Here�s my review for the score to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Very surprisingly, the album does not contain the 20th Century Fox Fanfare or even the Star Wars main theme, it is not apparent in the film either. And, I would say that this is my biggest disappointment with the score, but I can understand why they took this approach. It wasn�t an Episode, per say, so they probably felt including the theme was not necessary and possibly repetitive. However, the film starts out with �He�s Here for Us� (A Krennic Condition). Right away, the music and the film grabs your attention, because of the sudden start of the track. A lot of percussion is included in this track, and it also introduces the new �Imperial� theme, and if you listen closely, around 1:11, you can hear a motif from John Williams Imperial March�s rhythm. The track is held by the repetitive strings, building up into a larger Imperial theme, then slowly fading away with Jyn�s theme. Giacchino�s Imperial march reminded me a lot of the action material that he composed for Jurassic World, maybe that�s because he�s trying to emulate the sound of Williams to the best of his ability, and that�s immediately what he resorted to, as a safe bet. I think that the theme works very well, as a listening experience, and in the film. The music in this film seemed like a combination of several scores that Giacchino has composed this year. In �Trust Goes Both Ways�, you can hear the influence coming from his Doctor Strange score, and �Jyn�s Theme� is quite honestly a dumbed down version of his Yorktown Theme from Star Trek Beyond. Not to say that this is a terrible thing to do, but for the fellow soundtrack fan that knows what they are talking about, they will notice these small details, and can pick them apart. And sadly, even though Giacchino had only four and a half weeks to score the film, he had to resort to previous material from other films that may have been demos of more fleshed out themes in other films. Examples would be Jyn�s Theme > Yorktown Theme; Imperial Theme > Jurassic World action material and even Guardians of the Whills > Across the Stars theme. (He even used the same instrument for the melody, the Oboe!) If they had chosen Giacchino as the main composer from the start, would we have a different score? I think yes, because I think Giacchino was sort of star struck on the whole idea of writing music to a saga that he grew up on, probably what ultimately got him into the film scoring business. He speaks very highly of the Star Wars films, and would not be surprised if he had sleepless nights for four weeks straight worrying about how to par with Williams� masterpieces. This is a brilliant score by far, having been composed and recorded in under a month, but I think that it sounds like anything else Giacchino has done, and I cannot say that I am extremely impressed with his work here. Yes, I love it, but I am going to criticize it a tiny bit. There�s no Rey�s Theme here, that�s for sure. The track �Rogue One� sounds like it was inspired by Williams� March of the Resistance, and it seems like the highlights of this score is when they use Williams� original material, which I think is a bad thing, for Giacchino at least. By now, I�ve come to have a very fond liking to Giacchino�s style and musical voice, and I think that even though it would have been very interesting to hear Desplat�s material, or hell, maybe a collaboration between the two, combining their strengths would have resulted in an even more thrilling score. Would I like to see Giacchino take another stab at a Star Wars spin-off film? Hell yeah I would, but I want him to have his main focus on that film, not having tired himself out from other films that he has worked on in the same year. I know what Giacchino is capable of, and I know that he is the one to blow us away with a brilliant and new Star Wars score, he just needs the time, and focus. His score to Jupiter Ascending, I have praised several times, and it is my favorite score ever, my holy grail of scores. In my opinion, if he can write something as brilliant as Jupiter Ascending, then he can definitely write music to an already inspiring universe. That�s just my thoughts.

Wonderful review. I myself am still trying to gather, refine and decide on my own thoughts of the score as best as I can, until I'm confident enough that I can let them out in the open.

But for now, I'll say that I like the score fairly well. Although, it was not as much at first as I do now. So for me, at least, it grows on you.

Capsule Review:

Very surprisingly, the album does not contain the 20th Century Fox Fanfare or even the Star Wars main theme, it is not apparent in the film either.

Considering this film has literally nothing at all to do with 20th Century Fox (and neither did "The Force Awakens") it's not surprising at all. This is a Disney / Lucasfilm production. No Fox, no Fox fanfare.

I'm hoping Lockdown wasn't serious while writing that.

Still haven't listened yet. Lockdown, if you know, do the FYC additions add anything special, or should I start out with just the OST?

I'm hoping Lockdown wasn't serious while writing that.

If he wasn't serious he wasted a lot of time on a joke.

Now speaking of time wasters and jokes, there's our resident champion of wasting time Gururu. Puppet-boy has not only beaten the Giacchino horse to death, he's now busy turning the carcass into glue.

Still haven't listened yet. Lockdown, if you know, do the FYC additions add anything special, or should I start out with just the OST?

Listen to The Extended Combining The Best of the OST With The FYC, It's A More Complete Experience.

So I'm going to go against the grain here on the shrine and be positive :laugh:, but I enjoyed the score. I think it was quite well done considering how little time Giacchino had. Examples of my favourites are Confrontation on Eadu & The Master Switch. Also a great movie.

I have to agree with most of what Lockdown said. I haven't heard some of the other scores he mentioned, but I feel the same way.


Still haven't listened yet. Lockdown, if you know, do the FYC additions add anything special, or should I start out with just the OST?

You should first listen to the OST, I think it's better, being thought to be listened. And I think it's vital (at least, it was for me, since Giacchino isn't my cup of tea) to give the first listen to the OST beginning with the three suites: this way, you already know a couple of themes and can recognize them through the album. I didn't do it at first (and it told me nothing) but as soon as I re-listened it after hearing the suites, you get more and more from the music.

And after a number of listenings, it's growing on me.

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Also, this was the first time I enjoyed of his scores in some time.
I haven't followed him through the years (I can't say a word on "Jupiter Ascending", "Tomorrowland" and others), but I felt like he's sort of losing his talent though the years, especially on collaborations with new directors.
I kinda liked his score for "Jurassic World" but my impressions on "Doctor Strange" and "Star Trek Beyond" (based on the one and only time I watched those movies) are that they're basically lacking new themes and that the music struggles to stick with the images.
You can easily prove me wrong, since I haven't had the courage to listen the music separately.

But I was pleasantly surprised by his "Rogue One" score, having a few themes (at least) and working very well combined with the images. Maybe his limited time forced him to focus and craft better music, though.

If he wasn't serious he wasted a lot of time on a joke.

Now speaking of time wasters and jokes, there's our resident champion of wasting time Gururu. Puppet-boy has not only beaten the Giacchino horse to death, he's now busy turning the carcass into glue.

My time to waste, oh tetchy one.

Besides, why waste a perfectly dead horse like Gia? I mean, if he can be granted accommodation to fake talent, I should certainly be granted accommodation to fake celebrity.

Besides, why waste a perfectly dead horse like Gia? I mean, if he can be granted accommodation to fake talent, I should certainly be granted accommodation to fake celebrity.

Only a Sith deals in such absolutes!

And The Dark One....

---------- Post added at 10:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 PM ----------




I Like This, I Can Just Picture Vader In Rogue One In His Scene With The Mickey Mouse On His Helmet, Like A Bumper Sticker.

---------- Post added at 10:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:14 PM ----------


I'm hoping Lockdown wasn't serious while writing that.

Of Course He Was! Reading That I Could Feel How Passionate He Was In His Words.

Only a Sith deals in such absolutes!

Just Gururu being Gururu.

You'd be in a permanent bad mood if the only way you could function is by having someone's hand up your ass 24/7.

gururu also seems to be participating in a 24/7 dick-measuring / intelligence-measuring contest. As in, how pure can his tastes be compared to everyone else's? How witty can he be at the same time?

Wise words.

Just Gururu being Gururu.

You'd be in a permanent bad mood if the only way you could function is by having someone's hand up your ass 24/7.


gururu also seems to be participating in a 24/7 dick-measuring / intelligence-measuring contest. As in, how pure can his tastes be compared to everyone else's? How witty can he be at the same time?

Gentlemen, I'd thought I'd let you know that my accountant has mailed out your checks early in lieu of the impending holiday, inclusive of both SEO and SEM bonuses.

Still haven't listened yet. Lockdown, if you know, do the FYC additions add anything special, or should I start out with just the OST?

Plus one for OST first, since you get The Force theme and the Imperial theme.

I'm hoping Lockdown wasn't serious while writing that.
No, I was definitely serious. I think that the 20th Century Fox Fanfare is well-known because of the Star Wars franchise, especially since Williams deliberately wrote the theme in the same key as the Fanfare. But, true, I did not think of what JHFan was mentioning, how the films now have nothing to do with 20th Century Fox, but, am still a little disappointed we didn't get to a hear a Giacchino Star Wars 'theme', or his arrangement for it nonetheless. Knowing he's a pretty adventurous guy, I would not be surprised one bit had he recorded a Star Wars theme, but it didn't make the cut. Maybe not, but who knows, a man can hope. Anyways, every Star Wars film (except for TFA) has the 20th Century Fox Fanfare, so I thought it was only expected that it would've been included in Rogue One.

I Don't Remebwr the fox Logo at the begining of TFA....

Knowing he's a pretty adventurous guy, I would not be surprised one bit had he recorded a Star Wars theme, but it didn't make the cut.

In an alternate universe where Giacchino was picked from the start instead of being an 11th-hour replacement, I can imagine this happening. But I don't know if he would have had the time to write something like that when he already was on a very tight schedule.

---------- Post added at 08:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 PM ----------


I Don't Remebwr the fox Logo at the begining of TFA....

That's because Disney owns the distribution rights to that film and this one; they made it all themselves. Lockdown must be confusing his Star Warses!

I think they did a performance of the Main Title to 'warm up', or something, if I remember correctly.

That's because Disney owns the distribution rights to that film and this one; they made it all themselves. Lockdown must be confusing his Star Warses!

I Thought So.

I corrected myself, I wasn't sure.

(Literally within a minute of me posting that, too.) :laugh:

Fair Enough. :p

It's not the same story arc as the main story being told with Luke and friends.

But then, neither is Star Wars Rebels as it involves third-party characters and they slightly use a theme.
They don't open with the blaring opening like the Episode films, but there's a theme in there.

If anyone watched the movie, did it have any type of opening at all? Or was the title saved for the very end of the movie?

The title Appears After The Opening Scene. With Just The Logo, Then The Film Continues.

If anyone watched the movie, did it have any type of opening at all? Or was the title saved for the very end of the movie?
Like this

Now I want to watch the movies from the start again....

Now I want to watch the movies from the start again....

long long time ago in a galaxy far away and then BAM straight into the (still) obligatory space shot with a vessel coming into view (and the He's Here For Us cue.

The film has a prologue-type opening scene, then you see the title "Rogue One" (without the 'A Star Wars Story' intertitle) then the film just continues.

The end credits open the same way as all the other Star Wars movies do - same Star Wars fanfare end titles before changing to something specific for the film.

Honestly, I didn't like the score at all. I've never liked how Giacchino plays around with the structure of pre-existing themes (like the Star Trek fanfare from those three films) to make it sound 'different'...only different is pretty strange and not very good. He did the same thing with established themes in this film, and outside of the occasional Williams-style orchestrations the score just came off like what you would hear from a Star Wars parody like "Spaceballs" or something. His themes don't mesh well with the established Williams themes. Then again aside from the odd cue here and there I've never liked much of Giacchino's music. The only thing that I can say is that I'm glad Dan Wallin is retired.

This movie didn't have the typical Star Wars opening titles crawl because it is not a main Star Wars movie but a spin-off. It's pretty logical. Kinda doesn't fit, as much hype inducing as it is. Don't make it less special after seeing it every year in a Star Wars movie.

I didn't get much good vibes from my first listen either.. sounded like a try-hard copycat. The music seemed like just a bunch of notes together, there barely seem to be a "musicality"..

I didn't get much good vibes from my first listen either.. sounded like a try-hard copycat. The music seemed like just a bunch of notes together, there barely seem to be a "musicality"..

Same to me at my first listen. I'd suggest you to listen the suites first and then proceed with the OST, you'll probably get the themes Giacchino used.
Anyway, there's no way this score is better than any of the other SW movies. It's a nice score, but still it's the worst (meaning: the "less-better") score of the saga.

I really enjoyed the different approach, without the title crawl or even the main theme. In my view, it's not a "Main" film, and thus deserves themes and musical treatment of its own. The new imperial theme was a bit underwhelming when compared to the darkness of the film itself, yet overall the feel of the hope/imperial/other themes played well with the tone of the story.

Admittedly my favourite musical parts were everything from the AC-ACT assault and on-wards. I really loved the inclusion of original themes in that one for the heroic parts.

Next, "The Master Switch" and "Your Father Would Be Proud".

These scenes, and even just the music, makes me want to cry! (And I did cry seeing it the first time in the film). Beautifully executed leitmotifs for theme elements. (I love 3:22 and on in "The Master Switch").

Easily one of the best scenes in the whole movie, is the ending with Dark Vader.
Up until now, we haven't really seen on-screen why he was such a feared person. Now I see why... Just the music alone for that scene gives me goosebumps.. "Hope".

Backup a bit to when Jyn and Cassian flop down on the beachfront, and we see the explosion from the Death Star super-weapon emanating in the distance... my favourite scene, visually, in the entire film.
The music here is nice too.

For a bit of lore, I think "Guardians of the Whills" is a very nice tie-in/easter-egg/hint-at-something-yet-to-come. It is a nice ethereal force theme, makes me wonder if they will do something with the Whills in future films perhaps? I really love Star Wars lore.

You'd have to pay me to listen to the whole thing in one sitting. I can't. I simply can't.

The sheer banality of his ideas. The cringe inducing technical missteps.

I can't last 5 minutes before my finger itches for the pause button from either the absolute boredom he induces from his consistent inability to build and develop any original ideas beyond fleeting motifs and short phrases or, even worse, when he tries to pull off another ear bleeding key change to squeeze Williams' material in between his DeVry University of Music level fan service act.

If his music were not attached to some of the most popular film franchises going this, and his other musically deficient contributions to Star Trek and Jurassic World, would nary receive mention.

To add: I completely forgot this hack's got his hooks in the Apes series too.

Well I like both the movie and the soundtrack. It may not be his best work in my humble opinion (that's John Carter) but works really well in the film. I'm a little disappointed that tie in audiobook Catalyst uses generic star wars music instead of incorporating bits of the Rogue One OST as it deals with Krennic and Galen. As for the movie not having an opening crawl because it is not a main star wars movie is utter shit. All the video games from X-Wing to The Force Unleashed II have opening crawls. Hell X-Wing has an opening crawl for each campaign. Only the Clone Wars and Rebels series don't have opening crawls which makes sense as they are only 25 minutes each and need to cram a lot into those 25 minutes.

Thanks for uploading a more comprehensive score for Rogue One. Is there a place you can buy these FYC albums?

Cheers,

Firestars004

Even Lego Star Wars has the opening crawls.

Even Lego Star Wars has the opening crawls.

Admittedly, that's because they're summarizing the main films, with the only other one being the Clone Wars (which was a film and series that was closer to the main series than Rogue One was).

It just didn't make much sense to me. Fantastic Beasts had both Harry Potter and Hedwig's theme if I remember correctly.

It just didn't make much sense to me. Fantastic Beasts had both Harry Potter and Hedwig's theme if I remember correctly.

But those are themes comparable to the Force theme, Leia's theme. The crawl and main title are, and must be associated only with MAIN Star Wars movies. If we're gonna get a Star Wars movie each year, getting to see this every year would make the thing less special.

But I think the point could still be argued that, if the majority of Star Wars games (which are at the same level, if not less important than Rogue One) had the title crawl and main title, (Tie Fighter, X-Wing, KotOR, The Force Unleashed, Dark Forces, etc) then why can't or doesn't Rogue One? Of course it's not necessary, but at this point it's just an odd decision.

If they should only be in the main films and episodes... well, they already broke the barrier and made that mistake like 20 or 30 years ago, so it's a little late for that.

Against my better judgement I saw the film last night. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was about a dozen times better than last year's blunderous The Force Awakens.

The film starts off with the usual "Long time ago..." card, but instead of the classic backstory scroll, it cuts right to the movie. The surprise of this is accentuated by a horrible clanging noise which I assume Mr. Giacchino mistook for "music". The brass is very un-Star Wars-ish and is more irritating than novel. That's right: Giacchino fucks up the very first note of the score. Uh-oh...

One Star Wars tradition is fortunately not broken, and the film begins with a planet being obscured by a looming spaceship. The shuttle lands on the planet and a new motif plays that speaks of valor and proud boldness. What heroic figure shall emerge? It's in fact the villain of the film, Krennic. I swear to God, this motif sounds likes it's for a good guy. How does Giacchino manage to write such a wrong theme for the main baddie? As the film went on I began to formulate a theory that Krennic would sabotage the Empire because he didn't get promoted to Death Star Head, and that Giacchino wrote a heroic theme for his actions and just worked backwards, if that makes sense. But nope, it's just a serviceable theme for the exact wrong character. Fortunately Giachhino washes away the memory of this gaffe with some fine stringwork - I'm a sucker for great strings and I think I mentioned this as a strength of his in Doctor Strange earlier this year.

We meet child Jyn Erso, whose father is kidnapped by Krennic to build a weapon of mass destruction. Some stuff happens, she escapes, and is saved by a dude named Saw Gererra. I guess he was in the Clone Wars TV series, but I never watched that, so this was my introduction for him. He's an interesting character: who is the "Darth Vader" of the Rebel Alliance? It's Saw, and they hit you over the head with this by giving him mechanical legs and a need for a breathing apparatus (just like Anakin Skywalker!) The title of the film appears, and for two notes plays John Williams's classic main title theme. But Giacchino has deluded himself into thinking he has the remotest clue of how Williams's themes work, and decides to invent a new ending for it. It's an utter failure and honestly I would be embarrassed to produce something so silly-sounding. Even Kevin Kiner, when he added the most mundane of percussion to the theme for the Clone Wars series, did a better job of spicing things up.

Some stuff happens and we meet the main male lead of the film. I can't remember his name, but the guy who plays him is named Diego, so I'm just going to call him that. Diego introduces us to a less appealing side of the Rebel Alliance than we saw in the original trilogy, killing an ally who would only slow him down in his escape from Stormtroopers. The film does a good job at subverting our long-held image of the noble, fearless Rebel Alliance, and this killing is just an introduction to that.

Fifteen years later, Erso is being held capture by Stormtroopers, and if I'm not mistaken, she's being transported in a Juggernaut - a nice nod to Episode III. That's the closest thing to a reference as we get to the prequels. The film suspiciously does away with any mention of Dooku, Poggle the Lesser, or Geonosis, from which I believe the Death Star blueprints were originally conceived - it's an understandable decision but it feels like another dig at Lucas. Anyway, life is crap for Jyn, and it's also crap for her Stormtrooper guards as well. The Empire sucks no matter which side you're on. Jyn Erso has a motif and it's not very interesting. The first few notes are the same ones that begin Williams's wonderful "Across the Stars" from the prequels, so anytime it plays, I just daydream about that instead of the cobble of notes Giacchino stuffs down our throats every once in a while. It stays pretty static throughout the film and doesn't go under much change, much like Erso's character.

Then Giacchino warms our ears with brilliant, Star Wars-y brass as the transport is suddenly broken into by Rebel forces! Wow! This sublime musical moment is all too short, and Jones ends up being pressured into joining the Alliance so that she can negotiate with Saw. Saw and his associates have a fanfare, and it's a nice touch. If you're ever getting confused about whether someone is a Rebel or a member of Saw's gang, that fanfare can help to clear things up. Somewhere along the line we run into a C-3PO knockoff whose sardonic tone is all too often peppered with "le awkward!!!" humor that is unfortunately so appealing to kids these days.

They go to a planet called Jedha, the name of which probably inspired the term "Jedi" in-story. That's a clever touch. What isn't clever is the downright stupid scene where Diego and Jyn bump into the lad in the Mos Eisley cantina who gets his arm sliced off by Kenobi. I guess that Jedha is one of the star systems he doesn't have the death penalty in! It just confused me because I thought that we were suddenly on Tatooine (considering this film takes place right before A New Hope) and I had to figure out that we were still on Jedha - it was just a pathetic easter egg.

The action in the film is kickass, and the skirmish at Jedha is frighteningly vivid before the viewer's eyes. A force-sensitive blind ninja (and his sidekick) join the team and they meet up with Saw. It's about now that Paul Cushing is brought back to life through the power of CGI, and his soulless eyes evoke Frankenstein's monster. This isn't the first time dead actors have been brought back from the grave in the name of a small amount of story cohesion: in 2006, Marlon Brando was miraculously resurrected for Superman Returns. Rather than take the high road and let Cushing rest in peace, letting the character of Tarkin be played by a lookalike with lighting and camera tricks filling in the gaps, they just full-on recreated him with CGI. It really takes you out of the film and reinforces how corporate Disney has become these days.

Krennic goes to a Sith planet where the absolute highlight of the film takes place: Darth Vader is back, the same as he was in 1977. If there is any reason to see this film, it is just to watch this scene in all its glory. The classic Vader is back: his eyes are tinted red; he asserts himself by pointing; James Earl Jones's voice holds that air of superiority and small sense of wit just as the original film presents the character. It's awesome, and basks in wonderful writing. When Vader first graces the screen, the Imperial march plays impeccably. Unfortunately this is an exception and not the rule, and when the scene ends, the motif plays again, and it is so horiffically maligned that I honestly can't imagine how he ruined it. It's hard to explain in words, but let me try: imagine the fast-paced strings that prelude up to the brass. Now imagine the main figure of the theme, played slowly and menacingly. Now mash them up. If it sounds bad in your head, it sounds even worse in the film and I hope to God that it's the result of some inept music editor's tampering and not a real reflection of Giacchino's writing. It's completely unacceptable either way. Speaking of Williams's old motifs, Giacchino also dares to quote the Force theme throughout the film, and he does so about fives times. Four of those times, he tries to impress us with a new ending, but it just sounds like ass.

Jyn catches up with her father and spies on a meeting he has with Krennic. All the engineers wear white uniforms and are old white men. This is where you start to realize how desperate Disney is to get Star Wars to click with the youth (as if that's ever been a problem). Whereas the Rebel Alliance is ethnically diverse, the cast of the Empire is deliberately all-white. It's pretty funny to see a company so ashamed of Zippidy-Doo-Dah to play the race card today, and I wonder if time will treat this little section of Rogue One as well as it did the black centaurs in Fantasia. I guess this scene is proof that hashtag activism works.

Eventually it culminates into what feels like the longest battle ever. The film screeches to a grinding halt as the Rebels slowly fight off baddies and slowly infiltrate a transmissions towers. Jyn and Diego find themselves in a giant library, and as the camera pans up and down, Giacchino does a weird see-saw trick which he recycled from The Incredibles. It's a good effect, but the problem is that in The Incredibles, it's for a comedic scene where Elastigirl checks out her form... so here, it was ruined for me. The music for the battle is surprisingly competent considering the misery we've endured when hearing Williams's old themes be reused. In fact, I daresay that a lot of the incidental music (i.e., no leitmotifs) is pretty well-done and perhaps can even be considering solid Star Wars music. Incidentally, one easter egg that I thought was rewarding to particularly knowledgeable viewers is the death of Red 5 in this battle, whose place Luke is fated to take in the next film.

Our heroes are slowly killed one by one, and honestly I don't really care. Maybe we weren't supposed to though. Eventually the team manages to get the Death Star plans to the Rebel fleet before the space station obliterates the planet. There's one shot where the Death Star is seen over the horizon, meshing with the blue sky. Despite the obvious threat it poses, the music is serene and almost passive. Credit to Giacchino for thinking outside the box for that one; it really stood out and helped to bolster the power of the shot.

All in all it's not a film that was necessary but was pretty enjoyable to watch. If you're having a blast through the whole thing the overly long final battle won't bother you, but for those who are sick of the characters and their general lack of charisma may be praying for their deaths by that time (and are rewarded most spectacularly). I actually enjoyed the film and didn't mind the length of the third act, but wouldn't have minded a shorter runtime. How could this have been achieved? Hmm.... you don't think an opening crawl could have helped, do you? One that directly tells us the backstory rather than show it for half an hour? Most of it is superfluous anyway; the film could easily have started with Jyn on that Juggernaut and nothing of value would have been lost.

Overall the film is strong in the Force, but Giacchino's score leaves one sensing a disturbance. I get that he had a very limited timetable, and as I said - a lot of the incidental music is pretty serviceable and entertaining. But damn son, don't get cocky enough to mangle up Williams's themes and them present them as if you're a genius for (d)evolving them. Just purchase a book of Star Wars sheet music off Amazon and copy whatever's in there next time, okay Michael? Anything good he did for this score can't help but be offset by any of the bad choices he made, because they're really bad. I was actually anticipating that the end credits would be some horrible mish-mash as well, but fortunately he didn't re-invent the wheel for that. Also, while JJ Abrams and his horribly flashy directing style is far-removed from this film, audiences have a new enemy to contend with: the zoom-in button. I'm not used to going to the theater, so maybe the size of the screen tricked me, but did anyone else feel like the camera was always up in the character's faces, with little breathing room? It wasn't a big problem, but it was just weird that the camera seemed so regularly zoomed in onto their faces and nothing else.

I didn't stay for the whole credits run - was there a note that it was dedicated to Kenny Baker? It would have been nice if there was.

Also, as of writing Carrie Fisher is in critical condition at a hospital. :sad:

the last five minutes of the movie is the best part.
GODDAMN was that just oozing with awesomeness.
then it abruptly ends.... BLEEEEEEERGH


also, did anyone notice vader had a very fat neck?
you can also tell james is getting old, the voice sounds tired and struggling

I noticed that too, but I think it worked for Vader's introduction scene.
He sounds a bit reserved there, so the ending where he shish kebabs the Rebels is made all the more shocking and awesome.

Not a huge fan of the movie per se, I just saw it mainly for James Earl Jones' epic performance + CGI Cushing. (Hurry up and make a Tarkin/Vader movie already?!) But I'm loving the soundtrack! Esp. the cues in He's Here for Us, even though it probably sounds more like a Nolan Batman score haha. Nice touch on the Imperial Suite too. I'm currently doing a playthrough of LucasArts' TIE Fighter and these tracks are perfect as background music while in the cockpit. Quite atmospheric (and makes a change from the usual iMuse).

PS: Wow... some idiots are actually complaining there's no main Star Wars or 20th Century Fox fanfare theme on the soundtrack?! Hahaha! Like you can't already get it on +50 other Star Wars albums..?! *facepalm*

EDIT: If Peter Mayhew was brought back for Chewie... then what did David Prowse think, not being brought back for this? Can you feel the anger flowing through him? I wouldn't be happy.

From what I've heard, Mayhew's involvement in TFA was relatively limited; the costume is just too much for him to deal with in his advanced age, so he's only Chewie in a few scenes.

Prowse I think is beginning to suffer from memory problems, which doesn't work well with an acting career.

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Not a huge fan of the movie per se, I just saw it mainly for James Earl Jones' epic performance + CGI Cushing.

Which Vader scene was better in your opinion?
His confrontation with Krennic, or the end where he's slicing and dicing those Rebels?

I think both were equally good. Everyone was waiting for him to show up, and when we get the big reveal, we see him in the chamber for the first and only (so far) time in the entire saga. You could feel the intimidation Krennic felt from Vader. And the momentary force-choke we got was nice to see for (chronologically) the first time.

And then that highly satisfying end when he mowed down the rebels like a scythe in a field of wheat :D

I loved the attention to detail for Vader's mannerisms: the pointing, the wit, the way he carries himself. All just like the original.

loved

Well fuck me sideways, I don't think I've ever seen you say that you love something!

I'm glad we got both cues used in both Vader scenes on the OST, "Krennic's Aspirations" and "Hope" :)

Well fuck me sideways, I don't think I've ever seen you say that you love something!

:laugh:

Giacchino's use of the Imperial March killed me inside. So poorly handled. Maybe it was the music editor's fault though.

---------- Post added at 07:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:45 PM ----------


Well fuck me sideways, I don't think I've ever seen you say that you love something!

I don't hate everything! You guys just like stuff I happen to hate.

No offense dude, but a lot of us feel like you hate everything. And that may be false. At least I feel like everyone thinks you hate everything. If that makes sense. You can be a major Buzz Killington at times lol. So you gotta understand my shock and flabbergasted-ness when you say you love something. Not like, LOVE. Seriously, I shall remember this day :p

After Empire, the Star Wars movies were largely bungled and Vader was neutered to a considerable degree. To see a director who understands the villain's appeal - his real appeal, back in '77 - was very exciting.
And I'm well aware of what you guys think of my tastes. :laugh: Frankly I find a lot of the crap that comes out in today's theaters to be gaudy as hell, and lacking spirit. So I'm very picky and selective about what I feel was a good use of time.

I quite liked the soundtrack, I thought it worked well in the movie and listening to it on it's own was good too. That said, none of the tracks really stood out to me as memorable themes, I loved the music Giacchino wrote for Krennic's scenes, but they just felt too much like some strange alternate version of the Imperial Themes from the Original trilogy. Jyn's theme wasn't memorable either, watching the film, I hadn't even noticed it was supposed to be her theme, whereas in The Force Awakens, "Rey's Theme" is very obviously *her* theme.

All in all, I do think it was a good score, but as far as placing it with the rest of the films, I think it's rather forgettable. The music just feels as though it's extended versions of various Williams songs, rather than new material.

Would I like to hear Giacchino do another Star Wars film? To be honest, not really, I do love a lot of his work, but it never really felt that suited to Star Wars for me. One person I'd love to hear do a Star Wars film score though is Mark Griskey. He's composed some of my favourite non-Williams Star Wars music, having scored the soundtracks to various Star Wars games such as Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, and Star Wars The Old Republic. Having such extensive experience writing music for the Star Wars universe, I think he would be the best choice for future Star Wars films not scored by Williams.

I kinda feel the same way. I prefer not to hear another Giacchino's stab in the SW universe, though I have no clue who could take the composer's seat for the next spin-offs movies. Maybe Desplat, who was previously scoring Rogue One before Giacchino came in?
Also... I kinda feel that Mark Mothersbaugh is going to score the Han Solo spin-off, having worked with the directors before and being familiar with a Disney-related franchise blockbuster (he's scoring Thor: Ragnarok).

---------- Post added at 07:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:36 PM ----------

How do you feel with the use of synth in Rogue One? I'm not saying it was bad how Giacchino used them (it was subtle and worked very well), but I kinda feel bad that after 40 years of Williams music, entirely orchestral, now there's a new composer that uses synth in the score.

Not Desplat. There's a reason he left/was fired from Star Wars and he's likely not going to be invited back.
Giacchino is probably going to be the #1 choice for all these films unless the director really, really has another preference.

---------- Post added at 03:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:45 PM ----------

Williams has used synth in SW before. There's that bit in RoTJ when Luke enters Jabba's Palace and freaks out those pig guards.

And there was this too from The Empire Strikes Back, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kheDYt93zvw) at 0:12, I believe that's a synth as well.

I know the one in ROTJ, it's pretty weird. I think there could be something also in AOTC, in the Zam the Assassin and the Chase Through Coruscant cue. Anyway, for the Williams scores synth are at best rare and notable exceptions to the rule, and not only in the SW movies but also in his entire carreer. Anyway, Giacchino's decision to incorporate a number of synth in the score is to me a sort of 'betrayal' of what Williams managed to achieve with his music: the greatness of purely orchestral and symphonic music (with a few exceptions).
What do you think about this? You are ok with it or feel different?

You know, considering it's supposed to be a space adventure, it does now strike me as odd that electronic components like synths wouldn't be used much in SW scores. Granted, it's for that best that it took the direction it did, but it's most certainly open to have a small detail here and there. The sound effects are often mechanic in nature already. Thus, why would it be a concern to have electronics in the score? It's 90-95% orchestral already, with the use of synths seeming subtle as is, so it wouldn't have the issue of being dated like some other scores can. Besides, Rogue One is still primarily orchestral, so it wouldn't even be a betrayal, more so an extra detail to films not pertaining to the main saga. As the result, there shouldn't any issue as is.

I know the one in ROTJ, it's pretty weird. I think there could be something also in AOTC, in the Zam the Assassin and the Chase Through Coruscant cue.

An electric guitar was recorded, but in the film it was dialed down as low as it could go.

You know, considering it's supposed to be a space adventure, it does now strike me as odd that electronic components like synths wouldn't be used much in SW scores. Granted, it's for that best that it took the direction it did, but it's most certainly open to have a small detail here and there. The sound effects are often mechanic in nature already. Thus, why would it be a concern to have electronics in the score? It's 90-95% orchestral already, with the use of synths seeming subtle as is, so it wouldn't have the issue of being dated like some other scores can. Besides, Rogue One is still primarily orchestral, so it wouldn't even be a betrayal, more so an extra detail to films not pertaining to the main saga. As the result, there shouldn't any issue as is.

Thanks for sharing your opinion, HT! :)
I kinda agree with you, a suble use of synths doesn't really 'destroy' everything... Except maybe for the big, loud synth (or some kind of electric guitar?) used for some Saw Guerrera-related scenes. That really felt wrong IMHO.

I liked it !

I enjoyed the movie and thought the music was good but not great. Darth Vader kicked-butt and was more of the villain he should have been in the other movies.

On his Twitter account Giacchino complimented a video analisys of his Rogue One score... Really impressive analisys, that makes me appreciate the score much more.

Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGVqPP-52No&app=desktop