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Quantifying How Much the Force Is Used In Star Wars (bloomberg.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Bloomberg has posted a data visualization for a very important subject: how much, how often, and to what effect The Force is used in Star Wars movies. As you may expect, we see the light side of the Force used much more often than the dark side. Luke Skywalker spends about 11 minutes using the Force, but pre-Vader Anakin clocks in at under 3 minutes of Force time — less, even, than Palpatine. It also turns out that Jedi really love Force Leaping, while the dark side has a monopoly on making lightning and choking people. It's kind of silly, but also kind of cool. Bloomberg even posted their methodology: "To arrive at a figure for total on-screen Force time, we decided to measure cumulatively, by scene. That means when multiple people use the Force simultaneously, we counted the time only once. Light-side and dark-side times are the cumulative durations that characters associated with each side are depicted using the Force. When multiple characters associated with the same side at the same time use the Force, that time is also counted only once. When light-side and dark-side characters use the Force at the same time, the durations are scored separately. Each recorded duration is rounded to the nearest second, and no use of the Force was assigned less than one second in duration." (That's just a fraction of it.)

188 comments

  1. You forgot JarJar! by lgw · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Bah, they forgot all the times Darth JarJar used the dark side of the force, from the force jumps to using a combat droid attached to his leg as an aimed weapon.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    1. Re:You forgot JarJar! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      In addition to his acrobatics, don't forget all the times that DarthDarth Binks waves his hands around while convincing people to work for him.

    2. Re:You forgot JarJar! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know I hated Jar Jar in the movies far less than I hate being reminded of him every ten seconds by online trolls.

    3. Re:You forgot JarJar! by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      And the three times that he mind controlled the queen or her captain to say things.

      I mean... that's right out there on the screen.

      let's see....

      About 120 seconds for major hand waving mind control.
      * Boss Nas says Jar Jar should go with the Jedi as a guide (with massive handcuffed handwaving by Jar jar)
      * Promotion to General by the guy who's yacht he destroyed.
      * Promotion to Senate
      * Convincing the entire senate to vote down democracy and give all power to Palpatine

      Maybe 25 seconds for force leaps (including the bridge ambush)
      * The "In your face jedi's" jump in the water complete with somersault at the top (which no other gungun is ever observed doing).
      * The "I'm on the right... oh wait, I'm really on the left you stupid droids" patented Luke/Obiwan fake fall/force bounce at the bridge ambush queen rescue.
      * Various arbitrary leaps during the battle onto tanks and so on.

      About 20 seconds for mind control voicing.
      * "The queen wishes it... she's curious about the plan"
      * "The queen will not approve"... Q: She doesn't need to know... "Well, I don't approve"

      About 45 seconds of various other mind control
      The Bigger Fish
      The evil Pod Racer ( 2 seconds but so obvious on slow mo it's incredible. easy to miss otherwise)
      Weesa Warrior...we got Grand Army hand waving behind queens back....she decides to return to Nabboo.

      Maybe another 35 seconds of scenes where it's obvious he's either sensing other force users or knows what's going to happen.
      * Going to meet Obiwan and Quigon at the elevaor... waiting for door to open.. then being "suprised" to see them.

      So...3m:25s for Jar Jar.

      George Lucas created a legendary character
      Using an ancient mythological
      Storytelling tradition

      In which a "master wizard" is someone
      least expected. - (Tim Swan)

      ---
      "Looking....he he... found someone I would say.. me he he ha ha he"

      Luke: "Right" (skeptically)

      Help you I can...mmm.. yes.

      Luke: I don't think so. I'm looking for a great warrior.

      "Oh... ho hoe he he ... great warrior ... mm hehehe ho ... the force not make one great..."

      ---

      All we lacked was the reveal... which lucas saved for the second film. And he wrote it out after the racism scandal and pressing financial needs (from his divorce) left Lucas vulnerable to merchandising financial pressures such that he gave up his vision and simply wrote for the masses. The working title for the second movie was "Jar Jar's Great Adventure".

      Was Jar Jar a sith? (The red skin vs all the other yellowish and greenish gungan's is interesting and yellow sith eyes are easy to hide in a race with naturally yellow eyes). And if he was... was he a survivor from the time of Darth Bane... predating the rule of two? Someone so good at hiding that he avoided the fratricidal slaughter the other sith engaged in?

      We know lucas was a fan of martial arts films. Was Jar Jar the monkey god? There are also some indications he might have paralleled the "Mule" from the foundation serious by asimov.

      A cinematic analysis showed that George chose to protray Jar Jar as always encroaching on Qui Gon's third of the frame. He wasn't framed as a comedic character. And that smile at the Qui Gon's funeral while standing next to palpatine was pretty chilling. I would have liked to have seen the only non-stupid sith lord in the last 1,000 years to have talked to Yoda before they fought (drunken fist vs whatever the hell yoda was doing). And I would have liked to have seen Jar Jar escape. It's interesting despite his power (using the force on and in front of "master" jedi who were maybe 40 years old) he stayed in the background and manipulated things. Was he the real father of Anakin... responsible for the "virgin" birth?

      Could the Jedi have been more wrong about how "balancing" the force was going to play out for them. Hmmm. We have 2 sith lords and a couple thousand Jedi. Let

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    4. Re:You forgot JarJar! by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      I totally agree that Jar Jar was really meant to be a Sith. What is a shame is that he is so hated its not worth even a second of his presence on screen to come back for the reveal.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    5. Re:You forgot JarJar! by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      I wonder if yoda would have been as hated if he had acted like a doddering child/idiot for two movies while taking in a racist accent.

      But yea... I'm pretty sure Disney is going to go full corporate on it and not allow anything creative and awesome like this to see the screen.

      You know what they night do... and what would be awesome... would be if they dropped some hints (and never a reveal) in the 2nd and 3rd movies.

      Perhaps speculation by the Jedi that something "unseen" and menacing is behind the visible villain (snope/skope/bah! you know who I mean! lol)

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    6. Re:You forgot JarJar! by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Which Jar Jar are you talking about, that cartoon character that George Lucas introduced or the Jar Jar that directed this remake of Star Wars. Let's be honest in real consumer terms with regard to long term value the movie is not doing so well, hence lame viral marketing attempts continue due to real consumer to real consumer reviews being pretty bad, especially amongst star wars fans who were expecting a whole new story. The only interesting thing in Jar Jar efforts with this production is how quickly post opening the viral marketing attempts are fading, including PR=B$ reviews. Lame planted stories, basically advertising pretending to be journalism, the sheer volume of bullshit on youtube. Youtubers remains the best cheap ass way of driving viral marketing. Gaming publishers do better with them, because they can put them on an extended cheap stipend with those youtubers desperate to please, consider that annual cost of tens of thousands of dollars versus just one idiot box commercial shown just once, now you get the idea of why so many fake arse youtubers are flooding review channels with commercials pretending to be reviews. It in the end it fails, crap is crap and a pretty bad crap story poorly told simply builds nothing into the future and completely burns out the value of story worlds, quick cash in but limited or no future value.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    7. Re:You forgot JarJar! by lgw · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I never understood the hatred of JarJar - I think he was just picked as an effigy for the problems with the whole movie. Having a "comic relief character for the kiddies" is barely annoying - Star Wars was never a serious drama. Of the deep and never-ending flaws in the prequels, JarJar doesn't even make my short list.

      Even so, I'd still support a constitutional amendment banning cartoon rabbits from prequel trilogies - think of the pain it would have saved in the wretched Hobbit movies.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    8. Re:You forgot JarJar! by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      For me he was just juvenile, and ruined any part of the movie he was in. I actually liked other parts of the prequels fairly well.

      There was one scene that was vastly worse than Jar Jar though - Padme and Anakin in the meadow. My god that was some awful movie time. I have never cringed from watching anything the way that made me cringe. Even seeing Two Girls One Cup was more pleasing.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    9. Re:You forgot JarJar! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, so you think the biggest moneymaker in the history of the entertainment industry is "not doing so well".

      You're a fucking idiot.

    10. Re:You forgot JarJar! by antdude · · Score: 1

      Yep, see this missing scene as a proof.

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    11. Re:You forgot JarJar! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks for your opinion, Little Johnny. Do your mommy and daddy know you are up so late?

    12. Re:You forgot JarJar! by lgw · · Score: 1

      Anakin was juvenile in the first movie. JarJar was barely annoying by comparison. And anyhow, one juvenile character in the movie would have been OK -- kids can like the movie too -- but it was an overload of juvenile.

      Padme and Anakin in the meadow

      Thankfully, I recognized that as the perfect time to recycle my Diet Coke, and so I missed the whole scene in the meadow.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    13. Re:You forgot JarJar! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That theory is nice, but the real flaw is that while jedis seem to feel when the force is used by others, they somehow can't notice someone who is constantly using it near them.

      Jar Jar would have been the only one in all the films who could use the force stealthy, undetected by nearby jedis.

    14. Re:You forgot JarJar! by lgw · · Score: 1

      Clouded by the dark side, our senses are.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    15. Re:You forgot JarJar! by toddestan · · Score: 1

      The thing is, they already have C3PO and R2D2 which serve mostly as comic relief. And they cranked that up quite a bit in the prequels too, especially in Episode 2 where it was just ridiculous.

    16. Re:You forgot JarJar! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      exactly! I was going to post the same. And what about Anakin's mom and her midichlorian conception? The fact is that The Force uses all of our "heros", be it on purpose or not.

    17. Re:You forgot JarJar! by Talderas · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure Disney is going to go full corporate on it and not allow anything creative and awesome like this to see the screen.

      They already did. Saw Ep7 this weekend and I felt like I was just seeing a reimaging of Ep4.

      The parallels are excessive. Very little about the movie felt like I was watching a new Star Wars film.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  2. Very interesting by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

    But that still doesn't explain why Geordi wasn't able to make the TARDIS land on Miranda.

    1. Re:Very interesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obviously he should have used The Force!

    2. Re:Very interesting by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

      He did some research about it but he didn't have enough Data.

    3. Re:Very interesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Knowing that he knows that he has enough Data to know that he doesn't have enough data to...

    4. Re:Very interesting by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

      >> why Geordi wasn't able to make the TARDIS land on Miranda.

      He probably failed to reverse the polarity of the deflector dish. Or maybe Wesley wasn't around.

    5. Re:Very interesting by lgw · · Score: 1

      No, no, no! On the TARDIS, you reverse the polarity of the neutron flux. (Jon Pertwee had trouble with the technobabble, but he liked "reverse the polarity of the neutron flux" because it has poetic meter, so he said it in several episodes.)

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  3. Not enough by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Frist! Especially when Kylo Ren was working over Po. He should have exploded his head.

    1. Re:Not enough by Talderas · · Score: 1

      Po is such a poor replacement for Wedge Antilles and his explanation for survive was so half-assed.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  4. Luke force chokes a guard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does that mean he was a dark side user?

    1. Re:Luke force chokes a guard by xfade551 · · Score: 1

      I'd have to re-read it (it's been awhile), but, IIRC, in the book version of Return of the Jedi, Luke feels "dirty" when he force-chokes the Gamorrean guards. He also strays a bit in the extended universe and has confidence issues with staying true to the light side thereafter. (Yes, I know JJ Abrams shot down the previous Extended Universe canon, but that's how things were explained previously.)

  5. NERRRRRRRRRRDS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LotR is better, anyway.

    1. Re:NERRRRRRRRRRDS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    2. Re:NERRRRRRRRRRDS! by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      Oh please. Even Harry Potter is better than LoTR.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  6. Force Leap isn't a thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Except in video games. Stop being a child.

    1. Re:Force Leap isn't a thing by Coren22 · · Score: 4, Informative

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

      It isn't? I must be confused than, cause I remember Yoda hopping all over the place in his battle scene, and as that site mentions, Luke used it in his battle with Vader in Cloud City.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    2. Re:Force Leap isn't a thing by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      Thanks. Force leap and push are just kinds of telekinesis. They only exist as separate powers in video games. Speed might be that, too.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    3. Re:Force Leap isn't a thing by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      Same for choke, by the way.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    4. Re:Force Leap isn't a thing by barbariccow · · Score: 1

      telekinesis involved moving things other than yourself without physical contact. Long-range physical influence. Leap and push are both using the opposing force of your weight/pressure. Force Leap/Push use the force to increase acceleration, and thus provide more force. So nya.

  7. Somebody had *WAAAY* too much time on their hands by mark-t · · Score: 1

    [nt]

  8. Non-obvious use of force? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What about when Princess Leia is interrogated by Vader? Vader failed to get info out of her because the force was hiding her?

    1. Re:Non-obvious use of force? by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      They list 10 minutes of Force use by Leia in the 6 movies, perhaps that is what they are referring to?

      I was wondering what Force Leia used in those moves, as I don't remember her using the force in a visible way.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    2. Re:Non-obvious use of force? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      10 seconds, not 10 minutes.

    3. Re:Non-obvious use of force? by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      True, my mistake.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    4. Re:Non-obvious use of force? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It was in a verbal way, the Force Bitter Derogation.

      Ex. Princess Leia Organa: "Governor Tarkin, I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board. "

      Of course, the Gov. was also skilled in the way of the Force Withering Ripost.

      Ex. Governor Tarkin: "Charming to the last. You don't know how hard I found it, signing the order to terminate your life."

    5. Re:Non-obvious use of force? by suutar · · Score: 1

      sensing Luke under Cloud City is the only one that comes to mind.

    6. Re:Non-obvious use of force? by erice · · Score: 1

      They list 10 minutes of Force use by Leia in the 6 movies, perhaps that is what they are referring to?

      I was wondering what Force Leia used in those moves, as I don't remember her using the force in a visible way.

      In ROTJ after the Death Start blows up:

      Han: I hope Luke wasn't on board. (aprox)
      Leia: He wasn't. I felt it!

    7. Re:Non-obvious use of force? by Asmodae · · Score: 1

      And at the end of Jedi: "He's alright, I can feel it."

    8. Re:Non-obvious use of force? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was wondering what Force Leia used in those moves, as I don't remember her using the force in a visible way.

      Example- when she's talking to Han on Endor about how she can feel her brother, she's using force sensing abilities. Shit like that.

      Oh, and I vaguely recall reading the Return of the Jedi official novel, I think it kind of implied she used some force powers to help choke out Jabba the Hut, that might be what they're counting.

    9. Re:Non-obvious use of force? by turbidostato · · Score: 1

      "sensing Luke under Cloud City is the only one that comes to mind."

      Except that's not due to Leia's usage of the Force but Luke's that calls her.

    10. Re: Non-obvious use of force? by TuringTest · · Score: 1

      You need two telephones in a phone call. Leia wouldn't have heard it without being force-sensitive herself.

      --
      Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
    11. Re: Non-obvious use of force? by turbidostato · · Score: 1

      "You need two telephones in a phone call. Leia wouldn't have heard it without being force-sensitive herself."

      Yeah, sure. And the stormtroopers are also force-sensitive since those aren't indeed the droids they were looking for.

    12. Re: Non-obvious use of force? by suutar · · Score: 1

      Fair point. I suppose one could theorize that long distance requires sensitivity on both ends, while short range with eye contact can be single ended. But that's just a theory. So really, we're down to her sensing that Luke made it off the Death Star 2 at the end of ROTJ and maybe being more receptive to Luke's call in Empire. I suspect they're counting the Empire part in their 10 seconds.

  9. Where is the estimation of force * distance? by ttucker · · Score: 2

    How does the Jedi force reconcile notions on the conservation of energy? Is a Jedi knight a perpetual motion machine?

    1. Re:Where is the estimation of force * distance? by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      How does the Jedi force reconcile notions on the conservation of energy? Is a Jedi knight a perpetual motion machine?

      You might be one to something. I think it was in Revenge of the Sith that Obi Wan commented about Anakin, "Always on the move"

    2. Re:Where is the estimation of force * distance? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not the Jedi knight that's a perpetual motion machine. It's the universe itself.

    3. Re:Where is the estimation of force * distance? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You may as well ask the same question about Gandalf.

      It's all magic. It doesn't need to be consistent with science, nor even internally consistent within its own fictitious universe. That's why it is called "magic."

    4. Re:Where is the estimation of force * distance? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      It's all magic. It doesn't need to be consistent with science, nor even internally consistent within its own fictitious universe. That's why it is called "magic."

      When Lucas pulled Midichlorians out of his ass, he made it have to be internally consistent. With that said, there's lots of energy, it just has to come from somewhere.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re:Where is the estimation of force * distance? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The force binds all things, and is generated by life itself.

      Every time a Jedi force pushes someone, an innocent puppy's life force is drained to pay for it.

    6. Re:Where is the estimation of force * distance? by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      I wonder about that all the time when it comes to superheroes. Superman may harness the power of the sun, but his exposed skin doesn't collect enough to lift up a truck or stop a speeding train. How many calories does that take? And the Flash... could run 2 seconds at top speed before exhausting all the calories he could consume in a month.

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    7. Re: Where is the estimation of force * distance? by TuringTest · · Score: 1

      In that respect, the Force is much less energy-efficient than spaceship engines or droid batteries.

      --
      Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
    8. Re:Where is the estimation of force * distance? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How does the Jedi force reconcile notions on the conservation of energy? Is a Jedi knight a perpetual motion machine?

      Star Wars has FTL travel. I think it is pretty safe to say that they have found some flaws in the current model.

    9. Re:Where is the estimation of force * distance? by genner · · Score: 1

      I wonder about that all the time when it comes to superheroes. Superman may harness the power of the sun, but his exposed skin doesn't collect enough to lift up a truck or stop a speeding train. How many calories does that take? And the Flash... could run 2 seconds at top speed before exhausting all the calories he could consume in a month.

      To be fair they do show the Flash constantly eating.

  10. Integrate, yo. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The method used in TFA was stupid. Why not figure out how much net work the Force is doing? Maybe there's an upper limit on simultaneous Force-usage? Does the Force only do work, or can work be done on the Force? It's important that we know these things.

  11. The Force Awakens?!?! by omfglearntoplay · · Score: 1

    Fun stuff, but they haven't done it on the awesome new movie yet. Baffling.

    I don't remember the good guys using the choke... it says Luke did it once. When was that?!?!

    In The Force Awakens, you wonder if Kylo Ren is using the dark side 100% of the time or not. How will that be handled?

    Jedi Mind Trick... are some species really resistant, or is it an individual thing? Jabba just had a strong will it seemed.

    1. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by aaron4801 · · Score: 1

      Not really baffling, this article is from Dec 11, according to the google.

    2. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by omfglearntoplay · · Score: 1

      Well that is disappointing... I want to see stats on the new one, even more so since I can't own it yet.

      And to answer my other question, it was the Gamorrean guards with Luke. Here they talk about it, and how in a draft of A New Hope Kenobi was also going to use it on several people:

      http://boards.theforce.net/thr...

    3. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by Fwipp · · Score: 3, Informative

      When Luke enters Jabba's palace in RotJ; I believe he force chokes/throws one of the pig guards. It's been many years since I watched it, so I could be mistaken.

    4. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Luke did it to the guards at Jabba's palace. Hand in your nerd card.

    5. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by OzPeter · · Score: 0

      Fun stuff, but they haven't done it on the awesome new movie yet.

      What awesome new movie? What movie did you see? What I saw was a total rehash of the SW plot with some plucky new characters thrown in for good measure.

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    6. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds awesome to me. ...and about a billion other people, if the numbers are any indication.

    7. Re: The Force Awakens?!?! by loufoque · · Score: 2, Insightful

      what "awesome" movie are you speaking of? All I'm aware of is JJ Abrams' farce.

    8. Re: The Force Awakens?!?! by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Considering it has created new records for income on a movie, I think the world disagrees with you.

      http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/07...

      It has already made more than a billion dollars in revenue.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    9. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Never underestimate the power of nostalgia and marketing hype.

    10. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by naasking · · Score: 2

      When Luke enters Jabba's palace in RotJ; I believe he force chokes/throws one of the pig guards.

      You are correct. At least, it certainly looks that way. Or they were simply unusually intimidated by his stare and waving hand.

    11. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Probably kinder than cutting their arms off with his lightsaber.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    12. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, plus the whole palace would smell like bacon for weeks.

    13. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by Fwipp · · Score: 1

      Sweet, thanks for the confirmation!

    14. Re:The Force Awakens?!?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They drop their weapons, hold their throats, back up and topple over.

    15. Re: The Force Awakens?!?! by lgw · · Score: 1

      Are you seriously arguing revenue as a measure of quality for popular entertainment?

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    16. Re: The Force Awakens?!?! by gfxguy · · Score: 1

      F-ing right! Justin Beiber's the BEST!

      --
      Stupid sexy Flanders.
    17. Re: The Force Awakens?!?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You like sucking that Disney dick a lot, don't ya?

  12. One great thing by 110010001000 · · Score: 3, Funny

    One great thing I learned in the latest SW movie is that you don't even need any training to use the Force! Just select a Stormtrooper and say slowly and firmly a command. If it doesn't work the first time, just close your eyes and breathe out and try again. Voila! It will work! And then after that you can use that same new found power to kill a guy who has been trained to use the Force. I don't know why Luke would even bother to try to train Jedi in the Force. You can pick it up in 15 minutes.

    1. Re:One great thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      In the flashback scene, the girl was clearly a Jedi trainee as a small child. She didn't spontaneously use the Force, she used half-forgotten lessons.

    2. Re:One great thing by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Interesting! I must have missed that part. I'll need to watch it again. But obviously training is overrated. If you can kill one of the major Dark Force guys using half-forgotten lessons it must not be very difficult to master. Maybe just a short course is all that is needed.

    3. Re:One great thing by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      Why not? That's all Luke did with the blaster remote.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    4. Re:One great thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      There's probably a Coursera or Khan Academy cert you can get in your spare time to boost your income.

    5. Re:One great thing by OzPeter · · Score: 2

      There's probably a Coursera or Khan Academy cert you can get in your spare time to boost your income.

      Well depending on the universe that would be a Khaaaaaaaaaaan Academy cert.

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      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    6. Re:One great thing by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      I found the mind trick thing to be somewhat annoying too. But at the end of her light saber battle with Kylo-Ren what did he thing she was doing when she closed her eyes while they crossed sabers for what felt like a ridiculous amount of time? I suppose he was injured pretty badly already from being shot earlier. But you'd think he would have figured it out and not wait for her to be ready to attack.

      Still, it's Star Wars. I don't really look for it to all make prefect sense. I thought it was one of the better movies in the franchise in some time.

    7. Re:One great thing by Pseudonymous+Powers · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Interesting! I must have missed that part. I'll need to watch it again. But obviously training is overrated. If you can kill one of the major Dark Force guys using half-forgotten lessons it must not be very difficult to master. Maybe just a short course is all that is needed.

      Luke used to bullseye womprats in Beggar's Canyon back home, and they're not much bigger than two meters, which apparently is amazing marksmanship, and that was possibly before he had even heard of the Force. And he was able to hold his own against Vader for a while at the end of Empire, despite the fact that his formal training on Dagobah lasted.. maybe a week, tops? And he had no formal training before the amazingly acrobatic fight with Jabba's gang in Jedi.

      So it would appear that, yes, at least for certain people, proficiency in using the Force is more a matter of natural talent, and knowing what's possible with it, rather than a result of repetitive drilling. Which, frankly, is kind of what one might expect when you're dealing with a mystical and ineffable power that pervades the very fabric of reality.

    8. Re:One great thing by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      He also was trying to convince her to join him, so wasn't trying to kill her.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    9. Re:One great thing by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      Did he want her to join him bad enough to chance getting killed? He had already stated earlier that she was strong with the force and knew that she was able to resist him reading her mind. You'd think he'd be able to tell that she was trying to channel the force to attack him. Especially for as long as that scene went on.

      Darth Vader was also trying to convince Luke to join him. It didn't keep him from chopping his hand off to disarm him.

    10. Re:One great thing by omfglearntoplay · · Score: 1

      Here here. The reason Luke and then Rey were so special and the focus of the movies is because they were above and beyond the normal force users, aka they were naturals. The force is magic, first and foremost so I have no problem with it. And let's not forget Lucas based the whole concept on the Japanese art of Kenpo which is, go figure, a type of sword fighting. If you are one with the force, it will guide your actions, Luke learned fast and so did Rey, so one can see lightsaber dueling to be the most easily tapped into.

      And to me, the majority of the training was to try to teach potential Jedis how to not accidentally succumb to the dark side and much less about pure battle-prowess. That's why they wanted them young, not because they couldn't learn later, but because that is when it was easy to teach them right from wrong.

      Let's not forget Rey was a badass with her staff on that rough planet for years, obviously using the force naturally during many a fight. Kylo getting hurt is believable to me, because it also means something that Kylo was just part of a huge gut wrenching scene that probably bordered on him thinking about suicide right afterwards anyway. He obviously was extremely conflicted about the whole thing.

    11. Re:One great thing by shadowrat · · Score: 2

      just like american ninja! This is the thing that keeps me going in life. One day i'll remember all the training i received as a child and subsequently forgot.

    12. Re:One great thing by Livius · · Score: 1

      If it doesn't work the first time, just close your eyes and breathe out and try again.

      That *is* training. About 30 seconds' worth. Which is plenty, considering Luke was ready to defeat Darth Vader and Emperor Palpitine combined after a combined total of, what, about 4 or 5 minutes.

    13. Re:One great thing by shadowrat · · Score: 1

      in the movies defense it doesn't really say she had forgotten anything. We don't know anything about her past or what she knows, but she never says anything to imply that she doesn't know. She is uncommunicative about why she doesn't want to leave jakku, but it's not because of amnesia. Her vision upon touching the lightsaber is a revelation to the viewer, but maybe nothing she doesn't already know. in fact it could be seen as a vision of things she is very aware of and possibly trying to distance herself from.

    14. Re:One great thing by OzPeter · · Score: 1

      Here here. The reason Luke and then Rey were so special and the focus of the movies is because they were above and beyond the normal force users, aka they were naturals.

      I suspect that Finn could also be in that group. Someone else said that Finn basically had his arse handed to him during his battle with Ren, but from my point of view given Ren's (supposed) power I think that Finn did amazingly well. I would have expected any force wielding person to easily defeat a non-fprce wielding person. OTOH Finn's other big fight scene may indicate that he is just a good swordsman, yet on the third hand he did seem to pick up the shooting part as quickly as Rey picked up the piloting part.

      --
      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    15. Re:One great thing by russotto · · Score: 1

      She didn't kill Kylo Ren. Anyway, he was a big baby and a major force only in his own mind. He had one really good trick he was an expert at (stopping a blaster bolt), but other than that he was only good in relation to those with no power at all. Yoda or Vader or Palpatine or Mace Windu would have bent him over their respective knees and given him the spanking of his life, without any effort at all.

    16. Re:One great thing by jader3rd · · Score: 1

      She didn't spontaneously use the Force, she used half-forgotten lessons.

      Was that the problem the Jedi were having previously? Instead of going through decades of training to even be a candidate for the 'trials', what the Jedi masters should have been doing all along was wiping their Padawans memory's so they could effectively use the force though half-forgotten lessons. Forgotten lessons are key to using the force!

    17. Re:One great thing by jader3rd · · Score: 1

      He had one really good trick he was an expert at (stopping a blaster bolt)

      Unless of course it's fired by Chewbacca, in front of him, when he has his lightsaber ignited.

    18. Re:One great thing by Asmodae · · Score: 1

      "Overconfidence is their weakness."

    19. Re:One great thing by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Watch the movie more closely.

      Kylo Ren took a hit from the bowcaster thingy that had no problem taking out multiple armored stormtroopers. He chased down Finn and Rey. Finn fought him, and IIRC managed to wound Ren further. Rey did the "here, lightsaber" thing better than Ren did, which is interesting, but Force users probably have different raw strength, and then beat a tired and seriously wounded man. Since Finn is a trained stormtrooper, and Rey clearly had picked up combat skills, that's not surprising at all.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    20. Re: One great thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe you'll find that Rey was trained by her father, and by luke at a young age.

      For her, using the force was an act of remembering.

      Plus the jedi often spoke of the force guiding ones actions.

    21. Re:One great thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And let's not forget Lucas based the whole concept on the Japanese art of Kenpo which is, go figure, a type of sword fighting.

      No, it's a form of Karate, and what influenced him was the idea of chi and ki... which are not at all unique to Kenpo (or even Karate in general, for that matter). Unfortunately, instead of also borrowing from their style of weapons use, he chose to go with regular Fencing, which is a big reason the saber combat in the original trilogy looked like a bunch of geriatric nursing home residents limping around than an actual battle.

    22. Re:One great thing by turbidostato · · Score: 1

      "And let's not forget Lucas based the whole concept on the Japanese art of Kenpo which is, go figure, a type of sword fighting"

      And let's not forget Kenpo is neither Japanese nor involves sword fighting.

    23. Re:One great thing by turbidostato · · Score: 1

      "Unfortunately, instead of also borrowing from their style of weapons use, he chose to go with regular Fencing"

      The irony being that, by the nature of the weapon, fencing is the way to go so, while apparently looking worse than the newer films they were also truer to the tool.

    24. Re:One great thing by DRMShill · · Score: 1

      That wasn't the Force. Rey was just PMSing really bad.

    25. Re:One great thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Well depending on the universe that would be a Khaaaaaaaaaaan Academy cert.

      I'm getting mine from Saylor Moon Academy.

    26. Re:One great thing by Rei · · Score: 1

      Am I the only one who got the idea from the movie that Kylo just wasn't "all that"? Sure, he's the leader of the Knights of Ren, but my impression was that he's still just an angry emo teenager desperately wishing he could actually be as powerful as he wants to be, like his idol, Granpa Vader. He didn't even seem to get the same sort of respect in the First Order that Vader got in the empire. Hux in particular seems annoyed by his presence and eager to snipe at his poor decisions to Snoke.

      And his blaster trick isn't new, Vader did something similar on Cloud City when Han shot at him - just without as impressive of special effects ;)

      --
      He's the sort of person who would sell the Red Cross to Dracula.
    27. Re:One great thing by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      I thought it would have been a lot better if Rey had energized the light saber when Ren summoned it, and had driven it into Ren's chest. Shows Rey's superior intelligence and skill, avoids wasting a precious minute which could be better used filling holes and gaps in the plot.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    28. Re:One great thing by Talderas · · Score: 1

      Ah, but we have like twenty scenes of Han using or touching Chewie's bowcaster and commenting about how he wants on. It is obviously not like normal blasters and therefore not subjected to the same rules as blasters.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
    29. Re:One great thing by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I got that impression also. He's an immature Darth Vader wannabe, but he does do some impressive things. Snoke, I think, is keeping him around for his potential, since aside from that Hux is more valuable.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    30. Re:One great thing by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Rey's mostly untrained at this point (she probably had some early childhood training she no longer remembers), and seems uncertain in the ways of the Force. She's smart, and can figure things out (like the Jedi mind trick), but she really doesn't know what she's doing yet.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  13. Force is to Holodecks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They're both lazy plot contrivances.

    1. Re:Force is to Holodecks by Pseudonymous+Powers · · Score: 1

      They're both lazy plot contrivances.

      Too much of the Force ruins Star Wars like too much salt ruins beef jerky.

      Too much holodeck ruins Star Trek like too much hot sauce ruins a chocolate cake.

  14. Force Units by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Which is the measure unit? MegaMidichlorians M[Md] ?

  15. Why that made sense by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That is of course, assuming you are strong in the force to begin with and just had a huge demonstration on how the force is used to get into someones mind...

    Why do you not think she would be able to use force persuasion immediately after she successfully resisting Kylo's mind assault? It would have opened up new pathways into understanding how something could work, kind of like riding a bicycle successfully suddenly clicks with you...

    What's sad is that every one of the supposed "plot holes" like this one you picked are in fact not holes at all if you simply take ten seconds to think about what happened in the movie up to that point.

    To see someone tear apart mot of the other similarly small-minded supposed "holes", read this.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Why that made sense by OzPeter · · Score: 1

      What's sad is that every one of the supposed "plot holes" like this one you picked are in fact not holes at all if you simply take ten seconds to think about what happened in the movie up to that point.

      Ok .. but why the fuck doesn't the First Order have security cameras in their prisons and/or guards outside of locked doors, and how does Ren have such perfect pretty boy hair after he takes off his mask (or does the dark side also deal in vanity? Hmmm .. maybe that explains Justin Bieber?)

      --
      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    2. Re:Why that made sense by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Ok .. but why the fuck doesn't the First Order have security cameras in their prisons and/or guards outside of locked doors.

      Don't need to lock (or close) the door if someone is strapped down, and you wouldn't want to if you had them strapped near a bunch of equipment as she was.

      how does Ren have such perfect pretty boy hair after he takes off his mask

      That is the only part that left me wondering - how of all the Star Wars products that have been "unleashed", including mascara - I cannot believe there's not a Kylo Ren hairspray.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re:Why that made sense by mrchaotica · · Score: 2

      It's the same reason why the entirety of Star Wars is an OSHA nightmare (bottomless pits everywhere; no guardails): who the fuck cares, it's a movie!

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    4. Re:Why that made sense by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      but why the fuck doesn't the First Order have security cameras in their prisons

      Especially when they showed a shitty freighter with security cameras all over it earlier in the movie.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    5. Re:Why that made sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I care even less since I'll never see that faggot pr0n shit. Star Wars is for gays and fucktard faggots.

    6. Re:Why that made sense by jader3rd · · Score: 1

      Why do you not think she would be able to use force persuasion immediately after she successfully resisting Kylo's mind assault?

      Because they're two separate things? And probably how to mentally accomplish them using the force are quite different. Besides, seeing someone do something with ease doesn't mean that you can even come close to do it. If that's how life worked we'd all be pro ball players.

    7. Re:Why that made sense by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Besides, seeing someone do something with ease doesn't mean that you can even come close to do it.

      Again, watch the movie.

      She DID DO IT. She was able to see into Kylo Ren's mind instead of him seeing into hers, which is why it's not a hard leap to think of her controlling a weaker mind, like someone who has had too many martinis and close calls with explosions.

      It's not much of a leap to me to think of his attempt at going into her mind opening a latent part of Rey's brain and suddenly giving her new powers. For a great textual description of this process, read "Hiero's Journey", where the main character undergoes a similar psychic trauma which suddenly unlocks powerful new mental abilities.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    8. Re:Why that made sense by vux984 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What's sad is that every one of the supposed "plot holes" like this one you picked are in fact not holes at all if you simply take ten seconds to think about what happened in the movie up to that point.

      *spoiler alerts -- not that you'd be this far in the thread if you were trying to avoid them*

      No, that movie is full of holes. Ray and a turncoat stormtrooper, both with basically no significant relevant training defeating Kylo at a lightsabre duel was LUDICROUS. Don't give me that shit that he was expertly trained in "energy baton fighting"... like a different obviously more experienced stormtrooper was. That he'd get within half a mile of landing a solid shot on Ren was still absurd.

      See that's the issue right there. In IV-VI we only had Vader as an example of what a force user in his prime was like --- and he set the bar as: un-FUCKING-touchable. And you got the same sense that Ben and later Yoda while both old were still potent, if either of them was walking around Mos-eisley at night, they'd still be just fine. A random mugger wasn't going to get the best of them, they weren't going to die as bystanders in a drive by shooting, etc. Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters, and sith lords... they don't get hit be 'regular folks'; Han can't put a blaster round into Vader. (Bespin). Even Luke can't even land a good hit on Vader in Empire despite training with Yoda.

      But hey... a green storm trooper with no real combat experience, and some presumed basic training in energy baton fighting ... he can land a solid blow on Ren. And then Ray, who might be alright with a quaterstaff ends up with a sabre in her hand, she gets the job done.

      That's one place the first trilogy went off the rails too. It starts out good... QuiGon and Ben start out pretty untouhcable; clearly weren't overly concerned about going in as a duo onto the trade federation ship; and clearly the trade federation leaders were extremely concerned about their chances of walking away alive from the encounter despite having a droid army with them.

      But by the middle of the trilogy we are seeing full on jedi, even jedi MASTERS being taken out left and right by droids and stormtroopers. It was just so utterly disappointing.

      Vader, again, was pretty much untouchable. And yeah, Ren wasn't up to Vader's level, we got that. But, I mean, if you want to explain it by saying Kylo was completely and totally ineffective and impotent idiot sith wannabe sure... but if that's the case the plot hole was making him the primary villain. Because there's no way he'd be in a position of such power if he was that easy to defeat. Somebody actually competent would be.

      R2D2 waking up was deus ex machina at its finest. Sure YOU can explain it a variety of ways if YOU want to make excuses for the movie, but the movie doesn't give us anything at all.

      Ray using the force to control a storm trooper was likewise absurd; suggesting she picked it up after 2 tries after being probed for information by Ren is not reasonable.

      kind of like riding a bicycle successfully suddenly clicks with you...

      Right, like we saw Luke deflect those remote drone bolts during sabre practice... fail, fail, fail, fail, click he got it. Right? The difference between that and this however is monumental. In THAT scene, the context was that Bben was TEACHING, and the way it cut to the scene made it indeterminate how long Luke had been practicing up to that point, or what else he'd been taught so far... but the reasonable presumption was "more than nothing".

      The Ray scene, by contrast, she picks up force suggestion after basically experiencing a different force power used on her.

      To return to your bicycle analogy it; It would be kind of like clicking how to ride a unicycle after someone crashes into you on a skateboard. Call her "naturally" inclined if you like, but that's shitty story writing no matter how you slice it. (aka a PLOT HOLE). And that's just scratching the surface... there's so many more.

    9. Re:Why that made sense by Rei · · Score: 1

      Not to mention, "A New Hope" has farmboy Luke who had only even just heard of the force briefly beforehand, who despite his boasting about how good of a pilot he was had just before the movie began crashed his T16 in Beggar's Canyon, fly through vast numbers of turbolasers, evade the Dark Lord of the Sith in the empire's most advanced fighter craft, and then land a shot that the actual experienced pilots he was with considered impossible... without his flight computer. Explicitly via using the force, doing the exact same thing Rey did (close eyes, find inner peace, open them, then letting the force channel one's actions)

      The main difference is that Rey worked up to it. Luke did it out of the blue with no prior practice but the blast helmet thing.

      --
      He's the sort of person who would sell the Red Cross to Dracula.
    10. Re:Why that made sense by jader3rd · · Score: 1

      She DID DO IT.

      That's what peoples beef is with that part. After watching six movies where they talked about years of training, and mastery, and even the masters not using the light side of the force much; The Force Awakens just lets Rey do whatever because it's really convenient to make her the super-est super hero ever. It's glaringly inconsistent.

    11. Re:Why that made sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Besides, seeing someone do something with ease doesn't mean that you can even come close to do it. If that's how life worked we'd all be pro ball players.

      That is how life works. We call that process education. Well, for visual learners anyway.

    12. Re:Why that made sense by lgw · · Score: 1

      Meh, I never really bought either of them. If movies have taught me one thing: you don't get better at combat without a training montage. You gotta have a montage!

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    13. Re:Why that made sense by turbidostato · · Score: 1

      "In IV-VI we only had Vader as an example of what a force user in his prime was like --- and he set the bar as: un-FUCKING-touchable."

      That's exactly the point: Yoda, Kenoby, Anakin/Vader... were all trained for long years, war veterans and at the peak of the Jedi power. On the other hand, Luke (at IV-V) and even moreso Ren were just posers in comparation. Jedis are obviously hinted on (an occidentalized view of) samurais: you can't compare a Sekigahara's veteran to a pre-Meiji Restoration samurai who barely could handle a ken in comparation.

    14. Re:Why that made sense by gnupun · · Score: 1

      you don't get better at combat without a training montage

      The cardinal rule of movies is: the hero/heroine always wins towards the end of the movie, no matter how slim the chance of winning. In real life, Rey would get slaughtered by the dark side because of her lack of training, even if she were an uber jedi. But audiences want a happy ending, so there.

    15. Re:Why that made sense by vux984 · · Score: 1

      On the other hand, Luke (at IV-V) and even moreso Ren were just posers in comparation.

      Sure. But if we accept that proposition, then its ludicrous that Ren's in such a position of power and authority; acting crazy with impunity. A disgruntled storm trooper would have helped him into a bottomless pit a while ago, with a few blaster holes in his facemask.

      Because if your saying Ren is Luke from a new hope, then putting him in such a position of authority on the new death star makes as much sense making Luke the commander of the rebel fleet. Remeber? They didn't even make him a suadron commander. He was just Red-5.

      And, if your saying Ren was just getting out of his sith diapers, then that's what Ren should have been here. Reporting to the shiny stormtrooper and being sent to his room for a time out for breaking the computer. Do that and the his ass whooping by Rey even makes sense, and creates motivation for him want to save face by dealing with Rey in the upcoming sequels, as she develops into a Jedi he develops into a Sith... that's not bad either for a plot.

      But, for that plot to work, he should have been deployed alongside Finn to search for the droid; maybe not as equals, but not as the villain at the top; showing up in his own special ship to call the shots.

    16. Re:Why that made sense by turbidostato · · Score: 1

      "On the other hand, Luke (at IV-V) and even moreso Ren were just posers in comparation.

      Sure. But if we accept that proposition, then its ludicrous that Ren's in such a position of power and authority"

      Not at all: Ren is on his position obviously not because his own merits but because he's the new leader's protégée (and he's his protégée not because what he is but what the leader thinks he will become: he's just a child in training -the Sith way). Remember the scene when Ren goes mad and two soldiers that see him look each other and go the way the came from? Can you imagine doing the same to Vader of, for that matter to anybody really respected or scared? They are not really *that* scared of Ren but of the Leader.

      "Because if your saying Ren is Luke from a new hope, then putting him in such a position of authority on the new death star makes as much sense making Luke the commander of the rebel fleet."

      Except the rebels are the good ones and the Ren is from the bad boys. It is more that Ren is like the arrogant son of a greedy multimillionaire going through his "business education": same incompetence and same high positions because he's the son of who he is.

  16. not counted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is not the force you're looking for.

    Less than one second - but it saves hours of plot.

    1. Re:not counted by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Hours? It felt like parsecs!

      [closes & secures blast doors]

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  17. Hasn't there been enough marketing for that shit? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's already the highest grossing movie of all time. What more do you want? At least the original trilogy was original. Cheesy, yes, but original. And it took some skill to make. Can't you spare us the ads for the remake?

  18. Obi Wan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seriously Bloomberg, how about a graph of how who spent more time as Obi Wan Kenobi, Alec Guinness or Ewan McGregor.

  19. Re:Somebody had *WAAAY* too much time on their han by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    Perhaps it was a dissertation for an ma?

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  20. Don't Forget the "Clouding" by Slider451 · · Score: 1

    The Dark Side clouded everything in the prequels, according to Yoda. It brings to mind vulgar images of what Sidious and Maul were doing in the back room in the lead up to the trade disputes.

    --
    Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
    1. Re:Don't Forget the "Clouding" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They also forgot Force Disappearing, which Obi Wan and Yoda did when they died.

  21. One word... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    *** NERDS !!! ***

  22. Missed the Mark Entirely by avandesande · · Score: 1

    It seems obvious to me but doing this by screen time is silly- how about in terms of force in physical force terms? I would assume that levitating an x-wing fighter requires more force than hurling a pipe or choking someone. Lighting could be converted into joules etc...

    --
    love is just extroverted narcissism
    1. Re: Missed the Mark Entirely by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My phone can not load the site, but that is what I expected. Who really cares about how much screen time there is... It is not like we see every second of every actor... So it is just screen time of force. It is all pretty poo poo anyway, how much force to change a thought? How do you quantify certain things when the framework of your universe involves lightsabers? Who cares about a force jump when you have a mechanical nuke in your hand? I would think the force would be like god, always on, who really knows how far it permeates? Is it a butterfly? Is it a hammer?

    2. Re:Missed the Mark Entirely by jader3rd · · Score: 1

      Are you judging the use of the force based off of the size of the object? I think Yoda would not approve.

    3. Re:Missed the Mark Entirely by Rei · · Score: 1

      Actually, the minimum energy needed to levitate the X-wing is surprisingly little. Energy is only technically required to raise it up - an object at a constant height in a gravitational well doesn't fundamentally require energy to remain there. Using Randall's XKCD assumptions about the scenario, Yoda exerts 19,2 kW of power over 3,6 seconds, or 0,0192 kWh.

      Vader ripping apart metal on cloud city might qualify as vastly higher power expenditures, although only briefly, so again not vast amounts of energy. I'm really not sure about Palpatine's electricity. It goes great distances through the air as if it's high voltage, but it impacts Luke as a low, high current source would. This makes it hard to really estimate how powerful his lightning bolts actually are.

      --
      He's the sort of person who would sell the Red Cross to Dracula.
  23. Luke Force Choked by painandgreed · · Score: 2

    while the dark side has a monopoly on making lightning and choking people.

    Actually, didn't Luke force choke on of Jabba's guards at the beginning of RotJ? Then again, I've also read articles talking about how he was probably a darkside force user at that point on some head cannon webpage.

    1. Re:Luke Force Choked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are correct. As he enters Jabba's palace, two Gammorean guards block his entry. He force chokes both of them out of the way and casually walks by.

    2. Re:Luke Force Choked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I had the same thought after watching them all again recently. Luke doesn't make the same choking gesture as vader, but the pig warrior falls back grabbing at his throat. Looked like a choke to me.

    3. Re:Luke Force Choked by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      Before I saw episode VII, I surmised that Kylo Ren was actually Luke. It made an interesting story twist, and it also fit in well with the Anakin story: Anakin started out as a little kid, and joined the Jedi. As he grew, he was temped by the dark side, and finally converted to Darth Vader. Vader was evil until the very end when he died, and Luke saved him.

      It's not so hard to believe that the same thing could happen to Luke.

    4. Re:Luke Force Choked by shadowrat · · Score: 2

      yes, and that's the interpretation i've always gone with. in RoJ, luke is on the cusp of succumbing to the dark side. he dresses in black. he is part machine. His lightsaber is green, not blue, not red. He's walked the line since his "failure in the cave"

      The movies aren't really that subtle about it. They've established these symbols over and over. Darth Vader and the Emperor spit it right out and say they can feel the conflict within him.

    5. Re:Luke Force Choked by StuffMaster · · Score: 1

      I always thought that was Jedi mind trick.

  24. It's more subtle by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

    Where's the accounting for Anakin using the force to win the pod race? Because it wasn't covered with extra voice overs, we don't count it? How about the force working without a human guidance? How else do you explain the timing in the motivator blowing in the other droid so Luke must end up with R2, who is one of the most force-attuned robots in the universe?

    And the force was strong with Han. He shoots to save Lando while blind in EP6. And the flight skills of him is force-touched.

    If I were making the movies, I'd make a 6-movie arc with the first 3 about the destruction of the first order, and the last 3 about the force. Ray should balance the force. The thing we were promised in Ep1 that never happened? Anakin brings about balance. But there never was balance. The monastic extremists called Jedi are not balanced. With vows of poverty and celibacy, if the universe joined them, extinction would follow. That's not balanced.

    The balance in the force is finding someone that can use the light and dark sides of the force at the same time. Someone who isn't monastically good, nor emperor evil, but in the middle. Then this balanced person, opens up the force to everyone. People like Han, Poe, Finn and more all exhibit the force at some time or another. So why do the evil Jedi keep the force to themselves, limiting entrance to the approved few? The Sith will let anyone with force train with them. So those strong in force the Jedi won't take have no choice but the Sith. Balance would be Force for everyone (please use responsibly). After all, everyone has it, not just Jedi or Sith. Some just have it more or less than others.

    1. Re:It's more subtle by Livius · · Score: 2

      Anakin brings about balance. But there never was balance.

      For a thousand years (or maybe generations), the Jedi had completely driven the Sith underground, gratuitously violated the civil rights of the civilian population, controlled information, and meddled in politics at the highest possible level.

      Seriously, what did you think 'restoring balance' was going to look like?

    2. Re:It's more subtle by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 1

      The thing we were promised in Ep1 that never happened? Anakin brings about balance. But there never was balance.

      Given the Sith opted for the "rule of two" -- that there would only ever be a master to wield the power and an apprentice to crave it -- perhaps killing off all Jedi until only Yoda and Obi-wan existed did, in a way, bring balance.

    3. Re:It's more subtle by jader3rd · · Score: 1

      And the force was strong with Han.

      No it wasn't. That was kind of the point of a Han in Star Wars. A guy able to pull off cool\lucky feats without the use of the force.

    4. Re:It's more subtle by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      How about the force working without a human guidance? How else do you explain the timing in the motivator blowing in the other droid so Luke must end up with R2, who is one of the most force-attuned robots in the universe?

      With all the sequel stuff on the internet in the last couple of weeks, it has been revealed that R2 was filmed sabotaging R5-D4, but that part ended up getting cut out of the film.

    5. Re:It's more subtle by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Sith apprentices had apprentices. At least canon lists Darth Tyrannus as having an apprentice while still serving Darth Sidious. Yoda's words meant that if one Sith is operating in the open, there must be another. Also note, Yoda isn't an expert in the Dark Side, he has trouble seeing the force around them, and has trouble with English. The quote could be more a guideline than a Sith rule. The Sith never define their rules. Only the Jedi are so OCD and arrogant to think that everything must have rules, and they must be consistent, so the Jedi can use the Sith's rules against them.

      The rule would appear to be more accurately worded as "No Sith would ever reveal himself without having a second Sith working with them."

    6. Re:It's more subtle by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Makes sense, R2 used the force to wait for the right moment to have the sabotage land him in the hands of a Skywalker. R2D2 was one of the stronger users of the force. Protecting Luke, always being at the center of attention, and coming out of it usually OK.

    7. Re:It's more subtle by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 1

      In the books the rule of two was indeed an actual thing and was, for the most part, followed and was relatively in place during the time of the prequels. There's a whole book devoted to the creation of the rule.

      Until recently this was considered canon, though currently it's anything goes as the new movie decided they aren't going to follow the old Expanded universe.

    8. Re:It's more subtle by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Yeah, "canon" doesn't mean shit when the maker is JJ. Though, when he violates it, he likes to complain the complainers were wrong. And there were more than 2 Sith at various times in the canon.

      And how do we know that there aren't multiple Sith cells? 2, 3, 10000 pairs of Sith? Each cell of Sith is 2, but unrelated and not working together. All it takes to be Sith is to declare "I'm a Sith Lord". They aren't like Jedi where you have to take tests to graduate OT levels, and there are tests to measure your Thetan level, and all that. Read some books, claim lordship, and be a Sith.

    9. Re:It's more subtle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sith Master and Sith Apprentice are positions, like President and Vice President of the United States. No matter how knowledgeable the Speaker of the House is in Sith Lore, nor how strong he is in wielding the power of the dark side, no matter how many people are qualified to be president, or how many apprentices-of-apprentices the VIce President has, there is still only one true President and one true Vice President.

    10. Re:It's more subtle by Talderas · · Score: 1

      Bah, Wedge Antilles served that role better. Minor character, no plot armor, survives three movies and is the only movie canon character to survive two assaults on death stars including being elevated to integral to blowing up the second death star.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
    11. Re:It's more subtle by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 1

      Google 'Skippy the Jedi Droid' for the TRUE story.

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
  25. Re:Somebody had *WAAAY* too much time on their han by magarity · · Score: 1

    No, no, all they did was count up the seconds. From the title of the article I was expecting to see force usage estimated in newtons or at least calories. THAT would have been too much time on their hands.

  26. passive powers? by RichMan · · Score: 1

    Also the darkside hides from the light side. All that hiding has to be some sort of force use. Seems to me the measurement process is missing the passive sensing abilities, like the ability to feel a planet full of people die without even looking for it.

    If you are going to measure the use of force you need units and a strength measure.

    How much force is that in midi-choloridian-seconds? And how do you convert that to Newtons (kg*m/s^s)

  27. be sure to tip your waitress by Thud457 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Summation of Force used?
    Nah, that sounds like Work.

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  28. So Vader was the chosen one? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    So based on this, the Light side ludicrously outnumbers the Dark side in all measures including number of people using the force, number of times it was used, and number of ways it was used.

    So if you want to bring balance to the force wouldn't you start doing so by eliminating Jedi? i.e Darth Vader was the chosen one?

    1. Re:So Vader was the chosen one? by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

      The balance in the Force isn't between the Light Side and the Dark Side. The balance is between order and chaos, creation and destruction, life and death. Those on the Light Side dedicate themselves to maintaining that balance. The Sith don't care about balance; they just want the power to reshape the world to their own will, regardless of the consequences.

      Note in particular that the Light Side doesn't consist only in establishing order, creating masterpieces, and preserving the lives of individuals. If anything, exclusive dedication to these aspects of the Force is a Sith attribute. The Empire represented order and civilization, in contrast to the chaos and corruption of the Republic; what ultimately drew Anakin to the Dark Side was the prospect of obtaining the power to prevent those he cared about from dying. But life, and consequently the Force, depends on maintaining a balance. Pure order without some chaos mixed in is simply stagnation. One must destroy in order to create. Life cannot evolve in the absence of death. There is no reward without risk.

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
    2. Re:So Vader was the chosen one? by ShoulderOfOrion · · Score: 1

      You've been hanging out with the Shadows.

      Oops, sorry, wrong arc.

  29. I'm interested in EP VII by jader3rd · · Score: 1

    The Force Awakens seems to me to be the one thus far where the force is applied disproportionately. When this page is updated with those numbers, it should stick out like a sore thumb.

  30. Read TFA! - Damned Editors by painandgreed · · Score: 1

    Upon actually reading TFA, it does list Luke and force choking somebody. Obviously somebody, let's blame the editor, has a strange definition of "monopoly".

  31. Um... Yeah by Greyfox · · Score: 1

    About that whole... "choking people" thing. Turns out, not so much!

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

  32. Fake movie by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    It's a make believe movie, who cares? I USE TO be a fan of the SW movies, but, the hype & marketing of this one... I haven't even bothered to spend the money to see it. I'll wait til it hits the Redbox/torrents/netflix before I watch it.

  33. mind tricks by Khashishi · · Score: 1

    Did Palpatine use mind tricks to ascend to power and/or to turn Anakin, or was he just that devious?

  34. Not sure how you are getting that vibe by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    Let's be honest in real consumer terms with regard to long term value the movie is not doing so well,

    You have got to be kidding. This is the only movie in over ten years that I have even wanted to see multiple times, much less actually gone to do so (I've seen it twice now and have plans to see it at least once more). It's already gone over multiple box office records but more importantly people are still going to see it in large numbers, and people are doing repeat showings. Go on any weekend and there are still lines for the theaters before it opens... contrast that with the Martian which I saw about a month after release, there were six people total in the theater and four were my group.

    If you thought the stories were lame, you missed out on the REAL stories being presented and I feel very sorry for you.

    I really don't understand where the hate for this movie in some people comes from, but from talking to people from all walks of life I do know you are in a tiny, tiny minority of people and that is borne out by not just sales numbers but what real people are doing in regards to movie visits...

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Not sure how you are getting that vibe by rtb61 · · Score: 0

      Yeah that new viral marketing meme, I watching it again and again and again, so you should watch it at least once makes no real sense. The Cheetos crowd this movie is aimed at, do not watch content again and again, typical whine from them when a typical geek or nerd wants to share their favourite flicks is the nasal whine but I have already seen it (no matter how long ago or in what format). Me, I just read a bunch of user reviews that panned it, decided to skip the cinema cost without checking a quick stream to make sure it was worth it and based upon that skipped it and will skip the DVD even when I own the others (even Rebels cartoon presents a better story and I did but the first season). I do actually watch the same content over and over again and not just lamely pretend to do so for marketing purposes.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    2. Re:Not sure how you are getting that vibe by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      You seem really confused - marketing has nothing to do with it. I am saying I actually went to see the movie multiple times and WANT to do so, just because of how i enjoyed it. Mostly I don't even go to theaters anymore...

      And the same is true of other people. That is why the movie has a lot more staying power than you will admit.

      It's especially telling you've watched bits of a stream of the movie and are making all your judgement based on ten minutes of shaky-cam footage - no wonder you are so confused and wrong about this movie.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re:Not sure how you are getting that vibe by rtb61 · · Score: 0

      Marketing, yeah, how about the latest box office revenue scam, included the full bundle price of food and drinks as part of box office revenue in order to inflate the numbers, especially useful when it comes to premium cinemas where people are spending ten to twenty times as much, as just a plain cinema ticket, really lets you inflate those numbers, pretty much double them in fact ;D. By the way you are attempting to argue with me about what I, mind you, I do not like or like, seriously :|.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    4. Re:Not sure how you are getting that vibe by lgw · · Score: 1

      Most of the people I work with have never seen a Star Wars movie. For them, this is great, because they don't see it as a silly JJ rehash of what they've already seen. And it's not like the movie is badly made - for all the nerdrage, it a JJ Abrams move: of course the writing sucks and there's no character arcs, who cares, it's got well directed action, and that's shockingly rare in the movies these days.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    5. Re:Not sure how you are getting that vibe by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      Popularity is orthogonal to quality, whether it's a movie or a piece of software.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  35. Incorrect by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    After watching six movies where they talked about years of training, and mastery, and even the masters not using the light side of the force much

    But the movies (ALL of the movies) showed that under duress, or with a lot of innate ability, great leaps in ability would happen quickly, not slowly. The Jedi were just vasty cautious about teaching people but not all the jedi they trained had the levels of ability that Luke, Rey, or Anakin did.

    You may think what Rey did was convenient and too super-heroish but in that case she would have taken out Kylo back at the forest planet. She wasn't super-heroish at all, she only just beat a very wounded Kylo Ren. It seems like people also forgot THAT whole part of the movie also when they think it unrealistic she could beat Kylo in a lightsaber fight.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  36. READ THE LINK LUKE by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Your points are mostly well addressed in the link I provided, you REALLY NEED TO WATCH THE MOVIE.

    And your inability to even properly spell Rey once also really undermines what you are trying to say.

    You are utterly, utterly wrong about the writing being shitty, you've just converted it in your mind into something shitty because you DIDN"T REALLY WATCH IT.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:READ THE LINK LUKE by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Your points are mostly well addressed in the link I provided

      No. They REALLY were not. Some of the points that article made were perfectly fine, but no... items i raised were NOT addressed by the article. Or ... they were addressed, but poorly.

      For example, the article claims that Finn had his ass handed to him. Yes. He did. But he also got in a good hit, which just doesn't stand to scrutiny.

      As for mispelling Rey; sorry, its because I only watched the movie; and hadn't been reading about it, until today.

      (And yeah some of those points in that article were silly... the monsters escaping from the ship, for example, was really well covered by the movie. But then I'd also noticed while watching the movie that it did seem odd that Finn was still alive (dragged) around so much longer; and that WAS weak. The articles explanation that it showed one other guy getting dragged briefly doesn't salvage it. That's just making excuses.

      you REALLY NEED TO WATCH THE MOVIE

      I really did. I even enjoyed it quite a bit. Far more than any of the prequels even. But I had several complaints about the plot issues even on the drive home.

    2. Re:READ THE LINK LUKE by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      I forget if the material at the link addressed it, but don't forget Kylo was also heavily wounded.... and remember also that he is not fully trained. Not to mention he had just killed his father so between all of those factors and his varying emotional stability it's easy to understand why he would not bring his saber A game... and who else before then would he have even faced?

      That's why especially I can't taker seriously any complaint about his saber fight because there were so many factors working against him. He was much more together, saber-wise, on the other planets when he was not wounded and not in turmoil.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re:READ THE LINK LUKE by vux984 · · Score: 1

      but don't forget Kylo was also heavily wounded

      By which you mean he'd been shot? See... I don't buy him getting shot in the first place. That was pretty weaksauce too.

      And I don't buy him killing his father as 'weakening him'. Even if you subscribe to the idea that he was struggling with doing it as opposed to just putting on an act to lure Han in. Doesn't matter. Either way, he would have felt resolved after committing to the path and sealing his fate.

      and remember also that he is not fully trained.

      But again, he WAS the primary antagonist. And if they were going to set him up as at the same skill level as Luke in Empire then his position as the leader of the Knights of Ren; Snoke's protege, and this movies Vader to Hux's Tarkin... well then the first order was absurd. They might as well have made the first order run by Ewoks.

      He was much more together, saber-wise, on the other planets

      Placing his total incompetence at the end in even more stark contrast. They set him up to be Vader 2.0; and then for the end fight he gets shot by a wookie, injured by green storm trooper in a lightsabre duel, and then finally defeated by a girl who had substantially less training than Luke had when he pulled his sabre out of a snow drift on hoth.

      This movie would have been stronger if the Kylo / Han encounter had been more one on one. And then Kylo simply escapes. The entire fight scene with him just served to cheapen any credibility he had as potent villain.

      Luke didn't confront Vader directly in ANH. Because it would have been ridiculous.

    4. Re:READ THE LINK LUKE by ChrisMaple · · Score: 1

      ...it did seem odd that Finn was still alive (dragged) around so much longer;..

      I noticed that too. I figured it had already eaten a couple of people; it wasn't hungry anymore.

      --
      Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
    5. Re:READ THE LINK LUKE by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Sure. But I shouldn't have to make excuses for the critters. That's the storyteller's job. (ie the movie). The critters could have simply run around with a bunch of their prey instead of just Finn... hell having Rey seal a door and rescue not just Finn, but also incidently save a thug... that would have been better. Even if said thug promptly got re-snagged...

      It wasn't a well written scene. But it wasn't a "plot breaker"; like some of the other stuff.

    6. Re:READ THE LINK LUKE by Talderas · · Score: 1

      the monsters escaping from the ship, for example, was really well covered by the movie. But then I'd also noticed while watching the movie that it did seem odd that Finn was still alive (dragged) around so much longer; and that WAS weak. The articles explanation that it showed one other guy getting dragged briefly doesn't salvage it.

      I don't remember anyone else getting dragged around during that scene. All I remember is the monsters coming up on people and immediately eating them. Throughout the whole scene I was annoyed the Finn was still alive and even if I had noticed the scene with one other person being dragged around it really didn't help. It wasn't significant enough to establish anything. Primarily this is due to the fact that there was nothing the set apart or identify the individual monsters. Had they done that and shown the one grabbing Finn to have previously eaten someone, then I could have written it up as the creature is taking Finn and attempting to find a "nest" to incapacitate him and eat him later.

      Ultimately, the problem with Ep7 is that had you seen Ep4 you can't help but notice all the parallels between the two. Death Star plans are replaced with a map fragment. Death Star replaced with a new superweapon that can blow up multiple planets simultaneously. Rebel base under threat from Death Star coming around to blow them up with a new superweapon that has to suck up a sun to blow them up. Trench run. Firing a proton torpedo down a 2 meter gap replaced with a pilot flying into a gap that barely fits his X-Wing. Han Solo takes the place of Obi-Wan while Rey takes the place of Luke (to the point of growing up not know her parents on a desert planet) and the relation between each pair of character is similar (in a training/mentor capacity). Kylo Ren and Han Solo fill the same role as Obi-Wan and Vader in Ep4 although the motivations are mildly different.

      That's just all the stuff that readily comes to mind.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  37. Re:Somebody had *WAAAY* too much time on their han by gfxguy · · Score: 1

    Agreed, but isn't it an interesting subject to bring up for Star Wars nerds?

    So I have to ask, doesn't it count when, for example, Anakin jumps out of his cruiser and falls to other ones - I mean, you can't do that shit without the force.

    --
    Stupid sexy Flanders.
  38. Nope by allo · · Score: 1

    They just ignore how much the force is used when there was no camera. Such a death star does not build itself.