Rogue One Rogue One vs. The Force Awakens

I loved the finale battle but it could have been even better if the characters wouldn't been as dull. Still enjoyed the film though.

 

Rogue One

 

Such a beautiful film.

Also, love the avatar.

 

It really is.

Thank you!

 

Both have their strengths and weaknesses. TFA is probably the better movie for having a well fleshed out cast of characters, a great score, and a swift sense of pace. Rogue One is a bit more visually impressive and has better action and earns points for its aspects of originality. Both suffer from unnecessary references, though.

 

Having just rewatched FA, I think I have to go with R1. I loved FA, and in the theater I certainly felt that magic again. But for me R1 has the better cinematography, sets, locations story and action. While there isn't a singular character that stands out like Rey or the big 3, I felt more connected to the group as a whole. The music in FA is better by far, wasn't impressed with the soundtrack for R1.

Overall R1 just felt closer to the originals for me. I do think VIII could elevate my view of FA, just as IV obviously impacts my view of R1, so we'll see what happens.

 

The Force Awakens. I thought it was fantastic from beginning to end whereas R1 didnt really start to click with me until the last third. It also helped that I overall liked the characters better than R1

 

Rogue one. TFA started great but flatlined for me. Rogue One increased in intensity and the characters were memorable especially it being a one off for most of the characters. The actors involved/acting in R1 were superior as well as the droid

 

I liked The Force Awakens better because the characters were more fleshed out, and because the story can continue. Plus like others said, there's always going to be bias. The main story will always be better than the side stories for me.

 

I love that opinion are so varied. That's a great sign, in my opinion, for Lucasfilm.

 

I enjoyed the Force Awakens though I do agree with a lot of the criticisms saying that it's pretty much a remake of A New Hope

With that said, I like Rogue One a lot better. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that even though it's a Star Wars film, it feels different from the rest of the films. The characters & their motives, the spaceship battles, and its connection to A New Hope made it an overall better movie for me

 

I found Rogue 1 more pleasing in the end and more cohesive with the original trilogy while TGA just rehashed too many beats for my taste and also seemed too clean in retrospect. I still liked TFA mind you but just not as much as I wanted to. Looking forward to VIII.

 

I loved both films as I said in my review. But TFA is overall a better film. Rogue One does some things that definitely raise the bar, from some of the visuals, blending it with some new genre takes etc. But characters are always the heart and soul of any film and to me all my favorite classics really come back to that. TFA is similar to ANH yes, but Terminator 2 is just as much similar to the original Terminator with a bigger budget but I do love that film as well.

I think both have some aspects they have over one another. And I feel that Edwards raised the bar with some of the more epic visuals and the space battles hands down. That and prove what George proved with The Clone Wars is that Star Wars itself is a genre and that you can combine it with other interesting genres. While JJ was able to create new incredible characters that stood their ground and then some against the old classic trio and really find the heart of SW and bring it back in full.

But TFA’s characters just stick with you, and though the plot beats may be similar the story really is not. Story is the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist which are very different with different relationships in ANH and TFA. Really it’s Luke vs. the Death Star in attempts to destroy it in ANH and Rey vs. Ren in the race to find Luke Skywalker. The dynamics between these relationships are very different.

But in the end I don’t think any of us can be upset that we’ve gotten two good films from this new team. And honestly I think that they are ramping up even further with VIII and the Han Solo stand-alone. I think things are just getting started. I have a lot of faith in Kathy and company and can’t wait to see more of the SW universe. And no one has to twist my arm to ask if I want to watch TFA or R1 again. I'm there for either.

 

Rogue One without question.

The reason is that, unlike JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, Gareth Edwards and the writers of Rogue One didn't try to 'reinterpret' what Star Wars is and means and just made a Star Wars movie.

 

I just hope that going forward these movies shed the need to cram in the fan service. I expect it with the Han Solo movie, unfortunately, but with Episode VIII I want to see new ground broken. I don't want or need references to things I've already seen to enjoy these movies. The beauty of the original film was that it felt completely new, never before seen.

 

I prefer The Force Awakens. Seeing Rogue One twice now, I do like it more than I did during the initial viewing, but the first half of it still kind of slogged along, while The Force Awakens' pace feels very well balanced to me. Plus I liked the two new leads in TFA than I did R1's, which turned out kind of dull. I also would've liked Jyn more if there wasn't a *ahem* forced backstory, I'd have liked her to have been more of a random criminal turned hero. I felt her story just bogged things down.

Had it been a vote for individual scene from both films though, Darth Vader's at the end takes the cake, easily, no question.

 

Ah you mean like the Blue milk, thugs from the cantina, in Rogue or the holochess and remote in TFA? Yeah those kind of things really don't bug me too bad. I know for some it can be more but I don't love them by any means nor hate them. I just kind of shrug my shoulders.

I'm sure in future films that will die down a little. I agree I cannot wait to see where we continue to go and grow. However I remember something Chris Stuckmann said about the original film, you can only be introduced to Star Wars once. No matter how hard you try there will only be that first time of pure freshness. It's a franchise and even when you see a lightsaber down the road in a completely new film with no connection it's still not like seeing a lightsaber for the first time or many of the other SW like things.

I'm reading through the Artbook of Rogue One and interestingly enough there was no backstory at first it was just what you said a group that goes and steals the Death Star plans, though I loved Rogue One it would be interesting to see that 7 page treatment that John Knoll had that was really a spy thriller. In that Krennic was an Imperial Spy among the group.

 

Force Awakens, for me.

 

The Force Awakens EASILY.

 

I think Rogue One, having the great 3rd act and finale helped to make it a more satisfying experience for me. I liked the characters and kept hoping that they might make it out at the end. With TFA I really enjoyed it a lot but the looking back there were niggles, Finn is a bit OTT (shouts a lot and just a bit annoying), and the big battle at the end felt a bit of a let down.

 

What does that even mean? How about explaining how TFA was a film that changed what a SW film is first.

 

Completely agree.

I think the Battle of Scarif is far superior than the Starkiller Base stuff. I really liked how they went back to the World War II roots that inspired George Lucas way back when. Rogue One was like watching a sci-fi version of Guadalcanal.

 

^t:
Do we need to do a K2 vs. BB poll?