Apparently when the First Order first started to come about, the NR didn't want to get officially involved with the fight against them, so they let Leia leave and start the Resistance. As you could tell from the movie, even though they technically were separate from the Republic, they still had their support.
Here's the SW.com Database entry on Hosnian Prime:
Hosnian Prime
The capital of the New Republic, Hosnian Prime is a cosmopolitan world on the outskirts of the galaxy’s Core Worlds region. One of Mon Mothma’s reforms in establishing the New Republic was that member worlds would host the Senate on a rotating basis, a sharp break from the millennia in which Coruscant was the center of galactic power. But Hosnian Prime’s tenure as Senate seat makes it the target of a terrifying attack by the First Order.
I've actually been wondering about that myself. The first time we saw the Emperor he was a giant hologram so it's not impossible. At the same time I don't really think him being a giant would be totally out of place in the SW universe.
* Perhaps this was a big enough mission they brought everybody, or maybe he just worked maintenance when he's not off on missions.
* Lor San Tekka's Database entry:
Lor San Tekka
A legendary traveler and explorer, Lor San Tekka is a longtime ally of the New Republic and the Resistance. After the Battle of Endor, San Tekka helped Luke Skywalker recover secret Jedi lore that the Empire had tried to erase, and Leia Organa hopes the old scout can now help find her brother. Following decades of adventure, San Tekka retired to live simply on Jakku, where he follows the dictates of the once-forbidden Church of the Force. But his retirement is fated to be anything but peaceful.
So I'm assuming he must have worked with Luke sometime after he left the New Republic/Resistance, and Luke trusted him enough to give him that piece of the map.
I'm assuming the reasons for the map and why he trusted San Tekka enough to give him a piece of it will be dealt with in VIII.
They were a way to get Han off of his new ship and back onto the Falcon. I know we did have the gangs, but this is Han Solo, so they probably felt they needed a bigger threat than then get Han to leave.
I was actually wondering the same thing.
Because it's easier and less costly for you if you shoot a big gun at something than to send hundreds of ships and troops.
Capt. Phasma was technically wearing chrome, not silver, and she'ss the leader of the stormtroopers.
I loved the ending. I thought it was a cool, epic close to the movie.
..... annnnnnnd (aside from having demonstrated that the premise itself has an erroneous foundation) it's worth pointing out that the moment included trying to save his son from the Dark Side, and therefore save countless others who might fall victim to his son (as Jake succinctly states above).
Honestly, categorizing Han's actions as "selfish" misses the entire point of the scene.
I agree on this point. Hans actions weren't selfish at all. They were stupid though. Yeah its his kid but come on he just mentioned minutes before to Finn that they had to save the galaxy. The Death Star III had already obliterated a few worlds. He didn't have time to talk to his evil kid. All Han did was make Kylo stronger and even though Star Killer base was destroyed the dark side is now stronger. All Han did was make things more difficult.
I thought it made perfect sense. The whole reason Han went on the mission was to go after Ben, so of course he's going to confront him as soon as the opportunity arises. They had already planted to charges, so that part of the mission was complete. They obviously still had time since they were able to set off the charges before the gun fired.
I laughed.
....except, Neil, the shot of BB-8 there was accomplished with a giant Sphero prop with a CGI BB-8 head added to it in post. It really was rolling across the sand under its own power. (Other times granted it was a rod puppet being pushed around like a wheelbarrow, but the point remains.)
I had the same thought when I heard that complaint.
A lot of people have had issues with the fight between Rey and Kylo, but honestly that was better than I had expected from some of what I heard. She spends the first half of that fight basically running away and blocking strikes, and is then able to turn the tables by tuning into the Force (if only in a small way) and actually fighting back instead of running. That Kylo seems to have control issues and was wounded in the side also factored in.
