ST Why was Chewie's gun so powerful?

Worth repeating, even though perhaps tangential in this thread. While the whole theater was sobbing around me, I couldn't find the tears. I've been annoyed and confused by it until now. It's because there didn't seem to be any immediate result or consequence from Han's death. Kylo Ren seems neither more light not more dark. The Starkiller Base is unaffected. Chewie is PISSED, but his shot doesn't kill Ren. I do hope greater repercussions are made clear down the road.

 

Han's death was more impactful to me on my subsequent viewings. 1st time I was a bit numb to it all. But I've said many times on other threads, I was numb on my first showing because of the pent up desire to see Star Wars and really not believing I'm watching another Star Wars that was really good.

 

The real question is why was Han surprised by Chewie's bowcaster when at this point they had been fighting/living side by side for what..40 years?

 

I thought it was a new weapon? I certainly thought it looked bigger than his old bowcaster and it shot different colored bolts.

 

"Why is Chewie's gun so powerful?"

It's a 10mm.

 

AR15s use a small caliber.

 

It just makes sense that the bowcaster is more powerful than a typical blaster. They just didn't emphasize that in the OT. Chewie probably weights 400+ lbs and is vastly stronger than people, so he would naturally choose to carry a more powerful weapon that would be unwieldy to a smaller, human sized person.

 

Can you tell I don't shoot?

 

Yeah, the bowcaster injury is a preconceived rationalization to justify Kylo's weak performance in the duel. It still doesn't work because of what they show Kylo do after the injury, but the bowcaster was an obvious attempt at rationalization.

 

Not even any of his bones get broken from the impact. He can shake that wound off but yet can't over power Rey with one arm as she holds his sword arm in the snow.

 

Did you xray his chest to see?

 

yeah, because the movie obviously showed signs of him being unable to run, having broken bones and internal damage & unable to perform physical combat duty and swordsmanship.He only started slowing down when Finn got a blow in, then he picked up again until Rey overwhelmed him and starting cutting him up.

 

To be honest, I don't think he slowed down at all after Finn's blow to his shoulder. Finn is done seconds after that blow, and Rey is dominated until she has her power up moment.

 

Back to the bowcaster. I was thinking to myself, "Surely Han would have tried out the bowcaster by now." But it didn't bother me that much. It was a mildly funny moment in the movie. Who knows maybe Chewy got a new one or upgraded it recently? Yes, of course it was to demonstrate why Kylo has a problem after being hit by Chewbacca with it. Which I loved seeing Chewy deliver some punishment to Kylo after Han's death.

 

It was a running gag that also worked as a plot device. I don't really have a problem with it, I chuckled every time.

 

damn, it was a joke.

 

Just speaking from a Battlefront perspective, it's the game's most powerful weapon. You can one-shot everyone with it and multiples at a time. I didn't mind the Stormtroopers flying back because that's exactly what happens when I use it in the game; the gun fires multiple explosives that explode on impact.

There's also a scene where Han shoots out a door panel with it and it doesn't look like a large hit. That's fine with me too. In the game, the longer you charge the weapon, the stronger the explosive on impact. Whenever I just fire the Bowcaster with 1 charge, it's splash damage but weak.

As far as the gun's aim, it's not a crosshairs type of aim. What you see is a series of charging dots in a line. You're supposed to just generally aim it in the direction of the target's feet. THAT'S how to use the weapon - not aim it at their bodies. Han does hit the riot geared Stormie in the chest. That will work only if Han fired from a short range which he was at. A 1-2 charged Bowcaster would do what Han's shot did. The farther you are from your target, the less damage done if it's a body hit, but same distance and you aim for the ground or any nearby surface, there's tons of splash damage.

 

There's a simple way to justify this. Chewie recently upgraded the bowcaster, and it's the first time Han's seen the new version in action. "Plot hole" filled.

You're welcome.

 

I want to see it take someone's head clean off.

 

You must never have seen or met anyone that large before. Based on looks and how Finn could support him over his shoulder..Chewie weighs maybe 240-270lbs.

 

Ever had a broken rib? Anyway this is silly, we are arguing about damage to a fictional evil space wizard on a fictional planet by a fictional and impossible weapon. From a writing perspective, he was hurt, they showed it, that's enough for me.

 

I've heard Kylo Ren's character is based on a true story.

 

Idk

 

It's meant to show how banged up Ren was but still was able to fight back for awhile. But also I like to think that they were trying to spice Chewie up by giving him this extra quirk. Plus, it feels like a shotgun now, which is pretty baller I say!

 

Gorillas can weigh 400-500 lbs and they aren't even 6' tall. My estimate was based on him being about 8 feet tall and having considerably higher muscle density than a human would (as is suggested by the fact that he can rip people's arms out of their socket). I guess I stand corrected.

Wookiepedia says he's about 250 lbs, which is stunningly light with him being 7'6".