How would you change the Force Awakens?

[Thunderous Cacophony]

The main thing I would do is take out the damn Death Star knock off. Sure there are a lot of gratuitous references to The New Hope, but the worst is the damn superfluous star killer base. If the enemy base was simply a superior star destroyer, that would have been enough to get the point across - having a shitty super deathstar that gets introduced in only the last third of the movie and gets destroyed with comparatively limited planning is a bit of an anti-climax.

This, very much so. As I was watching, I was thinking that a lot of the movie seemed familiar, but it wasn't until they mentioned that there's a new Death Star (and this at the point that I was thinking the movie should wrap up soon) that I realised how it was basically remaking New Hope, or half remaking New Hope and half trying to do it's own thing. If the third act was actually about finding Luke, instead of shoving in an attack on the Death Star, which was immediately blown up after killing people I had no idea existed until about 5 seconds before they were dead, the movie would have been much better.

OT: Queen Leia Organa Solo, Chancellor of the New Republic

In the original trilogy, I really liked Leia's arc: She went from a glorified courier using her diplomatic immunity to smuggle stuff around, to a leader making strategic decisions and a tactical captain of a commando team. It was a really interesting b-story, and even before I read Expanded Universe stuff it seemed natural to me that she'd take a leadership role in the new government. It was exceptionally disappointing to me that in the new movie she barely paid lip service to the Republic she'd shed blood to create, but had instead decided to abandon it and go live in the woods with the Rebellion 2.0. I would have loved to see her be a distinguished stateswoman behind a desk, running the new Rebellion covertly while also taking care of the people of the galaxy.

And that would have given an excuse for New Order ships to go attack Coruscant and we could have a nice fleet-on-fleet battle for the obligatory climactic fight scene, which would have been relatively novel for Star Wars.

 

[Lodgem]

If I was looking to keep the changes to a minimum, let's see. Note, these ideas aren't really new, but largely stolen or at least inspired from those posting above . Also note that I don't actually claim to be any good at writing stories.

* Poe survives but is seriously injured. Finn has to rely on some of his training to keep him alive and find help. He still lacks confidence in himself, however. This is something he'll need to overcome before he pushes for the rescue mission later in the movie.

* Rey is still a talented mechanic, but no longer needs to be able to fly the Millennium Falcon by herself as the still-recovering Poe is there as well.

* Rather than Rey flipping the Falcon around so Finn can take the shot with the non-moving turret, I probably would have preferred to have her and a still-injured Poe forced to keep the enemies off a little longer while Finn managed to get to another turret. We know there are at least two. Alternatively, Rey could leave Poe to fly the ship while she takes the initiative to go for the other turret herself.

* Rey resists Ren as in the movie. I don't remember that scene well, but from memory she pushes back and starts reading his mind. I wouldn't have done that but having her resist was good.

* I agree with those saying that Ren should have kept his helmet on until he met Han.

* I didn't like Rey's escape, but I don't know how I'd re-write it. Not only does she master the Jedi Mind Trick, but she uses it to convince the guard to undo her restraints, drop his gun and leave the room. This seems a more extreme use of the trick than I've seen from any of the Jedi in the previous movies. I did like the idea of Rey getting angry as described in the OP.

* I really like the idea of Rey holding her own against an injured Ren, but not being able to defeat him until the destruction of the base breaks up the fight.

* The powerful planet-destroying super-weapon seems over the top - stupidly overpowered even compared to the Death Star. Could the purpose of Starkiller Base have been changed to something else without significant changes to the movie?

* Many people are talking about Phasma but I'm not sure she really needed much more from this movie. She does have a lot of potential, but there are more movies to come for her to show that.

 

[Almgandi]

Let's see:

Story:

You would pretty much need to get rid of everything besides things related to Ren so that we can actually have a story that wants to tell us something new instead of being the laziest approach for making a "good" star wars film. I mean, the story of Luke failing to reestablish the jedi order would itself make for a good story and would definetely be more than enough to fill an entire film (or atleast half of a film; the other half being about the aftermath e.g. what Rey, Finn etc. witness).

Characters:

Rey: She is pretty much the only big problem the film. For one she destroys part of the things that have been established in the star wars films e.g. training is fundamental for any kind of space wizardry (reflexes and force sensitive related stuff being exceptions). Then there is of course the fact that she pretty much ruins not only Ren as a villain but also the ending with Luke. Even though he ended up killing one of the main characters of the episode 4+ story, he is no real threat anymore. He is noticably weaker than Rey which was demonstrated in the whole mind control thing (resisting it would be one thing, but dominating him instead?), her taking the light saber from him, which you would assume he should have more than enough practice with since it seems to be one of the first things that jedis learn,and of course the fact that Rey has already beaten him, not only that, she did the jedi equivalent of tea bagging him (seriously since when do light saber slashes no longer go through people like knifes through butter [probably something related to his armor but it's not like it shielded him from the crossbow]). And with Luke you of course have the whole "come back we need you" scene at the end. But do we? The resistance stomped on the nuts of the new order, anything relating a sith was stomped by Rey so why bother? To fix her I would for one start of by changing the dynamic of the film. While star wars films tend to have one central figure or the devide between apprentice and master, I would introduce Finn and Rey both as possible Jedis and make both of them fight Ren during the end scene together. Considering that the film just loved to shove the image of Rey with her staff in our faces (besides the fact that she used that thing like.... twice?), I would give her a Darh Maul esque light saber to make the transition between staff and light saber more believable (perhaps not even a light saber, but instead a force pike similar to the ones used by Gervious' minions). Then I would get rid of the gun scene (where she hits the guy after two shoots besides never holding a gun before), add an explanation or two as to why exactly she actually knows stuff about spaceships or more specifically the falcon (just because you scavenge broken ships doesnt mean that you have a engineer/mechanic-esque knowledge about the bloody thing). Oh and the backstory about the 5 year old surviving on her own because she is a strong independant todler who doesn't need no parent to tell her when bedtime is can fuck off. Add somebody who took care for here; you don't even need show him or her; just say they died a year or so ago. They could also be the one who showed her how to fight with a staff. Oh and get rid off the jedi mind trick scene (seriously, you could altealst have her wave her fucking hands). She can still go and escape on her own, but in a way that is atleast somewhat believable ( dunno, something related to machines? atleast if you establiush how she knows so much about space ships etc. it might not be as far fetched, but still not ideal).

Ren: Darth Vader him. The voice I didn't mind but get another actor (he seems a little wimpy to be threatening). But overall don't make him get rid of his mask until he meets Han. The whole reveal was ruined, because we just had to have another scene to show how great Rey is. Fight wise I would have him be more dominant but still struggeling since the new fight I would go for would be against Finn and Rey at the same time. Throw in a lucky hit followed by the chasm seperating both parties and him throwing a hissy fit.

Poe: Either just kill him off right away or add him as another team member. He could e.g. fly the falcon, but in that case you might need to give Rey more stuff to do.

Finn: The two things that bothered me the most werethe rapid transition between I am a storm trooper to "oh no. killing is bad" and the fact that Finn didn't really accomplish too much in the film. I would probably use Finn to establish the order a little more (show how the members etc. act, give boba fett 2.0 a little more screen time; hell maybe even give the traitor! guy some more screen time so that the following fight actually means something [but still remove the meele weapon; boy oh boy was that dumb; why would he even be running around with that thing; there are like 2ish jedi in the universe; guns are way better in that scenario]). Instead of the meh-star I would maybe transport Rey to a base, which they can infiltrate using Poe's knowledge, but also soldier training (less flopping around; more clone tropper; those guys got shit done). Although I idea of having him use a light saber a bit so that he doesn't suck entirely

 

[Spider RedNight]

Less copy-paste from A new hope but my two main ones are Luke's exile and Kylo Ren.

Luke trying and failing to train new Jedi, resulting in all of his new recruts dead thus making him go into exile, I can believe that. But leaving a powerful dark side user to run around the galaxy to inflict death and destruction, that I can't buy.

And Kylo, just make him less of a whiny *****. Every time he threw a temper tantrum, hell every time he opend his mouth I just wanted to slap him and tell him to get over himself. I did not think he was powerful, I did not think he was intimidating, I throught he was pathetic. I know people have different tastes and opinnions, and I realise that this is exactly what JJ was going for but IMO if my first reaction to seeing your main bad guys face for the first time is to laugh and then shake my head in disbelief I think you have failed to make a good bad guy.

I can get behind this. I hated his character. That would definitely be the big thing I'd change - if they went with almost literally anyone else, it would've been better because when I see this character, I think "wow the Dark Side sucks look at this pathetic whiny teenager".

 

[Metalix Knightmare]

More time spent with Rey.

Finn is there too, but Finn is now a woman

Poe is also a girl

They meet up with Leia and fight Kyla Ren who is now Han and Leia's daughter

the movies 99.9% women

Han is the only guy

there is a great disturbance in the nerds, as if a million voices whined out in unison only to be silenced by how awesome it would be

So, by making the cast all women it automatically becomes awesome and not, oh what's the word I'm looking for, patronizing?

Either way, you must REALLY be looking forward to the Ghostbusters reboot.

Seriously though, how does just having most of the cast be women make it more awesome? A crappy character is a crappy character, no matter what they have between the legs. Just ask Wesley Crusher.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I would make Kylo Ren be even more of a nerd. What I mean is, I would have him want to emulate as many former Sith as possible. I'd include a scene where he's training with a dual-Lightsaber and maybe even a curved-hilt lightsaber but have him comment about how, "Not yet...still doesn't feel right". I would include scenes of him meditating and mumbling to himself about Holocrons and in the end I would include a post-credits scene where he's presented with a huge durasteel crate of Orbalisks (I think that's what they were called...they're the arthropods which covered Darth Bane for a while in the EU. It would make for a neat design in general but also confirm that Darth Bane lived and created the Rule of Two.)

 

[Yan007]

Leia would hug Chewie at the end instead of the girl she never met before!

 

[Ambient_Malice]

I'd dramatically restructure the entire film. Try to recapture the philosophy and menace of Revenge of the Sith while bringing back the sense of adventure and discovery from The Phantom Menace.

Instead of wallowing in cheap nostalgia and Marvel-esque "Look Ma, quips!", the film would be a "bringing the gang back together" story. A lot of TFA's plot could be kept, but characters like Poe would be cut. Kylo Ren would also be cut, because he is a black hole of suck smack dab in the middle of the narrative. Also, I'd gut the nonsense Nazi iconography, and really capitalise on the key theme of Revenge of the Sith -- PEACE. See, that's what the Sith are really offering. That's what the dark side offers. They offer peace. True and lasting peace. Assuming you don't get in their way or harbor the rebel scum.

And I'd probably toss in some cyberpunk and Blade Runner motifs with Han Solo living in seclusion in a foggy, rain swept urban decay. I'd explore the key theme, again, of how integral the Empire was to keeping the galaxy running.

The threat to the galaxy should have been something other than a Death Star 2.0. Something deeply rooted in The Force.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Not make it a shot for shot remake of A New Hope-> Make the story about how Kylo was able to successfully create Force Sensitive clones of himself, which he planned to use to take over the galaxy.

Not make Rey a Mary Sue-> Luke seeks her out and trains her as his apprentice.

 

[someguy1488]

Finally, I would change the final battle between Ren against Finn and Rey. Look, as much as it pains me to admit it, Rey winning that fight isn't QUITE the Sue moment I tend to make it out to be. Ren's injured, his mind is in disarray, it's feasible for him to lose. That said, while it's not a big Sue moment, it is still a REALLY bad storytelling moment to have your primary antagonist lose like this in the first movie of a trilogy. Luke survived Vader the first time due to what looked to be sheer dumb luck, and the next time he tried to throw down with Vader he got the crap beaten out of him. Vader maintained an air of menace and dread all throughout the first trilogy and came off like an unstoppable juggernaut. When he joined the fray, you ran or you died. Heck, even when Luke finally DID beat him in a fight he had to tap into his own rage and aggression to do it.

...snip...

So my change? Ren fights Rey to a draw, with the Starkiller's cracking interrupting the fight. This way, Ren still maintains an intimidation factor. He's wounded, he's in a bad state of mind, and Rey still had to tap into the force (potentially the Dark Side of it which was mentioned as being the quicker route to power) just to fight him on equal ground! BOOM! Villain keeps his intimidation factor, and gives Rey more reason than ever to actually NEED Luke to train her!

I mostly agree with these changes, however I would have Chewbacca come back and unload on Ren during the duel either on foot with his bowcaster, or from the Falcon using that cannon we see Han use on Hoth at the start of episode 5. Chewie's arrival would force Ren to break off from pummeling Rey(who at this point is getting her ass handed to her) and fight on two fronts before the chasm opens up and stops the fight.

I hated that she was like 'The force? Oh! The force of course!' reads Ren's mind and wins the fight. Horrible writing.

I would also change the design of BB-88 to something that doesn't resemble J.J. Abram's penis.

 

[Metalix Knightmare]

More time spent with Rey.

Finn is there too, but Finn is now a woman

Poe is also a girl

They meet up with Leia and fight Kyla Ren who is now Han and Leia's daughter

the movies 99.9% women

Han is the only guy

there is a great disturbance in the nerds, as if a million voices whined out in unison only to be silenced by how awesome it would be

So, by making the cast all women it automatically becomes awesome and not, oh what's the word I'm looking for, patronizing?

Either way, you must REALLY be looking forward to the Ghostbusters reboot.

Was the original trilogy patronizing to men for only one female character across three movies? (discounting Lukes aunt who dies after one scene, Mon Mothma's cameo, and dancers) No? It was and still is considered normal?

why is it patronizing to have more than one character of a certain gender, but not the other way around?

First off, it's patronizing primarily because almost every time it happens, it's done SPECIFICALLY to go "Look! Women are just as competent as those boys!" and VERY rarely because they think it would be good. (Once again, Ghostbusters reboot.) So if you want anyone to blame for that particular mentality I'd look towards your own house. (For crying out loud, you even mentioned screaming nerds.)

Secondly, your change is so freaking shallow I wouldn't even call it a puddle. It wouldn't really do anything for the movie beyond just having a bunch of women in it. Rey would still be a Sue, Poe would still be a Sue, Kylo Ren would still be the biggest whiner in the movie, and now you've got a woman making a speech that was very much inspired by Nazis. Way to go. (Unless your idea would've left Hux as male.)

 

[Wrex Brogan]

Really power up Rey. Have her Force-pull Star-killer Base across the galaxy and disable the shields with a thought. She breaks up the New Order by giving them a harsh scolding, and brings Kylo back to the light side by simply being in his presence. After getting an apology from Snoak she uses a Force Singularity (that she totally invents right then and there) to bring all the planets the New Order destroyed back, and ascends as God-Empress of the Galaxy. Everyone lives in eternal peace and harmony under her benevolent rule for all time.

...Because hey, everyone keeps saying she's a Mary Sue, so might as well go whole-hog on this and show everyone what a real Mary Sue can do.

Less snarkily, I'd just have Kylo not remove his mask so early. I liked most of what Force Awakens did, but the unmasking just didn't have the impact it should have (since it was clearly a parallel to Darth Vader's unmasking). Having it happen during the climax with Han would've worked much better emotionally and narratively, instead of just going 'Whoops here I am, now I'm going to walk around unmasked for no reason for the next 20 minutes'.

 

[Erttheking]

What would I change? Make it so that Rey can do everything. Because everyone complains what a Mary Sue she is? I'll show them a REAL Mary Sue.

 

[Erttheking]

Snip

Yeah, you really don't have any right to accuse people of being patronizing when you CONSTANTLY TYPE IN ALL CAPS and accuse people of not watching Star Wars when you're arguing it with them. And then have the gall to get basic information about the films right after that.

Rey would still be a sue? See your argument there is working backwards from the conclusion she's a Sue in the first place. I'd think you'd have figured out that not everyone agrees with you on that. Maybe convince the other person that she is a sue before you use her sueness for other arguments.

 

[Nazulu]

Get a different writer and director for starters, write a new actual plot rather then cannibalize the plot of the old trilogy, don't debase the film in fanservice and finally remember that the force requires actual practice and is not some Mutant power.

Nicely done! Exactly what I wanted, except I want to mention no stupid forced modern jokes either.

 

[Zontar]

What would I change? Make it so that Rey can do everything. Because everyone complains what a Mary Sue she is? I'll show them a REAL Mary Sue.

You know, stating that you'd make her even more of a Mary Sue doesn't change the fact that the canon version of the character is still a Mary Sue in literally every way save the fact she's an official character instead of a fan fiction derived one.

 

[Lindale FF]

I would get rid of JJ Abrams. That would fix every problem that film has.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I would just change the plot, end of story (no I got no idea what teh alternative plot would be).

Also I would have the Resistance simply be the Republic. I don't see why there is that group in the first place when the Republic were already against the New Order?