Why can't stormtroppers shoot strait?

It seems like no stormtroopers can't shoot strait, its like they want to miss, in AOTC they seem to be doing alright but in the OT they sure aren?t. On the death Star in ANH they clearly could have nailed Luke, Han and Leia so many times, like when Vader kills Obi-Wan Luke is just standing there and all the troops miss him completely and in ROTJ the Emperor says he has his best troops on Endor and they all get nailed by a bunch of little bears, and the best they did at killing are heros is shooting Leia in the arm and shooting R2 (Don't you wish the got 3PO instead). Then Obi-Wan says in ANH when they find the dead Jawas is that the blast points on the sandcrawler are to accurate for tusken raiders and that only imperial troops are that accurate. So does anyone know why stormtroopers can't shoot strait and why Luke and Han just have there outline traced on the wall with blaster fire?

 

Why can't stormtroppers shoot strait?

Because they were all trained by Greedo.

 

During the Death Star the are not trying to hit out heros. Watch the movie again. They, the Empire, let the rebels go, thanks to the plan of Darth Vader

"Easy, you call that easy"-Han
"I'm taken a risk Vader, I hope your right"-Tarkin

 

No thats not exactly true. The storm troopers aren't trying to miss them. Vader knew that there was a chance they could still escape. And that they would put a homing beacon on them.

But I think your going way too far if you say the stormtroopers were purposely trying to miss with their shooting.

Its not just ANH either, they are pathetic in every movie. But like any action movie, thats what makes it exciting. If everyone died in a couple shots, what kinda movie would that be?

 

But I think your going way too far if you say the stormtroopers were purposely trying to miss with their shooting.


No. He's absolutely right.
Vader's plan was to put a homing beacon on their ship, let them escape, and follow them to the rebels.
It's pretty obviously spelled out in the movie dialouge.
Besides the jawas, the troopers do fine against the Tantive IV troops.

In the rest of the movies the Storm troopers are consistantly shooting near their targets while running and shooting from the hip. They do better than any US trained soldiers can.

And did you see a legion on the Sanctuary Moon? Nope, because they were guarding the front door. The rebels would have walked right into them if the Ewoks hadn't pointed out the "secret" door.

 

They did pretty well when storming the rebel ship at the beginning of ANH...

And the whole "bad guys missing" is a tradition going back to the 80s Schwarzenegger/Stallone/etc. action films, and going back even further to the old westerns and sci-fi movies. Just like the whole "bad guy gets shot and a) flips over a railing and falls really, really far, or b) bad guy gets shot and falls really, really far". It's like in the old westerns where there would ALWAYS be at least one bad guy on the roof of a building and the hero would shoot him and the guy would nosedive off the side.

It's just movie magic!

 

The stormtroopers can't shoot straight because GL wrote the story so the main characters wouldn't die. Plain and simple.

 

Kershner commented on this in the esb commentary. Like was said above, the bad guys can't shoot and the good guys can kill them at will. Hey, at least it's not GIJOE where nobody could hit anything (except those robots ... BATS ... which they could pick off at will). It's not unlike the sw saga in that way.

What I always find commical is when Obi-Wan says that "Only Stormtroopers are that precise" in anh. What is he smoking?

They're meant to be efficient and threatening and very professional, but due to story needs, they come across as slightly incompetent.

 

The reason stormtropers cant shoot straighty is because its very difficult to move or see in all that armor, I should know, I own a set of trooper armor lol.

Seriously though, the only reason that they cant shoot straight is because they are the anomynous bad guys, who are meant to die, and to prevent the films heros from dying 20 mins into the film.

Regardless of how poor an aim they were, the Stomrtroopers looked ultra cool .

 

Like I said above the main characters aren't suppose to die so the troopers can't hit anything. Which brings up another question why can clonetroopers hit their targets and stormtroopers can't?

 

Not to mention they aren't Jango clones. Notice the voices were not changed in the OT DVD's.

 

Maybe they CAN shot good but our Hero's are BETTER at getting out of the way

 

I have a few blaster rifles, and you'd be surprised at how difficult they are to aim. Han and co. just happen to be really good and very lucky... not an impossible scenario. Look at Greedo try and shoot Han... See what I mean? Its hard as hell to aim those darn lasers bolts. If Greedo is your average blaster wielder, and given his dueling track record, consider the stormtroopers expert marksmen in comparison. This just makes the heros amazingly good, but then again... thats why they're heros, right??

 

"I can't see a thing in this helmet!"

 

I think in ANH and ESB, the troops were aiming to miss. Vader and Tarkin wanted to use Leia to lead them to the base.

I know that the stormies were shotting to miss in ESB for 2 reasons. First, there was no guard on the Falcon. Second, Piett's men deactivated the hyperdrive. I think Vader was hoping Luke would get in touch with someone (guessing Luke would get in touch with his Jedi Master, and then Luke's Master would contact the Falcon and tell them how to rescue Luke).

In RotJ, the Imperials had several faults. One, no camoflage. Two, they didn't bring out there heavy guns for the battle (Where was the Imperial Walker?). Finally, had they not opened the door, they would have held on to victory. I would go as far as to guess that the Empire put out, in open, a lot of forces at it's back door(s), and just a handful of its defenses at the front door, hoping to pull off a pincer attack like they did with the fleet up overhead.

 

why can clonetroopers hit their targets and stormtroopers can't?

Stormies were hitting their targets taking out anonymous rebels onthe Taintive IV, as they were also taking out droids in AotC, same thing really.

 

two stormtroopers walk into a BAR...

cause not one of um is sober

 

Remember, there are no "clonetroopers," per se. We first see STORMtroopers in Attack of the Clones. Lucas never, not once, calls them clonetroopers. He refers to them as stormtroopers. The very point of their introduction is to show us, the viewer, where the stormtroopers come from. That is the POINT. The absolute vast majority of people that watch these films now and, especially, in the future, could care less, will not even think about, the novels, books, comics, games, etc. They're a non-issue. Fifty years from now (and, really, right now), everyone will "know" that the stormtroopers that appear in the first three films that were released are all clones of Jango. Again, that's the entire point. Anyone who says otherwise is fooling himself or herself.

As to why they can't shoot? They seem to do just fine whenever they are not firing at "Our Heroes." The stormtroopers in Attack of the Clones do just fine. In Star Wars they again do a great job storming the Tantive IV. Obi-Wan is completely accurate in saying that they are precise. They again do their job in the TIE Fighters (yes, they're clones of Jango, too). Plenty of the pilots obliterate the rebel forces.

The snowtroopers (still just a different type of stormtrooper) do yet another great job in The Empire Strikes Back. Sure, we never see them fire, but it is implied, the AT-AT drivers do just fine (and, again, they, too, are clones).

On Bespin? Well, once again, who are they going after? That's right, Our Heroes!

Return of the Jedi? The Ewok debate I refuse to start up again. By what we have seen in all the previous films (i.e. the stormtroopers doing just FINE), and by what the Emperor states, "An entire legion of my best troops..." I honestly feel it is absolutely safe to assume that the stormtroopers did a fine job. Sure, we don't see Ewoks being fried (only one, two if you count the hang glider), but it is safe to assume that that went on "off camera." Also, here we go again! Not only does R2 get thrashed, but Leia gets shot, too! (Then her right breast gets grabbed by good 'ol Han...)

So, in the end, I understand the "humor" behind saying that stormtroopers are not great shots, but by what we are shown on screen, they do just fine. From their introduction in Attack of the Clones to the final use of them in Return of the Jedi, they do great against anyone that is not listed first in the credits.

Brandon

 

You fools! Clone troopers are different from stormtroopers! The clone troopers were used to take over the republic. Now a few clones still held parts in the imperial navy but they started dying off because they have exelerated growth ect. Any way later on they started recruiting humens after the clone wars to join the ranks of the imperial armada. If they were all clones how come the officers didnt look the same? I forgot where it says it but pretty much that much is true. Also there are several reasons Storm Troopers cant aim. One is the theory that vader let them escape, 2 half the time they are moving and trying to fire at the same time, 3 bulkey armor in a jungle is tiring, they were cought of gaurd and fast moving 2 foot hi teddy bears are hard to shoot because they are so close to the ground ect. I wish I could find my sources I am slowly losing my books.

 

Stormtroopers are stormtroopers. There are *no* "clonetroopers." Go ahead and re-read my post above. Thanks.

Brandon

 

I'm not sure if I get what exactly you were saying (kinda skimming sorry) are you saying that all stormtroopers are clones of Jango or only the origional ones, because only the origional ones were I believe, new stormtroopers were recruited (and although the armor isnt as cool) and re-equipped with updated armor and weaponry.

 

That is basically what I am saying. I am asking you (you not being YOU but the universal "you") to keep in mind that when people watch these films now and in the future, they will not be reading the novels, comics, games, "background" stuff. Again, an absolute overwhelming majority of people that will watch these movies will only do that: watch the movies. People need to accept that. Twenty years from now, 2024, do you think anyone will be reading or even KNOW what the New Jedi Order series is? Know what Heir to the Empire is? No, of course not. If SW "stuff" is even around then, I am certain that the current so-called "continuity" will be long forgotten; they will have started over again.

So, what I am saying, and what Lucas himself is showing us, is that the stormtroopers we see in ALL the films, from Attack of the Clones to Return of the Jedi, are clones of Jango Fett. They are not recruits. Can you show me within the films where we are supposed to believe they began recruiting people instead of cloning them? I doubt it. On the other hand, what ARE clearly shown, and it is clearly explained, that stormtroopers are clones. Lucas himself in the commentary for Attack of the Clones calls them stormtroopers.

In the end, that is all that I am saying. People need to seriously sit back and realize that within the movie world, which is the only world that really matters in regards to Star Wars, the stormtroopers are clones. THAT is the story Lucas is telling. THAT is how 99.99% (if not more) of the viewers are going to view them.

Again, years from now, if there even is an Expanded Universe, it will not be using the current version of it. The Star Wars Expanded Universe has already drastically changed at least two times, probably three. It will change again. All the stuff you're reading now will be discounted.

But, even then, it does not matter because most people that will sit down and watch these movies will not even know about it. In terms of the movies, you simply need to accept that all the stormtroopers we see are clones of Jango Fett. No spoilers, but from what we already know about Revenge of the Sith, there is no evidence that contradicts this.

Brandon

 

Hmm, well what if they explain this in the last movie, you know pretty much show a recruitment station or something

 

Like it's been said, the only real reason Stormtroopers can't shoot straight is because of the hero effect. Terrifying opponents to regular troops, but to anyone who gets a credit at the end of the film, a minor inconvenience. For an in-universe answer, just assume the Will of the Force was helping them.

And I disagree that Stormtroopers are all clones of Jango. It was evident that the Kaminoans were very concious of genetic degredation, as they needed to keep Jango on call. The original clones would have died by the time of the classics and while a few could be just hanging on if they stored details of Jango's DNA, most of the troops would either be clones from other sources or recruits. Given the size of the Empire and the fact that it's no longer an immediate need for troops, recruiting and training regular people as Stormtroopers seems to be a reasonable course of action.

No EU, just thought.

 

Luke was going to go to the IMPERIAL ACADEMY after all, and assuming if all storm troopers were clones, wouldnt that also make the pilots clones? Well another thing is that Han was in the imperial Navy at one time as a pilot, but graduated at the head of his class so he pretty much became an officer. And what about TIE pilots such as Baron Fell?