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Rogue One was pretty good obviously not “perfect” but it’s probably the best since Revenge of the Sith. They should have committed to the darker tone and probably split it into two movies.
The prequels were rubbish. Lucas lost his magic by 1999 thats why he sold sw to disney. Revenge of the Sith was not very good. Attack of the Clones was worse and The Phantom Menace was real let down. I waited 15 years for SW movie and was so disappointed by the prequels. However Rogue One is the best since Return of the Jedi. In parts Jedi was terrible, however Rogue One and Jedi are equally good. The prequels were a disapointment but I understand new generations love the prequels.
Will you be watching Andor? If I had to guess, I think it could be your favorite of all the Disney Star Wars things. I think it's the most objectively high quality thing they've done, albeit a tad less "Star Warsy" in some ways. The big thing it does that i think you'd like, is it finally SHOWS some of the real stakes in all of this, and it fleshes out the characters quite nicely.
I agree with all of this. Andor is interesting, because it focuses a lot of energy on character development and world building. In particular, the writers are drawing from 1984, and other dystopian sci-fi source. In doing that, the empire feels more tangible, and more dangerous. The stakes feel higher, and so when action sequences do happen, it feels amazing. There's also real consequences whenever action sequences take place. We've never seen politics done this well in Star Wars before. When all is said and done, Andor will probably make Rogue One a better movie, retroactively.
@@matthewjordan7297 everything you said, EXACTLY. Bingo. My only gripe is the lack of aliens (there are some, but way too few imo)...but everything you said is exactly how i feel about it. 🎯
Me too, I love Rogue one, but I do agree that the last shot is terrible where Leia says 'hope'. You could easily have ended that movie without showing her face or having her say anything. Just show the back of her.
@@aluminiumbird5113 i just think a more subtle approach would have been more impactful. Espcially when the close-up cgi shot of her face wasnt great. We all knew it was leia when the rebel dude walked into the room and she was facing away. In the cinema i was expecting that to be the last shot.
The Empire Strikes Back is still the template of what a great Star Wars movie because it perfected the blend of powerful themes in storytelling without forgetting that its a world of wonder and fun. A lot of people also forget just how simple the plot is for that film - coming back to that art of filmmaking - simple plot, complex characters.
It's weird how this movie is simultaneously underrated and overrated depending on who you talk to. It's an unfortunate jumbled mess with a really sick third act. You can tell where they did re-writes when Tony Gilroy came in to try and salvage the mess they gave him. The one fortunate thing is we got the Andor show. Watch it please. It's honestly the best thing we've got since Empire Strikes Back. Incredible character writing and world-building. No Jedi, no Sith, no lightsabers, literally no memberberries to be seen, unless you look reeeeeeeally closely and then you might notice an easter egg or two hiding in the background.
I’ll be devastated if they botch season 2. The series is quite literally my one hopeful beam of light in this appalling nightmare world that is modern star wars.
Thanks for the review. Grew up with Star Wars and thought this was the closest to the originals better for me than the prequels, and forget the Disney ones. I really liked it
Would love to see you do a series of actor/actress reviews where you critique their performances, evolution/devolution over their career with high and low points etc?
Lol!!! Didn't expect that. I really enjoyed it. It's not a masterpiece but it fits the style of Star Wars much more, stays gritty with light humor, and connects well to the beginning of the franchise. Maybe it's better in the theaters.
If you thought Rogue One was bad, wait until you see Solo - a veritable checklist of a movie (Han meets Chewie; Han meets Lando; Han wins the falcon; Han does the kessel run) that not only has no purpose in the overarching narrative whatsoever, and exists shamelessly as an excuse to milk the franchise cash cow, but manages to ruin any enigmatic appeal the character might have had in the originals by explaining everything about his past. Plus: an (almost as) irredeemably bad cameo at the end. You'll love it!
This movie reminds me of the 2017 Beauty and the Beast remake, in that they both address peoples weird criticisms about the original film. People who have problem with why the empire put the weakness into the death star, or why some things in the Beasts castle are magic and some things aren’t. They’re bad faith critiques, and I don’t think we NEED ENTIRE movies to explain those elements. It’s okay to suspend your disbelief, and say “it’s a movie” I’m SO FRUSTRATED why fans feel like they need every nanometer of the most mundane dialogue from Star Wars to be referenced in this, I don’t know but it frustrates me
Rogue One is a very frustrating movie for me. On a technical level its easily one of the most beautifully shot Star Wars films and I appreciate the more mature tone especially the ending but I can just feel the reshoots and where footage is missing combined with the one dimensional characterizations and poor pacing. Andor though is easily the best produced thing Disney has done with the franchise. Its the only Disney SW project that respects the audiences intelligence.
Agree. So do my friends but we're all 50. Many who saw the prequels when they were young seem to have some fondness for them including Maggie if I recall correctly. That's crazy. 😆 @@palazzo1113
Cool review-- you brought to mind a lot of things I had overlooked in my excitement when I first saw this movie. I was excited because I felt like this was the first *real* Star Wars movie that was taking itself seriously and giving us that gritty vibe-- not a lot of aliens, not a lot of witty banter, but this is the war side of Star Wars. It also gave fans like myself what we were yearning for at the time-- classic Star Wars setting in spite of the try-hard prequels. All that said, it wasn't as good a movie in retrospect as I felt it was on the first viewing, and that's probably because I wanted to like it and overlook its flaws. Andor is sort of the same thing-- it has such quality and these really awesome moments in the classic Star Wars setting, but ultimately it doesn't offer a lot new and is still emotionally dull at times. Anyway, when I heard "F this movie" I was a bit alarmed, but very good points were made to support that view--it's why I keep coming back to the deepfocuslens!
Always found this tremendously overrated and was shocked at how many people rated it so highly. I remember leaving the theater thinking, “Well…that was a movie.” Was decent but forgettable outside of the last 10 minutes.
We had simple Star Wars - the originals. We had the complicated ones - the prequels. We had the nostalgic exploit - the new trilogy. Rogue One tries to be a mature Star Wars. Something that hasn't been done before. It didn't quite succeed because Disney was standing in a corner. It wanted to eat a cake and have a cake. The entire last sequence contradicts everything that came before in the film. Something new is thrown away by pushy nostalgia. But visually the film is sensational. Gareth Edward is a master of using CGI in an artistic way, telling the story with images. Without this film, there would also be no Andor series, which finally realizes this idea of a new, serious, realistic Star Wars and is one of the best, if not the best we've seen in Star Wars since Empire Strikes Back.
They’re really milking this Star Wars idea for every penny they could get. I do remember liking Rogue One when it first came out but I can’t remember much about it now. But I must say, it’s strange hearing the first Star Wars movie referred as “A New Hope” or “Episode IV.” Back in 1977, everybody just called it Star Wars.
This was a funny review. Almost everything she said, just didn’t land with me. Rogue one was the first and maybe only Star Wars since return of the jedi, that felt like Star Wars to me, and made me care for the characters. I cared about them at the end. I cared about th space battle. In fact, it’s the only Star Wars (outside e1-e6) that I will search out clips of. Just my 2c
I like Rogue One. The only thing stopping it from being a top tier Star Wars movie for me is the 2nd act. That act should have been used to develop the characters so the audience could feel more invested going into the third act. I found myself being legitimately bored in the second act. The third act was great in my opinion but it could have been even better with better built characters. It's a top 5 Star Wars movie for me but it's not on the elite tier (ANH & ESB).
The ending is well done but man I never cared for any of the characters and that’s what really held this back. All the prices are here for a classic Sci-Fi except the acting/characters. I never once really liked any of the characters or cared. They feel like they have quirks/personas rather than true fleshed out personalities. If that would’ve been fixed this could’ve been amazing. I still think it’s a solid film but not on the level of the original trilogy. It is better than most of the sequels/prequels
Felt like this film was made to explain why the Death Star had such an obvious flaw. I didn't hate it especially as the heroes sacrifice themselves rather than have them triumph over impossible odds. But too many characters that don't amount to much. Best oif the Disney SW films.
Rock on, deepfocuslens! My sentiments exactly. However I doubt if it could be saved by a recut because the fatal flaws begins in the writing, on the page. "It's as hollow as a paper cup" to paraphrase Raymond Chandler.
Im a Lucas purist. If George Lucas wasn't involved with it,it doesn't count as Star Wars. I don't care how bad people hate the prequels-they are the Godfather trilogy compared to what Disney would make later on. They "MARVEL"ized the franchise once they got their hands on it. Force Awakens ,Last Jedi, rogue One, The Mandolorian- all horrible and feel nothing like Star Wars movies. They are simply star wars movies in name, and not spirit.
@@davidd4696 the dialogue is a little wooden and schmultzy, but that's the actual intention of star wars - they are space soap operas. The melodrama is totally intentional, and people who criticize the over the top romance between Anakin and Padme are kind of missing the point . Something the prequels do have that the Disney movies don't - is originality, wonder and fearlessness in attempts to stand out and experiment in making something totally new. Something these star wars movies of today don't even try to do, nor want to do. I've seen interviews of Lucas explaining his vision - it's all about new planets, new worlds, new characters, new experiences. All these movies today just want to be nostalgia bait at this point. They are so afraid of taking any risk. And that's why I don't respect them at all. They have more in common with Starbucks than Star Wars. They're just a product made in a factory meant to be consumed and disposed by the masses - not meant to be bold visions made by masters of their craft like Lucas's original 6 films were.
Maggie why did u find The Dark Knight Rises Underwhelming? I do agree it's contrived, cut around the corners in the latter half & the climax with talia al ghul reveal was not good, but overall technically it was well made, the score & cinematography was outstanding.
Totally agree with the review. Every protagonist in the movie dies, felt nothing, could not care less. A week later I watched “Arrival” and found myself crying in the first 10 minutes.
I went to watch this movie when it came out. I enjoyed the experience and tone overall. Maybe it felt more grounded and was such a deoarture from the prequels and the first sequel. However, I went a second time the same week as a friend wanted to go. Weirdly I was really bored on this occasion and really felt the lack of pacing this time. I struggled to sit through it. I agree with your opinion these years later. I really felt this could have been so much better too.
Out of all the "newer" SW films, Rogue One was the one Iiked the most. Its not perfect. It was what I wanted. I will admit, the film does get slow. That battle on Scariff was epic. This one thing I am still annoyed about with this movie. Some scenes featured in the trailer did not show up in the final film. I bought the special bluray and those scenes did not show up. I hope for an extended version(I doubt that will happen.)
Finally a reviewer with the same opinion like me. I was so bored and disappointed with this movie that I haven't watched anything Star Wars ever since. Both Force Awakens and Rogue One got so much praise when released so based on that I watched them and neither really did it at all for me. I almost started questioning my taste in movies but then I decided: Nope, not gonna watch any new star wars anymore, it's not good.
@@educationentertainment-tv7601 I don't know about "the best" but I definitely don't think the movie sucks. I liked it. It's the only Disney Star Wars movie I have revisited on multiple occasions
@@TheRexrapper best for me is empire strikes back. At my age I probably like rogue one more as it's the first gritty version of star wars we get. I thought it worked awesome an adult version of star wars
Unrelated to Rogue One, but have you ever done a video on Lost in Translation? I'm curious what you think of that film and I've never heard you say anything about it.
As soon as I saw the title I was expecting exactly what I got... Except some shots for you to go through it all. You really need them with a movie as polarizing and frustrating as this! 😂😂😂
I really liked Rogue One, but it would have been better as a series. The characters are interesting, but underdeveloped, and the storyline had potential. But it was like someone was standing around with a stopwatch reminding everyone that the movie was only supposed to be two hours long. If the movie had been part of the Andor series, then it would have got its due.
I still think Empire is best Star Wars film...like the planets were all in alignment on that one. But Rogue One was shockingly good especially as a non saga anthology filler movie, but still second best out of the lot. Star Wars had always the problem of force elitism and was about semi God characters driving the stories and everybody else being NPCs. Rogue does a perfect little story of mere mortals and being able to make a difference in their universe.
Thank you for this! Rogue One for me was the biggest fall between my expectations from the trailers and then seeing the movie. The trailers looked amazing: great emotional reworking of the classic music, and the story looked like it would have so much gravitas, so much emotion! Then the movie was exactly as you described, cardboard characters in a disjointed narrative. I'm still sad about it.
This is one of the few times we differ on a film, but I do respect and like listening to your criticisms, most of which are valid. You are one of the few critics that make me think, I may have gotten a movie wrong - and I am fairly confident in my tastes. Keep up the great work!
I honestly have not thought much about Rogue One since I saw it in a theater. First, I have a sappy love for a happy ending. Sad endings tend to haunt me for days afterwards, so I actively avoided thinking of this movie. Also, the CG image of Carrie Fisher seemed really creepy and simply did not look like the Princess Leia of the original Star Wars. I had a bit of a crush on Leia when I was a teenager, so I imagine that my reaction to "Not-Leia" was so visceral. The resurrected Peter Cushing as Tarkin didn't bother me at all even though it seemed a little off. ...but then again, I never had a crush on him.
I totally totally respect your film critique views (hence why you’re one of my favorite film reviewers) but I could not disagree more than ever on your take here. But I guess different strokes for different folks. IMHO, to this day, ROGUE ONE remains the best Star Wars film since the Return Of The Jedi. And if I have to remove the sentimental bias specs of the original trilogy I grew up loving, I’d put it up there with New Hope and slightly bellow The Empire Strikes Back. I can’t dethrone “The Empire” sorry.
Context means so much with this movie and how people received it-- I think upon its release, fans who were yearning for classic Star Wars got a bit of what they wanted, but I can understand how this critic sees it as less than great in her own perspective when viewing it in a very different time and context and with a critical film afficianado's eye. "Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." :)
@@baddaysbasil5376 I could not agree with you more. Art is subjective (to a certain degree) and hence why I totally respect her opinion. Btw, this is not the first time I find myself disagreeing with her views but I follow her cause I totally respect them in general, and on matters I don’t agree with I am still interested to know as to why she doesn’t like them. Maggie has always a reason worth hearing as to why she doesn’t find something appealing or engaging (and vice versa), so even if you are not on the same side and you still find her stand “wrong” it’s worth learning an opposing view. It certainly helps you grow as a cinephile overall.
i found it thoroughly entertaining, i as well was interested in the characters and found the writing quite sharp- if your main criticism is "its boring and sucks" then i really dont know why i should take this review seriously. also the exposition is always very concise and well delivered imo. great emotional moments and speeches as well.
I'm with you there are only two good star war movies. I don't think it's an hero journey done poorly, I think they don't want to film an heroes journey and it's a good thing because it doesn't fit the war story homage they are going for. But the film was clearly heavily changed at some point and that makes it disjointed. And for me what was meant to be the final image of the film is the two of them at the beach being swalled by the white light. To me all other scenes, Vader, fake Leia, were added by the studio because they were afraid there wasn't enough action scenes for popcorn audiences.
I 100% totally agree with you. I toot was frustrated at the opportunity blown. It is WAYYYY overrated... and they forced all the emotional aspect without putting in the work that would justify any emotional payoff. There are sooo many problems with it from the rushed opening to Darth Vader's dialogue. I could spend hours on how bad it is.
Hopefully Gareth Edwards next move The Creator Is good and we get to see the potential that Rouge One had fully realized, He had to reshoot a lot of Rouge One because the studio thought the story was to dark
No need to see it, but I'd almost be curious about your thoughts on "Solo". Because all of your criticisms of Rogue One apply to Solo, but magnified 5x. Regarding CGI Leia, Rogue One came out almost exactly when Carrie Fischer died. I could certainly understand someone finding that ghoulish, but for me, it was actually rather touching with that real-world context. Getting that character to have one more thing to say, and I don't care if it's cheesy because it's also appropriate, for her final words to be "hope".
i think it was kinda half baked/unsure with the movie because of it having reshoots and gilroy coming on at a later time. watch andor, but thats a tv series. andor is the best star wars tv since disney.
Did seeing Rogue One affect your hype for The Creator? I feel like there is definitely talent shown in Rogue One, but the clear corporate meddling makes it hard to tell confidently anything about how talented Gareth Edwards is.
Totally disagree. Rogue one is better than prequels and sequels. Sequels are terrible and prequels were such a disappointment. It's closer to what I thought the prequels were going to be when all the hype was about in the 90s. Sure R1 can do with more polishing but it feels
I enjoyed it somewhat the first time I saw it, but after a couple more watches I realized it’s not that good. It’s positives quickly fade so I agree with a lot of your analysis.
Hello please please review Lost in Translation (20th anniversary this year), which I rewatched recently and appreciate so much more than I did in 2003. This is a special film. Of course, please be honest and I will enjoy the irony if you hated it 😆
It was just more plot. What made Star Wars and the Empire Strikes Back great were the sense of adventure, the religious themes, and the characters not the plot. But they just keep piling on more plot without understanding what made the originals interesting. For all its faults, at least The Last Jedi had a little more meat to it.
Yeah, I really found this one to be forgettable. I don't agree that it's better than the mainline disney sequels, since I actually felt a little invested in those characters, but I hear where you're coming from. Thanks for the review!
Rogue one was way way way way better then the new trilogy smh. The new trilogy sucked, the prequels and the originals and a few of the shows that are came out are the best ones. I like the books better to be honest especially the audiobook there's some crazy Star wars stories out there I really like the mix with zombies and Star wars there is a great book called death troopers
I think for people who love Rogue One, you have to ask them how they would like it without the Darth Vader Kill-Fest Hallway Fight. It's a great scene. It came at the end. Without this scene, the movie is just as you described. ... With this scene: the movie is just as you described - plus this scene. It's a 5 star scene in a two star movie. It's like with Bohemian Rhapsody. The movie sucks until the last sequence - the 15 minute Live Aid Concert. Great Scene. People left the movie feeling good. That scene earned it a couple Oscar Noms. But the movie, as a whole, sucks.
Rogue one was the best of the Disney star wars movies. It had the darkness of Empire Strikes Back but also the hope of that movie at the end that the rebels despite being beaten by the Empire and barely hanging on will live to fight another day and eventually defeat the Galactic Empire. Rogue one was in the same vein of Empire Strikes Back in my opinion. Also in this movie they did Darth Vader right, he is back to being the formidable menacing villain that he was in the trilogy. In revenge of the Sith Darth Vader was done all wrong. Hayden Christian in a Vader suit did not convey the menace that this movie managed to do. They managed to get an actor to convincingly play Darth Vader even though Vader only get 3 or 4 minutes for the entire movie. This was the best of the Disney movies and a triumph for Disney. In fact I would say it the best movie since SW was brought back to the theatre in 1999 with THe Phantom Menace. Lucas had lost his magic by 1999 and it showed in his dull prequels that is why he sold his franchise to Disney eventually. But Rogue One I think is a work of art in the same way the original trilogy was. Disney hit a home run with Rogue One but did not realise it. However in time Rogue One will be regarded as one of the best SW movies and Scifi fantasy movies ever made. A rare movie triumph in this day and age of unimaginative movie making a trend thats been the case for the last 30 years in Hollywood.
This review just shows why you’re one of my favorite reviewers on this channel. This movie has been talked to death, but your video brings a lot of unique perspectives that haven’t been shared. Also, fuck this movie
Almost walked of this but stuck it out. Not because it was poorly done, but it was so derivative of other films and predictable I legitimately thought it was a waste of time. If Rogue One had been bad at least I wouldn't be thinking of the films it cribs from, but all I'm left with is an okay movie designed to fill-in the gaps between Episodes. Eh.
"Fuck this movie." "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."
Well this would be a good companion review for Edward’s The Creator due out in a couple weeks. I really thought the world building in this was some of the best out of the modern Star Wars movies.
I would love to see the original cut of the movie that they canned for being too dark before the reshoots. I don't hate Rogue One. I don't love Rogue One. At times I like it. At times I'm indifferent. There's scenes I find compelling and exciting. And there's scenes I'm rolling my eyes and yawning through. It's better than the sequel trilogy, but it's another chapter in the wtf performance of Disney Lucasfilm creatives. I would say, though, as much as I'm sick of fan service, it was utilized well here. But the best things about this movie are seeing Vader at his most brutal, and the decision to leave that "I rebel" take in the trailer on the cutting room floor. Thank you Lucasfilm for getting one thing right.
The studio really fucked this movie unfortunately. The trailers literally show entire sequences that are completely missing from this movie and the original runtime was so much longer. Entire characters were cut from the final product. It looks pretty but everything else has been twisted and contorted into an incomprehensible mess of a movie.
