bunkaroo

The music was indeed a very weak point. I get they want the film to be independent of the others, but it was painfully obvious how much it lacked any strong memorable theme of its own. One theme kept flirting with "Across the Stars" from AOTC by playing the first two notes and that was kind of distracting.

Lt Ripley

I think he said "Don't choke on your aspiration."

Anyway, I dug it. Didn't like Walrus Man and scar face. I think they used "May the Force be with you" a couple too many times.

I think I liked it more than TFA.

Quack

I thought I heard General Syndalla to be honest....

Quack

I really enjoyed it....although the first half hour felt very slow to me. Almost seemed a waste to even have Forest Whitaker. I thought Tarkin's voice was spot on. I didn't mind the the CGI on him after I got used to it a little bit.

I need a few more viewings, but the last 45 minutes were up there with any other Star Wars film. Fantastic!!

Brack

Oh I really thought it was cool, don't get me wrong, but it just didn't fit with someone on life support, and he didn't do anything has physical later on in the series. So yeah, it ultimately is silliness. that doesn't mean I hate it, but I can see the flaw in it. And those Jedi knew what they were doing in the original trilogy, they just are old and slow. it would be like Michael Jordan going against Larry Bird today.

silentbob007

I thought the same, especially about that recurring cue.

I really enjoyed this in IMAX 3D and was glad they didn't try to shoehorn in some cheap escape. The only this that felt too "mechanical" to me was Organa talking about his friend the Jedi.

dex14

It was General Syndulla... aka Hera from Rebels.

stingermck

Watching the original fight again, i agree that Vader was just toying with Ben. Most of his moves are defensive, just waiting for Ben to strike. When Vader goes on offense right before Luke shows up he throws several quick swings, with Ben struggling to block.

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bunkaroo

Regarding Vader's spryness vs. ANH, I'm thinking maybe this is why we were shown the bacta scene. Perhaps this is something he has to do on a very regular basis and he only gets so much energy from it at a time. By the time we see him on the Death Star maybe he's due for another dip.

Shady12

Well, I thought it was fucking awesome. I'm surprised that's not more of a unanimous opinion. Most of what I see here are small little complaints that shouldn't affect the overall opinion of the movie much.

bunkaroo

I tend to focus on what I didn't like about movies first, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. It's just that the IMO excessive nods to ANH (Ponda Baba and Dr. Evazan were yet another I forgot to mention earlier) and the really bad Leia face kind of took it down a peg for me. I was fine with the K-2SO jokes since he was programmed that way.

Chrisedge

Loved it but not quite as much heart as TFA. Score was a bit weaker and the CGI Tarken and Leia took me out a bit. But the battles were awesome and Vader at end kicked ass. Agree with some that he might have been a bit too much considering his battle with Obi-Wan looks slower but I don't care.

Shady12

Here's the thing though, I don't think it was supposed to have as much heart. They weren't going for the heart and campiness of the "Episodes." It's a different kind of movie in the SW universe.

I thought the story, tone, everything was great except for the little things you mention that doesn't affect the overall enjoyment for me.

Regarding the score- I remember liking it. I usually don't notice in a theater whether I like it or not unless it's really bad or really awesome. And I know I wasn't thinking it was really bad. But on this and a few more things I need to see it again.

mdc3000

I loved it (especially the last 30 minutes) but would say that TFA was more fun and had better characters. I LOVED Donnie Yen and Felicity Jones was good but a lot of the other characters were fairly bland. I don't know if it was just in IMAX or what but Tarkin was 95% convincing but still felt like watching a video game cut scene in his moments (leaps and bounds better than TRON but still not quite there). Best visuals and action of a Star Wars flick and I thought the score was fine - loved most of the callbacks/fan service but what was up with that Jedi mountain on Jedha? Looked awesome but was a wtf moment. 4/5

dex14

I do have a problem with the characterization too. All of them were cool, for sure... but there was something missing. I'm pondering if that was done purposefully so the viewer wouldn't be too taken aback by everyone biting it in the end.

I definitely need to see it again. I always do with these.

mewmartigan

I really enjoyed it. It was refreshing to see a Star Wars movie without the skywalker/solo storylines. I thought the integration to Episode IV was cool and seeing AT-ACTs on the beach is always cool.

I am not sure if I liked the score or not..there were definite hints of the older music so you'd hear a few notes but then the music would veer in a different direction.

Vader was awesome and I agree that he was playing with Obi-Wan in IV.

Overall a solid edition to the lineup. I actually liked seeing Tarkin and Leia even though they were a bit odd....I knew Gollum was digital too and it didn't detract from my enjoyment of those movies.

mewmartigan

I'm not sure what you are referencing with the Jedi Mountain Jedha and wtf but in the prequel novel its basically described that the kyber crystals were the sole property of Jedi for their lightsabers. They kind of kept them away from the public presumably to avoid being weaponized.

When the Empire took over (order 66 and all that), the Empire raided all the Jedi temples to get all the kyber crystals and get Galen Erso's research moving.

So that is why all the Jedi Temples were destroyed or under imperial occupation. They wanted to crystals and everything the jedi knew about them.

Shady12

I think it makes it worse than it even is because as soon as they are on screen people are thinking "I know that's not the real actor so let's see how real it looks." I didn't know how they were handling Mon Mothma going into the movie so even with her the first time she showed up I was thinking "is that an actress that looks just like her or CG or what?"

Kal-El

This is pretty much where I come down on, except for the score. I think it was the only weak link in an otherwise great movie. The pressure of suddenly having to score a Star Wars Movie maybe got to him a bit because instead of creating a score for a Star Wars movie, Giacchino did a Not-John-Williams type of score. There were a lot of missed opportunities. I mean, how the hell do you not use the Force theme as Chirrut is walking towards the Master Switch chanting "I'm one with the Force, and the Force is with me"???? It's RIGHT THERE.

I liked it a lot, but I'm in no hurry to go see it again like I did with TFA. And when I get the Blu, I'll most probably rewatch the 3rd act and skip the first two thirds. But I believe a lot of people are going to walk out of this movie thinking it's The Greatest Movie Evarrr just because of the final scene. Which, don't get me wrong, is FUCKING GREAT. Vader going ape shit in that corridor was insane and the juxtaposed with the journey of the plans to Princess Leia's hands was worth the price of admission alone.

bunkaroo

I don't know the character's name, but I really like the design of Saw Gerrera's right-hand man - the alien who was subtitled. That should make a pretty badass figure.

mewmartigan

That is true...I did definitely focus on the CGI of the characters, haha.

My wife was with me and she isn't a big star wars fan....after Tarkin's second appearance she leaned over and asked why he looked weird. Human CGI definitely isn't a home run yet.

Oh, and were the death troopers supposed to be completely unintelligible? The stormtroopers I could understand...the death troopers always just sounded like garbled static when talking.

Brack

Perhaps, but Ben really just gave up knowing ultimately he'd be better off being a Force Ghost, and knowing Luke was the best shot against Vader, he decided to give his Force powers to Luke, or at least heavily help him become a Jedi. That smile Ben cracks says it all.

I like the rejuvenation theory regarding Vader's strength, as it is alluded to in Empire. I really do need to see it again and decide if Vader's end scene holds up. It's definitely better than that Yoda vs Dooku fight near the end of AOTC by light years. Like I said, I think I'm being a bit nitpicky when there was a lot to like. I am looking forward to seeing it again because like most ST films, so much is going on that it's hard to grasp everything with one showing.

Jackskeleton

Enjoyed it. Not sure how I feel about them pretty much playing by numbers on answering those plot holes folks had as to why the deathstar had a glaring weakness like that and a few other things.

The music really was the low point as it felt very much phoned in and the attempt to separate it from the other films just made it feel even worse.

Mike86

Yeah I almost thought that a bit too. The characters are all likable enough but really there's not a point in giving them a bunch of backstory when they all wind up dead in the course of one film. The character we know most about is obviously Jyn and I was really hoping/thinking somehow that she'd make it out alive but no dice. I think we were supposed to care more about their cause and sacrifice than anything.

bunkaroo

If anyone of them had lived I would have probably dropped my rating by at least a 1/2 star. There's no way anyone involved with the most daring and important mission for the Rebel Alliance up until that point isn't right in the thick of the action in ANH. Think about how Luke comes out of nowhere in ANH. By ESB he's a major player, and rightfully so.