Am I REALLY the only one disappointed with TFA?

[The Wook]

Only a kamikaze run with the Falcon into the heart of the dragon would have sufficed, given some extremely necessary re-redemption after making him into such a fouled up wretch.
Oh well, taken down by a well telegraphed sucker punch by a whiney entitled emo- (B word) it is then. Soooooooo very very lame. Ain't my Han, he would have shot first, too bad sonny, I made you I end you. Sorry 'bout the mess. Done. THAT would be Han Solo.

Here's how I would've written it:

Sometime early in the film, I'd have it established in dialogue that the Falcon has been modified over the decades, including the addition of a small 2-man Escape Pod. We wouldn't see it used, just referenced, and it would hardly be noticeable on the ship's exterior design.

Fast forward to the climactic battle of the film. Han and Chewie are attacking the bad guys' base, super-duper weapon, whatever, in the Falcon, alongside the rest of the rebel/resistance fleet. Han's flying the Falcon from the cockpit, and Chewie's in one of the gunners, shooting down TIE Fighters. (How cool would THAT be to see Chewie swiveling around in that chair, taking out TIE after TIE after TIE! Btw, no one would use the gunner earlier in the film.) But even with Han and Chewie kicking butt in the Falcon, the rebels are hopelessly outnumbered, losing badly, and down to just a few ships. The following dialogue ensues:

Commander at Rebel Base: "General Solo, the battle is lost, we only have a few ships remaining, get out of there while you can. Live to fight another day!"
Han Solo: "Commander, we may not have another day. I'm flying her right into the detonation point, it's the only way."
Commander at Rebel Base: "GENERAL SOLO, DON'T BE A FOOL! ABORT MISSION! ABORT MISH..."
Han Solo: [Han flips switch to turn off communication with base, and says in a mumble to himself] "I know what I'm doin'."
Han Solo: [Han flips another switch, and shouts to Chewie] "CHEWIE, MEET ME AT THE ESCAPE POD, WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE!"
Chewbacca: [Roars argumentatively as if to say] "WHAT ABOUT THE FALCON?!"
Han Solo: [Flipping other switches and turning dials and pressing buttons] "I'VE SET HER TO FLY INTO THE DETONATION POINT, DON'T ARGUE, MEET ME AT THE ESCAPE POD!"
Chewbacca: [Roars defiantly as if to say] "SHE'LL NEVER MAKE IT!"
Han Solo: [Flips a few more switches as he starts to get up] "SHE'LL MAKE IT! NOW GO!"
Chewbacca: [Pulls headset off and roars as if to reluctantly say] "OKAY, I'M GOING!"

[Han and Chewie are shown running out of their areas, and running through the ship, bouncing off walls, and meeting at the Escape Pod.]

Han Solo: "CHEWIE, HURRY, GET IN!"

[Chewbacca roars in agreement as he steps into the pod. The door slams shut behind him and he spins around, lurching at the door, pushing against it with all his might. Han is on the other side of the door. Chewie roars against the window between their faces, steaming it up momentarily, his teeth clanking against the glass. Han looks at Chewie, pained this will be the last time he'll see his best friend of 50 years. Chewie starts wailing like he did when Han was lowered into carbonite, still trying to muscle the door, pawing at the glass between his face and Han's. Han reaches up placing his right palm on the glass where Chewie's hand is, and then with his other hand, Han slowly reaches to press the button to detach the pod. Chewie, wailing in pain, and the pod, detach from the Falcon. Han runs to the cockpit, resumes manual control of the ship, and flies it acrobatically through a maze of TIEs and stationary guns, into the detonation point, and saves the galaxy.]

 

[rileyreplicas]

Damn Wook, that is pretty awesome

 

[The Wook]

Damn Wook, that is pretty awesome

Thank you, Richard. I appreciate that.

It's a heavy scene, that would've just killed me watching it. But Han and Chewie deserved such a scene, in my opinion.

The Wook

 

[AJTaliesen]

I don't mind Han dying this way and I don't mind the MF surviving without him. It's not exactly what I would have done but there were plenty of worse ideas.


Was it really such great storytelling in ANH, when Ben Kenobi went all 'suicide by cop' with Darth Vader in the middle of the good guys' escape? That was a goofy way to get rid of Ben but I guess George & friends didn't have a better idea. Justifications have been dreamed up in the subsequent years but the bottom line is it never made sense. We just put up with it because of some vague impression that Jedis work in mysterious ways. In 1977 we thought there might be a better story about Ben's death revealed later. By the time ROTJ was finished without anything better coming to light ANH was beyond criticism.

Yes it was revealed. Vader was Lukes father.

The whole plan, everything Obi wan done for the last 20 years was to prevent Luke from being turned. The glance at Luke before giving in wasnt a special edition feature added later...it was always there. Because it wasn't about dying, it was about making sure Luke saw Vader kill. Ben knew full well that if Vader had shown up on Tattooine a month before and said "luke join me and we can rule the galaxy as father and son", Luke would've been packed and waiting in the shuttle before the sentence was ended. Obi wan saw what he had been looking for for 20 years: a rock solid way to make sure Luke would refuse Vader.

 

[DaddyfromNaboo]

Wook, why did you so heavily copy from ST II: The Wrath of Khan?





The way Obi-Wan "left the stage" was by sacrifice, buying our heroes time and motivating Luke. Another plot point lifted from ANH, but, yet again, with a twist.

The "Han rescues Chewie and sacrifices his life for the good cause" is neat and of course a classic (see what I did there), but that would have been "it" for the "old" character. Yes, the resistance cause would have been served, but what about ...

... the ongoing story? Han would have single-handedly saved the day. But the new trilogy is not that much about the old characters. And we have to accept that. The flame needed to be passed on. Han went from "sidekick" (yes, he was the sidekick to Luke) to "old mentor". He grew, despite going back to his smuggling roots. And the old mentor traditionally leaves after strengthening the hero. Lando and Nien Nunb helped blow up the DS II, but the Emperor was the larger threat and Luke, our hero, defeated him. The heroes in a story NEED the room, other characters NEED to step in the background. Han, as beloved he is, did that. From being captured in ESB to the end of ROTJ. He supports, and deserving or not, going out like he did, advancing the story and providing motivation was IMO the only way.

... the connection to and the impact on the new characters ? Han´s death (and he did sacrifice himself for the rebel cause on a last mission where the odds were very slim to return in one piece anyway) makes a huge impact on all of the new characters. AND the new ones. Everyone has something to do with it, Leia asked him to bring his son back, Finn made him go on that mission, Rey was the reason for the mission in the first place. And we do not know yet what it did to his son. Can it get any bigger than a son killing his dad?
And Luke? I bet he already knows about the goings on via TheForce-network, and it may worry him to a great extent.

... the emotional impact on (most of) the audience? The "fiery hero death" would have been nice, but a little bit expected and shallow, since we all know that this had been planned for ROTJ.

 

[binkleywalker]

Wook, I liked that scene better when it was Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck on the asteroid. Great artistic integrity there, for sure!

 

[clancampbell]

Thank you, Richard. I appreciate that.

It's a heavy scene, that would've just killed me watching it. But Han and Chewie deserved such a scene, in my opinion.

The Wook

I hadn't seen any of the Solo spoilers.....neither had many others at the time, judging by audience reaction. I actually gasped, so did my wife, so did half the audience.....
it was a shocking, powerful scene, full of emotion. I didn't feel ripped off.....i didn't feel like it was cynical exploitation. i just think it was a scene that was extremely well done.

No offence intended, Wook, but the scene you put together is very Hollywood, derivative, predictable and "i picked a hell of a day to quit drinkin'"........

Rich

 

[The Wook]

Wook, I liked that scene better when it was Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck on the asteroid. Great artistic integrity there, for sure!

Yeah, yeah, my sister pointed that out to me when I told her about my ideal ending, lol. But I'd seen that movie and I didn't even remember the scene, because who the hell cared about those two characters?? Nobody (except binkleywalker). Upon re-watching it, I knew why it was completely forgettable. It was poorly acted, filled with cheesy dialogue, but most importantly, as I said, it was about characters nobody cared about (except you).

There's nothing wrong with Star Wars, or any other movie, borrowing elements from previous films/books/historical events. It's been happening since the beginning of film. I'm certain Armageddon wasn't the first time we saw such a sacrifice. But Han needed to go down with his ship, and he needed to spare Chewie in doing it. So this is how I would've done it. Because of how much we care about the characters, and Star Wars, the scene would have an emotional impact like nothing else. (If you really would prefer the Affleck/Willis version, then, wow, I'm sorry for you.)

I have no problem doing something again, if it's done better than before. Because it takes a good idea, and gives it the emotional weight and gravitas it deserves, and that's all people will remember.

The Wook

 

[glunark]

Its a good job none of those hundreds of TIEs shot the falcon while they were having their Armageddon moment.

Also don't escape pods generally land on the nearest planet?

Considering Han was about the blow up the nearest planet, not a great job of making sure Chewie was ok.

 

[Bryancd]

Wook, I liked that scene better when it was Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck on the asteroid. Great artistic integrity there, for sure!

Only if they yell "I love you!" at each other, then it would really deliver. It's great reading stories from people who couldn't write a good screenplay to save their lives plagiaries other films and pat themselves on the back! Please continue re-wrtiitng TFA, this is going to good!

 

[Jeyl]

... the emotional impact on (most of) the audience? The "fiery hero death" would have been nice, but a little bit expected and shallow, since we all know that this had been planned for ROTJ.

While I wouldn't say that Han's death was a complete failure, I do think the moment qualifies as 'a little bit expected and shallow'. For a moment that was meant to come off as huge and important, it's undermined by it's predictable set up (Bridge with no rails) and the fact that neither Han or Kylo have had any proper set up or adequate history about their relationship. It takes the whole 'father/son' conflict completely for granted and expects the audience to fully comprehend how torn apart Kylo is when we have nothing to go on. We don't know why Kylo chose this path, why he hates his father or why he wants this path so badly that he's willing to kill him for it. Luke trying to bring back Darth Vader (despite my opinion that Vader doesn't deserve redemption) worked because a huge chunk of the movie featured scenes with Luke trying to win him over. There are moments where they fight, there are moments where they just talk, and there are moments where they go into full rage mode.

And as you mentioned, his death really only serves the new characters who aren't bad guys. If Han's death is still going to have any impact on Kylo Ren, it needs to expand on what their relationship was and why he did those things. But if these new movies continue to be paced like TFA, I just don't think that kind of character development will ever happen.

 

[Jeyl]

Only if they yell "I love you!" at each other, then it would really deliver. It's great reading stories from people who couldn't write a good screenplay to save their lives plagiaries other films and pat themselves on the back! Please continue re-wrtiitng TFA, this is going to good!

Oh, lay off guys. Let fans have fun speculating how their ideas can work. It's not like TFA wasn't already being criticized by copying whole elements from previous movies. Heck, there are a ton of writers out there right now who couldn't write a good screenplay to save their life and they're still getting work! They're easy to spot because they're the ones who tell fans "This is why I make movies and you don't".

 

[silkscreener]

It was good upon first viewing, hit all the marks, but as quick as 5 mins after I started to think of all the things wrong with what I just saw. Visuals wise though it was a pleasure to see. story was poop and make the prequels better.

 

[The Wook]

Its a good job none of those hundreds of TIEs shot the falcon while they were having their Armageddon moment.

Also don't escape pods generally land on the nearest planet?

Considering Han was about the blow up the nearest planet, not a great job of making sure Chewie was ok.

Well, most escape pods do land on the nearest planet. But Han's made some special modifications to his, that makes it navigable. Plus, some of those switches he threw in the cockpit pre-set a course for the pod to return to the rebel base in safety.

As for the damage the TIEs would inflict on Falcon, maybe have the course Han charted leading towards the rebel base, to give him time to jettison Chewie safely. The rebel commander, and Leia, etc., could see the ship returning and think he's done as the Commander said. That way, the Falcon's shields can hold up as only a handful of TIEs are in firing range to hit it. As soon as Chewie's jettisoned, Han turns the ship and heads back to the bad guys' base on his kamikaze run.

Only if they yell "I love you!" at each other, then it would really deliver. It's great reading stories from people who couldn't write a good screenplay to save their lives plagiaries other films and pat themselves on the back! Please continue re-wrtiitng TFA, this is going to good!

Don't be a jack off, Bryan.

The Wook

 

[binkleywalker]

The Falcon is a more important character than Han Solo. You can't just destroy it. I know that sounds crazy, but I really believe it.

 

[CessnaDriver]

Bottom line it was a chump death. Pleading and begging.... oh come to the good side, please super please?

Ugh.

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match.... The death should have been the Han Solo way, not the chump way. That's for Jedi. LOL

 

[The Wook]

The Falcon is a more important character than Han Solo. You can't just destroy it. I know that sounds crazy, but I really believe it.

I understand what you're saying, but to me, it's more important that ship die with Han. The two characters--the ship, and Solo--are so closely intertwined, they need to suffer the same fate.

Besides, it's not like we wouldn't get to see the Falcon on the big screen ever again. We've got a Han & Chewie origins film in '18, and IF the filmmakers do it right...by casting Anthony Ingruber...then perhaps it could lead to another Han & Chewie prequel film. Or sequel film to ROTJ. (But that would require casting a 3rd actor for the part.) Still, at the very least, killing off the Falcon with Han in TFA would leave us with one more film in a few years to enjoy watching the ship.

The Wook

 

[JD]

Oh, lay off guys. Let fans have fun speculating how their ideas can work. It's not like TFA wasn't already being criticized by copying whole elements from previous movies. Heck, there are a ton of writers out there right now who couldn't write a good screenplay to save their life and they're still getting work! They're easy to spot because they're the ones who tell fans "This is why I make movies and you don't".

Mostly because this isn't a fan fic thread.

 

[Soarerjzz30]

It's my understanding that George Lucas was kind of pushed aside, Disney wanted to do it their way. Either way I enjoyed the movie.

 

[Bigdaddy]

He was "pushed aside" by a dump-truck filled with cash.