# Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Seen It (Assume Spoilers Within) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 16, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645 "2015-12-16T23:16:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/141 "2015-12-18T23:37:49Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > I don’t care that its a greatest hits movie, it probably needed to be to wash off the stink of the prequels… This is probably one of the most insightful comments. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/142 "2015-12-19T00:09:06Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Sure but I assume you can agree that there’s a difference between using one for five seconds to open a taun-taun tummy and using one for several minutes to fence a trained user. A severely injured trained user. Kylo took a gut shot from Chewie’s bowcaster, that thing was tossing storm troopers around like a grenade launcher. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/143 "2015-12-19T00:27:18Z")
so do we know who the old dude was with the map on the memory stick in the opening scenes? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/144 "2015-12-19T00:35:31Z")
I wonder if the killing off of Han was one of the conditions in which Harrison Ford agreed to reprise his role. He always felt Han should have been killed off in ROTJ. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/145 "2015-12-19T00:39:45Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > so do we know who the old dude was with the map on the memory stick in the opening scenes? Lor San Tekka. Whoever the hell he is. Or was. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/146 "2015-12-19T00:45:00Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > A severely injured trained user. Kylo took a gut shot from Chewie’s bowcaster, that thing was tossing storm troopers around like a grenade launcher. He was reacting to that very strangely, I thought–kind of stopping and literally hitting the wound repeatedly every few minutes. Is that a thing that people do? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/147 "2015-12-19T00:55:35Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > I wonder if the killing off of Han was one of the conditions in which Harrison Ford agreed to reprise his role. He always felt Han should have been killed off in ROTJ. Almost certainly. Though I also think that, as it was a widely known fact, it would’ve been rolling around in JJ Abrams’s head anyway. Also there’s [this TV show](https://youtu.be/5W7paueNuEc?t=195) from ten years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/148 "2015-12-19T01:03:44Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > Not fly, but leap straight up with impossible speed and height. … It’s very puzzling that Palpatine fell to his death, but maybe he was taken by surprise and couldn’t react quickly enough? Your first sentence explains the last. Palpatine was thrown off by Vader, while electrocuting himself and was generally beat to shit anyway. Even Pinball Yoda wouldn’t have been able to do anything- can’t jump if you don’t have your feet. Maybe that’s why the Empire builds all those chasms- it’s the only easy way to kill a Jedi. > [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > Favourite line: > > “Is there a garbage chute? …a _trash compactor_?” > > 😃 Ha! I was actually disappointed he said “trash compactor.” Then again, I’m still annoyed that Jake immediately spoiled the “1060 West Addison” joke in _Blues Brothers_, so… ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/149 "2015-12-19T01:20:50Z")
I really liked it. I give it a B+/A-. Look, I’ll never be 7 again and utterly have my mind BLOWN the way I did the first time I saw the first one. (Fourth one–whatever.) But The Force Awakens got my love back after the prequels. I’ve blocked out one and two and never bothered seeing three. (Or six. I’m an old! Cut me a little slack.) I really like Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. Yeah, he is young–that’s when a person is the most vulnerable to going down the wrong path. And you do see him being vulnerable to maybe going back. (I forget who it was upthread, (like them) I really did think for a second that maybe the movie will have him at least TRY to go good, right in the first movie. Huge, OMG, \ change.) But, you do have to dance with the ones that brung ya. Domnhall Gleeson as Hux (the Nazi-esque speech giver) was driving me nuts. Not his performance–great. But b/c I knew I knew him from something–went thru it with Driver as well. (For Driver it was– **This is Where I Leave You**. I haven’t watched Girls. For Gleeson–We had JUST watched **Ex Machina**. And we saw at least three other movies from his filmiography. tl:dr Really liked it. Great acting. I’ll probably go see it again. Yay, Star Wars! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/150 "2015-12-19T01:27:02Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > He was reacting to that very strangely, I thought–kind of stopping and literally hitting the wound repeatedly every few minutes. Is that a thing that people do? From the sound it made when he slapped it, I think he was trying to pound his armor tighter, to put pressure on the wound. Or, since he’s a dark side user, maybe he was trying to make it hurt more to keep his anger up. Speaking of recognizing someone and not being able to place him, who was the fat, bearded X-Wing pilot in this one? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/151 "2015-12-19T01:35:18Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > From the sound it made when he slapped it, I think he was trying to pound his armor tighter, to put pressure on the wound. > > Or, since he’s a dark side user, maybe he was trying to make it hurt more to keep his anger up. > > Speaking of recognizing someone and not being able to place him, who was the fat, bearded X-Wing pilot in this one? Matt Parkman from Heroes. I also recognized the girl from Killjoys as one of the super weapon operators. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/152 "2015-12-19T01:59:45Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > He was reacting to that very strangely, I thought–kind of stopping and literally hitting the wound repeatedly every few minutes. Is that a thing that people do? The first time he did it, they made a show of the blood falling to the ground. So I had it in my head that he was trying to knock out the pooling blood collecting in his armor for whatever reason, but I couldn’t give a great reason for why he’d be doing so. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/153 "2015-12-19T02:00:28Z")
He also looked angry and frustrated, i think he was just annoyed he was actually feeling pain. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/154 "2015-12-19T02:05:22Z")
> [@Cumbrian](#): > > Don’t know what the etiquette is for something like this - so no spoilers in the opening post. Suffice it to say, I have just got back from the European Premiere in London (itself an interesting experience, walking the red carpet past JJ Abrams and Adam Driver signing autographs and posing for photos, Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew being interviewed by the assembled press, etc). > > I wil say this. I am not a diehard fan of the series (but have seen all of the other 6 films and jumped at the chance of a ticket through work) but I thought this was a pretty decent film, hitting what might be expected and familiar beats and maintained a pretty sharp pace. There are criticisms to be made, I think (one plot development is telegraphed almost as soon as the relevant scene starts, for instance), but I’ll leave most of that to those who have greater investment in the series than I do. As a film in and of itself though, I thought it was fun, with more than a couple of genuine LOLs that I didn’t feel undercut the characters or the overall feel of the originals. A good modern blockbuster. > > I assume some others will have seen it by now. Have at it. Just saw the movie and haven’t read anyone’s comments yet, but I LOVED IT!! Holy crap, it brought back the first two movies to me. The same sort of space opera and swashbuckling seat of your pants story line I was missing in space epic movies. There were some parts that were a bit flat, and the really shocking event actually came as a shock to me, though I kind of saw it coming. It’s funny all the speculation about Luke turned out to be totally wrong, and, honestly, while it might have been cool I think this is better. Cliff hanger ending just made me hungry for the next one. Definitely has XT’s seal AND otter of approval though, FWIW. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/155 "2015-12-19T03:02:53Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > I thought it was merely a 3/5 movie\*. Because of the Black stormtrooper? [That’s racist!!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-Fifths_Compromise) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/156 "2015-12-19T03:08:48Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > There were so many nice little touches in this movie. Like how Rey was the first person in all of Star Wars history to treat a droid like a person instead of like property. The First Order is a lot more progressive than the Galactic Empire. They have women occupying all jobs in their armed forces. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/157 "2015-12-19T03:19:23Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I didn’t have an issue with Ren Kylo (who my wife and I kept accidentally calling Rilo Kiley) being young or whiny or throwing fits. I figured he’s new at this and trying to prove himself and all that and he’s semi-unique in the whole “has the Force” thing so the Neo-Empire takes what it can get. I did think that paring him with someone who looked way too young to be commanding the army was a mistake since the joint effect made it look like amateur hour. He’s got a bit of his grandfather and his uncle in him. Don’t forget that Luke and Anakin were petulant little turds at that age too. Look, The Force Awakens was a week entry into the Star Wars films. There were zero mitochloreans. They spent the first act on a desert planet with no mention of how course sand is or how it gets in everywhere. Neither Poe or Fen were nearly “stalky” enough to be with a girl as hot as Ray. And where’s all the CGI? What is this 1977? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/158 "2015-12-19T03:22:10Z")
Why does Ren call Vader “grandfather” if he’s Han’s son? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/159 "2015-12-19T03:25:09Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Why does Ren call Vader “grandfather” if he’s Han’s son? Because he’s also Leia’s son (you need a male AND female to make a human ;)), and she is Vader’s daughter. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645/160 "2015-12-19T03:25:20Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Why does Ren call Vader “grandfather” if he’s Han’s son? Because he is Leia’s son also. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-the-force-awakens-seen-it-assume-spoilers-within/740645.md?page=9)