The Millenium Mobile

"Mark - Sixpots None The Richer" (marklinde) 12/30/2015 at 11:30 • Filed to: None

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I watched Star Wars - TFA last night and wanted to share my initial thoughts on the Millenium Falcon with you guys. I love the Falcon as much as the next adult who had at least one toy of it growing up. So I was excited to see it in the trailer. But while watching The Force Awakens something occurred to me.

( Full disclosure : I liked the movie and was perfectly satisfied as a fan. So I just want to have an entertaining discussion about it with you. Bitching or trolling is annoying, but nerdy nit-picking is what Star Wars is all about, right?)

Although the action around it felt more real and gritty compared to other Star Wars movies, the Falcon crashed, was shot at and flew through trees without getting damaged - unless the filmmakers wanted/needed it to happen for their reasons. The way it plowed through the movie actually reminded me of the Bluesmobile. In a bad way.

While I liked the ridiculous Bluesmobile and welcomed the over the top action it introduced to the movie the Millenium Falcon’s scenes bothered me. The difference between those two vehicles is that it was presented to you as a fact that this Dodge Monaco had mythical fantasy powers in the beginning of the movie when it jumped over the bridge. In addition it was irrelevant whether the car had those abilities because it was also on a mission from god, its garage or because the movie is simply surreal.

The Falcon on the other hand was introduced in the original trilogy as a hot rod freighter. A neverending project vehicle which changed owners a lot. It was definitely fast and surely capable, but also very delicate after decades of modifying it with somewhat compatible parts and being maintained on a small budget. And unlike the supernatural Bluesmobile the Falcon was still an integrated part of the universe around it for me. We even saw it losing its radar dish in a crash so it clearly wasn’t unbreakable.

Yes, the Star Wars movies are fantasy films. That’s why physics, time and space are flexible concepts especially because The Force is the core of this universe. In fact The Force is so strong and mythical that it even fixes plot holes and helps characters to overcome obstacles by using it whenever the filmmakers need a simple solution. So how was Rey able to fly a neglected project vehicle like she never did anything else? How did she immediately understand all the idiosyncrasies of the roadkill-esqued patchery that is the Falcon? The Force of course!

Don’t get me wrong now. I’m a believer! I do like the fantastic elements of the Star Wars universe and don’t need an explanation for everything in it. Yet I thought The Force has nothing to do with objects and at least some rules apply to the universe. This is why Star Wars still feels “real” and believable after all. This means the Falcon became basically supernaturally indestructible in TFA for just one reason: The Filmmakers thought we fans wanted to see it doing lots of cool stuff.

For me this silly approach cheapened the initial excitement of seeing this beloved ship again.

But maybe I’m wrong about it. What do you think?

Is the Falcon perhaps a bit like Herbie now? A temperamental almighty thing, but only functioning well when it wants to. Or is it actually becoming a character like K.I.T.T.? Is the Falcon in fact learning to use The Force as well - meaning it’s becoming kind of a living thing?

Maybe you think the Falcon is indeed like the Bluesmobile in Blues Brothers? Thus it doesn’t need an explanation at all.

What about the X-Wing crashing into the swamp? Is a discussion of Star Wars vehicles completely useless after that scene or was this different?

Discuss, compare or throw insults at me.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 11:37

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Honestly, I’m surprised that thing still runs.

X37.9XXS > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 11:39

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Forget it, Jake

It’s Star Wars

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 12/30/2015 at 11:40

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...without a Roadkill sticker on it.

Sure! :-)

zveugen > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 11:44

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I feel like the falcon is kind of a “main character” and i also kind of feel like the “force” can be channeled through non-living objects i.e. lukes light saber and so forth. I’m with you and I feel like they probably should have addressed some of those maneuvers by showing a little more damage, and maybe some flaw in its performance other than a “bad motivator,” but I also believe that its character status, and all the contact its had with the force entitle it to some seemingly impossible luck. there’s my two cents.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > X37.9XXS 12/30/2015 at 11:44

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Haha, I tried. But I couldn’t ignore it.

Sam > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 11:45

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They went light speed to go through the shield and were able to slow to a halt by pulling up.

Also, the whole Starkiller concept was pretty flawed. I was glad to see that they had built it into a planet, instead of building their own sphere and they also made it able to kill multiple planets, but sucking the star of all it’s energy? Wouldn’t that mean that they could only fire it once?

I like how blowing up Coriscant was literally J.J. nuking Jar-Jar and all the other Episode 1 stuff from orbit.

zveugen > Sam 12/30/2015 at 11:49

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i didn’t understand why the falcon could use light speed to get through the shield, but the x-wings couldn’t hahaha. made that whole scene very strange to me.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > zveugen 12/30/2015 at 11:52

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Good points!

I’m not into the Extended Universe, books and stuff. Has Luke’s saber some kind of supernatural abilities? Is this one of the reasons why they were able to fight with it against Kylo Ren?

Interesting. I didn’t thought about it that way.

zveugen > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 11:54

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I’m not too into the extended universe, but i know that artifacts hold some force significance. but I was mainly referring to the vision Rey had when she first touched Luke’s saber. its was almost like a “force” conduit or something.

side point, Kylo is keeping vader’s helmet for some reason (if its not just because he’s a fan boy) also, I know that in a lot of the video games objects or places that have even briefly come in contact with the force/force users will have a significance, and can even be detected by force sensitive characters.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Sam 12/30/2015 at 11:57

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“They went light speed to go through the shield and were able to slow to a halt by pulling up.”

That was a weak solution to a problem.

Starkiller, yeah. Really, again a useless nazi-superweapon? Just imagine how many Space-T34s they could have thrown at the rebel scum instead of building this planetsized achilles heel...

Okay, at least it killed of the hated episodes.

KatzManDu > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 11:57

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1) it’s a movie

2) it’s the Millennium Falcon and a main character in the movie, so it won’t be too badly hurt

3) It was sitting for “20 years” or something similar, but it starts right up. They didn’t even have to spray brake cleaner into the carb.

4) it’s built of alloys that we mere mortals cannot comprehend. The trees in the forest are no match for it.

5) It’s supposedly a cargo freighter, but it doesn’t seem to have a lot of room for cargo. That bugs me more than anything.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > zveugen 12/30/2015 at 12:08

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Maybe it was a conduit. Or maybe Luke wanted her to find it and messed with her head which is the more “human” explanation.

The helmet could be a bit powerful itself, yes. But I honestly thought it was a gimmick. A plot device to glimpse back to Vader. They just couldn’t resist...

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 12:14

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It would probably break down more with a Roadkill sticker.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > KatzManDu 12/30/2015 at 12:22

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1) For you maybe! ;-)

2) Yeah, R2 and C-3PO were “hurt” pretty seriously in Episode IV and V. They are machines. They can be repaired, they have the technology...

3) That was indeed weak

4) Good Point. I’m thinking tin and glass we lesser humans know about

5) I always thougt it was more a van, pick up truck or speedboat. Think botlegger’s car not big truck or ship.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 12:24

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The main exterior skin and structural components are made of an element that doesn’t exist in our galaxy. This element is extremely tough and strong - nerd note: these aren’t the same things when dealing with the material properties of an object. Glass/Ceramics are strong but not tough, regular old iron isn’t very strong but is very tough. Toughness deals with the area under a stress/strain curve.

The Millenium Falcon is just a tough ship. The crash through the trees occurs at a low angle, which helps absorb the impact by lowering the g load. Think sliding to a stop vs running into a brick wall, you stop both times but sliding has a much lower acceleration.

Rey can fix it because:

1. She has scavenged a living out of busted old stuff. She learned through the school of hard knocks.

2. My theory - Annakin/Darth Vader is her grandfather and Luke is her father. Both were pretty good mechanics as there were growing up - the force helped them. How/Why? You don’t question the force, that’s how/why.

zveugen > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 12:27

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Also good points! Never thought about Luke actively messing with Rey during that scene. Could make sense though.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 12/30/2015 at 12:29

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On this new episode of Roadkill: We swap a Hellcat-Engine into our beloved Millenium Falcon.

The Hellinium Falcat.

Sam > zveugen 12/30/2015 at 12:34

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They should have had the Falcon have some way to punch a small hole in the shield. Maybe add a small time window constraint to give some suspense.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 12:35

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Rey had a working knowledge of the Falcon because she grew up around it. That fatty she stole it from marginally raised her, so I can imagine her sneaking aboard often to take things apart and study it.

As for the damage, I assumed that the heavy shields soaked that up. TIE fighters and X Wings seem more disposable, military weapons built for lightness en masse. But the Falcon has to be lifetime durable, an investment for a working professional.

Nor was it invincible. Finn’s gun turret was damaged at the beginning, and just after their escape from Jakku, something blew up under the floor.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 12:36

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“Technically, it’s just a regular Corellian YT-1300 light freighter, but no one has to know”

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Future next gen S2000 owner 12/30/2015 at 12:40

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You won. The Force always wins and some space elements we don’t know about are also different to argue with.

So just pretend that I presented you a weak argument here that has really nothing to do with what you have written, insulted you and your family, ignored your facts because you spelled Anakin wrong and wished you the worst 2016.

Deal?

Hahaha!

Still would have loved to see the old girl get bruised a bit while crashing...

sebdel > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 12:47

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My first reaction when I saw the falcon was still on the movies was “Isn’t that thing too old now?” I don’r really know for how long a spaceship is suppose to run, but that thing looks very mechanical, seems to me that 30 years is as much as it can handle, so it shouldn’t be running now. Just like Solo, It should’ve make an appereance and die (maybe it did, I haven’t seen the movie)

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 12/30/2015 at 12:48

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Also Rey uses the Force. Since she is “human”. I can accept that.

Good points!

Right, because the filmmakers needed a bit of drama to bond those two characters the turret broke conviently (again I liked the movie!). But crash it on the planet and we get nothing? Imagine they wanted to take their time to bond Rey and Han. The Falcon would be scattered over the planet after the crash so that they could repair it together, don’t you think? So it somehow felt wrong that nothing really happened to it.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 12/30/2015 at 12:49

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Hehe!

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 12:52

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Somehow... The Roadkill guys need to their hands on one of these.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 12:55

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As I recall, Rey couldn’t get the shields up on Jakku, so it was vulnerable to the TIE fighters. They were in place by the time they got to the Starkiller and crashed.

As for bonding time, remember that this is a 2 hour movie that has to tell a very large story. There isn’t a big window for long-term relationship building. Han and Rey did have bonding scenes, one of which was actually repairing the Falcon, but that can’t conquer the overall story.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 13:03

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Deal*

[ insert sarcastic meme here ]

*Can’t believe Anakin only has one n. Could have swore it had two.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 12/30/2015 at 13:10

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I know, I don’t want to analize the movie too much (which was a bit rushed and/or large for it’s length - but okay!).

Just the fact that I’m not getting a feel for what the Falcon is actually capable of doing bothered me a bit. Shields or no shields and strange materials are of course factors here.

But in contrast to the Bluesmobile I was a bit taken out of the movie by the crashing Falcon. More than I sould have been, maybe.

Frank Grimes > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 13:14

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The whole time I was watching (also saw it yesterday) I couldnt stop thinking about grumpy harrison ford and how much he wants to tell everyone he doesnt care about han solo.

Frank Grimes > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 13:16

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We waited to til the last minute to fix anything but we ordered these $70k warp coils for it like 3 years ago. Cue thrash to get it working and then have it break down after 2 light years and then they explain and laugh at how roadkill it is.

Spoon II > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer 12/30/2015 at 14:28

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The big thing is that it was always just the hyperdrive system that was all finicky. The rest of the ship always exhibited a large chunk of toughness. Plus, it’s laser turret got smoked in the initial chase scene.

TheVicious > Sam 12/30/2015 at 20:00

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The weapon was fired at the Hosnian System. That wasn’t Coruscant.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Spoon II 12/31/2015 at 00:45

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Good points!

The turret is an exception, but:

“the Falcon crashed, was shot at and flew through trees without getting damaged - unless the filmmakers wanted/needed it to happen for their reasons.”

I think the turret broke because the filmmakers wanted to create drama in order to bond Rey and Finn together.

In contrast I felt like when the Falcon crashed on the Starkiller the filmmakers decided that a (heavily) damaged ship would slow down the movie and/or make it more complicated.

So maybe indestructible was the strong word. Think more conviently or arbitrarily indestructible. :-)