ST Leia’s Force Use in Space - Yay or Nay?

I definitely don't think you're in a rare group.

 

The fact that people don't remark on Leia using the Force just might mean they know she's Force sensitive and can do things others can't.

Rey accepts it as a matter of course.

 

I was surprise for the opposite reason. In the cinema during that scene I turned my head to my friends with a face like "lol seriously?" but they were all positively impressed.

 

I'm pretty conflicted about the scene honestly. Conceptually, I like it. I think when she's floating in space it's beautifully shot, but once she starts pulling herself to the door it was not executed as well as I think it could've been. I think if maybe she was a bit closer to the ship and if she didn't look so still while doing it I wouldn't have been taken out of the scene.

 

See the problem for me is that, when I saw the movie on opening day with some friends, me and a couple of my friends sitting next to me burst out laughing at the scene. In the moment it was so out of the blue, so ridiculous, and so mind bendingly strange that that was our natural reaction.

I’ve seen it rationalized, explained, and having had time to think about it, I like the idea on paper. But it was just so poorly executed. The most bizarre thing about it, frankly, is the fact that the characters barely react to it, and the movie just moves forward immediately without giving us time to process it. And, unfortunately I’ll never be able to separate it from that initial experience I had.

So, good idea, poor execution.

 

@Pro Scoundrel the reason I wouldn’t see it as a dues ex machina is that it doesn’t actually solve anything; the scene both puts Leia in danger and then gets her out of it, so the scene is fully self contained and isn’t someone writing themselves out of a corner - the only problem solved is the immediate one set up. I would agree with you if Leia was in grave danger at the end of the film, we don’t know how she gets out of it and then previously unseen force Power saves her. People say that the scene needed foreshadowing, but to me it seemed more like that scene *was* the foreshadowing for a Leia stronger in the force in IX.
There were a thousand ways Leia could have been put in a coma if that’s what the story needed, so on this occasion, while accepting that the visuals of it didn’t work for everybody, the actual act, in story terms, doesn’t get anyone out of any trouble - it establishes Leia’s power, but doesn’t use it to get out of a tight spot.

 

When I read about this scene, I thought it would be awful.

But when I saw it...it was a touch corny but I liked it! SO glad they finally demonstrated that Leia is very strong in the Force too ^_^

 

I loved it & got the chills all 3 times I saw the movie. I'm so glad we got to see that before Carrie passed.

 

I dreamed about a full fledged jedi Leia as soon as the ST was announced, and when we didn't get that in TFA, I kept hoping that she would display some Force powers later in the trilogy. But "this" didn't work at all for me. I looked ridiculous visually (the door just opening to the vaccum so she could get in was the final nail in the coffin), but the logic of the scene itself was ludicrous.
The ships were in the middle of a high speed pursuit, their engines supposedly at full throttle. Leia was projected randomly into space as it should. Even if she regained consciousness only twenty seconds after the explosion (and it certainly felt longer), she would still be miles away from the ship twirling uncontrollably, not just hovering above it like an angel.

They should have let her remain on the ship and use the Force to block the destruction on the bridge a few seconds so the blast doors could be shut. There were dozens of things they could have done to show Leia's powers, but no. Rian Johnson really wanted her in a coma apparently. Because we needed an Amiral Holdo in our lifes so much...

 

As we all know, in GFFA sealing off the vacuum of space does not necessarily require a physical door, hence all the open to space bays on ships.

As for logic, again, I don't understand why people are looking for logic in movies where space ships bank and scream like airplanes in the vacuum of space, fires occur in vacuums with explosions, ships "go down" when destroyed, big space slugs live in outer space on asteroids (ESB).

Someone can correct me, but if the ship is accelerating, and she gets cast out into space, without any atmosphere or friction to slow her down, she would stay right along side the ship.

 

Nope, if the ship were accelerating, her velocity would remain constant, the ship would pull away as its velocity changes. So explain away with artificial gravity bubble or projected force field or deflector shields holding her close to the ship. Whatever.

 

It’s definitely corny, but I loved it too.

We seem to be in some bizarro universe thread where we’re agreeing on most things for once!

 

I’ve been thinking that!!! Ahahaha! XD

Well...despite the way it often seems (my own fault, I know!) ...I much prefer finding common ground ^_~

I was surprised (and pleased!) at the amount of Leia we got in TLJ. I had forgotten how much I had missed her...

 

No, my fault too. I can be a stubborn bastard.

That shot of her looking out over the surface of Crait is stunning.


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I like that Leia did something cool with Force powers, but I didn't like the execution. It looked kinda silly and it felt disconnected from greater sequence. Maybe had Leia done something like shielded herself and someone near her from the explosion long enough for a blast door to come down would have felt a little more organic and suspenseful.

To be fair I've only seen the film once, but that was my initial impression sitting in the theater.

 

I also thought the scene itself probably took a few seconds, real time. It was stretched out for dramatic effect.

The fact that she was comatose after made it easier to believe, I think. If she just waltzed back into the ship, unaffected, I would be pretty skeptical.

 

It's terrible... and it's one of, if not thee most cringworthy pieces of **** to ever make it on to celluloid.

Carrie Fisher was a remarkable woman, a woman who I've adored as a small child through to adulthood. After seeing TLJ, Instead of seeing her tremendously strong and empowering performance in the original trilogy in my head ... all that keeps popping in is that dumb cringefest.
I don't want this impression of Fisher in my head. Hopefully with time it will pass.

 

Ill start by saying I LOVE the movie. I think it's brilliant.

However - there are a couple of things that would have made it perfect for me:

1) That Leia scene. The scene should have been over once Ren took his finger off the trigger. No need to blow the bridge up.
2) Show Leia using the force in another way. Show how she is very powerful with it, but not the way they did it.
3) It should have been Leia, not Holdo sacrificing herself. It would have been a great send off for Leia, the ultimate sacrifice. Then they could have had Holdo back for IX - and continue the great dynamic between her and Poe. The scene where the ship jumps at lightspeed into Snoke's ship is the best scene in any Star Wars film. That's how fitting it would have been for it to be Leia's last.
4) Finn should have died. Either at the hands of Phasma, or his suicide into the cannon at the end.

 

As others have noted, being in space like that would not be the instant death thing that some movies would have us believe... she'd have at least a minute or so, and the movie might make it look like she's out there longer than she really is. And that's if we're applying science rules here anyway, which as has also been pointed out... sound in space, explosions in space, etc. So she may or may not have needed to use the Force to stay alive; maybe not. It could be that the only thing she did with the Force was a simple Force pull on the ship, and since she's weightless it would only require a fairly weak pull to get her moving towards the ship. I think we've had enough signs of Leia's latent Force abilities since the OT to probably accept that she could do that in this case (and whether it's intentional or instinctive I think doesn't ultimately matter).

 

Man it's the first time I facepalmed during a Star Wars movie.

(I was young for Episode I, definitely would have facepalmed then too lol)

 

But is the velocity of the ship changing? They were already at maximum speed.

 

Yes. When did they say they were at max speed? They were burning engines. There’s no air resistance, therefore they were accelerating. You don’t need fuel or engine burns to maintain speed in space. If they weren’t accelerating the entire plotline falls apart.

 

The first big scene of Leia using the Force like a Jedi and it’s mocked? Ha, not by me!

 

Cringe.