The Force Awakens - Spoilerific Discussion.

[Mr Mystery]

And Hawker Hurricanes I believe

But yeah. X-Wing is a well proven ship. Plus, it seems very likely that Incom kept up with the 'fly a T-16, pretty much able to fly a T-65' ethos.

Ship may be more expensive, but they last longer and it's far cheaper to train your would-be pilots, as they already know what most of the knobs and buzzers do. Training boost leads to earlier Ace Pilots, general durability helps them stay Ace Pilots for longer.

[grimmas]

Hang on didn't they have X-Wings because they're f**king cool. The wings move for Christ sake, they lock them in attack position before going into battle !! They accelerate to attack speed, yep they get into dog fights and go faster how cool is that?!? Although I disappointingly didn't hear either order be given in The Force Awakens but I may have missed it. The rule of cool never, mind logistics and crap they're just cool. Same with Tie fighters anyone who didn't have a great big cheesy grin when they heard that trademark scream from their engines is a liar.

If The Force Awakens did anything right it was have proper X-Wings and Tie fighters rather than the pseudo rubbish of the prequels.

[CoffeeGrunt]

You mean this scream?

[grimmas]

Ooohhh yeah

And I don't care that sound doesn't travel in a vacuum either cool is cool🙂

[CoffeeGrunt]

Also a really cool VFX video showing how the movie was put together in various scenes:


Have to say that in the final product, the CGI is practically seamless with the practical work.

[eldargal]

Cool.

What's the ex post facto rationalisation for just TIE fighters?

:-)

Updated model like the X-Wing, better technology including shields, and the First Order are literally built on Empire nostalgia.

[Mr Mystery]

Just thinking more about the Finn as Comedy Goof thing, and I've gone off on a bit of a tangent, but not massively tangential as tangents go....

He is this series Luke. Han remains Han, and Rey has taken over as Leia.

Think about it. The only one not really knowing what they were doing in A New Hope was Luke.

Han was the seasoned adventurer - confident in his own abilities, and knows when and how to push his luck. He's got loyalty and muscle in Chewie to boot, and a total awesome space ship.

Leia? So much more 'with it' than Luke. Consider her lines and her actions. She squares up to Vader and Tarkin, almost arrogantly so (this is arguably shown to be a front when they target Alderaan). She gives Luke a hard time when he first enters the cell, seemingly resigned to her fate but determined not to appear scared (she may or may not have been terrified, it's not really covered. She certainly never shows fear for her situation). She gets them out of the Detention Block, rips into Han's ship (you came in that thing? You're braver than I thought) quickly becomes the one taking charge and proves the best shot of the lot of them just before the swing to safety. (oddly I think its these early interactions with Han that sparks the attraction for him. The dude is clearly a rogue, and has just met a not unattractive young lady who is having absolutely none of it because she's far too busy having all the best ideas and saving the lives of the three doofuses who somehow managed not to get killed to that point. Speaking for myself, I find women who aren't having any of my tomfoolery incredibly attractive)

Luke? He's dreamed of adventure his entire life. All he's wanted to do is get away from Tattooine and be a hero for something somewhere. Suddenly gets his wish, finds out everyone is far better at Heroing than he is. (make for a decent character arc as well)

Rey? Much closer to Leia than Luke. She's learned to look out for number one and not just take it if she doesn't have to (see Unkar's thugs getting a righteous kicking, then chasing down and beating up Finn thinking he was a thief. It seems clear the only reason she takes it from Unkar is a total lack of choice. His position isn't necessarily unassailable, but she's not well placed to buck the trend - she's got to eat, after all)

Finn? So far, he's our Luke. So out of his depth it's not even funny, but still incredibly brave, and willing to fight for others even though he has relatively little reason to.

Addendum

For what its worth, I think its a real shame that Leia remained on Yavin IV during the Death Star assault. She went from confident leader to 'well, I'll just stand around with my thumb up my posterior whilst everyone else risks their lives'. I don't think she'd have quite convinced as also an Ace Pilot (other opinions are available and just as valid), but I'd love to have seen her overseeing the evacuation - it would have been a chance to see her leadership skills and position of respect before Empire Strikes Back. But relatively minor quibble.

[Cutter]

Updated model like the X-Wing, better technology including shields, and the First Order are literally built on Empire nostalgia.

Verily, the TIE/sf is indeed the Mary Sue of TIE fighters.

Hyperdrive, deflector shields, rear gunner AND warhead launcher?

And all in the same convenient form factor, more or less.

Really, how DID they lose...

[Alaric]

Just thinking more about the Finn as Comedy Goof thing, and I've gone off on a bit of a tangent, but not massively tangential as tangents go....

He is this series Luke. Han remains Han, and Rey has taken over as Leia.

Think about it. The only one not really knowing what they were doing in A New Hope was Luke.

Han was the seasoned adventurer - confident in his own abilities, and knows when and how to push his luck. He's got loyalty and muscle in Chewie to boot, and a total awesome space ship.

Leia? So much more 'with it' than Luke. Consider her lines and her actions. She squares up to Vader and Tarkin, almost arrogantly so (this is arguably shown to be a front when they target Alderaan). She gives Luke a hard time when he first enters the cell, seemingly resigned to her fate but determined not to appear scared (she may or may not have been terrified, it's not really covered. She certainly never shows fear for her situation). She gets them out of the Detention Block, rips into Han's ship (you came in that thing? You're braver than I thought) quickly becomes the one taking charge and proves the best shot of the lot of them just before the swing to safety. (oddly I think its these early interactions with Han that sparks the attraction for him. The dude is clearly a rogue, and has just met a not unattractive young lady who is having absolutely none of it because she's far too busy having all the best ideas and saving the lives of the three doofuses who somehow managed not to get killed to that point. Speaking for myself, I find women who aren't having any of my tomfoolery incredibly attractive)

Luke? He's dreamed of adventure his entire life. All he's wanted to do is get away from Tattooine and be a hero for something somewhere. Suddenly gets his wish, finds out everyone is far better at Heroing than he is. (make for a decent character arc as well)

Rey? Much closer to Leia than Luke. She's learned to look out for number one and not just take it if she doesn't have to (see Unkar's thugs getting a righteous kicking, then chasing down and beating up Finn thinking he was a thief. It seems clear the only reason she takes it from Unkar is a total lack of choice. His position isn't necessarily unassailable, but she's not well placed to buck the trend - she's got to eat, after all)

Finn? So far, he's our Luke. So out of his depth it's not even funny, but still incredibly brave, and willing to fight for others even though he has relatively little reason to.

Addendum

For what its worth, I think its a real shame that Leia remained on Yavin IV during the Death Star assault. She went from confident leader to 'well, I'll just stand around with my thumb up my posterior whilst everyone else risks their lives'. I don't think she'd have quite convinced as also an Ace Pilot (other opinions are available and just as valid), but I'd love to have seen her overseeing the evacuation - it would have been a chance to see her leadership skills and position of respect before Empire Strikes Back. But relatively minor quibble.

In leais defense. She did her part. Also, shes old and wisdom is too valuable to waste on what was perceived as a suicide mission.

[Mr Mystery]

It's more that she just stood around and looked concerned - we didn't really see what she was doing there.

It's a shame, as it meant the only thing she did in the third act was dish out the medals.