ST The harmonious "TFA is Chewbacca's best movie, so say all of us" thread of solidarity

I've always had a fondness for Chewie, but in previous films he's rarely been the central focus, being very much in the sidekick role.

In TFA, it really felt like he was a full character getting as much focus as the humans in the crew. He had so many good humorous moments, like when the nurse is patching him up "Oh, that sounds so dangerous" as Chewie brags to her, or Maz asking after her "boyrfriend", or he and Han snarking at each other ("Oh you're cold?")

But he was far from just comic relief, he was arguably the key figure when Han dies--Chewie's the one who wounds Ren (which arguably allows Rey to beat him later), the one who blows the bridge. And in the end, he's the one who saves Finn and Rey, flying in as the Falcon's pilot.

Honestly, he was arguably a more central and important character than Leia was in this film, let alone Luke, R2 or C-3PO.

It was really great to see how much respect JJ and Kasdan clearly had for Chewie as a full character in his own right. They even included lots of scenes just showing what a force he and his bowcaster are in combat.

Knowing it was Mayhew still in the costume made it even more enjoyable.

Still need to see the film a few more times, but right now I definitely feel like this movie gave Chewbacca a chance to shine more than any prior film has.

 

I absolutely agree. Chewbacca's rampage after Han's death was one of the best parts of the movie too. Shot Kylo Ren right in the groin(ish) area for it.

 

It was only Mayhew in the scenes where Chewie was sitting, they had 2 other actors do the action parts for Chewie.

Other than that I loved Chewie in the film, would like to see him and Finn become close in the future films.

 

Absolutely right. I mentioned this to my friend last night after the film. Chewie's agony and rage is really something to behold when he attacks Ren and then just stays focused on the business that must be done: blowing the oscillator.

I feel that Chewie's response is meant to mimic the audience's pain for what's just occurred with Han. Our pain becomes embodied in this huge, anguished figure, who then responds in a cathartic way by shooting Ren and blowing things to bits.

But the OP is right that Chewie is treated much more like an individual throughout TFA. Which was GREAT.

By the way, Chewie shooting Ren was basically like an uncle shooting a nephew. He was watching the scene carefully, showing that he had hope Han could talk some sense into Ren. It must have really been shocking for him to see his life debt to Han ended by Han's own son. The irony.

 

YES! Despite my issues with the film, Chewie was amazing in this one, a real bad ass. Loved him.

 

Totally! He was gold in TFA!

 

You'd have to be a real lame-o to say Chewie was lame in TFA. Easily his best film to date.

 

I thought Chewie was great but his best film to date? How so?

 

It was also smart to continually show how powerful his crossbow now is. This gave credibility to Kylo being severely injured & therefore handicapped for the final duels. So Rey & Finn surviving was really due to that big walking carpet. That's just great.

 

Chewie went full bad ass when Han died and shot Ren and then like 6 Stormtroopers. Chewie was awesome.


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He just got more to do than he ever has before. In ESB, Chewie gets enraged when Lando betrays them and Han gets frozen, but its not like he hurts Vader or saves the day. In TFA, Chewie's the one who blows the shield generator, the one who first wounds Kylo Ren to help avenge Han, the one who flies the Falcon solo to save Rey and Finn at the end. It feels like he isn't just a sidekick anymore, he's a full hero who gets to save the day just like the central humans do

 

Agreed. Loved Chewie in this one. Finn trying patch him up really gave me a good laugh.

 

Pretty much exactly that. Chewie got tons of humor, tons of action, and even some development as a character as far as his personality.

 

Agree 100%. The relationship between Han and Chewie is my favorite in all SW. He was great in this movie.

 

Exactly. That's the whole point of that set up and they even milk a laugh or two out of it (I actually think they could have dialled it down by one line).

But yes, I think this is possibly Chewie's finest film too.

 

Chewie and Han were in pretty fine form along with Leia but the rest of the movie not so much. Chewie really didnt have a lot to do here either but he's present. He shot Kylo on the side of his midsection. But its unclear what kinda damage it did, as they make it a point the bowcaster was some sorta hand canon yet Kylo did not go flying anywhere like it did to the heavy armored Stormtroopers. Kylo just wore linen and leather clothing. Later on Kylo is punching the blaster wound, trying to hulk up. So either Chewie was a bad shot firing a dumb dumb bolt or the Force was on Kylo's side that fatal day.

 

I agree about Chewie's role in this film. He was a central character. I liked the scenes you mentioned, but there were also some good scenes between Chewie and Finn including the first one where Finn asked Chewie "wasn't Han Solo a war hero?" and Chewie shrugged.

I saw Han using Chewie's bowcaster as a problem at first because I was under the impression that a bowcaster could only be used by someone extra strong like a wookiee, but I think that was from EU material(possibly originating in the WEG material). I'm not sure if there was ever any indication in a previous film that firing a bowcaster was more difficult for humans than firing a blaster. So I had dismissed my concern about it by the same Han used it the second time.

 

I think Kylo didn't go flying because he has the dark side. But he was bleeding to death and got his ass kicked by an untrained force user. I don't think Rey would have beat Kylo if Chewie hadn't severely injured him.

 

I think the reason it didn't kill Kylo was because of the distance of the shot. All of the other bowcaster shots came from relatively close range while this seemed to be a long distance shot negating some its power. At least that is I how I viewed it.

 

He also rugby tackles Phasma, allowing them to subdue her and get her to turn off the shield.

 

Chewie was a lot further away from Kylo Ren than he was the stormtroopers. Almost any weapon loses its effectiveness with range, and I'd say a bow that fires plasma bolts is no exception.

 

I agree Chewie was great in this, when I was on line at FYE buying the soundtrack I overheard some girls taking about Chewie and how he looked off in the film, they thought he was CGI I so wanted to turn around and tell them that he was played by a different actor especially in action scenes, so his eyes are going to look different obviously ...

 

Agreed. I have always loved Chewie and cherished the precious few scenes where we got to see him kick some ass in the originals.