kayshapero

OK, yesterday Nicolai and I finally went out to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens (yes, it can still be found in theaters, locally), in the same theater I saw the latest Jurassic Park movie (why don't they just give up, declare the velociraptors sapient and write stories about THEM?)

Oh, right, Star Wars.  Short form: fun, worth seeing.  Long form, I am not going to worry about spoilers so just in case someone out there is even slower on these things than I am, but still gives a hoot, the rest of this article goes behind a LJ cut.

This is NOT a complaint, but I agree with the folks who say it looks like a remake or anyway reimagining of the original New Hope.  It's still fun.  Lots of wild action and stuff and most enjoyable to watch if you don't think too much about it, much like the whole series. All that said,  I still want to know if a) there is a reason nuclear fission bombs don't happen (maybe this is a different universe, where they don't work?  The Force prevents it or something?) and b) even if this is so, did nobody ever think of the good old HE bunker buster?  Watching them splash beams?  projectiles? meant for Xwing sized intership combat across the hardened site is just painful.  Oh, and sorry, guys, I know it's now a (presumably mobile) planet, hooks up to a star (ok, fusion probably works), slurps it up and then fires it across hyperspace but it's STILL just a bigger Death Star.  I think maybe this model is NOT a very good one.  The Good Guys have figured it out...

As for the Bad Guys, I have trouble seeing Kylo Ren as a dark lord in training - yes, he manages to kill a lot of people he shouldn't, but he comes across more clueless wannabe than evil menace.  Even his alias is not a tenth as scary as Darth Vader's was. That's really not his path, hope they find something better for him to do.  (I guess force ghosts don't last indefinitely, fun as it would have been to have Anakin turn up during his Great Angst scene and explain a few things to him...)  Meanwhile, there's always the real Big Bad, the Giant Gollum Hologram...  Who, apparently, is played/motion captured by Andy Serkis!  OK, from now on Supreme Leader Snoke is "The Great Gollum". :)

Fortunately I DO like our heroes,  Rey and Finn, and the rest of the good guys we run into (and LOVE the new cantina scene).  Likewise it was nice to see old friends like Han, Chewie, Leia etc. And all in all, as I said, it was fun.  Glad I finally got to go see it.