4 Things We Didn't Like About Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a pretty good movie which people have raised to a level above its actual entertainment value probably because of the fears created by how lousy the prequels were.

Before you savage me on social media, please note that I liked the movie. I'd rank it as better than Return of the Jedi, but not as good as the original Star Wars or Empire Strikes Back.

It was an entertaining film which introduced compelling new characters while also being firmly grounded in the roots of the series.

It had some very impressive effects, a few touching moments and it left you primed for the next film in the series.

Director J.J. Abrams hit all the right notes and did as well as could have been hoped for.

That does not mean the movie was perfect. It had a number of flaws which did not ruin the film, but did occasionally take you out of it.

Here's a look at four things we didn't like about The Force Awakens, a film the Empty Lighthouse team saw the first time as part of a seven-film marathon of the entire series.

So, after three lattes, a double shot of espresso, a lot of candy, a disappointing intermission breakfast, an ice cream, and a very large Diet Coke, these are the parts of the movie we didn't like:

SPOILER ALERT: This may or may not contain spoilers. If you have not seen the movie, stop reading. And, if you have not seen the movie, why would you be reading a wonky write-up of its flaws?

Why can everyone fight with a lightsaber?
In the first film Luke needs training before he can handle his lightsaber.

In The Force Awakens both Rey and Finn having never used a laser sword before both fight off Kylo Ren who has extensively been trained in using it.
Yes, Rey is clearly Force sensitive and Finn has a lot of weapons training (and may end up being a Force user himself) but the idea that either one would not get killed instantly in a battle with a trained dark side Jedi (or whatever he considers himself) is a silly as the notion that Superman would not immediately kill Batman in a fight.

Why can Rey use the Force?
While it's very clear that Rey has a strong connection to the Force -- the film suggests she's a Skywalker -- it's a little preposterous that she can summon the Force with no training.

It also appears she has very little, if any, knowledge about the Jedi, yet she knows about the Jedi Mind Trick and performs it on a Stormtrooper.

She also later summons Anakin/Luke's lightsaber to her hand even though Ren is calling for it and both of these things fly in the face of everything we have seen about being Force sensitive in the previous films.

What the hell is Supreme Leader Snoke?
His actual appearance is clearly a reveal for a later film, but the hologram of Supreme Leader Snoke used in this movie makes him look like a deformed giant baby.

Yes, the Emperor was an old man, but he managed to pull off evil with his villainous cloak, and how he carried himself.

Snoke remains a mystery, but he's nowhere near as compelling as Ren, Darth Vader, the Emperor or even Darth Maul.

Fake deaths are lame
One of my biggest complaints about the Star Wars novels (which are now no longer cannon) is that the ones which came out when the movies were still being made is that you knew main character could not die.

Fans simply were not going to want to find out that Leia had been killed in a book a relative few people read (that never happened).

So instead many of the books contained a scene where it seemed luke a character -- often Luke -- had been killed -- but it turned out that he was just okay due to something completely implausible and effectively off-screen.

The Force Awakens does this very early on and it ruins something which was actually cool. In an early scene Resistance pilot Poe Dameron is apparently killed after Finn helps him escape The First Order.

This was shocking because the character was reported to be a major part of the prequel trilogy going forward.

It was a shock that made the whole world seem more dangerous, like anything could happen. It also established that the stakes were higher and that the violence had escalated.

Of course, this turned out to be another poorly-explained switcheroo and Dameron turned out to be fine.

It's not that the pilot isn't an excellent character, it's just that death needs to mean something or it's not believable.

That's partly why there are people questioning the movie's big death scene even though the character was stabbed in the heart, dropped into an abyss, and almost certainly blown up when the planet exploded.

Wanna read more on this? Check these out: Why The Star Wars: Rogue One Blu-ray Lacks Any Deleted Scenes (more); Yoda Could Make An Appearance In Star Wars: The Last Jedi (more); First Footage Of Star Wars: The Last Jedi Shown To Media And Shareholders (more); Star Wars Rebels Renewed For Season 4 Coming Later This Year (more).

And here are some more related articles: Darth Maul And Chewbacca Actors Attending Star Wars Celebration Event (more); Star Wars Rogue One Blu-ray/Digital Release Date And Extras Announced (more); Cast Photo Revealed For The Star Wars Young Han Solo Movie (more).

A few more: First Look At Rey, Finn And Poe In Star Wars: The Last Jedi In Force Friday Announcement (more); People Seem To Be Unhappy With Hasbro's Star Wars 40th Anniversary Toys (more).