Rogue One vs. Solo

[Jurassic Shark 12,782]

Sharpen your lightsabers!

[crumbs 14,584]

 

[crocodile 8,361]

The film is a tie. I enjoy Rogue One more but Solo is a more rounded story. Both are pointless, however.

 

Solo is definitely a better score on every level. But I do actually enjoy Giacchino's entry very much. In fact it's one of my favourites of his. Not even remotely close to Williams but a very strong follow-up to his Medal of Honor style. I am hoping to hear the entire work one day.

 

I don't particularly like Jyn's theme but if I treat it as an extension of the Dies Irae "tragedy" stuff from the original SW (Burning Homstead/Binary Sunset alternate) it does work for me. I also treat the somewhat lacking hope theme as as proto-new hope theme (Luke's theme). In my brain it makes sense anyway. 😆

 

Karol

[Raiders of the SoundtrArk 2,455]

I prefer Rogue One mostly because of it's great finale which is probably the greatest finale under Disney. What an epic battle.

As for the score, nothing written in 2018 can compete with The Adventures of Han and Mine Mission and those two are among my top 15 themes from last decade so Solo easily win. However I do like Rogue One score a lot

[Arpy 4,159]

Both scores suit their films well, both have highlights and some weak spots. Solo is a more enjoyable film, but Rogue One has some really impressive cinematography and visual effects and feels like it inhabits the same world as the OT. Solo has some strange story beats, but stronger characters than Rogue One. 

 

 

[Thor 8,081]

SOLO wins both categories.

 

I think ROGUE ONE is a fine film, but I hate the score to high heaven, so I try to enjoy it DESPITE of the music.

[Jurassic Shark 12,782]

What do you hate about the score?

[Thor 8,081]

Don't get me started.

[Jurassic Shark 12,782]

Oh, I will. 

[Naïve Old Fart 10,222]

This is Star Wars talk, isn't it?

[GerateWohl 4,918]

I mean, the question about the score is slightly uneven since Powel had the luck of having an original Williams theme at hand. If that would not have been the case, I am not sure if I would have voted for Powel.

[Jurassic Shark 12,782]

You may vote for both.

[SilverTrumpet 642]

Solo on both, easily. 

 

I feel like most people here would agree that Solo is easily the better score, but Solo was the only of the two movies where I left the theater liking the characters and wanting to see them again.

[Jurassic Shark 12,782]

Well, the characters in Rogue One died, so...

[SilverTrumpet 642]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Well, the characters in Rogue One died, so...

...and yet we'll still be seeing them again! 

[Edmilson 8,507]

Solo is a wonderful score, regardless of the Williams influence.

 

But Rogue One is pretty bad. The new Imperial/Krennic theme is laughable, the action music is uninspired and the quotes of Williams scores sound pretty bad. That new Hope theme is awful. However, I do like Jyn Erso's theme and the Your Father Would be Proud cue.

[bored 428]

2 hours ago, SilverTrumpet said:

Solo on both, easily. 

 

I feel like most people here would agree that Solo is easily the better score, but Solo was the only of the two movies where I left the theater liking the characters and wanting to see them again.

 

Agreed. I'm also in the camp of preferring the film over Rogue One as well. I don't even necessarily blame Giacchino for the score, as if I had to score a film that lifeless, I'd probably turn in something far worse than what he did. By contrast, the only part of Solo that was lifeless to me is the awful look of it. 

[Datameister 2,226]

Score: I think I have to give it to Solo. I definitely don't hate the R1 score, but it veers too much into Williams pastiche. Solo doesn't try to sound like it was written by Williams, even as it uses his new theme and references cues from the past. Plus the recording itself is just so much nicer.

 

Film: Hmmm. R1 definitely brings out stronger emotions in me, for better and for worse. It's got an incredible third act, the visual effects are on point, and it feels more like a story worth telling. At the same time, I have a hard time connecting with the protagonists, the middle of the film sags, the digital Tarkin is really distracting, and the acting is not always to my taste. With Solo ... I mean, it's just kinda there. Nothing too objectionable about it, but nothing that makes me particularly glad to have watched it in the end. So I'll give it to R1.

[Jay 38,754]

Score: Solo AINEC

 

Film: I don't really like any of the Disney Star Wars films that much, but Solo was pretty decent, not much to complain about except how (visually) dark it was, so that

[Luke Skywalker 1,929]

So it seems Solo as a film is now good? Or by the least better than rogue one? 
 

are we in an alternate universe now?

 

[Jay 38,754]

4 minutes ago, Luke Skywalker said:

So it seems Solo as a film is now good? Or by the least better than rogue one? 

 

Why do you say that?  The Film section of the poll currently has Rogue One with 21 votes, and Solo with only 10

[Luke Skywalker 1,929]

Well the rogue one voters are shy and silent… i was only reading posts saying solo was best…

[Jay 38,754]

So you're complaining that people are not stating what they like about Rogue One, while also not stating yourself what it is you like about Rogue One?

[Disco Stu 15,501]

As The One Guy On The Forum Who Thinks Cassian is A Good Character And Is Excited For His Spinoff, I obviously voted Rogue One, a very good movie.

[Holko 10,006]

I voted RO for the movie because I just never got the urge to rewatch it, as opposed to Solo which I actively don't want to waste time on again. Score's obvious.

[Naïve Old Fart 10,222]

4 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Well, the characters in Rogue One died, so...

They died???!!!!! Fucking hell!

SPOILERS!!!

[Mephariel 481]

Score: Solo by a mile

Film: Rogue One

[Giftheck 999]

Rogue One is the better film, but Solo has the better score. Definitely.

[Thor 8,081]

3 hours ago, Luke Skywalker said:

So it seems Solo as a film is now good? Or by the least better than rogue one? 
 

are we in an alternate universe now?

 

 

I've been an avid supporter of SOLO since it came out. Came in 4th that year (by comparison, ROGUE ONE came in 34th).

[Luke Skywalker 1,929]

4 hours ago, Jay said:

So you're complaining that people are not stating what they like about Rogue One, while also not stating yourself what it is you like about Rogue One?

No, i wrongly assumed that solo was more loved because there were more posts stating that fact. Then you pointed the votes, which i had not checked, and told me that RO has more votes and then i looked like  a fool :p

[Andy 4,982]

Solo on both easily.  It just came out at a particularly toxic moment in Star Wars fandom.  I agree with Jason, Solo could have been a visual delight, it was just too blasted dark.  I am not as big a fan of Powell's score as some, but it does have its moments.  I just personally don't care for his percussion.

 

Rogue One the film feels like an expensive Fan Film.  Rogue One the score feels like an expensive Fan Film Score.  Act Three was a terrific battle, I'll give them that.  However, Vader's shoehorned scene again felt like a Fan Film on steroids.  My understanding is it was a late addition.  I wonder how well regarded the film would've been without it.  But most of the characters, except Andor and his robot, were horribly vapid, even by Star Wars standards.

 

 

[Jay 38,754]

The percussion in SOLO is mixed very different on the 2020 Deluxe Edition than it was on the OST album, so if you want to revisit a track or two (it's free on youtube) you might come away with a different impression than you got from the OST

[Edmilson 8,507]

41 minutes ago, Hedji said:

Rogue One the film feels like an expensive Fan Film.  Rogue One the score feels like an expensive Fan Film Score.  Act Three was a terrific battle, I'll give them that.  However, Vader's shoehorned scene again felt like a Fan Film on steroids.  My understanding is it was a late addition.  I wonder how well regarded the film would've been without it.  But most of the characters, except Andor and his robot, were horribly vapid, even by Star Wars standards.

 

That's pretty much what I think about R1 as well. It's the most expensive Star Wars fanfilm ever made.

[Mephariel 481]

12 hours ago, GerateWohl said:

I mean, the question about the score is slightly uneven since Powel had the luck of having an original Williams theme at hand. If that would not have been the case, I am not sure if I would have voted for Powel.

 

Take out all of Williams' contributions and Solo is still easily the best Star Wars score outside of the main line series. There is nothing in Rogue One that is as good as "Into the Maw." I would argue Powell did such a good job with the score, Williams' contributions were insignificant.

[enderdrag64 797]

7 hours ago, Jay said:

The percussion in SOLO is mixed very different on the 2020 Deluxe Edition than it was on the OST album, so if you want to revisit a track or two (it's free on youtube) you might come away with a different impression than you got from the OST

Which mix is closer to what's in the film?

[Holko 10,006]

The one that dials it all down by 30db.

[artguy360 1,889]

4 hours ago, Mephariel said:

 

Take out all of Williams' contributions and Solo is still easily the best Star Wars score outside of the main line series. There is nothing in Rogue One that is as good as "Into the Maw." I would argue Powell did such a good job with the score, Williams' contributions were insignificant.

How could Williams' contribution he considered insignificant when his theme for Han (both parts) are plastered all over the score? It's not just that JW wrote the main theme, it's that Powell used it everywhere, at every opportunity.

[GerateWohl 4,918]

Yes, but I agree. Powel has great themes all over the score. The Maurauders with the great bulgarian choir, the love theme, the camp fire theme, the mine mission. Even Chewbacca's theme is ultra recognizable. Powel invested a lot here. Still I feel, in the movie it is often too much. And the usage of Williams' other Star Wars themes doesn't excite me here either. I don't see, that he did a better job at re-using stuff than Giacchino.

For example, when they first see the Falcon Powel quotes the Star Wars main title prominently, like a remembrance of the great history of the ship, which makes no sense as these events take place before the original films.

[Luke Skywalker 1,929]

I dislike the “unseamlessness” of reminiscence therapy very much. I cant believe williams approved that.

[Jurassic Shark 12,782]

Chewbacca has a theme?

[GerateWohl 4,918]

37 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Chewbacca has a theme?

This, 0:44 to 1:05.

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,782]

Not furry enough.

[GerateWohl 4,918]

23 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Not furry enough.

That's what I thought as well at first. In the meantime I like it.

[Jay 38,754]

7 hours ago, enderdrag64 said:

Which mix is closer to what's in the film?

I have no idea; I saw the film once in theaters and have never revisited it. 

 

But I'd guess the OST mix, probably?

 

EIther way, the Deluxe Edition mix is the best mix hands down

[Smaug The Iron 552]

Score: Solo 

Movie: Solo 

[Tom Guernsey 2,570]

Another score goes to Solo, film goes to Rogue One voter... Solo is easily one of John P's top 5 scores (well, if you perhaps consider the HTTYD movies as a single score... but let's not split hairs), he was working at the top of his game in all respects. While I'm sure the pressure of having a JW theme to work with gave him even more impetus to push himself, based on the quality of the other themes, I don't think he'd have struggled to write a great Han theme himself. I have to admit that, while the concert arrangement is very JW, I don't think I've have questioned it if someone had said that the main theme for Han was by JP. He fits it seamlessly into his own writing and he's a great thematic composer. I enjoyed bits of Rogue One, but Giacchino's score is pretty clunky and I don't find myself returning to it. If he'd done a good pastiche job using original Star Wars scores like he did with the Indy scores (amongst others) for Medal of Honour, it might actually have been better...

[Jurassic Shark 12,782]

Score:

 

After listening to both scores in recent days, I've finally made up my mind.

 

Themes: Both composers' new themes are a mixed bag, but Giacchino's "love theme" speaks to me more than Powell's.

 

Orchestrations: Giacchino's orchestration can be too thin and more could have been going on. This is a major drawback. Powell's orchestrations are more complex and adventurous, but is over-reliant on percussion and synth elements.

 

Action music: Giacchino's action music is in places too stationary, but less so than in some of his other action scores. In Powell's there's a lot of things going on, but is often too hyperactive.

 

Final verdict: I don't particularly like any of the scores, but because of its refinement and complexity I'll have to give the edge to Solo.

 

 

Movie:

 

I've only seen them once, but I think the most exciting was Rogue One, regardless of its many faults, so that's where my votes goes.

[Groovygoth666 936]

As many others have said, for movie Rogue One, score Solo.

 

The two movie's felt unnecessary, but I did enjoy them and both have their problems. Rogue One felt like a story worth telling and of the Disney era fitted in with the OT at least, Solo was just blah, I found Qi'ra's arc to be much more interesting than Han's, which in his own film is pretty bad.

 

Solo's score definitely soars while Rogue One flounder's, maybe John Williams input helped John Powell but it still feels like his own overall (barring the couple of direct quotes of Williams), Michael Giachinno's for me suffers on it's reliance on his few established themes, and while I enjoy both Solo musically has more to offer.

[blondheim 1,160]

In the end, if I could only have one track, I would rather have Your Father Would Be Proud than anything else.

[Jurassic Shark 12,782]

19 minutes ago, blondheim said:

In the end, if I could only have one track, I would rather have Your Father Would Be Proud than anything else.

 

It's a good track. It's got the emotions that Solo lacks.

 

You're late to the party, @Smeltington!