"Rogue One" Is the Greatest Star Wars Movie Ever

In honor of Star Wars day, which is kind of wild that May 4th has become Star Wars day, but whatever, I want to talk about what I think is the best Star Wars movie.

I kind of combed through every one of them in the past day. I went back and tried to remember which ones I liked and disliked. And since it is so recent, my daughter is only five, it was easier than I thought. And before I reveal my pick, I am only talking about movies. I never watched any of the cartoons, and while I really enjoy "The Mandalorian" that does not count as a movie to me. Those are out of the conversation, so calm down nerds.

With that caveat, my favorite Star Wars movie, the one that I think is better than all the other ones is "Rogue One''. I just like the whole overall feel of this movie as compared to the other Star Wars movies. I think there are better movies, "Empire Strikes Back" and "Force Awakens" comes to mind, but I like "Rogue One" more. I also think a movie like "Solo" is funnier and more upbeat, but I prefer "Rogue One". "Return of the Jedi" and "A New Hope" are all time classics, but I'd pick "Rogue One" before both of them. As for the prequels, just forget about them all completely. Those movies are trash, so there is no need to mention them. And I do enjoy the other new movies, the JJ Abrams ones, and I am confused by the internet hate for them, but I still would rather watch "Rogue One". I like war movies so maybe that is a reason why this one resonates so much for me.

I also think the Darth Vader scene at the end is the best use of Vader in any Star Wars movies, full stop. That is like a horror scene. That was like when Jason Voorhies would claim his victims in "Friday the 13th", or when John Wick goes on a rampage in the "John Wick" franchise. It was that brutal. He is just erasing dudes with his lightsaber. It is the best representation of how evil Vader can be. I know he has moments in the other movies that make him seem human, but not in "Rogue One". He is a murderer hell bent on destruction. I very much appreciate that about his character in "Rogue One". It shows his truly evil side.

The rest of the movie is as good as "Saving Private Ryan" or "Apocalypse Now" or any other classic war movie. It has some great strategy scenes. The fight scenes are great throughout, to go along with the Vader scene. The actors do an exceptional job. The movie has this quiet uneasiness about it that I have come to really love in movies about war.

What sets this one apart from all the other Star Wars movies for me, what makes it the top of the heap, the good guys do not win in the end. Pretty much every character dies in this movie except Vader. They are either killed in battle or they sacrifice themselves. That is what happens in war, and this movie doesn't Disney-ify that aspect. They show it all. It is raw and seems real. The fact that we are left with that Vader scene as the last thing hammers home the point of this movie, which I believe to be, that no one wins when you fight a war. Everyone suffers some way or another. That is why "Rogue One" is hands down the best Star Wars movie on the market. I could watch this movie over and over again and never get bored with it. It is one of a kind in this universe, and if you decided you want to start watching Star Wars late in life like I did, this would be the one I would suggest to start your journey.

So, for this Star Wars day, go ahead and check out "Rogue One" if you want to watch a movie. It is the cream of the crop.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Better Late than Never on "Rogue One"

SPOILER ALERT - "Rogue One" has been out for a while, and people have talked about it for months. This article will also talk about major plot points in the movie. You have been warned. 

In what is becoming a never ending quest, I'm not saying that to complain by the way, my wife and I just recently watched "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story". I have been on this quest to see every "Star Wars" related movie since my daughter was born over a year and a half ago. "Rogue One" was currently the only one I hadn't seen. I wanted to go to the theaters, but it gets harder and harder the older my kids get. So, I bought it the day that it came out on DVD and Blu-Ray. My wife and I sat down last Thursday night, we were warned by several people to not let our 5 year old watch it, andfinally watched it.

The 2 of us could not have had completely different reactions to the movie. While I enjoyed the darkness and war story undertones set in a "Star Wars" universe, my wife said she was bored and would have just rather watched "The Force Awakens" or any of the other "Star Wars" movies, except for the prequels. When we finished, I told her I loved it, and that was when she dropped that hot take on me. I asked her why she did not like the movie and why would she rather watch the other stuff in the "Star Wars" cannon? She told me that she likes the other movies because they are more fun, have funnier scenes and she enjoys the fun and very fast paced atmosphere that George Lucas and JJ Abrams created with the original, and new, "Star Wars" movies. I get this argument.

There are definitely moments in "Rogue One" that could be deemed boring and or hyper violent, but my take on "Rogue One" was that is was a movie about war, it just happened to have "Star Wars" in the title. Had this just been a straight up movie about combat, and they used real weapons instead of blasters and everything we have become accustomed to in "Star Wars", I think it would have been considered an excellent movie about the brutality of war. Do not get it twisted, "Rogue One" is a very, very brutal movie. There is a happy ending, if you want that, but everyone, spoiler alert, dies. The only dude left standing in the end was Darth Vader. Sure, there was that very odd, yet cool scene with a CGI Carrie Fisher, RIP, but Vader is the only guy left standing to move on to the Death Star.

"Rogue One" erased all the bad stuff that the prequels did with Darth Vader, and restored him to the truly badass villain that he is meant to be. When he shows up in the middle of the movie and chokes out Ben Mendelsohn's character with the force, I got goosebumps watching that scene. Then, the last scene with him, again, spoiler alert, was horrifying. RD told me this, and I totally agree with him, that last scene with Vader is a straight up horror movie. It was so intense and scary and all the screams from the guys getting done in by Vader was terrifying.

Where my wife wasn't all that crazy about all the new characters introduced in "Rogue One", I liked them all. We both agreed that Chirrut Imwe, the blind guy with the awesome karate skills that thought he was like a Jedi, was the best new character, but we also liked his buddy, Baze Malbus, with the big armored suit and enormous blaster. They were both very badass. Riz Ahmed, as Bodhi Rook, the pilot that was captured by Forrest Whittaker's squad, was kind of a traitor, but he pulled through when he was needed. That dude is a very good actor. Speaking of Forrest Whittaker, his character, Saw Gerrera was awesome, and his death scene was brutal. Sorry for all the spoilers, but the movie has been out for awhile now. Diego Luna was very good in his role as Cassian Andor. I liked how he was a no nonsense badass that always seemed to do what was best for his people. Felicity Jones was incredible as Jyn Erso, the lead in the movie. I love that "Star Wars" is giving all the hero roles to females lately. It is a very nice change of pace. Jones was great throughout and I bought her as much as I did Daisy Ridley in "The Force Awakens".

I really enjoyed everything about "Rogue One". I really like war movies, and "Rogue One" is a movie about war. There are a few "Star Wars" call backs. There is Darth Vader obviously, but R2D2 and C3PO show up. There are Mon Calamari soldiers, like Admiral Ackbar, that help out the rebellion. There is the rebellion. And there's the Death Star. But, other than that, this was a brutal, violent movie about how tough war can be.

I get my wife's criticism. She likes to watch movies for fun that move seamlessly from one scene to another. When she watches a movie she wants to escape and just enjoy herself for 2 hours and not have to think. Me, I like movies that set up for big, big battle scenes. I mean, there are a lot of minor fight scenes here and there in the first 90 minutes. The one that immediately comes to mind for me was when the blind dude takes out about a dozen Storm Troopers, then his buddy finishes off the rest of them. But, the last 30 minutes is an incredible battle scene that is also tragic and horrifying. It was such a great final battle to what I consider a very good movie. The topping was that final battle scene with Darth Vader. It was so horrifying, but also very, very incredible.

So, while my wife wasn't the biggest fan of "Rogue One", I enjoyed the hell out of it. It doesn't rank up there with " A New Hope" or "The Empire Strikes Back", or even "The Force Awakens", but I do like it more than "Return of the Jedi", and all three of the terrible prequels. It was a hit for me. If you like war movies, I think you will definitely enjoy "Rogue One". I thought it was great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is glad his son did not see the last Vader scene in the movie. Ty does not want his son trying to slice the dog up with a fake lightsaber while he throws the dog on the ceiling. 

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