I choose cognitive dissonance ;) ( )

“How can BB-8 move around while keeping its head on top?”

In “The Physics of Star Wars” by Patrick Johnson

In the “The Physics of Superheroes” book review I gave out a suggestion on how to build a lightsabre physics-wise. Let's face it even if they found a way to make actual lightsabres, would they be highly useless or not? What could you do with a lightsabre other than smoothly killing your nemesis or toasting your bread whilst slicing it? Plumbing, pruning, tree-felling, sculpting, fence-posting, drilling, bug swatting, wood cutting, metal slicing, demolition, bicycle theft, lock picking, safe breaking, shackle cutting, emergency amputation, emergency rescue, Gordian knot solver, a light source during power cuts and caving, humidifier & sauna aid, snow clearing, ice melting, fire starter, grill, clamshell plastic packaging opener, unsightly mole and wart removal, punishments still used in the ME, animal slaughter and gutting, mining, cutting my girlfriend's rock cakes, cutting actual rocks, mountaineering and climbing...Not to mention, deflecting laser projectiles. Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force. I bet I could do a superb seared steak with one of those. Trouble is I always cook pissed so it would be horrifyingly dangerous.

People haven't moaned about minor things but big things, like who Snoke was and how he got his power. I don't have much of an issue with Rey being a commoner, and I don't care if Chewbacca becomes a vegan or if Leila flies like Superman, but I do want the story to make sense and for the film to not be one big wild goose chase. Most of the screen to,e goes on plot lines that have no real purpose. Finn going to the Casino planet, and that whole subplot served no purpose. One boring scene after another, Serving no real purpose.

Star War Physics? You've got to be joking Patrick! 5 things annoyed me off the top of my head in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi": (1) Bombs falling down in space; (2) Leia floating around in space for a bit them floating back to the ship and getting over it; (3) those stupid little squeaky puffin things (Porgs - even Chewy wouldn't eat one whilst the First Order wipe out the sophisticated ecosystems of entire planets! If they had edited out that scene with the sad eyed Porgs staring at a hungry Chewbacca, I think I would have liked the Porgs. But that was an anthropomorphism too far. Chewbacca should have got out a blaster and fried a few more of the little mutts as he ate the first one...); (4) One thing that was also weird was how the resistance ships being blown up by the First Order as they headed for Craig didn't even try to move out of range. They were all kind of bunched together, like cannon fodder. If they had spread out, the First Order might have had a harder time getting them all, and (5) the telephone call with butt-hole eyes was the low point...How can we talk Physics with a movie like this? Star Wars isn't SCIENCE fiction. Never has been. It is fantasy.

Bottom-line: Also, doing fan service is what makes these films work. The films that deviate from the formula may impress critics, but usually people come to see films with expectation, and if those expectations are not met, and the fans aren't rewarded, fans lose interest. Most movies that take risks fail because people by and large don't like to watch films that do not give them what they wanted to see. With Star Wars, which is a massive brand, the risk is low because an enormous audience is guaranteed, but in the long term this movie may harm the box office of future movies. The Last Jedi's main theme was to kill the past. However, if you kill what the franchise was loved for, it's too much like cutting off your nose to spite your face. What expectations will fan have of the series now? Iran Johnson should have played it safe, if not anything else. It is the geezer in me, the man I am that I worry about. The excitement was palpable before, the experience itself seemed to satisfy so many, yet the comedown was swift and unexpected. And it was Luke. I wondered what had happened to the boy from humble beginnings whose search for enlightenment through the ethereal would unconsciously lead to my own. I asked myself what, as a full grown man I was expecting. What was it in me, and in so many others I watched the last Star Wars episode, that thought that a pensioner in a robe could bring to a spirit trying to relive their childhood. It seems too easy to put it all down to nostalgia. You can get Nostalgia from watching bloody Ewoks, Muppets, even old episodes of “Only Fools and Horses”. Reviews from actual writers seem to compare Awakens with the prequels, asserting this is a return to form, but is it merely formulaic? One thing that can't be denied is that it ticks boxes, but why fill in the same form again, but on A3 paper rather than A4? The new Darth Vader in “The Force Awakens” decided he'd just take his pushbike helmet, put some silver foil over it and paint it black to make him menacing (which it did relative to his face that had the features of an anteater having mated with an Iron Maiden groupie rather than having any resemblance to either of his supposed parents when he chose to reveal it at the slightest provocation) and then made the fatal mistake of ensuring that Anakin would thenceforth be recognised as the deepest, most illuminatory facsimilie of human life ever. He also had a crap choice of lightsabre. Then there's the cutesy bits to appeal to the weak-minded. The robot that thinks it's a minion (because they worked before, right?), the characters who know things without having even heard of them let alone had any training in them (want to be a Jedi? Just close your eyes), the wonderful banter that arises between characters who five minutes before had only just met and become bffffff + a few years - the film moves quickly - the cliffhanger that's only a surprise because you forgot about some stuff because it was kinda boring by that point. This is much worse than Bad Physics! Having said that, Patrick’s take on Star War Physics is top notch. ( )

Science fun in the Galaxy Far, Far Away!

To be honest, I didn't *finish* this (ran of out of time on my loan), but it's a very nicely done SCIENCE book that *uses* Star Wars as a launching point for all kinds of articles.

There's two ways to do this - the "buzzkill" way that essentially debunks the errors and inaccuracy of the stories. Maybe satisfying for someone with an axe to grind, but not that enjoyable.

This book does it the other way - "we see x, y, and z in Star Wars... how could that happen?" Then launches into analyzing the in-universe observations of the films, and moves on to explore what it would take in our reality. It's done gracefully and respectfully of the GFFA, real science, and the reader. ( )