Star Wars 7 - The Spoilers Awaken :)

[JaggedFel]

I honestly think that the rumors of Han Solo returning are due to KK saying that "everyone you see here will be back for Episode VIII" at the premiere for TFA. Harrison Ford was in that group so people are assuming he's going to be back in some capacity, when I think it's more likely that KK either didn't think about it or was explicitly trying not to spoil the events of the film.

Eh Funeral or Flashback is possible.

[Buried Alien]

Eh Funeral or Flashback is possible.

More likely flashback; it's doubtful there was anything left of Han for his allies to recover.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[JaggedFel]

Indeed Han went out pretty lamely for a Star Wars Character

[Buried Alien]

Indeed Han went out pretty lamely for a Star Wars Character

Well, it's an ending we've seen for Sith Lords in the past, but unexpected for one of STAR WARS' greatest heroes.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Superlad93]

I feel like it's literally just me, but I loved how Han went out. I never saw the original movie in theaters since I'm not even old enough, but I have a very strong reverence for the character.

For me it fit so perfectly. Han was this smuggler, cut throat, rogue who always put number one first. We saw what happened in Empire when he put others before himself. Him starting a family and living the sedentary life for so long finally got him in the end, and this time for keeps.

Han Solo could get out of any situation with a little charm and a lucky shot, but not this time. This time he had something way more important on the line that he was willing to put his life on the line and hope for.

Han died a scared old man who just wanted his son back, and I think that's just beautiful and powerful. It's like watching superheroes get old and fat, and fallible like you or me. It's hard to watch but strangely compelling when you think about it. For me this so more of a statement than the crowd pleasing "blaze of glory" and obligatory one liner. This whole movie was made of crowd pleasing moments, so lets make this one, the one that matters, something a little stranger with a little more meaning behind it.

But that's just what I thought when I saw it.

[JaggedFel]

My problem was more it was just too obvious and just staged too perfectly I mean on a bridge with Finn, Rey and Chewie hiding with great views.

That and Han totally reverting to where he was pre ANH basically.

[Sacred Knight]

He did not totally revert to the way he was before ANH. He went back to smuggling but his character clearly retained all the growth he had obtained from his adventures with Luke, Leia, and the Alliance. He was more wise, in fact. Going back to smuggling was just his way to get away from it all after losing Ben to the dark side.

[Superlad93]

Yeah Han used an old life that didn't fit him anymore as a means to cope with what happened it was a defensive mechanism. As Han said "I went back to the only thing I knew".

I also loved how the stage was set. It so so obvious, you could almost here Admiral Ackbar yelling at the top of his lungs. But Han held onto something he never would've before the OT, hope. He went out there knowing what his son did and likely what he wanted to do, but he held out hope that Ben was still his little boy. It was heartbreaking to hear Ren speak in double entendre while Han held out hope that it was sincere. Loved it.

Edit: At that moment Finn and Rey are you the viewer. We have no history with Ren and we are naturally mistrusting of him, but Han's gonna do what he feel he must, and all we can do is watch and hope for the best.

[Sacred Knight]

Yeah, it was an obvious set-up for anyone whose seen a few movies before, but it got the blood pumping and that's what counts in a movie.

[gobSIDES]

In my opinion it was a pretty crummy way for him to go out that in my previous review a few pages back I completely forgot about it lol......I mean that was I believe the first and last scene they had together and we were supposed to feel a father son relationship when it literally had about 10 minutes of screen time dedicated to it...lol...no literally people in the cinema screen I was in some of them actually laughed.

Super obvious, typical seen it a hundred times scene that really didn't work for me on any level.....I didn't even feel convinced Ford was Solo in this movie he didn't look emotionally there in the performance...I don't know....I feel a lot was off about this picture-I'm not fully sure this is the story JJ wanted to tell-at least not how he saw it and more like the company wanted minimal Star Wars and more typical cookie cutter summer block buster....

But hey you pay billions fo an IP you'll want it to pay out first and foremost too so can't really blame them much for that.

[DrNewGod]

...I didn't even feel convinced Ford was Solo in this movie he didn't look emotionally there in the performance...

It felt off to me too, but then it occurred to me that this isn't the Han Solo we met in the Mos Eisley cantina, or even the one we left with Leia on the Forrest Moon of Endor; it's a Han that's been through 30 years of disappointment, only to end up still scraping just to get by. However, I agree with you that Ford's performance wasn't one of his best.

...I feel a lot was off about this picture-I'm not fully sure this is the story JJ wanted to tell-at least not how he saw it and more like the company wanted minimal Star Wars and more typical cookie cutter summer block buster...

I agree that a lot was off, but it felt a lot like Abrams' Star Trek to me: a lot of the tropes and spectacle, blown up bigger and louder, but none of the heart or good writing that made it work in the first place. It almost felt like somebody sat down with a list of what-are-the-iconic-images-of-Star-Wars, and said "okay, exactly this, but more!"

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Anyone else severely disappointed by the score? What a disappointment. Nothing memorable apart from the already established themes.

[David Walton]

Well, there's a dimension to the Han Solo death that doesn't get discussed much (if at all).

Kylo Ren is suffering, and he wants Han end his pain one of two ways.

If Han kills Kylo, then that's it, no more conflicted angsty existence. Thanks, Dad!

And if Han can't kill Kylo, then he becomes the embodiment of the 'weakness' which Kylo despises in himself. Thus, by killing Han, he eliminates that weakness, that pull toward the light side that tortures him. Or so he hopes.

I think it's brilliant scene, bolder than anything that's ever been done in Star Wars before. Not only have you got a patricide, but a son begging his own father to kill him!

And it's the best way for Han to go out. Any other death just wouldn't have the same kind of emotional resonance. Han has the "Captain Kirk" problem in terms of going out in battle. He's simply too good at surviving. He's not a brilliant strategist like Kirk, but he always finds a way, even if it's just about stalling until some kind of crazy distraction happens. So if Han wants to live, there's not much that's going to stop him from surviving. But he'd rather die than kill his own son.

[David Walton]

Eh Funeral or Flashback is possible.

One thought that occurred to me. If Rey is Luke's daughter, and he was aware of that, then Han is pretty much the one guy he could trust to smuggle her onto another world. Han's a good enough friend that he'd do what Luke asked, and he's worldly enough that he'd understand why it had to be done.

[PwrdOn]

It felt off to me too, but then it occurred to me that this isn't the Han Solo we met in the Mos Eisley cantina, or even the one we left with Leia on the Forrest Moon of Endor; it's a Han that's been through 30 years of disappointment, only to end up still scraping just to get by. However, I agree with you that Ford's performance wasn't one of his best.

Ford has always been apathetic at best towards Star Wars, and they probably would never have killed Han off in this one if they had managed to rope him in for the entire trilogy. He is a talented actor so his performance was still quite good, but you could tell that this was just a paycheck to him, not some once in a lifetime chance to relive the glory days like some fans were no doubt hoping him to see it.

Honestly, I don't see how it could have been any other way. The entire appeal of Han was always that he was the guy who was too cool and self-aware to take the movie seriously and filled in all the snarky comments that fans were thinking when they were watching it, which of course came from the fact that Ford didn't take the movie seriously and supplied plenty of his own dialogue to that effect. And I can't blame Ford for rolling his eyes at the diehard fans, because if he doesn't care whether Han shot first or not, why should anyone else?