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Poe was originally meant to be killed in the crash on Jakku, but the filmmakers thankfully changed their minds. Hopefully he'll be given more to do in the next movies.
[Edited to add link]
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Finally got to see the movie. It was pretty good.
One thing I don't understand is those who say it was a pure re-hash of A New Hope. I saw elements of the original trilogy throughout, and some excellent homages.
A rehash. Those folks are smoking some bad s+@+. Or they're just idiots.
Droid escapes from the Empire/First Order carrying information that both the Empire/First Order and the Rebel Alliance/Resistance. It crashes on a desert planet, where it soon meets the hero of the story, Luke/Rey. This hero is found to be force sensitive. Through the Empire/First Order's efforts to recapture the droid, the hero meets the main villain, Darth Vader/Kylo Ren. The Rebel Alliance/Resistance learns of the existence of a planet-killer weapon (apologies to Babylon 5 for stealing their terminology). The hero's mentor, Obi-Wan/Han Solo is killed by the main villain. The hero confront's the main villain, and barely escapes with his/her life. Largely through the actions of the hero, the planet-killer weapon is destroyed.
I mean, cmon? They could have at least made Jakku into something other than a desert planet. Hell, they could have made it an ICE planet and at least stolen a note from ESB.
And....so what?
It still has enough plot differentiations to make it a standout movie in it's own right. Besides, many of those plot points are elemental to most stories.
So I stand by my earlier statement.
I think people confuse similar set pieces (planet killer weapon, desert planet, droid) with similar plot.
Rey, for instance, plays almost no part in the destruction of the base. Her duel with Ren has no parallel in ANH. The initial failed attack on the base after dropping the shield has no similarity. The battle on the forest planet has no parallel in ANH. Finn has no parallel in ANH.
Similar set pieces, very different plot.
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Yeah, the destruction of the base is framed entirely differently, too. In ANH, it's the main point of the climax. In TFA, it's pretty much background noise for our secondary character, Poe, to handle.
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It should be noted that Obama was younger (and arguably *healthier*) than Palpatine.
But not less evil? Then again 8 years in the White House ravaged his youthful looks comparing his before and after.
The movie has parallels with ANH, nothing more. It also has its fair share of perpendiculars.
The difference between the two is a little blurry.
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But not less evil? Then again 8 years in the White House ravaged his youthful looks comparing his before and after.
It should be noted that Obama was younger (and arguably *healthier*) than Palpatine.
Careful: This was not intended as a real world political thread.
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I think people confuse similar set pieces (planet killer weapon,
...
Full stop! Had this element been different, none of the rest would have felt repetitive.
Because of the "planet killer weapons" of A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, this element was what made the film feel repetitive.
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Poe was originally meant to be killed in the crash on Jakku, but the filmmakers thankfully changed their minds. Hopefully he'll be given more to do in the next movies.
[Edited to add link]
That explains a lot about his role in the movie.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I realized something that has been bugging me about the movie yesterday (in addition to the things I've previously listed). One of the big reasons that the threat of Kylo Ren seems diminished is that he was beaten pretty handily at multiple points in the movie. Ren turned his force mind probe back at him, Chewbaca bowcasts him, and then he's beaten in the climactic lightsaber duel and is only saved by GM fiat (crevasse opening between him and Rey).
In comparison, Darth Vader is never beaten until the end of RotJ, and every time he appears the good guys are in serious trouble. Even when his TIE fighter is hit at the end of ANH, he's sent off away from the battle, but he's clearly out there and not injured or beaten.
They've said that Kylo Ren will grow into a more serious villian, but at the same time, Rey and company will be growing in skill and experience as well.
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On a mostly unrelated note, I always thought Darth Vader getting into his little spaceship to help shoot stuff was silly as hell. Even as a kid. It kind of made him seem a lot less menacing to me.
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Kylo Ren is much closer to Anakin than Darth Vader. For good or ill.
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On a mostly unrelated note, I always thought Darth Vader getting into his little spaceship to help shoot stuff was silly as hell. Even as a kid. It kind of made him seem a lot less menacing to me.
In the first movie, fanboys hadn't elevated Force users to be more powerful than TIE Fighters, Star Destroyers, and Death Stars.
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I wasn't involved in any of that "fanboy/girl" talk about Force Users, being a kid. I just thought it was goofy that Darth Vader, this terrifying mystical general, would get in a little TIE Fighter with the rest of the rank-and-file and personally take on the enemy. It was sort of like how in Independence Day the president decides to fly out with the other fighter pilots. ;D
And which trilogy featured Dark Vader and which one featured Anakin? :)
On the other hand, Anakin turned into Darth Vader. Hence "good or ill". If Kylo Ren makes a similar transition, we will rejoice.
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BTW, not sure if I mentioned this... But the new comic book series featuring Darth Vader are pretty good.
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That explains a lot about his role in the movie.Poe was originally meant to be killed in the crash on Jakku, but the filmmakers thankfully changed their minds. Hopefully he'll be given more to do in the next movies.
[Edited to add link]
I hope BB-8 is not stuck in an x-wing for the rest of the series. They nailed BB-8 in my opinion as a cute friendly droid adventuring with people not going beep beep bop in the back of an x-wing.
I really liked the movie. The way they changed up how Rey came to (or remembered) the force.... how Kylo Ren can see what she cant understand yet( I see the ocean and island) and he can feel her fear as she is awakening (dont be afraid I feel it too) wow it was crazy. :DI also like how they made it seem like Fin would be the force user but flipped script in the actual movie.
Poor Poe... not sure what they will do with him.
BB-8 is again on point all the way.
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On a mostly unrelated note, I always thought Darth Vader getting into his little spaceship to help shoot stuff was silly as hell. Even as a kid. It kind of made him seem a lot less menacing to me.
I had the opposite reaction. When the x-wing pilots are like "hey the batteries stopped firing what gives?" Then vader is like, "watch my back i'll take care of this myself" then proceeds to down fighters like nobodies business. /badass
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But, see, unlike mine, your childhood interpretation was wrong. Mine was right. And if my personal impression of a movie about space wizards isn't able to be decisively agreed upon as the one and only right one...good god, man, what are we even fighting for on this earth?
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And if my personal impression of a movie about space wizards isn't able to be decisively agreed upon as the one and only right one...good god, man, what are we even fighting for on this earth?
I have heard the Moravians say that there are lands in which men quarrel even consarning their religion; and if they can get their tempers up on such a subject, Hurry, the Lord have Marcy on 'em.
--The Deerslayer (1841).
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I realized something that has been bugging me about the movie yesterday (in addition to the things I've previously listed). One of the big reasons that the threat of Kylo Ren seems diminished is that he was beaten pretty handily at multiple points in the movie. Ren turned his force mind probe back at him, Chewbaca bowcasts him, and then he's beaten in the climactic lightsaber duel and is only saved by GM fiat (crevasse opening between him and Rey).
In comparison, Darth Vader is never beaten until the end of RotJ, and every time he appears the good guys are in serious trouble. Even when his TIE fighter is hit at the end of ANH, he's sent off away from the battle, but he's clearly out there and not injured or beaten.
They've said that Kylo Ren will grow into a more serious villian, but at the same time, Rey and company will be growing in skill and experience as well.
While he's on the Dark Side and wear a mask, I wouldn't put Kylo Ren on the same level of Vader. He's presented as a more sympathetic character right in the first movie, and I don't think he'll be as much of a big bad as the series goes on.
Vader was a guy firmly on the Dark Side who had a tiny spark of light in him. Kylo is much more conflicted and seems to be more of a hostage of the Dark Side than anything else. I think that will play a big role in future movies, and I welcome the shift - it would be a shame just to copy the story beats of the first trilogy, after all.
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On a mostly unrelated note, I always thought Darth Vader getting into his little spaceship to help shoot stuff was silly as hell. Even as a kid. It kind of made him seem a lot less menacing to me.
interestingly enough, it's the first clue that Darth Vader was a hot shot pilot just like Obi-wan remembers that Anakin was...
I never caught it at the time, but in hindsight, I kind of like that, and wish they had done it a bit more.
I noticed in REBELS, that they had Vadar do some impressive space battling.
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I hope BB-8 is not stuck in an x-wing for the rest of the series. They nailed BB-8 in my opinion as a cute friendly droid adventuring with people not going beep beep bop in the back of an x-wing.
I was shocked how much liked that little soccer ball. He was aweosome. My favorite droid now.
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I was shocked how much liked that little soccer ball. He was aweosome. My favorite droid now.
I hope BB-8 is not stuck in an x-wing for the rest of the series. They nailed BB-8 in my opinion as a cute friendly droid adventuring with people not going beep beep bop in the back of an x-wing.
Definitely agreed, there. I didn't think I'd mind him - he looked kind of super-neat - but, man is he my favorite droid. Such a cute little guy, and nice.
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I realized something that has been bugging me about the movie yesterday (in addition to the things I've previously listed). One of the big reasons that the threat of Kylo Ren seems diminished is that he was beaten pretty handily at multiple points in the movie. Ren turned his force mind probe back at him, Chewbaca bowcasts him, and then he's beaten in the climactic lightsaber duel and is only saved by GM fiat (crevasse opening between him and Rey).
In comparison, Darth Vader is never beaten until the end of RotJ, and every time he appears the good guys are in serious trouble. Even when his TIE fighter is hit at the end of ANH, he's sent off away from the battle, but he's clearly out there and not injured or beaten.
They've said that Kylo Ren will grow into a more serious villian, but at the same time, Rey and company will be growing in skill and experience as well.
While he's on the Dark Side and wear a mask, I wouldn't put Kylo Ren on the same level of Vader. He's presented as a more sympathetic character right in the first movie, and I don't think he'll be as much of a big bad as the series goes on.
Vader was a guy firmly on the Dark Side who had a tiny spark of light in him. Kylo is much more conflicted and seems to be more of a hostage of the Dark Side than anything else. I think that will play a big role in future movies, and I welcome the shift - it would be a shame just to copy the story beats of the first trilogy, after all.
That's pretty much it. Vader is the Villain Realized, while Kylo's story appears to thus far be a Start of Darkness. This movie was him vacillating between either the Light or Dark Side, and he made his choice upon that bridge. The Force is strong with him...but he is not a Dark Jedi yet.
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HK-57 will always have that distinction for me.
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Definitely agreed, there. I didn't think I'd mind him - he looked kind of super-neat - but, man is he my favorite droid. Such a cute little guy, and nice.I was shocked how much liked that little soccer ball. He was aweosome. My favorite droid now.
I hope BB-8 is not stuck in an x-wing for the rest of the series. They nailed BB-8 in my opinion as a cute friendly droid adventuring with people not going beep beep bop in the back of an x-wing.
Yeah. Between the thumbs up, and the obvious grief about Poe, and the shooting cable tethers, he has so much personality.
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HK-57 will always have that distinction for me.Supposition: HK-47 will disintegrate meatbags who refer to him by the wrong designation.
Indeed. To think, I was about to let him live a bit longer, as a thank you for his meatbag loyalty.
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The master is not infallible. So, I gave you an extra 10 bonus designation points on account of how efficient you perform your duties.
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“I’ve spoken with Disney people, and they were completely blindsided by the reaction to the new Star Wars characters,” Marcotte went on to say. “They put a huge investment into marketing and merchandizing the Kylo Ren character. They presumed he would be the big breakout role from the film. They were completely surprised when it was Rey everyone identified with and wanted to see more of. Now they’re stuck with vast amounts of Kylo Ren product that is not moving, and a tidal wave of complaints about a lack of Rey items.”
So, to be clear, I am not posting this to make any claims about sexism. I recognize that Kylo Ren probably got a large chunk of the focus because he was a villain. There's a lot of interesting stuff in that article to do with how toys are marketed, but that's not what I'm discussing here. I encourage anybody who reads that article and wants to comment on whether or not they think there's a problem with how toys are marketed to make their own thread.
I'm posting this because I do think it's interesting that the Kylo Ren toy hasn't caught on quite like they hoped. It might tie into complaints about Kylo Ren's weakness. Alternatively, it's simply an indicator that Rey was a very popular character (something we already had a lot of evidence for). It sounds like they were really counting on Kylo Ren being the next Darth Vader—at least, the toy department was.
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I found out most of Kylo Ren and Rey toys were sold out.
Lots of Finn toys left, though, I think he didn't sell very well. Understandable, since he doesn't do a whole lot of cool stuff in the movie and doesn't have a cool armor like Phasma and the Stormtroopers. Same goes for Poe, but I think he doesn't have as many toys left because they didn't order all that many Poe toys, since he isn't one of the main characters.
Toys are pretty expensive, so if parents have to choose, it's understandable that they will prioritize Rey, Kylo Ren, Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers.
My nephew chose Han Solo, Chewbacca and Darth Vader... My niece got Rey, Chewbacca and Kylo Ren. Neither of them showed much interest in Poe or Finn. :/
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I was honestly pretty confused at all the talk about Poe when I exited the movie theater. He was such a minor character. Kinda like a slightly more prominent Wedge. I guess we could be generous and put him level with Lando*.
*Speaking of which, I really hope Lando Calrissian shows up in the next movie. He was always one of my favorites.
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I was honestly pretty confused at all the talk about Poe when I exited the movie theater. He was such a minor character. Kinda like a slightly more prominent Wedge. I guess we could be generous and put him level with Lando*.
*Speaking of which, I really hope Lando Calrissian shows up in the next movie. He was always one of my favorites.
I think it's because he has a cool attitude and is presented as the best pilot in the Rebellion... But, yeah... I agree that he gets more attention than he deserves.
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Episode Eight: Poe has his time to shine, ultimately defeating Kylo Whine in a climactic battle. Rey is disproportionately liked for a few good scenes before apparently dying (and later returning). Finn is there too.
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It's the combination of snark with Kylo and the Bromance with Finn.
He isn't in a lot of scenes, but he steals the ones he is in.
These two lines are the reason I love Poe:
"So, who talks first? Do you talk first?"
Finn: "It's the right thing to do!"
Poe: "You need a pilot."
Finn: "I need a pilot."
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Bromance
Suuuuure. We'll call it that. ;)
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HK-57 will always have that distinction for me.
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I was honestly pretty confused at all the talk about Poe when I exited the movie theater. He was such a minor character. Kinda like a slightly more prominent Wedge. I guess we could be generous and put him level with Lando*.
*Speaking of which, I really hope Lando Calrissian shows up in the next movie. He was always one of my favorites.
He's supposedly showing up leading and army and wanting vengeance for somethibg. Presumably Han's desth.
I do kinda wanna see Billy Dee Williams pull a You're No Jack Kennedy speech on Benny.
Really!?!? Where'd you hear that???