Is 'Rogue One' better than 'The Force Awakens'? | The Tylt

"Rogue One" brings gritty, dark realism to the Star Wars series' portrayal of war, and added practical complexities and moral ambiguities we haven't seen in the previous films. Unlike "The Force Awakens," which was criticized as a mere retread of "A New Hope," "Rogue One" introduces fascinating new characters and a brand-new storyline. 

"Rogue One" has a lot going for it, but "The Force Awakens" reunited Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, light saber battles, and even the Millennium Falcon to the big screen for the first time in 32 years—an unparalleled event in film history. "The Force Awakens" remains the highest-grossing movie of all time. 

People are comparing "Rogue One" to "The Empire Strikes Back," the darkest and most critically acclaimed of the original trilogy.

"The Force Awakens" has fierce loyalists too. 

While many critics applauded the originality of "Rogue One," others found the plot and the numerous new characters overwhelming and tiresome. Several supposedly rousing speeches were panned for being eye-rollingly cliché.

But at least "Rogue One" went for originality. "The Force Awakens" was really more a reboot of 1977's Star Wars, with the plans for a devastating new weapon hidden by the plucky Resistance in a cute little droid.