Star Wars: Rogue One

[charliepanayi]

On to the next Star Wars film it seems! Here's a teaser trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wji-BZ0oCwg

[Pheesh]

It's going to be amazing. I can feel it in my bones.

Also they are absolutely killing it with the music for the trailers so far. The remixes they had for the force awakens trailers and now that beautiful piano cover of binary sunset. So damn good.

[Aerith's Knight]

Best part about this movie: Not a sequel, can't be a let down.

Unless they hype it up too much, of course. But since it will come out in half a year, it probably won't be that bad.

[Del Murder]

Daaaamn that looks good. Who was that highly decorated Imperial? Young Tarkin? When between Episodes III & IV does this take place?

[Night Fury]

I guess closer to A New Hope than Revenge of the Sith since I think it's about the Death Star plans ending up in Leia's hands - but I can only speculate at this time!

1000000/10 trailer. Haters can suck it.

[Bubba]

OH YES. OH YES. OH YES.

[Psychotic]

Haters can suck it.Do these people even exist? Who could possibly hate that?

[Formalhaut]

It does look good, and Episode VII has got me impressed with how things are going with this new direction Star Wars is going with. I have hope, though I don't want to raise my hopes up too much.

[charliepanayi]

Haters can suck it.Do these people even exist? Who could possibly hate that?

Sexist knuckledraggers across the internet mainly

[Del Murder]

I guess closer to A New Hope than Revenge of the Sith since I think it's about the Death Star plans ending up in Leia's hands - but I can only speculate at this time!

So it's basically Dark Forces?

[Psychotic]

Haters can suck it.Do these people even exist? Who could possibly hate that?

Sexist knuckledraggers across the internet mainlyOh. Well, now that we know whether they exist, can I now have an answer to why they exist? Idiots.

[Aerith's Knight]

I guess closer to A New Hope than Revenge of the Sith since I think it's about the Death Star plans ending up in Leia's hands - but I can only speculate at this time!

So it's basically Dark Forces?

You had my interest. Now you have my attention.

I wonder how many bothans will die in this movie. Probably a lot.

[Kalevala]

That was excellent and the music was soooo good.

Was that a shot of Vader from behind?

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

May the forest be with you.

67867

I think this is going to be great. I'm really excited about having these one-off side stories in between episodes to help expand the lore and drop the time between movies. Especially since all my favorite stories aren't canon anymore.

[Kossage]

Overall that's a good teaser trailer which actually gives us quite a bit of information while also leaving much of the story and characters still mysterious enough to keep us speculating. I like that. One line that kinda made me roll my eyes was the whole "I rebel" comment which felt kinda cheesy, but this is Star Wars, so... :)

I was really glad to see Genevieve O'Reilly return to reprise the role of Mon Mothma; she depicted a younger version of the character in the deleted scenes detailing the birth of the Rebellion in Revenge of the Sith, and her portrayal both there and in this trailer was spot on. I wonder if we'll see a Bail Organa cameo; Jimmy Smits would be the right age for the role by now, and it would be nice to see a bit more of Alderaan.

There's also lots of speculation about Vader appearing in the film, and it'd make sense, considering what's at stake in the film. That would also lead to some great marketing if they showed a glimpse of Vader at the end of one of the future, full trailers to hype up the audience and make them realize that this film is indeed set during the Original Trilogy time.


Daaaamn that looks good. Who was that highly decorated Imperial? Young Tarkin? When between Episodes III & IV does this take place?

The plot deals with the theft of the Death Star plans with Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) apparently playing a role similar to Kyle Katarn from the Dark Forces game. As per A New Hope's opening crawl, we should also see the Rebellion's first major victory against the Empire, which will make them finallly look like a credible threat to the Empire as the victory ties into the aforementioned theft heavily. ;)

Ben Mendelsohn doesn't portray Tarkin; by this time Tarkin is already a Grand Moff and has a different uniform and looks totally different as we see in A New Hope.

If Mendelsohn's white uniform is anything to go by (and based on how plain the uniforms we've seen on admirals like Konstantine in the Rebels series and Piett in ESB/RotJ look in comparison), it actually resembles the uniforms Grand Admirals such as Thrawn and Zaarin have traditionally worn in the old Legends continuity. As per comments from the lore-focused people such as Pablo Hidalgo and Dave Filoni, Disney has more or less given the different teams free reign to reincorporate the best stuff from the old Legends continuity into the new canon if they deem it fit, so it wouldn't surprise me for Rogue One to reintroduce the Grand Admirals into Star Wars lore.

The question remains whether this Grand Admiral will be a canon immigrant from the old continuity, an expy for someone like Zaarin from the TIE fighter game (despite rumours, I'd be surprised if he turned out to be Thrawn as I doubt the new team would take out the iconic blue skin and red eyes look for the fan favourite character, especially after Filoni made a cheeky reply to a fan about whether we'd ever see Thrawn in the new continuity starting from Rebels), or a completely new character with no ties or callbacks to old lore.


I wonder how many bothans will die in this movie. Probably a lot.

The bothans died during the retrieval of plans for Death Star II. We're still a few years from that in the film's placement in the canon continuity. Maybe if they ever make a Rogue Two film which details the theft of those plans, so who knows... :p


That was excellent and the music was soooo good.

Was that a shot of Vader from behind?

Yep, I especially liked the mixing of the Force Theme and the Imperial March together at the end with the "what will you become" line.

Vader doesn't tend to wear a hood, so it leaves the identity of the cloaked character ambiguous even if the back of the head implies some sort of helmet/mask. What's interesting is that there are also a few of the Emperor's Royal Guards at the scene, and I wonder why they are present as the place doesn't look like the Emperor's throne room on Coruscant as they should only appear if the Emperor is present. Here's to hoping we get a glimpse of the fighting prowess of the Royal Guards who are no slouches when it comes to that, but that's just wishful thinking on my part. :)

[krissy]

i've actually watched this trailer a few times cause it's so good
i think i'll do another one!

[Pheesh]

i've actually watched this trailer a few times cause it's so good
i think i'll do another one!

Honestly, the Star Wars trailers that have been coming out are so good that they're ruining other trailers for me. The teasers and full length trailers for The Force Awakens were better than half of the movies I watched last year.

[charliepanayi]

Another trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC9abcLLQpI

[ttokkii]

Much excite, such wow.

But really, I am stoked for the new Star Wars. I give credit to Disney for not ruining it. I think they did pretty well for themselves with The Force Awakens, so I think they'll nail this.

[Bubba]

Oh yes... this will fill the gap nicely before Episode 8. That just needs to hurry up and get here.

[Fox]

Everyone's someone important's relative in Star Wars aren't they?

[krissy]

this is a s(oa)pace opera, after all

[Aerith's Knight]

Everyone's someone important's relative in Star Wars aren't they?

It's a small universe. Smaller if you keep blasting planets out of existence.

[Del Murder]

I could not be any more hyped for this.

[charliepanayi]

Bump as it's out on Thursday

[Jinx]

WOO HOO I want to see thiiiiis


All I know is that the main character steals the plans for the Death Star. That's all I want to know.

[Del Murder]

Reviews are generally but not overwhelmingly positive, but the concerns I've seen do not seem like the kind of things that would bother me.

[Pheesh]

We've got our tickets booked for tomorrow. It's going to be ahhhhmazing!

[Night Fury]

And our tickets are gold class experience. So we get reclining seats for our butts and we get all butler-ed on with snacks and stuff.

[FFNut]

Haters can suck it.Do these people even exist? Who could possibly hate that?

Hater here. Never been into the series to be honest. Skipped the last 2 and never understood the hype.

Im really not a fan of space sci-fie to be honest though. Never could get into it all.

[Del Murder]

Not being into something is not quite hater level. :p

There are some critics who have had strong dislike for the direction Rogue One takes compared to the main series, but for the most part it sounds like they expected the same thing they got in Force Awakens even though this is a spinoff and set in a different period.

[FFNut]

I heard a lot of people hating for the fact of claims on the ending as a slam politically. I myself if it was like that on either side right or left would consider skipping it then as I like neutral entertainment, however if it was my favourite series I really don't see that stopping me from enjoying a fictional story. I think people are reading far to much into it if that would be a deal breaker.

[Jinx]

Something I love about this movie (haven't seen it but) is that it's extended universe Star Wars in a mainstream media (as opposed to kid's shows, comics, books, etc).

I find that really, really appealing. Hopefully if it makes enough money (HA) and gets good enough reviews (this one is less clear cut), we'll get more EU stuff. MAYBE EVEN A NETFLIX SHOW. :hearteyes:

[Night Fury]

Very solid Star Wars movie that adds a sentimental touch to A New Hope. We'll never be able to watch ANH the same way again! Vader provided a terrifying presence in a way we've never seen him.

My only gripe with this movie overall is that Jin is pretty much the ONLY female character in the whole thing. Yes, yes, we see others but the entire rebel team is made up of dudes. Said dudes are all fantastic, but would it have killed them to add in a couple more women to the main band? This just seems to annoy me more because of all the folks out there boycotting the movie because of the female lead - she's basically the only woman in it. Her character was very well done though, but we still have a way to go with female representation even in our Star Wars movies.

EDIT: I appreciated the nod to Rebels! ;)

[charliepanayi]

I think a better subtitle for the film would be Everybody Dies at the End! Decent film, great last half-hour, probably worth it for one line from Donnie Yen alone (plus that Vader scene near the end)

[Mr. Carnelian]

Me and Formy saw it last night, really enjoyed it. I was sceptical going in, but it really won me over. Bravo!

[DMKA]

Just got back from seeing it. It was good but I hated how everyone died at the end.

My favorite part was the C-3PO and R2-D2 cameo. :D

[Formalhaut]

Just got back from seeing it. It was good but I hated how everyone died at the end.

You and me both. The last third felt like having my heart stabbed multiple times. Yet all the same, I loved it.

As for the rest of the film? The final third was the best, but the rest of the film was good all the way through. Honestly, I feel as if the middle was the weakest section (the bit at the rainy base). The emotional intention didn't quite work. My favourite scene though was pretty much all of Jedha. It really shows a slice of grey and grey morality. That one shot of that crying child in the middle of a battlefield was pretty haunting.

[Slothy]

Just got back from seeing it. It was good but I hated how everyone died at the end.

I actually loved that. Yeah it's sad, but the destruction of the death star in IV is a lot more meaningful knowing what it took to get the plans. sure the destruction of Alderaan is supposed to make things satisfying on its own, but all it really did was show that the empire is evil since we have zero emotional connection to it when it happens. Before we only cared because empire evil and wanting to see the heroes win. Now we've got great characters and an entire fleet that died to get those plans. It hits us hard now and makes that moment in IV all the more satisfying.

[charliepanayi]

Probably just as well George Lucas isn't in charge any more, otherwise I'd see him changing the final scene of Star Wars (as in Episode IV) to include some memorial photos of the Rogue One team in the victory ceremony

[Fox]

Just got in. It was pretty good, and I liked how they tried to have a bit of a moral grey area which is fairly new for a Star Wars movie. Still, a bit overly filled with clichés and pointless references for my liking.

I mean, yes I KNOW it leads onto A New Hope thanks, you don't have to randomly show me those dudes that show up in Mos Eisley cantina. Especially because you show them in a city that gets blown up by the Death Star so you've introduced a pointless continuity problem. And any scene with C-3P0 in it is a bad scene unless you have other characters around acknowledging what an annoying character he is. *grumble grumble*

[Psychotic]

Finally got around to seeing it. It's an exhilarating action spectacle and is actually pretty brutal. Not much more depth to it than that. Which is fine, it is what it is.

[Colonel Angus]

Saw it yesterday & enjoyed it. I liked the droid, K-2SO, and Jyn. W/o giving anything away, I liked how it connected w/ A New Hope. Also nice to see Star Wars cover a grey moral area instead of just Light v. Dark.

[Aulayna]

I really enjoyed it, though I do agree that the bit on the rainy planet (I forgot the name of it) was probably the weakest part of the film. I'm also pretty amazed that it got me to care about so many characters and react to them being killed off (which really, was innevitable, it was a suicide mission after all). The combat sequences were really good too. I definitely place this above the Force Awakens. Possibly even above Ep I-III too.

I know a lot of people have issues with the CG Leia and Tarkin, but I thought they were pretty well done. Leia at the end especially was a nice touch.

[Del Murder]

Finally got around to seeing it. It's an exhilarating action spectacle and is actually pretty brutal. Not much more depth to it than that. Which is fine, it is what it is.
My thoughts too. I like more from my Star Wars but hey, it was always a spinoff so good for them for doing it a different way.

CG Tarkin was so good my wife thought they had just found a different actor who looked like him. Leia was a little too much uncanny valley for my liking.

[Freya]

I just got to see this, this past weekend. Saw it in IMAX 3D which made it even more neat.


K2S0 was the best. I want a sassy robot too... must be a thing cause R2 is sassy as well. Disney is knocking it out if the park when it comes to making me love their new droids though. K2 and BB8 :kaoclove:


The ending with carrie made me extremely sad. I didn't know that was going to be a thing and it was sad but bittersweet. Her character says "hope" and well, okay it made me emotional. :(


The movie itself didn't seem too cohesive to me, plot wise. Seemed like it was just kinda... there.


The second act I think was the weakest, felt like the whole edu thing could have been skipped mostly. Loved the third act though.

[Colonel Angus]

CG Tarkin was so good my wife thought they had just found a different actor who looked like him. Leia was a little too much uncanny valley for my liking.

If I didn't already know Peter Cushing had been dead forever, I'd've think he was kept in cryogenically frozen. Leia's CG was a little cartoonish, but maybe they didn't put as much work in it as she only had a small part.

[Sephex]

Saw it twice.

It has its problems, but overall it is a solid Star Wars movie. I think I like it/have no real qualms with the film because it felt exactly how I thought it would feel. Oddly enough, I had more fun watching it a second time and connected to the characters a bit better. That was a pretty unique feeling for me.

I thought the CG faces in general were a bit off, but it didn't pull me out of the movie. Like most people, I love the third act of the movie and especially the, erm, end sequence. Without spoiling anything I'll just say while it was a bit over the top, it showcased a character in a way that strangers would see the character.

[Slothy]

I actually recognized immediately that Tarkin was CG (not just because I knew Cushing was dead), but I will say it was probably the single best example of photorealistic CGI I've ever seen. That was some seriously well done integration with the actual live footage. Which makes me happy because anything less than the quality they had would have looked absolutely horrendous and they would have been better off with a look alike/different character.

[Del Murder]

Like most people, I love the third act of the movie and especially the, erm, end sequence. Without spoiling anything I'll just say while it was a bit over the top, it showcased a character in a way that strangers would see the character.
Oh yes. That part was the highlight of the movie for me. Darth Vader stole every scene he was in.

[Psychotic]

The last scene with him in particular. It actually gave a sense of how intimidating and terrifying he truly is. Very well done.

[Jinx]

I actually recognized immediately that Tarkin was CG (not just because I knew Cushing was dead), but I will say it was probably the single best example of photorealistic CGI I've ever seen. That was some seriously well done integration with the actual live footage. Which makes me happy because anything less than the quality they had would have looked absolutely horrendous and they would have been better off with a look alike/different character.

You watched Westworld, right? The scene with "young" Anthony Humpkins was fantastic. If I didn't know, I wouldn't have known.

[Psychotic]

I actually recognized immediately that Tarkin was CG (not just because I knew Cushing was dead), but I will say it was probably the single best example of photorealistic CGI I've ever seen. That was some seriously well done integration with the actual live footage. Which makes me happy because anything less than the quality they had would have looked absolutely horrendous and they would have been better off with a look alike/different character.

You watched Westworld, right? The scene with "young" Anthony Humpkins was fantastic. If I didn't know, I wouldn't have known.wait what? That was CGI?

[Freya]

The last scene with him in particular. It actually gave a sense of how intimidating and terrifying he truly is. Very well done.

Think how dramatic he is on that scene. He's got all these lights and bleep bleeps on his front panel, and just for dramatic effect he turns it all off so when he goes WHOOOSH in the darkness you only see his saber. All to spook them haha.

Then again, he's kinda king of drama. He has a castle on a lava world, for goodness sakes.

[Slothy]

You watched Westworld, right? The scene with "young" Anthony Humpkins was fantastic. If I didn't know, I wouldn't have known.

Eh, it was pretty good. Better than I expected from a tv show, even one on HBO, but it didn't wow me. But I tend not to be impressed with the whole de-aging thing in general. Not to say it doesn't work, but when it's the face of a well known actor like that I find it easier to spot the flaws in it. They made everything about his young face feel too soft which, admittedly, everyone always does when they do that effect, but it always looks unnatural to me. Like a crappy photoshop job in a way but I give them more leeway because that isn't easy to pull off in an actual film. But they at least had a living Anthony Hopkins to work with which actually makes the Cushing clone even more impressive.

[Del Murder]

Think how dramatic he is on that scene. He's got all these lights and bleep bleeps on his front panel, and just for dramatic effect he turns it all off so when he goes WHOOOSH in the darkness you only see his saber. All to spook them haha.

Then again, he's kinda king of drama. He has a castle on a lava world, for goodness sakes.
Well I guess the spoiler tag was irrelevant since there's really only one character we could be talking about. :p Spoilers throughout the rest of this.

Loved that he made the director go to a lava world to talk to him. Loved that entire scene. He's so intimidating and confident. But the fight scene was the best. In the original trilogy, he only fights Obi-Wan and Luke which are very emotional battles for him and so obviously he's holding back. We've never seen him in full Vader costume showing the wrath he was known for throughout the galaxy. The scene was perfect, and the fact that it mimicked the opening of A New Hope in the framing of it was a nice touch.

I will say, the attempt to link it to the opening of A New Hope was kind of odd, but it's not their fault since there wasn't a lot of logic for them to work with. Like, why was Leia in that ship just sitting there during the battle? Also, why was she going to Tatooine instead just lightspeeding it to Alderaan? Just to pick up Kenobi? Seems like an odd decision in the heat of a battle.

[Slothy]

Was talking to a friend about this yesterday but I'd be totally cool with a movie that's just Darth Vader hunting down any of the Jedi that escaped the clone extermination from Episode 3. Given how much of a whiny little ass he was in the prequels I think this movie did a lot to fix that and I wouldn't mind seeing him slaughtering some actual Jedi instead of children.

[Del Murder]

I'd watch that too. There's never been anything from the Empire's perspective except in some of the novels and comics. I thought Lost Stars did a good job of this (YA romance stuff aside). I'm actually much more interested in seeing more on the Empire's rise between Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One than I am for a Han Solo origin movie. They could build on Rogue One by having some of the older characters in that film make an appearance as younger selves, particularly Tarkin and Donnie Yen's character.

[Formalhaut]

I loved that end sequence as well; just a corridor of pain, and it works so well.

[Night Fury]

There is a lot of good Vader action in the Rebels series!

[Slothy]

I need to get around to watching that soon. The girlfriend has been telling me how great it is.

[Sephex]

I've been actually slowly but surely watching the Clone Wars series because I heard good things about it. I went in knowing the early stuff gets a little too much into the "kids show" feel. I've heard it gets a lot better from the second/third season on, but I am near the end of the first season and there have been pretty compelling episodes. I also like how Anakin Skywalker is handled. Hayden Christensen did the best he could with what he was given (Lucas screwed the pooch with directing and dialogue; Hayden guy can only do so much), but the way the show portrays Anakin is great. It's cool to see a mature, likable Jedi in his prime. And it makes what eventually happens to Anakin all that much more tragic.

[Night Fury]

I've been actually slowly but surely watching the Clone Wars series because I heard good things about it. I went in knowing the early stuff gets a little too much into the "kids show" feel. I've heard it gets a lot better from the second/third season on, but I am near the end of the first season and there have been pretty compelling episodes. I also like how Anakin Skywalker is handled. Hayden Christensen did the best he could with what he was given (Lucas screwed the pooch with directing and dialogue; Hayden guy can only do so much), but the way the show portrays Anakin is great. It's cool to see a mature, likable Jedi in his prime. And it makes what eventually happens to Anakin all that much more tragic.

AND AHSOKA IS IN CLONE WARS TOO AND THEY ARE THE CUTEST TOGETHER.

[Sephex]

I wasn't too sure about her at first, but I like her more and more as I watch the show.

[Jinx]

Just saw it today. Going in I knew everyone died, but it didn't lessen the impact. We didn't get a whole lot of character background, but that's okay. The movie did an exceptional job with connecting you emotionally to these characters who were sent to slaughter.

I agree that I'll never watch A New Hope the same way. Despite its faults, it was a beautiful movie, and I think knowing they all died in the end made me appreciate everything they did even more. Even though they're forgotten to time, it doesn't matter their names or how they died. It just mattered that they lived, and because of them, millions and billions of people lived too.

Also holy trout that charged elevator look between Cassian and Jyn.

I'm glad the romance in the movie was understated, though. Not because ~feminism~ (hello bad ass women fall in love and that doesn't make what they do any less bad ass) but more because since the movie was about sacrificing yourself for the good of others, a full blown romance plot would have cheapened that a bit. The look in the elevator and the hand holding was enough for me. In many ways, the thought they might have had a future together had they been saved makes it more heartwrenching...it's not just about their deaths, but the lives they might have had.

Also the forlorn "Rogue One. May the Force be with you." as they knew they couldn't save their friends and allies who were heroes and gave the Rebellion strength in their back foot.

Aaaah, such a beautiful film. It will really stay with me for awhile.

That said, I think Rogue One will change my viewing order. I do the IV, V, I, II, III, VI, VII order myself.

What at do you guys think? Straight I-VII now? Or maybe IV, Rogue One, V, I, II, III, VI, VII?

[Pheesh]

That said, I think Rogue One will change my viewing order. I do the IV, V, I, II, III, VI, VII order myself.

What at do you guys think? Straight I-VII now? Or maybe IV, Rogue One, V, I, II, III, VI, VII?

I've been thinking about that also. I watch it in Machete order as well and I could see it slotting in between III and VI, as that keeps the vibe of the prequels section of the marathon as an extended flashback. In effect, you see how Vader became Vader, and then you see how the events of A New Hope came to pass. So I think next time I marathon them I'll try out IV, V, II, III, Rogue One, VI, VII.

[charliepanayi]

Any viewing order that continues to include I, II or III is wrong, though you could maybe just watch the final half hour of Attack of the Clones and the Anakin-Obi Wan fight in Revenge of the Sith and then launch into the rest.

[Slothy]

Yeah the viewing order is obvious for me: Rogue, IV, V, VI, and VII.

[Sephex]

I did the Machete order before. The version where you go IV, V, II, III, VI. You leave out Episode I because it really doesn't add much to the overall story. And II and III are meant to have more of an impact right after the "I am your father" part in Episode V.

Anyway, watched it in that order and I actually had a good time. Keep in mind that I fully recognize the problems with the prequels, but I have always liked the world building of those movies. I also think the actors get s raw deal (as I stated earlier in this thread about Anakin) because Lucas is a bad director and writer when he has as much control as he did during the prequels.

As for throwing Rouge One in the mix? I'm not sure. While it DEEPLY connects to IV, I still view it as more of a side story. It's sort of like discovering extra cut scenes in a video game to flesh out the story. If you watch Rouge One followed by IV, that would work. But if you put Rouge One in the middle of watching the main episodes, that might be weird. I might try it anyway, though.

[Shoden]

Just seen it today, it's a pretty solid film. I liked it, nothing too fancy and it's not a glorified remake either for one so that's a plus. Worth it.

[Cell]

Watched it yesterday and wasn't overly impressed.

The battle at the end was awesome and Donnie Yen, Alan Tudyk and Jiang Wen's characters were pretty interesting, but the rest were pretty forgettable stock characters to be honest. I hated the crappy CGI on characters faces and Mads Mikklesen was totally underused in his role as was Forest Whittaker. I had high hopes for this with the director in charge but it wasn't any better or any worse than TFA.

My flatmate fell asleep halfway through.

[Bubba]

Anyone seen this yet? Oh that's right EVERYBODY has because my life doesn't allow me to do ANYTHING any more

I really, really liked it. It's probably the Star Wars film that has resonated emotionally with me the most. I kind of suspected they all might die because I thought there was a line from EpIV:ANH where Mon Mothma says something like "Many Bothans died to bring us this information". It turns out this line was from EpV:ESB. So I was right but for the wrong reasons.

Anyway yeah, I thought this was a far better film than EpVII:TFA Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, seriously?? and is probably in my top 3 Star Wars films.

[charliepanayi]

Adam Driver is great!

[Jinx]

any one who shits on adam driver can fight me irl

danny you have been really trying to push my buttons lately young man

[Bubba]

I really like Adam Driver as an actor! He was great in Midnight Special. He's just horribly miscast as Kylo Ren. Not even remotely intimidating. They literally could have cast anybody else.

[charliepanayi]

Adam Driver is nothing but intimidating I find (he was in the Marine Corps!), maybe I'm just used to him playing a nutcase in Girls.

[Jinx]

I really like Adam Driver as an actor! He was great in Midnight Special. He's just horribly miscast as Kylo Ren. Not even remotely intimidating. They literally could have cast anybody else.

I don't think (unmasked) Kylo Ren is supposed to be intimidating.

[Del Murder]

I agree. In fact, I think it is supposed to be the opposite. So maybe it worked too well on Bubba.

[Jinx]

That was my impression as well, Del.

What's interesting about Kylo Ren is that he, like his grandfather whom he idolizes, is dealing with temptation. But where was Vader was tempted by darkness, Kylo Ren struggles with his temptation and draw to the light side. IT'S REALLY INTERESTING.

But I think we're supposed to see him as this confused, scared kid (and boy does Adam Driver look young with no facial hair).

[Pheesh]

I love the way Adam Driver played Kylo Ren. He was the perfect mixture of petulant, tormented, scared, evil, and those things combined with his obvious power are what made him so scary. It's like an active volcano that is barely held in check.

Love you Bubba, but you're a crazy person.

[Bubba]

Nah, not crazy. I simply have a different opinion.

[Pheesh]

I will not.

[Bubba]

My apologies, Phil. I've had a bit of a short fuse recently.

I am of the opinion that they could have found a much better Kylo Ren. Even if he is supposed to be this tortured "I'm a baddie but I'm a bit of a goodie too" soul. It didn't come across at all for me. The petulance was there for all to see but he didn't portray the struggle with dark and light very well at all. The physical non-similarities between him and his parents bothered me at first but not so much any more.

I still feel though that without the mask, he still should at least be a little intimidating and scary. I don't think he was either.

[Del Murder]

I'll need to see it again to verify, but I thought the internal struggle in Kylo Ren was pretty well done. For me, it was more of a 'trying too hard' to be bad than seeing a hint of him being good, other than in the scene on the bridge. There are still two more movies to flesh this out and the first one had a lot to accomplish so that's probably why it wasn't a main focus.

One more thing, you really have to compare him to Darth Vader to understand him. Vader had the intimidating mask not just to be intimidating but also to keep him alive; Kylo has it just to be intimidating. In Empire Strikes Back and even more in Return of the Jedi you see that under the Vader mask he is a vulnerable and kindly looking old man. Adam Driver's face under the Kylo Ren mask is another homage to that. He's this guy trying so hard to be evil but underneath is just a funny looking young man.