StarKiller {SPOILER}

[ancient]

The more complexity you introduce to a plot device the more sense it has to make to be satisfying. Nothing in the OT has the level of complexity of Starkiller Base or how it operates. The Death Star is just a big "turbolaser" which is just a big "blaster." The details are never explained because they aren't important. Starkiller however is explained just enough to make the audience aware of how little that explanation makes sense.

Yeah, there was no need to over-complicate the big gun. It came across as JJ trying to pretend that the SKB was different from the death stars, which it wasn't at all. It was the exact damn same, just with JJ's bigger = more drama nonsense tacked on to it. I swear JJ has the worst case of short man syndrome I've ever seen.

My real problem with it wasn't how it worked, that's ultimately irrelevant. It's why does the Empire or it's offshoots keep killing off tens of thousands/millions of it's personnel by making these things so easy to destroy?

Ok, the first Death Star is a design oversight. The second one wasn't actually finished. Fine. What's the excuse here? A critical component can be accessed from the surface by both personnel and starfighters, and the failure of that ONE component destroys the entire planet. The Imperial Corp of Engineers is terrible at it's job. Terrible.

There are apparently no backup systems either. What if that regulator thing just malfunctioned? One component craps out and the whole thing implodes.

Oh man It's Delta Vega all over again. Seeing Vulcan implode from the surface. That's some good times right there.

I'm wondering why Abrams keeps doing this. It's such a basic thing to get wrong. Everyone knows you can't see other planets as giant orbs in the sky because - well - we can't see them in real life. He easily could've had Spock feel the destruction of Vulcan - sort of like how he felt V'Ger. He could've easily had Leia feel the destruction of those planets with the force & it would've been arguably a more emotionally powerful scene and a call back all at once. Luke & Obi don't see Alderan destroyed in the sky of Tatooine. So is JJ just unable to communicate a scene that way, or is he actually a dumbass?

 

[USS Triumphant]

So is JJ just unable to communicate a scene that way, or is he actually a dumbass?

He was wearing an Infocom shirt in the making of video for Star Trek 2009, which leads me to believe he is a reader and a puzzle solver. So I don't think it's either of the options you offer. I think he likes to troll those of us who actually think about our entertainment as deeply as we do, because he knows most of the audience either won't know or won't care.

 

[CommanderRaytas]

So is JJ just unable to communicate a scene that way, or is he actually a dumbass?

He was wearing an Infocom shirt in the making of video for Star Trek 2009, which leads me to believe he is a reader and a puzzle solver. So I don't think it's either of the options you offer. I think he likes to troll those of us who actually think about our entertainment as deeply as we do, because he knows most of the audience either won't know or won't care.

He'd be right. I don't care. I don't have a single fuck to give. Not one. Zilch. Zero. Nada. Who honestly gives a crap about how exactly the science works? It's a fantasy movie, not a documentary on possible technology.

I mean, seriously, do you want Voyager's ridiculously stupid technobabble back (that everyone made fun of because not only was it boring, it usually made no sense)?

So what if they call the gobbledygook "red matter" in ST09. So what if they say Starkiller Base sucks energy out of the sun. WHO CARES? It's a frigging plot device, not a science project.

This has nothing to do with thinking deeply or caring more. It has nothing to do with J.J. not caring. He cares about making a compelling and entertaining movie, and that's exactly what he's given us. Plenty of people care a lot about good story-telling, good characterisation, gorgeous cinematography, breath-taking practical effects, and really stellar acting more than being bogged down by exposition that makes no difference to plot or characters. That's what this movie had to offer, and that's what matters.

J.J. Abrams showed that he cares by placing a pro-active, non-sexualised heroine in the foreground of his movie. White male film-makers who do this are in the minority. He cares about diversity. He cares about characterisation. He cares about fun. He cares.

The whole "science" of SW was always dumb as shit and nobody gave a hoot. It's a plot-device usually, anyway, or a MacGuffin sometimes. So what. If you want an in-universe explanation for why people don't explain why and how stuff works, just view it as an "as you know, Bob" kind of deal. They're not gonna explain to each other what's what because they already know.

You know, I'm a little sick of people complaining about this kind of irrelevant crap, because that's what it is: irrelevant. Call the science whatever you like, because that's not what the movie is about, and getting hung up on scientifical inaccuracies (in a fantasy movie with pretty coherent internal rules) is only gonna suck all the joy out of the movie-going experience.

 

[UssGlenn]

My real problem with it wasn't how it worked, that's ultimately irrelevant. It's why does the Empire or it's offshoots keep killing off tens of thousands/millions of it's personnel by making these things so easy to destroy?

Ok, the first Death Star is a design oversight. The second one wasn't actually finished. Fine. What's the excuse here? A critical component can be accessed from the surface by both personnel and starfighters, and the failure of that ONE component destroys the entire planet. The Imperial Corp of Engineers is terrible at it's job. Terrible.

There are apparently no backup systems either. What if that regulator thing just malfunctioned? One component craps out and the whole thing implodes.

It's not quite that bad, the thermal oscillator was damaged by the internal explosives but was still functioning normally. That implies a fair bit of redundancy in the system. It was only after Poe flies his x wing inside and blasts it in several location all around it's circumference that it fails. And even then the planet only blew up because they were in the process of firing.

 

[RoJoHen]

If it didn't kill the star, it wouldn't be called the StarKiller.

StarWounder. StarDrainer. StarUser. StarSucker.

Yes, it's dumb.

The First Order is clearly run by a lunatic. He didn't just want to defeat the New Republic. He wanted to totally wipe them out, and he doesn't care how many stars he has to destroy to do it.

 

[Mudd]

It looked like the thing was intended to be used only a couple of times. The First Order apparently doesn't have the capability to invade the Republic to destroy it, so they built something that could be "launched" from a distant part of the galaxy to wipe out a few key planets.

As for seeing/not seeing distant planetary objects - Star Wars has never shown any regard for astronomy or any other branch of science. So what?

 

[RoJoHen]

As for seeing/not seeing distant planetary objects - Star Wars has never shown any regard for astronomy or any other branch of science. So what?

Although it is kind of funny that JJ Abrams did the exact same thing in Star Trek when he destroyed Vulcan.

Maybe he just thinks it looks neat.

 

[Mudd]

Yeah, it was a little more out-of-place there. In Star Wars this kind of thing doesn't much matter.

How does Luke appear to spend weeks or months on Dagobah while Han and Leia dart around for a few days on the Millennium Falcon, BTW? That's always bothered me a bit.

 

[ancient]

My real problem with it wasn't how it worked, that's ultimately irrelevant. It's why does the Empire or it's offshoots keep killing off tens of thousands/millions of it's personnel by making these things so easy to destroy?

Ok, the first Death Star is a design oversight. The second one wasn't actually finished. Fine. What's the excuse here? A critical component can be accessed from the surface by both personnel and starfighters, and the failure of that ONE component destroys the entire planet. The Imperial Corp of Engineers is terrible at it's job. Terrible.

There are apparently no backup systems either. What if that regulator thing just malfunctioned? One component craps out and the whole thing implodes.

It's not quite that bad, the thermal oscillator was damaged by the internal explosives but was still functioning normally. That implies a fair bit of redundancy in the system. It was only after Poe flies his x wing inside and blasts it in several location all around it's circumference that it fails. And even then the planet only blew up because they were in the process of firing.

Yeah, that's actually a fair point - the thing did take a hell of a beating before the planet started ripping apart. The previous 2 death stars were powder kegs.

As for seeing/not seeing distant planetary objects - Star Wars has never shown any regard for astronomy or any other branch of science. So what?

Although it is kind of funny that JJ Abrams did the exact same thing in Star Trek when he destroyed Vulcan.

Maybe he just thinks it looks neat.

That's my point, JJ keeps doing it, it's such a weird thing to end up in multiple movies. Get a less dumb idea to rehash, JJ!

 

[Alidar Jarok]

It looked like the thing was intended to be used only a couple of times. The First Order apparently doesn't have the capability to invade the Republic to destroy it, so they built something that could be "launched" from a distant part of the galaxy to wipe out a few key planets.

The waste aspect is the only reason I might be dubious of this, but I'm starting to come around. I think the biggest reason is people are forgetting that it could be a binary or trinary star system. It can drain more than one sun and still be able to fire (which would also explain why there was still light after the shots fired on the New Republic).

 

[Kor]

Somebody way more educated in the hard sciences than most of us wrote this interesting article entitled "The Physics Behind the Starkiller Base in Star Wars: The Force Awakens":

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-haraldsen/the-physics-behind-starki_b_8855792.html

He concludes by saying, "Overall, the Starkiller base definitely has the power to destroy planets and whole solar systems. However, scientifically, it would be hard to contain."

No kidding.

I like to think that "The Force" was involved somehow, perhaps used by Snoke as a mystical framework for the whole thing to work. In the defunct EU, somebody strong enough in "The Force" could actually rip apart the fabric of space on a pretty sizable scale.

Kor

 

[Karzak]

I never thought that the planet was a "real" planet myself. I figured it was just another super-sized Death Star that just happened to have a planet-like skin, bi-sected by the space-station-y equator. As such it probably had it's own life support systems and atmosphere that the space-station-y part regulated and maintained, so that it could still be viable as a base even if it did drain the sun's powers.

 

[Tosk]

I never thought that the planet was a "real" planet myself. I figured it was just another super-sized Death Star that just happened to have a planet-like skin, bi-sected by the space-station-y equator.

If it was compltely constructed from scratch, why would they bother to cover the base with trees and mountains and snow and an atmosphere?

 

[USS Triumphant]

If it was compltely constructed from scratch, why would they bother to cover the base with trees and mountains and snow and an atmosphere?

The nuEmpire is much more ecologically friendly than the old one?

 

[Karzak]

I never thought that the planet was a "real" planet myself. I figured it was just another super-sized Death Star that just happened to have a planet-like skin, bi-sected by the space-station-y equator.

If it was compltely constructed from scratch, why would they bother to cover the base with trees and mountains and snow and an atmosphere?

Why wouldn't they? Where is it stated that there's only one model of Death Star?

 

[USS Triumphant]

I never thought that the planet was a "real" planet myself. I figured it was just another super-sized Death Star that just happened to have a planet-like skin, bi-sected by the space-station-y equator.

If it was compltely constructed from scratch, why would they bother to cover the base with trees and mountains and snow and an atmosphere?

Why wouldn't they? Where is it stated that there's only one model of Death Star?

Well, the implication is it was a weapon with a very limited number of uses. When you're getting a car for demolition derby, you don't generally order the package with the heated leather seats and the little wipers for the headlights. But then, this IS the Empire - or at least, Empire 2.0 - so I guess style is always the order of the day, no matter how wasteful.

 

[RoJoHen]

StarKiller Base is actually Endor. The First Order massacred the Ewoks and converted their planet into a weapon.

 

[The Wormhole]

StarKiller Base is actually Endor. The First Order massacred the Ewoks and converted their planet into a weapon.

Endor is a moon.

 

[ancient]

I never thought that the planet was a "real" planet myself. I figured it was just another super-sized Death Star that just happened to have a planet-like skin, bi-sected by the space-station-y equator.

If it was compltely constructed from scratch, why would they bother to cover the base with trees and mountains and snow and an atmosphere?

Why wouldn't they? Where is it stated that there's only one model of Death Star?

Snoke is getting a bit drunk at the Christmas party on the endless metal surface of SKB, when he turns to Hux:
"bring in some dirt. Make some mountains over there. Plant a forest of fully grown trees, then make it snow." He says.

Hux dares not disobey.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

SKB is alternatively called "The North Pole"... and you'd better hope you're not on the 'naughty' list.