Okay, already a problem with this one. I mean, yes, the prequels have MASSIVE plot holes. But the original trilogy does too. Some REALLY bad ones. The original movies are absolutely riddled with plot holes, repetitive tropes, deus ex machinas, and some downright lazy solutions to problems. (Take the entirety of Endor.) And yet, they're widely considered to be cinematic masterpieces. They're incredibly fun to watch, even with all their issues. Why? Because their storytelling is
spot on. We really feel for the characters, we can follow the plot, we get invested. The prequels, on the other hand, have godawful storytelling. Characters cooperate for seemingly no reason other than "the plot says so," the focus is on all the wrong areas ("politics" which don't even make much sense rather than the suspenseful, character-heavy action sequences the originals did so well), the story balances all its weight on characters the audience doesn't care about (Jar Jar Binks, Jango Fett and young Boba [which, let's be honest, even the people who have this bizarre obsession with Boba Fett want to see him being a bounty hunter, not a first grader]) and discards characters they do care about without a second thought (Darth Maul could have been a great villain but he's dead before the first prequel is even through).
So. That's three good movies with huge plot holes, and three terrible movies with huge plot holes. Plot isn't everything, hell, it's not even the bulk of what makes a story good.
All fair gripes, I guess, if you went into the film expecting and wanting a political drama. For the
vast majority of viewers, including my nitpicky ***, the information given was absolutely good enough. There's a republic with a segment dedicated to resisting corruption, a sort of homeland security. Leia holds some authority position there. There's a follow-up to the Empire hell-bent on finishing what it started. It obviously has some competency if it can build something like Starkiller Base. That tells us everything we need to know for a good story, we don't need a damn political hierarchy chart. If you want that, go watch West Wing or something. There are lots of resources you can use to read about the United States government and its structure. As for Star Wars, it is about wars in the stars, and if we have enough information to figure out who's who and what side people are on, that's good enough for me, and it's obviously good enough for most people watching due to the hugely positive reception this film has been getting.
Oh, ********. The political system in the prequels was inconsistent garbage made up on the fly. You can coerce someone into signing a treaty to make the invasion of their home planet legal? How the hell is that supposed to make any sense in something that's supposed to be a democracy? There's more - oh so much more - but it'd take way too long to go through it. If you think this is a poorly-done political system I invite you to sit through the prequels again. Seriously, actually pay attention. It makes very little sense.
Someone is mad that a girl can do things. Blah blah, we get it. It would have been nice to have some kind of indication she was so powerful with the Force from the beginning, but her case is not that bizarre, given that we just saw Kylo Ren, who hasn't even had any kind of intense training (which is made clear by the fact that Snoke only decides he's ready for training at the end of the film), stop a laser headed straight at him in damn mid-air and hold it there without concentrating much. And Kylo Ren is pretty pathetic, as this person brings up! I do generally agree that each of the main trio should have received a bit more characterization at the beginning. But that's only an issue because the film got started a bit too quickly for its own good. It has nothing to do with Rey's powers, which are pretty badass and I've seen mainly criticized by misogynists at this point.
Hey, nice job missing the point! Kylo Ren takes his mask off for precisely that reason. It destroys the illusion of him being competent and professional. He's obsessed with Darth Vader, he puts that stupid mask on even though he doesn't need it in the slightest, just because he thinks it looks cool. Yes, Kylo Ren is a brat. Yes, his characterization to that effect is
totally intentional. He's whiny, he probably shops at space Hot Topic, and he's exactly the kind of person who would go on a rant on the internet about how much he hated the new Star Wars movie, so...
Lots of
great fan service! For the reason that it's
Star Wars! Seriously, you want
pointless fan service, go look at the prequels. R2-D2 gets an award for fixing the ship! Anakin built C3-PO! Chewbacca does things! Look, Yoda even calls him Chewbacca! We acknowledge things exist and actually twist the plot around to make sure we get the opportunity to reference everything! On the other hand, the fan service in this was pretty well done. Little things here and there. The attack orb (I'm forgetting what it's called, I guess I'm not a true fan, forgive me) from Episode IV briefly appears, the Mouse Droids in the background of the ship in Jakku orbit, everything Han Solo says. It actually makes sense in context! Here's a relevant image:
In fact, that applies to the vast majority of criticisms here. Get that stick out of your ***! It's Star Wars! Have fun!
A massive accomplishment that took like 20 years, right? When they had to build an entire framework for the thing? And didn't already have an entire planet and a power source and thirty years? In a universe where FTL spaceships with artificial gravity are commonplace, to the point where such a device in working order could consistently be considered trash? Come on, folks.
Plot holes! Yup, that could be considered a plot hole, I guess, even though, y'know, the things I just said about technology, but let's go with it. Here are some other plot holes! How come Phasma, who apparently doesn't even rank as high as Ren and Hux, can disable every shield on the entire Starkiller Base from apparently any terminal on the entire planet? Poe obviously wanted desperately to find BB-8, how come he didn't go looking for him on Jakku when he was there, leaving that to Finn instead? How come Phasma sent Finn to the reconditioning he was clearly supposed to have with such little supervision that he could sneak off with a high-profile prisoner aboard a TIE-fighter in a heavily patrolled area? And I
loved the film! It's almost like plot isn't everything.
Here's another, this time from the original trilogy: how come Luke's training on Dagobah seemed to take a damn long time while less than a day passed for Han and Leia? Who, by the way, were not traveling at relativistic speeds their entire time away? Also how relativity and physics in general doesn't seem to be a problem for anyone ever in this series?
Those are great movies. With massive plot holes. This is another.
I'll give them this. It's a little bit lazy, but it works, and it furthers the Episode IV/Episode VII parallel this movie is trying (almost too) desperately to create.
Because this isn't Tolkien, we don't have characters disappear for seventeen years and then come back to them when it's handy for the plot (no offense to Tolkien). Also, FTL travel, folks.
The prequels, where all the fights except two or three are ridiculously implausible, shot from weird angles or too close up, and usually involved fighting unimportant drones for reasons no one cared about? Fun as action films? Uh, maybe, I guess? Mostly they were just boring as an anything film. Episode VII was anything but boring. I can't think of any terribly slow moments.
As for that second link, it doesn't seem to be criticizing the film as much as asking questions about it, which... we have five more films coming up to answer those questions. If those films come and go and we get no answers, then that'd be a legitimate complaint. I'd be complaining too. But it's not a complete story right now. We still have three more films (and two more spin-off films!) to go.
