Jedi, Jedi

[fbhjr]

As is my custom for the last 37 ½ years, I saw the new Star Wars movie the first day it was available to me.
A lot of people did. Lines to get in. Shows sold out. Groups not being able to sit near each other.
All those things you never see at the movies any more where there for this.
And, I came out of the theater happy. Although there were things in it that I didn’t like, the things I did outweighed them.

After this, there be spoilers.

There are some stupid bits in this movie.
And, no, it’s got nothing to do with gender or race of any of the folks in it. I actually think both the dialog and acting were above average in this for a Star Wars movie. And, the folks in it were certainly giving it all they could.
It’s got to do with things that just don’t make sense from a plot point.

If you’re being chased, can’t get away and are running out of fuel, don’t go out to a casino looking for some sort of hacker who can help you. Go to a gas station and steal a tank truck of gas.
You can have just as big an adventure doing that. Really.

Also, if ramming is a good thing to do, do it with the first two ships that run out of gas, don’t wait for the last one and just have the first two shot up.

If maybe 2% of your fighters can blow up the opponent’s launch bay and bridge, you don’t need that much support of the big ships. Go launch those fighters and finish the job. And, since when do the bad guys care about TIE fighter pilot lives anyhow?

How can it be “deep space” and be less than a day from a planet at sublight speed? You must have been in the solar system for that planet at the start.

Do the resistance really not have any uniforms? Leia seems to wear one. Why not the others?

Does someone in command of a major space power really stop an attack because of a phone prank?

If you’re in a high speed space chase with the very last of your enemies and you’ve got a whole fleet of ships, take a few through hyperspace and cut them off…

The big problem is that there were clearly some stories they wanted to do, but didn’t spend much time on why the characters would need to do them.
And, maybe when it comes down to it, the why isn’t so important, which is why I still like the movie.
But, it does bother me that they just hand waved “they’re being chased and can’t escape” to start the adventure.

I also just don’t understand how the politics and economy of that galaxy work.
The First Order blew up the capitol of the New Republic, so that means it owns the galaxy two days later?
What about their mega-weapon getting blown up at the same time. Doesn’t the loss of a planet sized weapon investment hurt them too?
I’d be willing to buy a “nothing can stop them now”, but I have trouble with “they now rule all”.
Two days isn’t enough time to even make the claim across the whole galaxy. Much less actually take over.
It is, again, hand waving without thinking it through.

There were things that disappointed me a lot too.
Last movie, Finn was handed a lightsaber by a short, millennia old, force user and told he had what it took to use it. I wanted to see him become a Jedi this movie. Not to take anything away from Rey. I wanted her to be one too. I wanted them to be the pair of kick ass people that Rey and Kylo were.

Snoke. He’s probably the most powerful force user we’ve ever seen on screen. But, no back story? Where was he when the Emperor was around and not being good with competition? If he’s that powerful, give us a bit of background.
OK, I agree, we knew nothing of the Emperor during the first trilogy. But, there was the promise of “you’ll find out about this when we do episodes I, II & III”. And, we did.
But, you can’t tell me Snoke is in IV, V and VI. I’ve seen those movies. He isn’t there. Even if you could say something like “he’s the evil tree on Dagoba!” Those movies don’t give his history the way the prequels do with Palpatine.

Rey’s parents. OK, I get the mirror image thing between her and Kylo. He’s the son of some of the most famous and powerful people in the galaxy. His family has been movers and shakers for the last two generations.
You want the mirror to that, it is someone who is a total no one from nowhere.
Cool. I’m OK with that.
My theory is that she was just out and out created by the force the way they think Anakin was in the first one. And, maybe that’s still true.
But, this makes her standing there in Jedi like robes watching a ship fly away from her force vision last movie an outright lie to the audience.
And, that annoys me.

I’m OK with the “burn the past” theme of the movie.
Burn the books, break the lightsaber, cut the old ones in two.
I’m OK with moving on. It’s a big galaxy. Let’s not get tied down to one family, one theme, one plot thread. (I’m just as glad they didn’t crash the Falcon as part of it…)

With the exception of Finn not (yet) going in the Jedi direction, I liked the characters and what they did with them. I like the new characters they introduced.
I think folks did a really good job with the parts they were given.

I just wish there wasn’t quite so much of the “this doesn’t matter, so we’re just going to ignore it and move on”.
I’m not even saying they were wrong.
But, it isn’t good story telling.
Chekhov’s gun not only wasn’t used, but was left behind in the snow to rust.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov%27s_gun