Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Movie Reaction
Added 2026-03-15 22:24:46 +0000 UTC
Comments
It's been a hell of a ride. I'm gonna be real: No other Star Wars content is worth watching except the original trilogy, just to finish off "the Andor story". I wouldn't even bother reacting to them. I've watched all of Clone Wars (series), Mandalorian, Rebels... the juice is not worth the squeeze. They're very much "okay" (sometimes quite bad) shows with some good moments. Andor is one of my favorite shows but I have a weird relationship with Rogue One. To quote someone else: "Andor makes Rogue One better, but Rogue One makes Andor worse". My respect for Tony Gilroy and the Andor team is endless but I think it was a bit of a mistake to make it so to "complete the story" you have to watch Rogue One, then 3 more movies to see the rebellion win. Don't even get me started on the prequels or the sequels, which make things even more complicated regarding whether the story is "complete" or not. I think Rogue One is ultimately a "fine" movie, elevated by rewatching it through a post-Andor lens, adding so much more weight to his dialogue. But like... can you imagine how good this movie would be if the Andor team conceptualized, wrote and produced the whole thing? That's what drags it down for me. "Did you love the thoughtful political rebellion show? Watch those decent action-adventure scifi movie where all the characters explode at the end! Then watch 3 more movies from the 80s! Then watch 6 more movies! Then watch 8 different mid TV shows!" lmao I think it's a testament to the quality of Andor that even in spite of all that, I still think it's probably the second best TV show ever made. The fact it resonated so hard with you both despite having zero star wars knowledge just reaffirms that belief. It has *the sauce* in a way no other Star Wars project has, except the original movie (in a very different way). There are teams I would follow anywhere - like Vince Gilligan's - and Tony Gilroy's is one of them.
Kara
2026-03-18 00:19:43 +0000 UTCYay it's here! 😺
Yic17
2026-03-17 23:50:51 +0000 UTCSW fans can’t fathom the idea of setting a healthy stopping point for yourself. It was the most predictable thing ever.
SwampFox95
2026-03-17 15:56:21 +0000 UTCLM: We may watch Episode 4 sometime just to see the Battle of Yavin. Nerds: Ladies, you should watch the prequels even though they’re bad, and at least the first two sequels even though they’re bad, and over 100 episodes of The Clone Wars and 75 episodes of Rebels, many of which are mid, and then when you’re done with that there’s the Mandalorian, which gets annoying by season 2, and then and then and then…
Jamie
2026-03-17 14:37:37 +0000 UTCLM, yall would absolutely love Ahsoka Tano, watch clone wars
Scared Cannon
2026-03-17 13:52:48 +0000 UTCMichael Clayton (2007) was written and directed by Tony Gilroy.
Thomas Fahey
2026-03-17 08:25:17 +0000 UTCSo a couple of things: I think you might've mentioned it in the review but there's a BEAUTIFUL edit of the ending of Rogue One but with Andor's theme. Definitely worth a watch but may make you cry again. Second, a lot of people have talked about how Andor and Rogue One have re-contextualized the original trilogy: it's not a story about a simple farm boy who gets the call to adventure and saves the galaxy; it's a relay race of people who give their lives so that the next person can move the needle a little further and finally destroy this fascist evil. Hopefully that eases the sting a bit of losing Cassian :C
Joe Joe
2026-03-17 05:49:40 +0000 UTCIt's worth noting that you've seen Krennic's Death Troopers before, running security for Dedra in 1x11-12. Also, Tarkin is the guy who committed the first Ghorman Massacre.
Curtis Harvey
2026-03-17 04:54:12 +0000 UTCA truly fascinating movie that only underlines the impossible task (and incredible achievement) that was Andor. Rogue One was already working overtime to marry its (relatively) grounded take on the SW universe to the OG trilogy. In some ways, it succeeded. Treating the Force like an old rumour on Jedda, the AT-ATs on the beach like Saving Private Ryan... but it also shows a lot of seams, especially with the (terrible) CGI Tarkin and Leia. Before Andor, I would have said Rogue One should have cutting that Leia cameo. For Andor to somehow work as a prequel to this movie *and* the original high-fantasy Star Wars films should have been impossible. And in a lot of ways, it doesn't work. I think the "finale" of Andor really suffers for trying to set up this film. And then you watch Rogue One and it's barely congruent anyway. The tone is different, the music is different. Does Cassian's "lie" about prison really make sense? (At least Mon's hair is the same.) But I think Gilroy picked out exactly the right thread to connect Andor to the movie -- the hand-off between Jyn & Cassian and Raddus and the guys on the ship and Leia. It's very literal in this film, but he draws the theme all the way back for Andor, with the way Luthen, Cassian et al inch the ball forward across *years* of thankless work, so the Rebellion can be in position to sprint to the finish line and hand-off the Death Star plans at the end of the film. And it works writ small, too: Yes, it's weird to watch Jyn, a character we *just* met, give the big speech at the council and on the ship, but hearing her saying that "rebellions are built on hope", an idea she got from Cassian, and that he got from the anonymous bellhop who died on Ghorman... So at the end, when Leia says the plans they've sent her are "hope" -- and when you immediately(?) move on to watching A New Hope... That's cinema, baby. It almost justifies the bad CGI.
Mike
2026-03-17 04:27:24 +0000 UTCI really am not big on this movie. Even with the context of Andor, I don't think it works fully. But it does have a lot of merit regardless
Myeh
2026-03-17 01:35:53 +0000 UTCMy mom dropped me off at the theater in 1977 to see Star Wars IV New Hope. I remember excitement of people, the lines being long, and the cost of the tickets at $3 US instead of the normal $1.25. Over the years, I have never really been into Star Wars, much less a fanatic, but I do appreciate Star Wars and glad it exists. I saw Rogue One in the theater b/c my girlfriend wanted to see it. I was pleasantly surprised. Seemed refreshing. I watched the prequels in the 2000s looking over my kids' shoulders. I would say my favorite Star Wars movies are the original trilogy + Rogue One. Again, I am not really full blown into any Star Wars movie. With that said, I never understood the rabid sheer hatred of the sequels – as espoused by a vocal tiny minority of old timers – resistant to all change, no matter the change, for the sake of being resistant to change. And then there is the Andor series. By far, my favorite SW content. Mature content for adults (grownups). Different than typical Star Wars. Not a single light saber, and I believe only two brief mentions of the “force” (later in S2). You could rewatch IV, watch V and VI – to appreciate that pop culture and see how rebellion plays out. Or you could instead move on from SW and react to movies you might like better, e.g., Goodfellas, GF2, Aliens, Shawshank Redemption, etc.
Clay F
2026-03-16 21:19:01 +0000 UTC
