I think that scene is 2mins and 30 secs long. I know this because I recorded it. And watched it. Over and over. And showed it to friends who were nonplussed. We never got peak Vader. We got glimpses and restraint. That scene was fucking awesome.
For reals.
After literal decades of watering down and those godawful “prequels”, all it took was one director who understood the assignment and we all suddenly remembered;
“Oh yeah, this guy is TERRIFYING”
I think the Vader scene in Rogue One and the Holdo Maneuver in The Last Jedi (yes yes I know it makes the plot weird I just mean the scene itself visually) are the two primary highlights of the New Movies in terms of "well that was cool"
That sticks with me too! Like shit, I can't think of any other scene off the top of my head where I can remember the *specific sound effect* of it like I can for the maneuver. It really is well done, and tbh I feel like a lot of the quibbling about it lore-wise is to be able to discount it.
I have my own feelings about VIII, mostly not positive, but so much of the reaction to it was and is a weird propaganda cause for the post-Gamergaters that I don't really care about making those arguments lest my film critique somehow help the Nazis. And VIII absolutely did have good parts!
Yeah, I have no major issues with it. I thought it was fine and tried to do something interesting with the world. And I'll also give TPM credit for the sound design in the pod racing scene. But, to the OP's point I think R1 is probably the best of the bunch.
The Last Jedi deserves a lot of shit and especially for spending 2.5 hours having the narrative go basically nowhere but I will concede most of those 2.5 hours look very cool
I think many of its issues can be summed up as “this movie should not have been the middle of a trilogy, especially if the director didn’t want to continue any of the plot lines of the first entry”. There are others, to be sure, but I think the greatest problems are from changing directors.
It both felt like it was trying to get over its skis to be provocative and innovative, while also being overly dependent on being familiar with Empire Strikes Back - a similar issue to what The Force Awakens had with A New Hope. I think Rian could have done a great standalone Star Wars film though.
totally agree. Ive had this convo before, I think if Rian Johnson had the whole trilogy, it would have turned out much better.
The hard Jedi lore-burning stuff could have been SO compelling... if properly contextualized
Rogue One, Outlaws, and Fallen Order figured out that the best way to use Vader in a work that's not focusing on him is to have him just show up for a combined three minutes of screen time and have him beat the dogshit out of someone.
As much as I love the original trilogy & enjoy some things in the rest of the movies too, it's THAT scene at the end of Rogue One I've watched on YouTube more than any other in the franchise. It doesn't track with his (in)ability to fight Obi-Wan, what, a few days alter. But still. Awesome stuff
Yeah it’s really funny to me that the only time I’ve ever felt that kind of physical fear in my body while watching a movie was during a fucking Star Wars scene.
It was very good, but it would have been better if that was our only time seeing him in the movie. The other scene with him and the other bad guy was honestly unnecessary. Especially with James Earl Jones sounding much older in a movie that's supposed to be a prequel.
The love for Rogue One is basically "well that was an overly long and pointless movie, man star wars these days su--WAIT IS THAT VADER DOING SOMETHING BADASS? BEST STAR WARS MOVIE EVER!"
Seriously, it's the only part of that snorefest anyone talks about.
Comments
After literal decades of watering down and those godawful “prequels”, all it took was one director who understood the assignment and we all suddenly remembered;
“Oh yeah, this guy is TERRIFYING”
The hard Jedi lore-burning stuff could have been SO compelling... if properly contextualized
It's just never the same.
A little demoralizing but totally understandable.
Seriously, it's the only part of that snorefest anyone talks about.