flaws in Force Awakens (spoilers)
I saw SW VII last weekend so I could stop worrying about spoilers.
While the Force Awakens is a great movie and a worthy and logical successor to Return of the Jedi, it is not without it's flaws.
First is the Death Star Mark III, complete with last minute destruction (IV & VI) following an attack on the shield generator (VI), a short trench sequence (IV), and flying into the structure (VI). Even Han points this out when planning the attack; almost, but not quite, breaking the fourth wall in the process. And unlike the previous movies, this time the activation of "the Weapon" is far too coincidental. In both prior movies the Rebel Alliance is fully aware of the construction of the Death Star and it's activation is better integrated into the storyline.
Second are the "new" characters which seem to be simply copies of previous characters. Ben / Kylo Ren is Ankin Skywalker / Darth Vader, Rey is Luke Skywalker, and Supreme Commander Snoke is Emperor Palpatine. Even BB-8 is R2-D2 carrying around the stolen plans, I mean map. The one truely new character is Finn. OTOH I also have to say Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford did an excellent job communicating the relationship between Leia and Han. Mark Hamill also looks appropriately world weary.
Third are the abilities of the characters. Kylo Ren has force powers far beyond those shown by the Jedi during the clone wars (e.g. stopping a blaster bolt in midair, mind reading). Rey is an absolute savant with the Millenium Falcon, even though she has never been off the desert wasteland of Jakku. Then there is the underused (and over-marketed) Captain Phasma, who could be a Resistance sympathizer given how quickly she disables the shield.
Finally, there's the abilities of the Millenium Falcon: carving the dunes of Jakku and smashing through the forests Starkiller Base with no ill effects, jumping to lightspeed from a standing start and dropping out of lightspeed deep in a planet's gravity well. Whatever happened to getting the coordinates from the navi-computer?
(Is anyone else jazzed about Captain America: Civil War? I was disappointed by Age of Ultron, but Civil War looks more like Winter Soldier, which I enjoyed.)
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