FINAL - Rogue One (5) vs. Star Wars: A New Hope (2)

VS.

It is hard enough to come up with 12 categories, much less 16, so I have concluded my tournaments by totaling all 12 categories to determine the winner. I feel this is fair and it means I avoid leaning toward a favorite in the finals. In this case, I would not have predicted the winner at the beginning of the tournament.


PLOT: Rogue One = A Star Wars = A
STRATEGY AND TACTICS: Rogue One = A Star Wars = B
WEAPONRY: Rogue One = B Star Wars = B
SPECIAL EFFECTS: Rogue One = A Star Wars = A+
ACTING: Rogue One = B Star Wars = B-
ENTERTAINMENT: Rogue One = A Star Wars = A+
COMBAT: Rogue One = A Star Wars = B
ENEMY: Rogue One = B Star Wars = C
SETS AND SOUNDS: Rogue One = A Star Wars = A
DIALOGUE: Rogue One = C Star Wars = B
CHARACTERS: Rogue One = B Star Wars = A+
CLICHES: Rogue One = C Star Wars = A

Star Wars = 104 Rogue One = 100

So we come to the end of another tournament. Thank you for following. Hopefully you're not too upset about the results. You may disagree with result, but I think Star Wars is a worthy winner. I would not have pegged it as the best sci-fi war movie at the beginning of the tournament, but you can see that it was strong in all the categories except enemy. Amazingly, it is the oldest film in the tournament and I usually feel newer is better when it comes to sci-fi movies. Rogue One is an example of this. It is better than all but two of the Star Wars series. Unfortunately, it ran up against one of those movies.

Here are the other tournaments:
21st Century War Movies
War Comedies
WWII Combat
Vietnam War
Dogfighting
WWI Combat
Submarine

STAR WARS (2) vs. AVATAR (6)

VS.

SETS AND SOUNDS:  “Star Wars” is set mostly on the Millennium Falcon and the Death Star.  Both seem generic now, but at the time both fleshed out the spacecraft and space station templates.  Tatooine is straight out of a John Ford Western.  The one standout set is the bar in Mos Eisley.  In that case, it is more the denizens than the outlay.  The sound effects were groundbreaking.  The movie invented “pew-pew” for shots and the sound of the light sabers became iconic.  But it is the score by John Williams that stands alone.  It is one of the greatest scores ever.  AFI ranked it the best score of all time.  Williams’ use of leitmotif’s is nothing short of brilliant.  GRADE  =  A

“Avatar” is dazzling because of the visuals.  Pandora is an eye-popping set.  In fact, the sets overcome the unoriginal plot.  In some ways, the movie is “Dances With Wolves” on an exotic planet.  Floating mountains!  It won the Academy Award for Art Direction and the Saturn Award for Production Design.  The sound effects are good, too.  Most notable are the creature noises.  The score is by James Horner.  An ethnomusicologist was consulted to create the Na’vi music.  Horner divided the score into macho mercenary music and new age native music.  The soundtrack is unremarkable.  GRADE  =  C

DIALOGUE:  For a sci-fi movie, some effort was put into the dialogue in “Star Wars”.  Much of it is snappy, especially between Laia and Han.  C3PO gets to play stuffy British twit.  Obi Wan has the iconic line:  “May the Force be with you.”  It was voted #8 on AFIs list of greatest quotes.  The movie has a total of 141 quotes on IMDB.  GRADE = B

“Avatar” is not going to be remembered for its dialogue.  If you based the movie just on the script, you might not go see it.  There is not a single standout line.  In fact, much of the dialogue is trite, especially when Jake is narrating.  Equally cringe-inducing is the macho bull shit coming out of Col. Quaritch’s mouth.  I feel he might be overcompensating for something.  Most of the attempts at humor fall flat.  I do have to extend some props for inventing the Na’vi language.  Too bad it was subtitled.  The movie has 109 entries in IMDB.  GRADE  =  C   

CHARACTERS:  It could be argued that “Star Wars” has the best set of main characters of any sci-fi movie.  Each has left a mark on popular culture.  Han Solo is #14 on AFI’s heroes list and Obi Wan comes in at #37.  Luke Skywalker belongs on that list. Laia became a feminist icon.  C3PO and R2D2 are a great comedy team.  And then we have Darth Vader.  He is #3 on AFI’s list of villains.  There are no Jar Jar Binks in this film.  GRADE  =  A+

If you’ve seen “Dances With Wolves”, you’re familiar with most of the characters in “Avatar”.  “Avatar” adds the stereotypical corporate amoralist and his evil security chief.  Michelle Rodriguez plays the now required feisty female Chacon.  None of these characters are memorable.  GRADE  =  C

CLICHES:  For such a key movie in the sci-fi canon, “Star Wars” is refreshingly free of clichés.  The Empire is superior to the rebellion, but not vastly superior like the aliens in most of the movies in this tournament.  The movie does have a key figure (Luke Skywalker) who is crucial to the success of the rebellion.  The Death Star has a weak spot, otherwise it is invulnerable.  3 out of 10  GRADE  =  A

Considering how unoriginal the plot of “Avatar” is, it is not infested with sci-fi war movie clichés.  The RDA’s security forces have vastly superior weaponry and the invaders are more “civilized’ than the natives.  The Na’vi could not have won without Jake.  All the attacks are frontal, including by the hammerhead titanotheres and viperwolfs.  The Na’vi win even though their weapons are primitive.  They use bows and arrows.  4 out of 10  GRADE  =  B

ANALYSIS:  Both movies were groundbreaking, but for different reasons.  “Star Wars” reinvented the space epic and started the greatest sci-fi franchise in history.  “Avatar” revived 3-D movies.  It is visually stunning and has some strengths as a war movie, but it is more style than substance.  In every way. it is inferior to “Star Wars”.  It has become trendy to overlook the brilliance of the first Star Wars movie.  To remind yourself of its greatness, just look at the other entries after “The Empire Strikes Back”.  (Empire may be the best of the eight, but it is not a war movie.)   32 years after its release, it is still able to defeat the all-time box office champ.

STAR WARS  =  36

AVATAR  =  29  

STAR WARS (2) vs. PACIFIC RIM (7)

VS.

ACTING -  “Star Wars” is not usually touted for its acting and this is appropriate because the visuals stole the show. However, Alec Guinness was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and the Saturn Awards.  The rest of the cast was fairly unknown and would prove to be good actors in the future, but not so much here.  As the main character, Mark Hammill is the weak link, but as one of the great cinematic heroes, he is forgiven.  GRADE =  B-

“Pacific Rim” is even less about the actors than “Star Wars”.  Although there are some opportunities for emoting, that’s just killing time between the fights between giant human-piloted robots and giant monsters.  Because the mechas are piloted by two people, there is some acting involved, but it’s still all about the fight.  The movie garnered no acting award nominations.  Charlie Hannum is your typical rugged action hero.    He is given a redemption and revenge arc, but we’re still only waiting for the fights.    The screenplay wisely adds dueling buddy scientists for comic relief and Charlie Day and Burn Gorman are kicks.  GRADE =  C

ENTERTAINMENT -  The original “Star Wars” has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  It was a humongous box office success and was one of the first summer blockbusters.  The film was rereleased to acclaim.  It is generally considered to be the second best of the series (after “Empire Strikes Back”).  It may seem trope-ridden today, but you have to remember how much ground it broke in 1977.  It still holds up well today.  It has one of the greatest villains, unbelievable special effects, fantastic characters, a strong female, and one of the great sci-fi battles.  What’s not to like?  GRADE  =  A+

“Pacific Rim” is a fun movie.  It gives the audience exactly exactly what it wants and it is efficient in doing so.  It takes the Godzilla type movies into the 21^st Century.  Unlike the Toho films, humans are not just standing around waiting to be stomped and futilely firing useless weapons against the monsters, they can fight toe to toe.  The robots and monsters come in a variety and the battles are stunning.  The plot is a bit generic, but the acting is not embarrassing and dueling scientists subplot adds some decent humor.  The movie will not be remembered years from now and certainly won’t get a rerelease, but it is a good popcorn flick.  GRADE  =  B

COMBAT -  At the time it was made, the battle scene involving the Death Star was the gold standard for sci-fi war movies.  Over the years, there have been other movies that have topped it, but most that have not.   It is one of the rare movies in this tournament where the opposing sides in the climactic battle are relatively equal.  Combining “Battle of Britain” dogfight with the bombing runs of “The Dam Busters”, throw in realistic tactics and a confrontation involving the hero and the villain and you get gold.  Unfortunately, the battle with the Death Star is the only real combat.  The movie goes with quality over quantity.  GRADE  =  B

“Pacific Rim” is all about the combat.  There are three big battles and each has a flair to it.  There’s little subtlety, but the action and visuals are awesome.  The robots and the creatures vary so the duels are not repetitive.  Hell, at one point a kaiju uses a boat as a bat!  The venues for the battles also vary.  The combat has a quantity and quality to it.  GRADE  =  B

ENEMY -  “Star Wars” has a variety of creatures, but they are mostly for local color.  The enemy is similar to the protagonists.    The Empire is malevolent, but not scary.  The main villain is the iconic Darth Vader and he is #3 on AFI’s greatest villains list.  As far as the rest of the Empire, the Stormtroopers are some of the lamest foes in any sci-fi war movie.  They famously could not hit the blindside of a barn.  GRADE  =  C

“Pacific Rim” is dominated by the kaiju.  They come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  Each has a different “personality”.   They are toxic and can adapt to their environment.  They are extremely aggressive, but not brainless.  They certainly hold their own against the Jaegers.  These “strange beasts” make the movie a monsterfest.  The movie reminds of a beast show at Imperial Rome’s Colosseum.  GRADE  =  A

ANALYSIS:  These are two totally different movies.  One is an all-time great, and the other is a forgettable, if entertaining creature feature.  Aside from the enemy category, “Star Wars” is superior.  It also is more of a war movie.  “Pacific Rim” is more of a gladiator film.

STAR WARS  =  33

PACIFIC RIM  =  32