Is Rogue One Disney’s best Star Wars film yet?

Other than the fact that Diego Luna overacted playing Cassian & Felicity Jones was a plank of wood as Jyn, R1 is so far the best Disney Wars film.

 

Yes.

 

Characters were too forgettable for it to be considered the best for me. Last Jedi is the best movie they have made. Cassian was good and the last third was great but the rest was just a slog to get through.

 

Interesting. I myself love Rogue One, and can't stand TLJ. The space chase and Canto Bight are, for me, difficult to watch. Boring and just not what I would want in a Star Wars film.

My problem with RO is that the acting on the part of Diego Luna and Felicity Jones was off. He was a bit over the top and she was, as someone else mentioned, wooden. I love the world building they did, as it really adds to the entire GFFA. TLJ did no such world building, so it doesn't work for me. But as someone once said, to each his own.

 

Solo is #1, and Rogue One is #2 on my list for Disney SW films.

 

I can see that. Solo was, for me, a good film. I would like to have seen what Ron Howard could have done if he had the project from the start. for me, I found L3 a bit annoying, but that's just me. Probably in the way my parents found 3PO annoying back in 1977

 

I should have said that Rogue is more 1B with Solo as 1A. It’s not that far apart as I enjoy both films, but I just like the characters more in Solo. I really liked Solo/Qu’ra relationship (which surprised me) cause I never thought anyone would replace Leia as Han’s love interest in my SW galaxy. But Qu’ra is in the back of my mind when I watch the OT Han/Leia scenes now. If that makes sense?

 

Solo was everything i wanted it to be. The Easter eggs in it are awesome also. The soundtrack is unique but still starwarsy and I listen to it quite alot

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 14, 2018, Original Post Date: Dec 14, 2018 ---

Someone isn't excited for the Cassian series

 

Totally makes sense. Essentially we are on flip sides of the same coin. I love RO a tad bit more as I loved the "holy city of Jeddah" (it reminded me of my days in the Navy and port visits to the Middle East). I loved Baze and Chirrut. I loved hearing Mon Mothma ask Bail about his friend, the Jedi. And of course that ending...

I REALLY enjoyed Solo and still do. Funny, but the one thing I didn't like: The Darth Maul appearance, and I love me some Darth Maul. For some odd reason it felt tacked on. I think I would have preferred seeing him in the flesh instead of as a projection. But it is a darn fun film. What sucks is that I think we will never see another film. I could totally see them doing a film that takes place after it and continues the story. Personally I believe Disney took the bad box office and got the wrong message, but what do I know?

 

Rogue One is the best looking SW movie in terms of Cinematography since ESB, IMO. The planets feel like war-torn areas and sort of fit with the narrative of the movie. I love the beginning shot when General Krennic is flying in to Eyro's planet to look for him (the sound is great). It was a nice changeup to the usual opening SW shot, and sort of hit me that these standalones were heading in a different (but still good) direction.

I still don't get the Darth Maul appearance, as it's my one beef with the movie (the only time I rolled my eyes in the theater). I did not watch the Clone War TV series, so I thought he was dead after Episode 1. I had no idea what was going on and why he was in the movie! LOL! I think they should have had Qu'ra work for Jabba and he would be that cameo in Solo for future movies.

Sadly, I think standalones are dead and Disney got the wrong message. But I blame a portion of the fanbase for boycotting Solo cause they didn't like TLJ. I wasn't thrilled with TLJ, but Solo is a different entity and not a Saga film. Those fans should be boycotting Episode 9, not Solo. What they don't realize is that Disney saw the Solo box office and probably thought that nobody wants to see OT-Prequel stuff as they feel it doesn't bring in a big enough audience. The irony is it was the diehards that didn't show up for Solo, yet most people who ended up seeing it (with no expectations) ended up really liking it. I continue to say that Solo is the only SW cult film out there cause so few people really saw it, yet most liked/loved it.

 

I do wonder how much of an effect the boycott actually had? I guess well will never REALLY know, but in my mind the problem was the marketing and the fact that the Avengers AND Deadpool released right before Solo. But I totally agree that Disney got the wrong message. From what I can tell, the fans like the one-shot films. They just weren't too terribly excited about a one-shot Solo film that was plagued by production issues. If they polled fans about a one-shot Obi film and/or a one shot Bounty hunter/underworld film (or heck a VADER film) I think they'd find a lot of would be up for it.

I just hope the two TV shows and episode IX are up to snuff.

Oh, and I also love that opening scene in Rogue One. Like you said, from that point on i realized we were in for something different, but familiar at the same time. Darn imma have to watch RO tonight. Darn it.

 

It's the least horrible of the Disney-made films, so that counts for something. It also boasts the best visuals of any of the new movies---and provides more interesting new designs for ships and trooper types than any of the ST films, despite being saddled in a pre-established era and having none of the creative room of 30 years post-ROTJ has offered the ST films.

Characters are drier than paper, and about as flat. This could be chalked up to their development and interactions being cut short due to production woes, but that's not an excuse or defense for the mediocre writing of the final product. I seem to remember seeing Jyn participating on the Scarif Battle on the beach with the rest of the main characters, and would've much rather preferred seeing her and the other characters have emotional interactions as they all get killed off in their shoulder-to-shoulder last stand. The world-building and consistency with lore is a plus, but hardly makes up for the story's weaknesses, especially the completely disposable and sleep-inducing first act involving the search for Saw Garrera. It makes what's an otherwise mindless but reasonably-entertaining action flick into a chore to watch.

Overall, it's a teaspoon of good in an otherwise wellspring of mediocre. I don't find it as insufferable as the ST films, but only because the film attempts far less drama, and fails significantly less. On its best possible day, it feels like a filler episode of Star Wars Rebels starring different characters that have none of the charm or development of the regular characters.

 

I guess 'boycott' was a strong word, maybe apathy among the fanbase. I think the diehards drive the narrative of any franchise movie as they dictate to the casual fans whether it's a must see or just skip it. Casual fans tend to jump on the bandwagon and have to 'see what everyone is talkiing about' regarding certain movies. I think Rogue One had that momentum after TFA and rode it to a Billion Dollar box office. That still amazes me that a bunch of no name characters did that well at the box office, the same way it amazes me that Solo tanked at the box office. Maybe Rogue One overperformed and Solo underperformed because of many of the circumstances you mentioned?

Rogue One is next up on my viewing rotation as I'll probably watch it tomorrow night. If I have time on the weekend, I always like to take in a SW flick and my rotation is (I just recently watched Solo):

Solo
Rogue One
ANH
ESB
ROTJ

I was really hoping for an Obiwan and Boba Fett movie, but I still think Obiwan is a possibility cause of Ewan McGregor is a big selling point that Solo didn't have.

 

I've been on this thread various times this year all the way back to January....anyway.....I now have SOLO slightly ahead of R1 and TLJ for my fave post-Lucas SW movie.

Still cannot fathom the descriptions of Jyn as "wooden" or the characters lacking depth. The Jyn story was one of the only times we got flashbacks in a SW movie showing earlier life of one of the characters [disregarding Anakin's whole arc in 1-3]. For example, in ANH we know nothing about young Luke or Leia, no flashbacks, no earlier story.

As far as Jyn being "wooden" my post from January covers how I feel....

 

I'm watching the film now and yeah, the acting of Jyn isn't the problem. It's the way the character is written. The arc feels truncated or incomplete. First, they TELL us about her instead of showing us. I realize there is only so much you can do in 2 hours, but surely they could have taken 5 minutes and showed us her life BEFORE the Rebellion finds her.

The "wooden" accusation, in my mind, comes from the fact that she sits there while they accuse her of being a criminal without comment. No emotion at all. I think they should have left the "I rebel!" line in but that's just me.

Another problem is I'm not sure they develop her weakness that needs to be overcome. I'm thinking it should be a lack of trust (strangely I can see the same thing for Rey, but that's another conversation). It can't be a reliance on her father. She's grown up without her parents for the last 15 years.

Having said that, I love the film, warts and all. The last half of the film is great. I also love the Holy City of Jeddha and I love seeing the dirty side of the rebellion.

 

This sort of hit me the other day as I was thinking about my viewing order: Solo, R1, ANH, ESB, ROTJ.

The criticism from me and many other fans with R1 is the characters come off bland or undeveloped. If you look at in the context of a Prequel to ANH, it actually works that they are nobodies. Luke, Leia and Han are the real heroes who blow up the Death Star, but the R1 characters still played a big part in getting the ball rolling. They are the forgotten heroes when you watch ANH, and they will never overshadow the Big 3. So in that sense it really works because if they were too memorable, it would take away from Luke, Leia and Han.

 

For me Rogue One followed by Solo are the top of my Disney Star Wars film list.
I do find it odd that I now separate Star Wars into the pre & post Disney era. I wonder if that will even be a thing in the future for those who didn't live through the George Lucas era?

 

Most likely not. For some of us that division might exist since we'll have lived through that transition, but for them it'll all just be Star Wars.

 

Jyn was far from wooden. I heard that when she was on Yavin she was wooden . She was being interrogated, of course she would come off as wooden. Well played on her part. when she was listening to her father's recording, when she finally reunited with her dad before he died, or when she confronted Cassian for wanting to kill her father due to orders. Far from wooden in my book. I don't understand some of these folks criticisms and frankly I don't want to.

 

@Rogues1138 You are spot on dude.

Yes, she is so "wooden" here [MEGA FACEPALM]