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Hey, I just had a thought on the issue of Rey's rapid Force awakening. Before most of her remarkable acts of Force usage, she had an unusual vision when she first touched the old light saber. Could we theorize that it's effect on her was more than what we saw in the vision (i.e. that it somehow also imparted some advanced skill)? It's speculative of course, with no firm support in the film but offers some sort of explanation.

Vader in the original movies always seemed like a somewhat sad figure to me, especially in the second two. He was evil, sure, but it never felt to me like he was driven by anger or the desire to do evil the way the Emperor was.

Whereas Annakin in Ep III... yeah, he was pretty ragey by the end. The guy who was screaming "I hate you!" at Obi Wan, I could see that guy just losing it when things didn't go his way.

Maybe this is a phase people tend to go through when they turn to the dark side? Which would explain why the Emperor was so pleased when Luke beat Vader in ROTJ. If you remember, Luke went all ragey and just beat Vader down. That would have looked like just the kind of anger Annakin had, and Kylo demonstrated.

Graham Kennedy wrote:Vader in the original movies always seemed like a somewhat sad figure to me, especially in the second two. He was evil, sure, but it never felt to me like he was driven by anger or the desire to do evil the way the Emperor was.

Right, that was the good in him Luke was referring to and that's what led to him being redeemable in the first place.

And also, I think a case can be made that Vader was partially holding back the Empire; i.e. the good in him fighting with the Dark Side.

Whereas Annakin in Ep III... yeah, he was pretty ragey by the end. The guy who was screaming "I hate you!" at Obi Wan, I could see that guy just losing it when things didn't go his way.

Maybe this is a phase people tend to go through when they turn to the dark side? Which would explain why the Emperor was so pleased when Luke beat Vader in ROTJ. If you remember, Luke went all ragey and just beat Vader down. That would have looked like just the kind of anger Annakin had, and Kylo demonstrated.

Probably a phase, and yeah, I think Annakin in Ep. 3 is supposed to be late teens/early 20s.

Probably a phase, and yeah, I think Annakin in Ep. 3 is supposed to be late teens/early 20s.

Just like Kylo Ren in this film.

So wait, does this mean the star wars movies are teen flicks??????????

Too old. They're children's movies.

Catching a blaster bolt via the Force was interesting, but I was expecting him to release it so Po would wind up shooting himself.

Finn is supposed to be a stormtrooper, but none of his hand to hand skills were shown. I was hoping that when Rey surprised him in the tent he would use melee moves to disarm her then keep on running, but nope.

Han could have been talking with Rey about some of the stuff he had heard Luke and Leia explain about the Force. This casual advice is still good enough for Rey to understand the basics.

Finn's plan when sneaking into the tower would have been along the lines of, "I don't know tech, Rey does. So we rescue Rey, and use her to break this place."

Rey moving through the base would have been her using the Force to choose the safer path. This could vary from hiding in an alcove, to taking a subway, or similar. This eventually leads her to Han, Finn, and Chewie. She is surprised because there are guns pointed at her, but the tunnel seemed clear.


Kylo Ren took a hit from Chewie's bowcaster, and was able to keep on fighting. Stormtroopers hit by that bowcaster got flung away as though a small bomb went off.

So I've been thinking about how I would have handled the sabre fight and I thought I'd run it out to see what anybody might think.

So first off, I'd have Kylo more obviously affected by the hit he took. I've only seen the movie once but I don't recall him showing any visible sign of injury. I'd have him limping, occasionally staggering and falling against something, groaning before he pulls himself up again. Establish that he's injured and it's affecting him!

Then, the fight with Finn. I'd have this clearly show that he's basically just playing with Finn. I'd have Finn doing everything he could, and Kylo just sidestepping him and treating him like a total amateur.

Essentially, a lightsabre version of this :



Only with Kylo being sarcastic and mocking about it. "Oh, good try! That's the spirit!" And have Kylo inflicting wounds now and again, wounds which are obviously not intended to be serious - little surface cuts here and there, weakening Finn, cutting him down bit by bit.

Then Rey comes to the rescue. And at first it's much the same. But then she has her "force moment", and comes back fighting five times better. Only... it still doesn't work! It's more equal now, obviously, and Kylo is suffering more and more, but he still gets the better of her.

Think of it being light the subway station fight in the Matrix. Smith beats Neo down... then Neo has his big "hero gets up and fights stronger" moment... only Smith still beats him.



That's an "oh shit" moment for the audience because we're so used to seeing the hero come back from the edge of defeat and win out, and this subverts it.

And then as Kylo is clearly getting the upper hand and about to win, the X Wings blow up the whatsit and the Starkiller base starts to blow up. And the ground collapses, stranding Kylo across a gorge that he can't cross. Maybe a big chunk of rock falls on him and further injures him or something. The wounded Rey and Finn stagger away and escape.

Point being, you establish some character items this way : Kylo is a badass who almost won even with all the advantages against him. A man to be feared! And Rey is learning to use the force, but still has a way to go. Actually somewhat paralleling the Empire Strikes Back battle between Luke and Vader, now I think about it.

Anyway, that's how I would have done it. Though I will say, one thing I've learned from my own attempts at writing is that it's way, waaaaay easier to "fix" what somebody else has written than it is to sit down in front of a blank piece of paper and create something worthwhile yourself!

Graham Kennedy wrote:So first off, I'd have Kylo more obviously affected by the hit he took. I've only seen the movie once but I don't recall him showing any visible sign of injury. I'd have him limping, occasionally staggering and falling against something, groaning before he pulls himself up again. Establish that he's injured and it's affecting him!

They actually do show him injured. When he joins Rey and Finn outside, he's kind of swaying, dripping blood and beating his wound--I'm guessing to desensitize it.

I'd have to see it again, but my recollection is that it really didn't seem much of a big deal to him.

What was the point of the Phasma character and why was Gwendoline Christie pushed so hard during the pre-release media blitz? Phasma could have been any generic stormtrooper early, and any officer/tech in the shield room. Simon Pegg's character had more screen time, more dialogue and a bigger role in the flow of the movie/story.

Shiny stormtrooper toys to sell?

Presumably she will have more to do in future movies, perhaps?

Graham Kennedy wrote:
Presumably she will have more to do in future movies, perhaps?

Didn't she die?

Griffin wrote:

Graham Kennedy wrote:
Presumably she will have more to do in future movies, perhaps?

Didn't she die?

Supposedly she is confirmed for episode VIII

Griffin wrote:

Graham Kennedy wrote:
Presumably she will have more to do in future movies, perhaps?

Didn't she die?

They tossed her down a garbage chute. We've seen people escape those before

And I thought they tried to be pretty obvious with Kylo Ren being badly wounded. However if you went for your popcorn at the wrong moment you could miss the frames showing him losing blood. And I guess one might think he occasionally stopped fighting Finn to beat his chest because he's a little weird.