My issues with the Force Awakens (Spoilers)

Let me start by saying I liked the film, maybe even really liked it. It was far better than the prequels, or at least as far as I can remember (haven't seen them since they came out; might be time for a re-watch). I went with my wife and two daughters and we all had fun. I enjoyed many of the new characters and feel like it was a worthy entry into the Star Wars universe.

That said...(you knew it was coming)...

OK, issue number one - and this is the main one, which colored my whole experience of the film. The overall feel of it. It didn't feel like canon. It felt like a fan-made flick, like one of the extended universe novels. It didn't have that George Lucas vibe. Despite the flaws of the prequels, they were still Lucas. Understand that I did not go into the theater caring about this, or even having thought about this. But I came out with a weird feeling, like I saw an excellent homage, but not a "real" Star Wars film.

Issue number two. Derivation. I know, give the fans what they want. But this was just too re-hashed, to the point of feeling like a re-boot. And of course that is what it was: a re-boot of the franchise, the product line, so that Disney could make billions. So they made sure they included some of the best parts of the original trilogy, and they also wanted to give the wink, wink moments for us Gen Xers who grew up with it. In a way I was reminded of the Star Trek reboot, which just didn't capture me like the old Shatner/Nimoy/Kelley originals. For me the worst moment was the whole Khan sequence. I like Benedict Cumberbatch, but Ricardo Montalban is Khan. Yes, he is.

Anyhow, this is a larger issue for me with contemporary cinema and literature: copies of copies, and in some cases copies of copies of copies. Where are the new ideas? Why can't we see a new science fiction franchise rather than another re-hash of Star Trek or Star Wars? Where are the fresh ideas? I'm reminded of a quote from Jim Morrison: "Where is the feast that was promised us? Where is the wine, the new wine? Dying on the vine." I get why they do what they do, but I don't like it.

I'd even go so far as to say that the film felt like it was created by an AI algorithm, an answer to the question: "How to make a Star Wars film for 2015 and a new generation?" It succeeded as well as any computer program might, but also lacked the mythic resonance that can only come through organic imagination.

Issue number three. Han Solo?! Really? OK, I get it. It makes sense. Even if Harrison Ford was willing to do more films (which is probably unlikely), Han Solo is probably the greatest character in the entire Star Wars canon - aside from non-Hayden Christiansen Darth Vader, of course. I could have accepted him being crippled, critically injured, but dead?! I'm having a hard time swallowing that.

OK, all that said, I will end where I started: I really liked the film - one of my favorite science fiction films of the decade. But it is not a new classic, imo. It is a nostalgia piece, a re-boot of a classic - but it doesn't have the same magic of the original trilogy. IMHO, of course. Am I disappointed? Not really. I enjoyed the film too much. I'd even say that in some cases the film was better than the originals; for instance, as much as I have a soft spot for Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley's Rey is a more dynamic protagonist than Luke Skywalker (and Ridley a better actor than Hamill). But I am still left with the weird feeling that I didn't see a real Star Wars film, but a fan's take on what a Star Wars sequel might look like.

Addendum: A Quibble. Captain Phasma. Totally useless. She was really touted by the trailers, but after seeing the film it is clear to me that Disney (and Abrams) was trying to accomplish two things: Establish a new Boba Fetish, and advertise toys. Oh yeah, and why did she so easily cave to their demands? Shouldn't her training keep her mouth shut? Too easy.

I still haven't seen the film (and will probably be among the last 5 or 10 people on Earth to do so - because I'm too cheap to buy non-matinee movie tickets), but ...

The biggest problem I see is the Death Star Clone tacked onto what otherwise is an interesting plot premise: Where did Luke disappear to? There is a Sith Lord a-budding and we need him! The multi-party hunt / race provides plenty of material all by itself.

If the new BBEG has been around since Palpatine became Emperor, he should know that big flashy superweapons are big prestige targets for your opponents / enemies to embarrass you, not "This battle station is the ultimate power in the galaxy". This movie might have been better served with a nod to Ep3's scene showing the construction parameters for the Death Star, implying what is to come unless Our Heroes can figure it all out and put a stop to it.

Han Solo was going to have to have SOMETHING dramatic happen to him; his IRL-self has developed a bad habit of crashing airplanes, instead of flying through dangers without a scratch. Have him a concerned parent trying to steer / pull his child away from the abyss ... yeah, that does work, especially if you read the novelization of Return of the Jedi: Han reflects on his relationship with his immediate friends, "apart, yet a part". He's been an absent dad for a long time, but just maybe he IS the one person who can turn his son around. (Besides, the family reconciliation thing worked for Luke ... )
And this is still better than the death the novels gave to Chewie: he became a statistic, trapped underneath a Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid.

Eltab said:

The biggest problem I see is the Death Star Clone tacked onto what otherwise is an interesting plot premise: Where did Luke disappear to? There is a Sith Lord a-budding and we need him! The multi-party hunt / race provides plenty of material all by itself.

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This is my biggest personal issue. I can live with some of the other beats and repeated plot points (search for droid with secret plans, rescue of damsel in distress from enemy base). The movie would have still worked fine if the Death Star 3 had been just a First Order base and they were going in to rescue Rey, and the airstrike was a diversion for the ground team. Delete the blowing up of planets that (once again) no one reacts to in a meaningful way and it works pretty well.

The rest I'm mostly fine with. CPT Phasma pulling a RotJ Boba Fett was lame, but she should get better in the next movies. Han's death, as unfortunate as that is for Han Solo fans like me, I think was a good choice. They have to hand over the reins some how, someone was going to die, and Harrison has been trying to get Han killed off since Empire. It works to make you hate the recurring villain, who they were smart enough *not* to kill off this time *cough*Darth Maul*cough*.

I'm personally thrilled Lucas had nothing personally to do with this film; the film was better because of it.

I take Death Star Mk III as being a metaphor for people who people/politicians who go on thinking that their way will ultimately work, no matter how flawed it has been shown to be, if only they can get enough money/power/prestige behind it. The Empire/The First Order is going to continue making bigger and more powerful weapons, because they simply can't see it's a flawed strategy.

And I'm personally ecstatic that Lucas didn't like how the movie turned out. To me, it makes it seem that Disney are going in the right direction.

I never thought I'd say this, but I think the Hateful Eight is actually a better movie than TFA.

-Ducks-

I went to see it on New Year's eve with a friend, and I was struck by how invested I was in the fate of characters that I thought were horrible people. The originality of the film struck me as well, but that's not hard given that the last film I watched before the Hateful Eight was Star Wars: The Movie You've Already Seen.

I also realized how overused that ominous distant boom sound effect is in trailers. Captain Avengers: Ominous Noise had that distant ominous booming sound almost every second of the trailer.

Ryujin said:

The Empire/The First Order is going to continue making bigger and more powerful weapons, because they simply can't see it's a flawed strategy.

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My current guess is that Starkiller has already served its purpose. The New Republic was too strong for the First Order to take head on. So, they took its head off. I don't think Starkiller base was ever intended to be a long-term strategy. It was there to kill the Republic government, and it did that. The base's existence beyond that point would have been nice, maybe, but not a major part of Snoke's plan.

1 & 2 I sorta agree regarding the lack of creativity in modern writers but I do actually like that this ones a reboot and hand down from the classics to a new generation in an expanded universe. Star Wars is modern myth but where oral tradition allows for reinvention of the base material with each iteration the film medium means old forms remain and new stories must me constructed on the mythic plot. That's what I think is happening with the awakening.

I do agree that the new death star wasn't needed for the story to work well but I am impressed that they had the gonads to kill Han (underlining that this is a handover) and although Phasma was a bit naff I do hope she earns a better story arc next episode (one fan theory posits that she's actually a good guy planted deep cover in the First Order - I like that notion and look forward to the Snape reveal).

One other random thought - what if Reys father is Palpatine!!!

Umbran said:

My current guess is that Starkiller has already served its purpose. The New Republic was too strong for the First Order to take head on. So, they took its head off. I don't think Starkiller base was ever intended to be a long-term strategy. It was there to kill the Republic government, and it did that. The base's existence beyond that point would have been nice, maybe, but not a major part of Snoke's plan.

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That's not a bad theory, given the disposable nature of troops to The Empire/First Order.

Tonguez said:

I do agree that the new death star wasn't needed for the story to work well but I am impressed that they had the gonads to kill Han (underlining that this is a handover) and although Phasma was a bit naff I do hope she earns a better story arc next episode (one fan theory posits that she's actually a good guy planted deep cover in the First Order - I like that notion and look forward to the Snape reveal).

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The Han death isn't so much about balls as it is about Ford not wanting to do any more Star Wars films.

Yep, that'd be my one true complaint with TFA. That it was essentially a remake of ANH. A really good, entertaining, remake, but a remake none-the-less....

Here's hoping Episode 8 is more original.
(I also hope that Luke will get killed off in the 1st 15 minutes)