's got the Force with her, so yeah, kick Kylo Ren's ass, kick it twice. I'm a 200 lb guy, if a 105 lb guy squared up on me in real h2h combat, I'd put him through a wall. If it's the kyber crystal around her neck giving her that strength, ok, cool, I get it, but explain it. I also understand she was mentored by Saw Gerrera, but, nah, just not buying off on it all the way. If she was FS, then hell yeah, but no. Actually if she woulda been portrayed as more of a gunslinger like Han Solo, I'd be cheering her on, just blasting away with dual blasters or something cool.

- The ineptitude of the Empire. C'mon, really? By my math, 1 blind guy and a small woman could easily wipe out at least one battalion of Storm Troopers by themselves just with their bare hands. I mean these guys took over the galaxy yet they can't even patrol a street in some ghetto properly where no one has cell phones and there are no civil rights?? Gimme a break.

- The CGI'ing of Tarkin and Leia. Eh, yeaaahhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooo. Krennic could have filled Tarkin's role easily and I would have actually enjoyed that, with alluding to Tarkin coming in later to take over. Reminded me of the Polar Express. Just bad.

Overall, I really like Rogue One and will easily watch it many, many more times.

**Disclaimer: If other people have already said the same things as I have, I apologize, but I'm not going to scroll through 15 pages to make sure I'm not being redundant.

 

Well, there's this.

But who's counting

 

Even 'grey' is an absolute.

--- Double Post Merged, Apr 12, 2017, Original Post Date: Apr 12, 2017 ---

It was a general remark, not one directed at you

 

The character did seem a little stressed in a group situation and ended up deferring heavily to Jyn's decision making in the end. Perhaps he was having a bit of a mid-life crisis or undergoing some kind of a nervous break-through?



He may have found some peace by choosing someone else with a conscience to man his moral compass for him. After all, his arc only seemed to go from blindly obeying orders to...slightly-less-blindly obeying orders!

 

Okay, but . . . being an experienced intelligence officer, he couldn't come up with a better plan? That doesn't mean he had to be the one in command.