MadCap Fixes Movies - "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

If you're a long-time reader of mine, then I already know what you were thinking as you clicked onto this article: "Hey, Madcap! I thought you were a big fan of The Force Awakens!" And you would be absolutely right, I most certainly was and am even now. I was one of the few people on the internet who seemed to be able to acknowledge the nigh-impossible task that JJ Abrams had before him when approaching the Star Wars franchise, the first person to do so in a decade since Revenge of the Sith happened. Abrams had to not only appeal to Disney, but also to both the fans who had been put off by the Prequel Trilogy (and, despite Disney's attempts at revisionist history, there were many) and those who were fans of the Prequel Trilogy as well. Not to mention drawing in an entirely new audience in order to keep the franchise going so that Star Wars' future wasn't limited to direct-to-video sequels of worse and worse quality.

See also: the Highlander franchise.

So, on the whole, I honestly do believe that Abrams went back to what is familiar - namely the thematic feel and plot beats of A New Hope - in order to hit on the overall feel of one of the two films in the franchise that pretty much everyone universally agrees are good. Was it a mistake to go with what was familiar over taking a risk and trying something new? Possibly. Did playing it safe pay off? Hell, yes! Disney made over two billion dollars in the box office against a budget of between 250 and 300 million, so I doubt it can really be argued that it wasn't a good call as least from a monetary standpoint.

"But Madcap!" I hear you cry. "You didn't actually answer my question. Why aren't you covering a movie that you hate instead of a movie that you love?" Well, first, you didn't choose to ask the question until you read through two whole paragraphs of set up. Second, and this is probably the most important point, I am perfectly capable of criticizing things that I love as well as things that I hate (something we'll see as this series goes on). Third, and this is the clincher, in order to talk about The Last Jedi, I have to address a few problems that I have with The Force Awakens.

Because, unlike Rian Johnson, I actually care about avoiding an outrageous amount of non-sequitur.

So, we begin pretty much as the film as it exists begins. The First Order is hunting for a map to Luke Skywalker, Finn ends up turning on them after the massacre at the village in order to help Poe Dameron escape to get back to the Resistance. The Resistance, at this point, are actually an espionage group rather than a full military force. The reason for this is simple - and I will go ahead and preface this idea by saying that this is not originally my idea, but it makes a great deal of sense - the New Republic has built Starkiller Base.

Basically, given a bit of backstory that would be discussed either right then or later on, Leia Organa would have become the first Chancellor of the Galactic Senate of the New Republic following the defeat of the Empire. However, when word got out that she was the daughter of Darth Vader himself, the greatest symbol of the Empire, she would have been deposed. We sort of have that in the actual film with Leia straining with every contact that she has to get help during the climax.

And yes, I'm aware that that apparently is how things are in Disney's new Expanded Universe. Something something, broken clock.

But yes, Leia was deposed and a new faction within the Republic came to power that decided to build Starkiller base as a form of deterrent against other threats. Leia fears this but, of course, she no longer has the political clout to fix the problem. Therefore, she goes back to the training she had from her childhood and exercised in the days of the Rebellion to keep tabs on things.

The First Order, meanwhile, is picking up speed but are still only a minor nuisance in the grand scheme of things. They're the last vestiges of the Galactic Empire, not some mighty fighting force that somehow gets its ass kicked and then somehow has control of the entire galaxy right after. So, they're a nuisance, but aren't viewed as worrisome or taken particularly seriously. So, Leia has discovered that they've begun to infiltrate the Senate and thus not knowing who she can trust sends her ace pilot Poe Dameron to go after the map to Luke.

So, getting on with the plot - we have the same beats. Finn and Poe get separated on Jakku, Finn runs into Rey. Rey in this one can be pretty much as she is in the actual film with only a few minor differences. Namely, she has her connection to the Force, but has no real understanding of it and almost a fear of it. This allows her to build up confidence over the course of this and the next film. Something that apparently wasn't deemed necessary, since character arcs are misogynistic...or something. But, giving her a bit more than just a mystery to be solved.

A mystery that could have worked...but we'll get into that during The Last Jedi.

So, Rey is unsure but she's grown up hearing the stories of the original trilogy and of the exploits of Luke Skywalker - who is not considered some mythical figure, since they live in a universe with electronic documentation going back literally thousands of years and he was once the most wanted person in the entire galaxy for mass genocide because he blew up the First Death Star. Say what you will about the myths built up around him, but the fact that his existence is considered a myth is insane beyond the telling of it.

Meanwhile, as they try to get the map back to Leia on Coruscant (or whatever planet that the Senate is based on - but let's just say Coruscant for the sake of getting on with it), we get a little intrigue and espionage as Leia handles some First Order interlopers like the pro that she is, learning of the First Order's plans to hijack the Starkiller Base. When she tries to bring this to the sitting Chancellor, he waves this off as impossible...not knowing that he is also in on the conspiracy.

Back with Rey and Finn, they can steal the Falcon and run into Han and Chewbacca as in the actual film. When Han mentions the fallen Jedi, it's with reverence and sorrow, but he avoids mentioning everything involved. It's clearly something that heavily effects him just as much as it does Luke later on, considering it was indeed his own son who caused the slaughter - though he only names him as Kylo Ren. But, Han does agree that they need to get the map back to Leia so that they can find Luke.

Back on Coruscant, Leia finds herself compromised and has to escape as the Chancellor tries to have her arrested for conspiring with the First Order. She is saved at the last minute by none other than Wedge Antilles, who has been working on getting together some fighters together in case worse comes to worse. Not a full fleet, per se, but a group of X-Wings and some dependable pilots. Enough to, say, do a run on a battle station the size of a planet?

But yes, worse comes to worse and Leia accepts the truth that the New Republic has become corrupted by the First Order...but it might not be beyond saving if they act quickly. So, the two groups end up meeting on a planet - let's say Maz's planet so we can have some of the same - and compare notes. With Maz's help and the newly-awakened R2-D2, they manage to complete the map and find out where Luke is...just in time to have Starkiller Base appear over the planet.

Kylo Ren descends after having learned about BB-8 and the girl who had found it, Rey. Rey, who he knows (and who both Han and Leia know) is actually Luke's daughter. Deciding that she would be the perfect bait to draw him out of hiding, he and some First Order troops lay siege on Maz's place. We get a fun battle, lots of shooting and what not - again, as in the movie.

Also, TR-8R exists in my version as well. I'm not apologizing.

Maximum loyalty!

And yes, Rey would also get the visions from the saber that connects her to the bloodline of the Skywalkers for obvious, aforementioned reasons. And yes, that might be entirely clear to the audience by that point but I really don't care. It's significantly better than nothing.

So, Rey gets captured and brought to Starkiller Base. Leia gets Wedge to cowboy up, along with a returned Poe, to hit it with an X-Wing fleet. Meanwhile, Finn, Han, and Chewie brave a mission onto the Base itself to save Rey - again, as in the actual film.

Same beats, again, up until Han's encounter with Kylo Ren. Now, up to this point we have not seen Kylo without his mask and he has not been referred to as anything other than Kylo Ren. Not even a hint as to who he is or where he comes from. And kind of harkening back to A New Hope, where the Emperor is only mentioned and not actually seen, Snoke will likewise only be mentioned but never seen and add another layer to the mystery of his being that will actually be addressed rather than just giving him the only good scene in a movie followed by a meaningless death.

And yes, Han dies again in this version. Sorry. Part of the hero's journey is the loss of the mentor.

It is fitting of Han's character development over the movies that he would finally decide to stop running when it came to saving his son. Also, Kylo's birth name would be "Bail" because why would Han and Leia name their son after a man they'd known for only a combined half hour, much less a diminutive of his proper name that he didn't use until the years of his exile?

But yes, that scene would be the first reveal that Kylo Ren is actually Bail Solo. And, like in the film as presented, Han would die trying to save his son. 

Rey, Finn, and Chewie would try to escape only to be cornered by Kylo in the end. Again, we get the fight as presented. Rey gets knocked out for the first bit and Finn has to manage. He does fairly well - hearkening back to anti-Jedi training that the First Order would no doubt have gotten passed down to them from the Empire - but he is clearly nowhere near Kylo's match. Finn gets a lightsaber up the spine and is near-dead.

This is where Rey comes in. She doesn't dramatically pull the lightsaber to her through the Force, but rather catches the hilt in mid-air as Kylo's pulling it to himself. We get the fight, with more emphasis on the wound that Kylo received from Chewie and his fatigue from his battle with Finn being the reasons why Rey's even able to keep up. Kylo plays on Rey's emotions, seeing that he senses such fear in her and if she were able to turn that fear into anger and then hatred she could be so much more powerful and punctuates that by lobbing off her arm with his own lightsaber...which doesn't look like a thirteen-year-old's idea of "teh awesome sword" with the stupid crossguard that serves no purpose.

Yeah, no. I'm one of those that doesn't care for Kylo's lightsaber at all.

Before he can strike the killing blow, however, Wedge and Poe (along with their squad) have managed to hit the main reactor and blow up the Base. In the process, we get that same Search For Spock-esque effect as the Base starts pilling itself apart and collapsing into itself. The ground opening up and Rey just barely managing to catch Luke's lightsaber with her remaining arm before it would be lost, Chewbacca catching her before she falls.

They manage to escape in the Falcon as Starkiller Base is destroyed, and the day is saved.

After the battle, Rey gets a kickass robot arm to give that nice Mark of Cain symbolism. Leia and Poe watch over the Holonet as the Chancellor was apparently outed as a spy for the First Order, and he and many of his co-conspirators have been outed and arrested as well. The Republic recognizes the threat of the First Order and begins to mobilize their forces against them, just as Leia wanted from the beginning. Finally, she is vindicated.

There is also mourning over Han, particularly Leia and Chewbacca sharing the hug that even JJ Abrams says that he wished he'd done. Then, it comes time to follow the map to Luke. They punch in the coordinates and end up on Anch-whatever the name is. Irish Dagobah, I tend to call it, but they end up there. Instead of just Rey walking up on her own, we have her standing alongside R2-D2, Chewbacca, and C-3PO. As in the actual film, they find Luke standing alone on that cliffside. As in the film, in what is a powerful scene, Rey takes out Luke's lightsaber, a weapon of his father. Her grandfather. Begging, without words, the man who is her father for help...though she hasn't quite figured out that connection yet.

The new hero, holding out an object of the past to the hero of old, a bridge between the old and the new to end the start of a new trilogy.

And yes, as much as I wanted Luke and Han to share a scene in The Force Awakens, I couldn't figure out a good way for it to work as well (I'm playing around with a way to rectify this in my Last Jedi remake - stay tuned!). But, regardless, this is just one man's opinion. What are your thoughts? Could you have written one better? Or did you like the film as it stands? Let me know in the comments or, if you want to bug me on Twitter, do it there. And do keep this universe I've concocted in mind for when I do my analysis and repair of The Last Jedi.

I promise you...there's a lot more that needs fixing in that movie than there was in this one.

And to whet your appetite for that, here's my stab at a post-credits scene...

In a darkened room, very reminiscent of Vader's meditation chamber from Empire, Kylo Ren - enraged after his battle with Rey - kneels before a hologram projector. Again, after before, we don't see Snoke...we just hear his voice. He is very displeased with Kylo's failure, recounting that the conspiracy ultimately failed and Starkiller Base was not even used for the purpose that he had intended and puts it all on him. With the Republic starting to hunt them down like dogs, Snoke has decided that the time has come to call in someone more competent than him. Enter a Chiss Grand Admiral who should be very familiar to long-time fans of the Expanded Universe - Thrawn.

You ready for The Last Jedi now? You bet your ass you are!

Disney and Lucasfilm own Star Wars. All that this is is just one man clearly putting more thought into this than all of them.

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