Star Wars 7 WITH SPOILERS

[Drauks]

I'm still amazed at how much everyone loves this. I feel like the old man who yells at a tree in his backyard for hours on end.

Spoiler

One of the most immediate questions I had, and there are several: Why the fuck didn't Ren just paralyze Finn? Done it to other people, hell, did it to a laser bolt. Because we needed a lightsaber fight? Why? Freeze the man, take the saber and kill him while you're at it. Completely missed that opportunity for making him appear more evil than what they tried to do on the bridge, because that scene with Han? That was trash. Screenwriting straight out of the prequels. They also just took a shit route with the Star Killer base. It took a huge chunk of time for a plot element that was just way too similar, and didn't have any depth or feeling to it. "Ooooh! So evil! It's never been done before!" The charisma that Poe had earlier just straight up died in those scenes in the fighter. Another throwback to the original series, I'm sure. They had every chance to interject some pilot banter, and all we got was dead voices. And what's that? Why certainly we'll add in a fascist speech to make the First Order seem sinister. To hell with super weapons, to hell with failed opportunities for an actual good story, to hell with the majority of that movie.

Should have been Thrawn.

[Kong Wen]

Spoiler

One of the most immediate questions I had, and there are several: Why the fuck didn't Ren just paralyze Finn? Done it to other people, hell, did it to a laser bolt. Because we needed a lightsaber fight? Why? Freeze the man, take the saber and kill him while you're at it. Completely missed that opportunity for making him appear more evil than what they tried to do on the bridge, because that scene with Han? That was trash. Screenwriting straight out of the prequels. They also just took a shit route with the Star Killer base. It took a huge chunk of time for a plot element that was just way too similar, and didn't have any depth or feeling to it. "Ooooh! So evil! It's never been done before!" The charisma that Poe had earlier just straight up died in those scenes in the fighter. Another throwback to the original series, I'm sure. They had every chance to interject some pilot banter, and all we got was dead voices. And what's that? Why certainly we'll add in a fascist speech to make the First Order seem sinister. To hell with super weapons, to hell with failed opportunities for an actual good story, to hell with the majority of that movie.

Spoiler

Maybe he was too injured to use that much Force. Or maybe he was just in the mood to put a good light saber smackdown on a nobody. Maybe he wanted to show off for Rey. He seems to be quite curious about her, and his agenda during that whole sequence was to capture/turn her. The scene with Han could have been better, but it wasn't bad the way it was. Certainly not a grains of sand speech. He wasn't sure he could do it, and Han misread his intentions. The missed opportunity there was for Han to open up a little bit, but even that might not have been in line with his grizzled old stoic character. The other missed opportunity was for Chewie to go on an even bigger rampage. I loved his rampage, and I wanted more of it. Overall, I wanted to see more Chewie post-Han. Maybe we will in the next episode. I didn't find Poe all that charismatic in the earlier or the later scenes, so no love lost there. I don't have a problem with Star Killer Base, since it fits into the narrative of the whole series perfectly: the Death Star was in planning/production for like 30 years (Dooku gave the plans to Palpatine in the prequels), and it was by far their most effective weapon, despite being destroyed. It makes sense that the Empire/First Order would keep trying that tack. Star Killer was probably well into production/completion even during the original series.

Should have been Thrawn.

Ah, there's your problem. Thrawn doesn't exist.

[Drauks]

Spoiler

Maybe he was too injured to use that much Force. Or maybe he was just in the mood to put a good light saber smackdown on a nobody. Maybe he wanted to show off for Rey. He seems to be quite curious about her, and his agenda during that whole sequence was to capture/turn her. The scene with Han could have been better, but it wasn't bad the way it was. Certainly not a grains of sand speech. He wasn't sure he could do it, and Han misread his intentions. The missed opportunity there was for Han to open up a little bit, but even that might not have been in line with his grizzled old stoic character. The other missed opportunity was for Chewie to go on an even bigger rampage. I loved his rampage, and I wanted more of it. Overall, I wanted to see more Chewie post-Han. Maybe we will in the next episode. I didn't find Poe all that charismatic in the earlier or the later scenes, so no love lost there. I don't have a problem with Star Killer Base, since it fits into the narrative of the whole series perfectly: the Death Star was in planning/production for like 30 years (Dooku gave the plans to Palpatine in the prequels), and it was by far their most effective weapon, despite being destroyed. It makes sense that the Empire/First Order would keep trying that tack. Star Killer was probably well into production/completion even during the original series.

Spoiler

Yeah, no, sorry, don't buy it. You want to be a Sith? That follows and surpasses Vader? You become fucking efficient. Vader only fell apart when his son came into the picture after believing him dead for so long. Before that, he was efficiency defined. Slaughtered the Jedi, didn't hesitate to kill. You don't pussy-foot around if you want to top that, rookie or not. Fits into the narrative? Their most effective weapon was their ability to put boots on the ground, anywhere and everywhere. Hell, there's a reason Star Destroyers have that name. Planetary bombardment/blockade was a proven tactic for them without spending on a space station that was truly only an effective weapon at destroying the Empire's dreams. First time, money sink, second time, bye bye leaders. Veers didn't fuck up, it was only ever when they relied on a superweapon that shit went downhill. Well, that and aiming at any of the main characters. The Death Stars certainly were NOT their most effective weapons. All that time building up the Star Killer as some big bad could have been effectively used on building up the First Order proper. Why should I give a damn about this random baby-faced ginger-Hitler? Who's he and what makes him or the shiny stormtrooper lady interesting? As far as Poe goes, he had a few one liners that definitely left me feeling they molded him a bit after Han. Didn't steal the show, but definitely turned out better in the beginning than he did flying his X-Wing around. Which is another thing that bothers me. No A-Wings. No B-Wings. Nothing but X-Wing vs Tie Fighter. Just another Death Star trench run.

Ah, there's your problem. Thrawn doesn't exist.

Funny, since none of them exist, no?

Spoiler

Hell, at this rate, I bet Ren is just going to go lightside and turn on Snope (really?) with Rey.

[SkyPikachu]

I found the one person who didn't like the movie.

[The Shoemaker]

Spoiler

Maybe he was too injured to use that much Force. Or maybe he was just in the mood to put a good light saber smackdown on a nobody. Maybe he wanted to show off for Rey. He seems to be quite curious about her, and his agenda during that whole sequence was to capture/turn her. The scene with Han could have been better, but it wasn't bad the way it was. Certainly not a grains of sand speech. He wasn't sure he could do it, and Han misread his intentions. The missed opportunity there was for Han to open up a little bit, but even that might not have been in line with his grizzled old stoic character. The other missed opportunity was for Chewie to go on an even bigger rampage. I loved his rampage, and I wanted more of it. Overall, I wanted to see more Chewie post-Han. Maybe we will in the next episode. I didn't find Poe all that charismatic in the earlier or the later scenes, so no love lost there. I don't have a problem with Star Killer Base, since it fits into the narrative of the whole series perfectly: the Death Star was in planning/production for like 30 years (Dooku gave the plans to Palpatine in the prequels), and it was by far their most effective weapon, despite being destroyed. It makes sense that the Empire/First Order would keep trying that tack. Star Killer was probably well into production/completion even during the original series.

Spoiler

Yeah, no, sorry, don't buy it. You want to be a Sith? That follows and surpasses Vader? You become fucking efficient. Vader only fell apart when his son came into the picture after believing him dead for so long. Before that, he was efficiency defined. Slaughtered the Jedi, didn't hesitate to kill. You don't pussy-foot around if you want to top that, rookie or not. Fits into the narrative? Their most effective weapon was their ability to put boots on the ground, anywhere and everywhere. Hell, there's a reason Star Destroyers have that name. Planetary bombardment/blockade was a proven tactic for them without spending on a space station that was truly only an effective weapon at destroying the Empire's dreams. First time, money sink, second time, bye bye leaders. Veers didn't fuck up, it was only ever when they relied on a superweapon that shit went downhill. Well, that and aiming at any of the main characters. The Death Stars certainly were NOT their most effective weapons. All that time building up the Star Killer as some big bad could have been effectively used on building up the First Order proper. Why should I give a damn about this random baby-faced ginger-Hitler? Who's he and what makes him or the shiny stormtrooper lady interesting? As far as Poe goes, he had a few one liners that definitely left me feeling they molded him a bit after Han. Didn't steal the show, but definitely turned out better in the beginning than he did flying his X-Wing around. Which is another thing that bothers me. No A-Wings. No B-Wings. Nothing but X-Wing vs Tie Fighter. Just another Death Star trench run.

Ah, there's your problem. Thrawn doesn't exist.

Funny, since none of them exist, no?

Spoiler

Hell, at this rate, I bet Ren is just going to go lightside and turn on Snope (really?) with Rey.

Spoiler

For me, I just keep going back to Kylo Ren not being all that, and that's the point. Why didn't he use the force to freeze Finn? Because the movie wanted a light saber scene. I mean it's likely Finn has some of the force himself but regardless he probably wouldn't have been able to resist Kylo anyways. Maybe all he wanted to do was kick ass with a light saber, because that's such a Kylo Ren thing to do. He's definitely one to show off.

The movie has holes, but I found it to be such an enjoyable ride that I was okay with looking past those common movie logic flaws. (I mean it's Star Wars right? Not that that's an excuse, but this isn't anything new).

The dynamic between Kylo, Rey and the light side is definitely going to be expanded upon.

[VictorViper]

Drauks, I feel for you in a way - the flick was far more derivative than it needed to be, had some ridiculous plot elements, and frankly glossed over too many legitimately heartstring-tugging nostalgia moments with the old characters.

At the same time, it's Star Wars: A popcorn fantasy that for whatever reason has been placed on a pedestal so high, I'm not sure any sequel could meet the fandom's expectations without turning into something else altogether.

For me anyway, the lack of gratuitous exposition and strong characterization are what made the originals so great. All the lore and backstory bubbling just beneath the surface ignited my imagination and enhanced what was otherwise a cool, swashbuckling adventure. The Force Awakens appealed to that sensibility and it was immensely enjoyable for it.

My two cents, anyway. I could go on and on about missed opportunities, absurd plot devices

Spoiler

(I'm henceforth referring to the new Death Star's fueling mechanism as the Capri Sun)

and derivative themes, but frankly I think the film was better for it.