please dont let Snoke end up like the Mandarin in Iron Man 3

Ah, that's why I liked him. I wish they'd approached the whole new trilogy exactly the same way.

"Hur hur hur we aren't telling their surnames on purpose." It's as dumb as, say, keeping Luke's surname secret all the way through 4 and 5, and then it turns out to be Vader. "Why didn't you tell us?" "Er, idunno, it just never came up?"

Captain Phasma isn't a proper villain, she's an obligatory 10-point disadvantage Finn got due to being a rogue stormtrooper, and now neither Finn's player nor the GM know how to integrate her into the campaign.

It can be "forced", as in, written competently, it's just the screenwriters couldn't do it. Boba Fett felt like there was more to him (even though there wasn't). Phasma is "this space intentionally left blank", to be perhaps filled later with the background test audiences like best.

The fundamental problem is that they can't write to surprise anymore. Viewers shouldn't guess (or not guess) which of the plot building blocks will get used next, they should wonder. Kylo Ren will be "redeemed", or he won't, or he was a mole all along -- we've seen every variant with scores of Solo and Skywalker dudes. But if he were a 30+ swordswoman, that would be a non-cliche character, and people would go, "whoa, I can't predict what happens next, but I want to find out".

There's a great character in DROD 2, the 39th Slayer. I enter the room, plan my solution, proceed to play it out and he's like, "Hello motherfucker!" SW7 should have had at least two active masterminds, like in a three-body problem. One implements a plan, the heroes react (and the viewer is left guessing), then the second villain's plan throws everything into disarray, the heroes are up the shit creek without a paddle, they struggle to survive, and then Kylo Ren is like "Hello motherfuckers!"

Oh cmon, it's Star Wars. People remember the names of the cantina band players.

Thing is, it IS my opinion. One does not have to witness something to have an opinion about it. Disagree with that? Well, that would be your opinion, wouldn't it?

And if I had seen it, then the accusation of being a money paying hypocrite could be applied. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I agree, but that's personal taste of course.

So let's assume that before Finn managed to disable the shields for the planetary death machine and what else, he suddenly died for whatever reason. Do you think the Resistance would have been able to do anything and manage to save their own?

The Force Awakens is the least interesting Star Wars movie

I think it's a worthwile read, and it sums up well the biggest problems of the film and nailed how I felt about it.

Very good points made; the central disagreement I have with the text is that Merchant is wishing George Lucas back at one point.

I have many points of criticism towards Episode VII but none weighs as heavy as the movie's pacing – and George Lucas practically invented this kind of modern action cinema for the prequels, those breathless leaps from one action scene to another, from one planet to another in the blink of an eye, and the absurd lucky accidents that make his universe appear so small.

Episode VII is above average fan fiction not because Lucas wasn't involved, but in fact because he's been paid far too much tribute to. And that really doesn't stop at just the plot oddities. :(

You cheeky bastard. ;D

Well, I knew absolutely zilch about her so I just saw her as yet another minor character whom we’ll probably get to know more about in future installments.

I didn't get the impression that he has to do that.* It seemed to me that his inner conflict was all about the nature of his family ties (how they connect to major players on both sides of the Force) and, in particular, the problematic relationship with his father rather than (the opposition between) the ideals and principles of the light and the dark side respectively. By committing patricide he effectively severs the one family tie that’s clearly the major cause of his grievances: that between father and son. Furthermore, it serves to strengthen the spiritual bond between him and his grandfather. When he speaks of being torn apart, wanting to be free of the pain and asks Han for help I believe he is referring to the act of killing him (help in the sense of self-sacrifice). Obviously, that’s not what Han thinks (or wants to believe) and that in itself shows just how tragically far apart they are as father and son.

The way I see it Kylo Ren craves power, recognition and not much else. He doesn’t care about moral values or politics and isn’t drawn to the light side. All he cares about is assuming the mantle of his grandfather.

*I guess I must have missed this bit: I got the impression that it was done for purely physical reasons – that he was somehow trying to keep his body alert and functional so it wouldn’t give in and he wouldn’t pass out. Anyway, it did look delightfully intimidating – as if he wasn’t bothered by the pain itself.

Well, Rey is in the death machine, and she has the ability to manipulate people, so she could have gotten one of the stormtroopers to disable the shield.

It was nice to have characters I actually liked and wanted to succeed. I think what sums up the movie for me was when the gang are hanging around a table to hammer out their battle strategy and it’s a short scene maybe 1-2 minutes in length which keeps it really simple – take down the shields, blow this thing up, party time. It’s a space adventure. Princess Leia doesn't command 4 simultaneous attacks to stop the order from blockading Naboo because the taxation of trade routes is in dispute or whatever.

Seemed fine to me. When the villain removes his mask its supposed to convey something about the character and mess with your expectations. He's a scared shitless kid, a logical starting point on the path to the dark side.

Continued from a post in a thread far, far away:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/well_star_wars_7_is_almost_upon_us/post279 I wouldn't be surprised if their hyperdrives kicked in a long time ago. :P True, the thought briefly crossed my mind that he might even belong to the same species as Yoda (with cropped ears for some unknown reason) - sort of like an ostracized, mutilated version of Yogurt - or perhaps be a crossbreed that's part human/humanoid. Yeah, that was quite convenient (and seemed a bit silly really).

Saw the movie last night. Thought it was good entertainment and a quite good addition to the Star Wars movies. Hell, I liked it better than everything except Episode IV and V. Honestly, if you start to tear apart the plot points or dig too deep for logic in Star Wars material, especially the movies (any of them), it all falls apart pretty quickly.

Even more favorite than the movie are the people who are spending hours of their lives trying to articulate why exactly they don't like the movie. It must have been a radical let-down for a lot of folks.
*ding*

However, if we're gonna talk about her manipulating ability, let's not forget that she took her merry time to attempt it, as well as a failed attempt or two, so I can say it can be quite random to execute, and its not good when you're in unknown enemy territory that is constantly being watched over by other stormtroopers, although one wonders that if the First Order can make a planetary death machine like that then why didn't they put more effort into installing security cameras or, since its Star Wars, even sensors that tell if the person in question is on the side of the First Order or an intruder.

Also, consider that Ray has no prior knowledge about the plan to destroy the death machine to begin with. Saving her was part of the plan Leia put forth, but utilizing her was not.