So I saw some of the deleted scenes. And I have to wonder what the heck they were thinking:
* nice to see Rian's blu-ray introduction and as much as some people have mocked him, he had to determine before the recording what general audiences may or may not understand. Still, a 3 hour SW film with these bits might have been better
* After Luke throws his light saber, some porg waddle over to investigate. Much like a toddler, one jumps up and down on it... and it ignites, promptly frying its friend. While eating (what's the next best thing to week-old roadkill) exonerates Chewie of catching and cooking his own dinner as opposed to going to the galactic grocer for fresh porg, there's another subtext: Luke being careless is a recurring theme in every movie he's in. While it's gruesome to see the unintended act of saber-flinging, it ties into the character of Luke.
* the original opening has some interesting CGI to illustrate the original intent, but doesn't do much
* the laser gun malfunctioning scene almost sells the sense of fear, but not quite
* The expanded bit of Luke in his hut and mopes and Leia picks up on it was cool
* The Poe/Finn corridor scene... meh
* Finn sulking/BB8 cutesie scene with the hologram needed to stay
* Luke's original introduction with the caretaker fish guard cutting a fish - IDIC notwithstanding - seems a little creepy
* the training scene with Rey/Luke where Luke discusses real Jedis do nothing and maintain balance... being one heck of a trick on Luke's part... pretty great scene as well as it also takes away from Rey's "Mary Sue" claim. The bagpipes were a little fishy, though.
* Rose biting Hux's hand - fantastic and hilarious (for the right reasons)
* The theatrical release scene Finn/Phasma was okay, but the scene where Finn berates Phasma in front of the troops really hit a home run by comparison, though Phasma is a really quick shot - until Finn moves
* Rose/Finn escaping hints at why Rose develops feelings for him. Probably needed to be kept for context when she saves him from trying to ram into the doomsday machine cannon...
* inappropriate cutesie moment with Rey and Chewie, as they see the image of Luke being blown to bits, saying "Um, let's go around back".
* nice to see Rian's blu-ray introduction and as much as some people have mocked him, he had to determine before the recording what general audiences may or may not understand. Still, a 3 hour SW film with these bits might have been better
* After Luke throws his light saber, some porg waddle over to investigate. Much like a toddler, one jumps up and down on it... and it ignites, promptly frying its friend. While eating (what's the next best thing to week-old roadkill) exonerates Chewie of catching and cooking his own dinner as opposed to going to the galactic grocer for fresh porg, there's another subtext: Luke being careless is a recurring theme in every movie he's in. While it's gruesome to see the unintended act of saber-flinging, it ties into the character of Luke.
* the original opening has some interesting CGI to illustrate the original intent, but doesn't do much
* the laser gun malfunctioning scene almost sells the sense of fear, but not quite
* The expanded bit of Luke in his hut and mopes and Leia picks up on it was cool
* The Poe/Finn corridor scene... meh
* Finn sulking/BB8 cutesie scene with the hologram needed to stay
* Luke's original introduction with the caretaker fish guard cutting a fish - IDIC notwithstanding - seems a little creepy
* the training scene with Rey/Luke where Luke discusses real Jedis do nothing and maintain balance... being one heck of a trick on Luke's part... pretty great scene as well as it also takes away from Rey's "Mary Sue" claim. The bagpipes were a little fishy, though.
* Rose biting Hux's hand - fantastic and hilarious (for the right reasons)
* The theatrical release scene Finn/Phasma was okay, but the scene where Finn berates Phasma in front of the troops really hit a home run by comparison, though Phasma is a really quick shot - until Finn moves
* Rose/Finn escaping hints at why Rose develops feelings for him. Probably needed to be kept for context when she saves him from trying to ram into the doomsday machine cannon...
* inappropriate cutesie moment with Rey and Chewie, as they see the image of Luke being blown to bits, saying "Um, let's go around back".