[Rob Babcock]

I'm surprised that no one has started a thread yet for Rogue One.  Like many of you I grew up loving the original films.  I saw the first one in '77 at the local drive-in!  The second one I saw twice with my cousins (we paid once and the ushers didn't check the theater so we sat through it again! ).  It's hard to overstate what a big part of my life Star Wars was.  Like most of you I was crushed by the prequels, and relieved that the newest one was actually decent.

All of the reviews for Rogue One are good.  It's at a solid 85% on RT.  The cast is great with many superb actors, anchored by the wonderful Felicity Jones.  And yet...Somehow I'm just not catching the fever.

First off in all the many years since the first one I have never once thought, hey- I wonder what the story behind the stealing of those plans is about?  That doesn't mean the film isn't great.  Hell, you can make a great film about a topic you would never have guessed could be interesting or a bad one about something interesting.  But this feels tacked on, superfluous.  Obviously Disney didn't spend billions to buy the rights to just sit on them- movies are made to make money. Still, to me this feels like a naked grab for the cash.

The original films caught lightning in a bottle.  No one really expected anything from them which is one reason that Lucas so easily got the rights to everything (merchandising, etc).  That made them a delightful surprise.  But seeing more and more and more films isn't really adding to the legacy for me.  Lucas borrowed from many sources but the end result was a unique and fascinating milieu, something fresh and enduring.  I'm sure there are many great stories that could be set there.  But I'm not sure that I'm interested in prequels.  In fact, I really have less than no interest in them.  I would like some new stories.

If we're not getting new stories, what I'd really like to see is a film version of Knights of the Old Republic game!  It had a better story than any of the films and is set in a time thousands of years removed from the original films.

What do you folks say?  Is the film something I need to see?  Is it worth the hype?

[jk@home]

My son and I  went to see it over the weekend, both of us enjoyed it. Has all the familiar Star Wars story lines and props. Didn't feel out of place at all, thought it was just as entertaining as the last one. Then again I wasn't looking for some grand illumination in the Star Wars saga. 

[Big Red Machine]

It was terrible. Boring as heck. Not a great battle scene as claimed. It was a crappy 5 minutes of shooting. I dozed off twice during this movie. My wife said "2 hours of my life I will never get back." They could have skipped this whole "story" about the "sacrifices" made to get the death star plans. It was not anywhere as emotional as they told us we were expected to feel.

[mav52]

I guess if your over 50 you might not like it. But my grand kids loved it.

[wushuliu]

It's a solid film. Great diverse cast. I've always liked diego luna and donnie yen is the best martail arts star americans never heard of (and a good actor too). Felicity jones holds her own. The film looks more like a star wars film than force awakens. Gritty and some amazing shots with massive sense of scale. The story is a good one. Dirty dozen type plot.

The polarizing aspects i found to be the prominent role of an actor who's been dead for decades and the lack of emotional beats during key scenes at the end. Rogue shares a similar problem with force awakens in that the film is too busy moving the plot along to let moments breathe. Rogue had massive reshoots like force awakens and although the seams are smoother you can tell something isnt quite right.

That said the the way the films ends and ties into a new hope almost brought a tear to my eye.

Not a perfect film but a solid entry. If disney would stop rushing these movies and shooting by committee they might actually be as good as the originals.

[gene9p]

I had trouble staying awake. The final minutes of the film were the best..the rest was boring. I did NOT LIKE  the CGI of Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher. So waxy and phony. I listened to the soundtrack as well and it is mediocre. I liked  BSG's Razor much better than this. It was a spin off story with a heroine who has a dark side. There was a lot of potential for Rogue One but it failed to deliver. If not for the cameos of original SW characters it would have been a total disaster. What we wanted and did get was a look at Vadar and how bad he really was, something so lacking in the prequels. My advice is, go see something else then sneak into Rogue One for the last 15 minutes.....

[wushuliu]

I guess some folks don't care about spoilers... I'm not sure why anyone would consider this film boring. A new hope isn't exactly nonstop action and the dialog...  Yikes. Rogue one has more compelling characters and performances than force awakens imo. Jedis and the force actually have meaning and resonance even if not actually present in the film. Force awakens had heart.  Rogue has soul. But yes less shooting and the battle scene a little shorter. Oh well.

[OzarkTom]

My wife and love it, big Star War fans here.

[Phil A]

I guess it depends on whether one is a Star Wars fan and to what degree.  I liked it but have to admit that the release date wasn't that long after 'The Force Awakens' so I was at the edge of having enough of it in a short period of time.

[slefley]

I liked it a lot.  If you're a Star Wars fan it's well worth seeing.

[Wind Chaser]

I think the first three releases were okay. The first one was revolutionary for "its time" but not especially compelling or good enough to stand the test of time. Still it was quite an achievement for its revolutionary visual effects. Unlike most sequels, the 2nd was written and crafted much better. Relative to The Empire Strikes Back, the 3rd one was something of a disappointment.

The Phantom Menace was a huge let down. Like Return of the Jedi, it could have been much better but was derailed by the need to capitalize on all the potential revenue of kiddie cash, which without, you cannot have a blockbuster. Since I don't have kids, it was the last Star Wars film I bothered with.

In the beginning Star Wars was visionary and even arguably artistic. But the franchise soon lost its way by pandering to the youngest audience merely for the sake of eeking out every possible dollar at the box office.

[dB Cooper]

One friend who is a die hard Star Wars fan hated it, but most of the word of mouth I've heard has been positive, with some going back to see it again.

I can take it or leave it. I don't go to the movies much, but I suggest that if you do, take some 'high fidelity' ear plugs (etymotic etc). Most sound systems are way too loud, to impress you during all the explosions during the trailers.

[Folsom]

I'm a pretty big Star Wars fan, and I loved it. As good as the original 3? No. Did Force Awakens taint this film with it's lukewarm performance? Yes.

[charmerci]

I thought it was a decent action film. Wasn't overly moved by the emotional connections/scenes - and I'm easily moved!

To me upon reflection, it was kind of a "filler" film - covering a story line in-between two films - like it was a part of a movie franchise which it is of course. No new plot surprises in this one.

It was worth the discount price.

This movie suddenly makes me aware of a serious plot fault -

how the hell do they get the Death Star (which is the size of a moon) to pop up in different solar systems so fast?

[Folsom]

They have a tow rope for a Star Destroyer.

[RDavidson]

Charmerci - The Death Star can go into hyperspace, which they say in the movie. I already knew this as my little brother (a huge SW fan) told me years ago. Still seems odd to me, but whatever.

The movie was decent. Not great. The only parts that really removed me from the movie were the CGI Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher (though she was only in a very brief part). It was impressive CGI, but still completely ruined those parts of the movie. I could barely follow the dialogue or story line because I was so distracted by the falseness of the CGI "human" characters. They do impressive things with makeup these days. Why didn't they do so here?

The best part of the entire movie was near the end. Darth Vader was badass.

[charmerci]

Charmerci - The Death Star can go into hyperspace, which they say in the movie. I already knew this as my little brother (a huge SW fan) told me years ago. Still seems odd to me, but whatever.

Hmm, missed that. http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/17462/how-did-the-death-star-move

Anyway, I guess it's a moot point since it ain't around anymore.

[finsup]

What!  The Death Star isn't around anymore?

[gene9p]

I guess some folks don't care about spoilers... I'm not sure why anyone would consider this film boring. A new hope isn't exactly nonstop action and the dialog...  Yikes. Rogue one has more compelling characters and performances than force awakens imo. Jedis and the force actually have meaning and resonance even if not actually present in the film. Force awakens had heart.  Rogue has soul. But yes less shooting and the battle scene a little shorter. Oh well.

hate to tell you..it was A NEW HOPE that started it all...Soul???..never heard anyone use that word to describe a Star Wars movie....and probably never will again..'SOUL"......

[wushuliu]

hate to tell you..it was A NEW HOPE that started it all...Soul???..never heard anyone use that word to describe a Star Wars movie....and probably never will again..'SOUL"......

Your post makes absolutely no sense. I suggest rereading my post a little slower.