ST Starkiller Base Discussion Thread

Loved the Starkiller base!

Reminds me of the golden age of sci-fi.

Big crazy ideas.....not for the anal retentive Star Wars fan.

Perhaps it's time to start new Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers serials?

 

I enjoyed it, it was a neat idea and looked pretty awesome.

 

Really?

Well, the so-called "anal retention" comes from the fact that Starkiller Base isn't a "big, crazy idea". It's a cynically rehashed and stupid idea. There is nothing revolutionary or intelligent about it.

 

I just can't agree with your post Starkiller Base is an original idea.
A massive world size space station that can terrorize the Galaxy and blow up planets.

I think George Lucas pulled off a master stroke when he made this the climax of his 1977 space movie.

I think he pushed it a bit far using it again in 1983.

 

Who said anything has to be revolutionary? or intelligent? lol?! it's a popcorn munching flick. You've proven my point perfectly.

 

I disagree. I don't recall seeing a massive base/planet that drains the energy from a star then unleashes it.

I want to hear your "better" idea of what they could have done. I am sure it can be dismantled and called stupid by people who do not like it.

The point of the base in the movie was simply to move the plot along. To give the characters a place to go and set up their interactions which was the main point of the movie in order to set up the rest of the trilogy. It differs from the death star because in ANH the death star was the menace, then entire movie was about that from the opening scene to its destruction. Where as the point of TFA was to find Luke, Starkiller base only became the target once it was used. There is no mention of it being a goal until that point.

If you think the whole point of TFA was to destroy Starkiller base I can see why you have some much hate for it, but if you look at it for what it was, essentially a giant set piece then its relative simplicity and the lack of buildup for it is acceptable.

 

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Forge
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sun_Crusher

Oh, yeah. Totally original.

 

... you just linked stuff from the EU. I am referring actual real properties not some ideas from a fan fiction a b level novel.

LF should be able to draw from the EU what they like when they want without it being called unoriginal. If EP 8 has giant mining lasers that uses some sort of weapon into planets to destroy them then ya, that would be a ST09 ripoff.

 

Sorry, I'm trying to wrap my head around how something can be "Star Wars fanfiction" and yet still be licensed. Seriously, it's like you people don't understand the concept of a retcon. It's a different continuity. Not "fanfiction". If we're going by that ridiculous logic, then Marvel and DC sure have a ton of "fanfiction".

It's also completely irrelevant as to whether or not a previous property was made "noncanon" or not. It's still a blatant ripoff. It still doesn't excuse rehashing the old superweapon trope for the 4th time in the films. The 4th time. It's bordering utter laziness at this point.

As for your point that Starkiller Base is only a "giant set piece", the problem with it is that it shows up out of nowhere and destroys the New Republic. The most-anticipated part of the entire trilogy in exchange for an empty "trip down memory lane" that is a complete waste of potential. It seems like an attempt to recapture the scale of ROTJ's ending without realizing that the buildup was what made ROTJ's final battle good. The foundation was set for a satisfying three-pronged battle sequence in ROTJ while for TFA, it was phoned in. Not to mention the absurdity behind the fact that Starkiller Base is a fortified stronghold that was carved into the equator of a mother****ing planet that can be controlled and has far more firepower than the Death Star ever did and ends up getting destroyed by a mere squad of X-Wings just like how the original Death Star was. At least the Death Star II required a LEGITIMATE ground assault and an entire fleet to destroy it.

By the way, "finding Luke" was a great story and all until they conveniently forgot about that storyline when they reached the third act and decided, "Yeah, let's end this movie in the most predictable fashion imaginable. You know, the kind of ending that guys like Mel Brooks have been parodying for years."

 

It makes sense. The empire wanted a super weapon to keep the galaxy in line. The Death Star suited that purpose. The 1st Order is smaller and does not have the coverage that the empire did or the resources. If they wanted to "take over" the galaxy they would need to destroy the seat of its current power and then force other systems under their control or face the same fate.

My main issue with Starkiller was simply how easily it was destroyed. This was always my issue with ANH too, but ROne helps this a lot. The actual concept is kinda cool and something you could see North Korea trying to pull off if they had the resources (a mega doom weapon of some sort)

 

Yea.... It seemed very forced. I am hopeful though to see what led up to the creation of Starkiller base in future novels and comics. I'm sure we will be able to get a little more insight into the logic behind it. But for now, it was exact duplication of Star Wars Episode IV plot which was disappointing.

 

I don't know, when we look at the galaxy map, Takodana does seem pretty close to the Hosnian system. Doesn't seem too farfetched.



considering the force it would take to destory that many planets at once, it may be bit of a stretch on how quickly the light from the beam may reach Takodana, but its not too bad off base. Could be better though.

 

Based on visual memory, the planet(s) of that separate solar system looked way bigger and more visible in Takodana's sky, than Venus looks in ours. If someone can refute that ststement with scientific accuracy, I will withdraw it.

 

Their ability to see the beam from Takodana has never bothered me before, so I have no reason to be bothered by it now, regardless of whether or not it makes physical sense. We'll just have to assume that the two planetary systems are close enough to each other for it to make sense. Perhaps their stars are really close neighbors and perhaps Hosnian Prime and Takodana both happened to be close to the system border when the Starkiller struck.

There's nothing in the actual movie that would contradict this.

 

https://twitter.com/pablohidalgo/status/817046827488813057

 

I didn't hate the base bc overall I enjoyed the movie. It was a great reinvigoration of the franchise. However I thought it was a little too reused of an idea for Star Wars. The base's destruction was made a little more award by the fact that in Rogue One, the Death Star was intentionally designed with a fatal flaw. So uhhhh did Galen plan ahead and make another hole in Starkiller base lol. Why was Starkiller base destroyed so easily.

 

It was destroyed that "easily" because one of the best pilots in the galaxy pulled off the next-to-impossible stunt of getting through the planet's deflector shield at light speed, unscathed and undetected, then proceeded to infiltrate the base with the help of a former employee, force a current employee to deactivate the shield and finally bomb the thermal oscillator from the inside, thus enabling a successful strike from outside.

Yeah, the FO should totally have seen that coming.

 

Definitely not a good idea. While it looked very cool on screen, it was too much of a re-hash from the Death Star. I got used to it with time and even enjoy it now.

However, I don't like one thing - the way Starkiller Base is shown for the first time. The film switches to that scene and Starkiller base is just... there. No explanations, no preparation for that scene, you just have to get used to that the film has just introduced you to another super weapon.

It was different with ANH, because that's when we first saw a weapon like that. It had the novelty factor of randomly appearing in a scene there.

 

And even then, we'd already been told about the Death Star beforehand, so we weren't exactly unprepared for it.

I don't agree that SKB's sudden, unexplained appearance is a problem, though. I like JJ's approach here, as it makes me curious. The film also begins to explain what we just saw in that very scene, with Hux stating that the weapon is ready for use against the Republic and Snoke ordering him to oversee preparations. Shortly afterwards, we see for ourselves what the weapon does. The only missing pieces of info at that point are the sun-draining and the weapon's name, both of which are less-than-crucial at that point.

To each their own, but yeah, I do like it.

 

It was still a very familiar end battle situation in which a skilled pilot (previously Luke) flies into the giant base and blows it up. It's familiarity detracts from the base's impressiveness and the difficulty in destroying it.

 

Yeah, I just thought I'd fix that for ya.

In order to be taken seriously as a standing army, they absolutely should have seen that coming. What happens if the shield were to malfunction instead of being bypassed the way it was in the movie? Well, a sizable strike force could simply waltz into the generator and destroy it seeing as how there wasn't even a ****ING GARRISON placed to protect it. You don't construct something THAT large and not want to put contingencies in place for a failure of your planetary shielding systems. It's moronic.

This.

 

The First Order rose from the dark side. Darksiders are known to be overconfident.

Yep. The Force and overconfidence will cover any perceived plot hole.

 

Yes, but we've already had people fall to their own arrogance in several different films in this franchise already. Also, you're not addressing the points Darth Jaster and I made that the destruction of a weapon that is larger and more powerful than the Death Star with only a couple of fighter squadrons and infiltrators when the planet should be crawling with infantry and armored vehicles is rather anticlimactic. Especially when the second in Return of the Jedi needed to be assailed with a full-fledged ground assault and an entire fleet in order to destroy it. There's a point where "overconfidence and the Force" aren't themes and end up becoming excuses for needless callbacks.

It just feels passionless. The film felt like it was just going through the motions and checking off boxes. As if it somehow HAD to have a superweapon in order for people to like the movie. Hell, they practically acknowledge that with the briefing scenes.

 

I'm not addressing that point because I haven't been discussing the repetitive nature of the battle and have no intention to do so.
I only commented on the notion that SKB has a design flaw similar to the one on the DS - which it doesn't.

 

It's not a design flaw, first of all. It's a tactical flaw.

Second of all, it's not merely the repetitive nature of the battle, it's also the anticlimactic nature of the battle.