Star Wars 7 SPOILERS!

[Generic Eric]

He's just a smuggler that turned his back on the rest of the Galaxy.

THIS bothers me, I feel like this is completely out of character for the Han I know.

This is completely 100% in character.  He reverted to form to deal with his loss.

Anyone who has dealt with the loss of a child knows too well how it dashes your dreams and hopes for what might have been.  Not only is the child gone, but a part of you is gone too.  Not being able to be a father, how to teach a child the true lessons in life.  There is no manual for this.  There is no "right way" to act.
Having said that.  That is the exact reason why there was such a striking plot hole.  We never saw Han go through any of that.  If they weren't going to spell it out, the could have at least wrote some novels about it.  A comic even FFS!

[harveybirdman]

I get that, and I know the whole Darth Caedus/Jacen Solo story.

It's just too much compelling material is left out of the script so we can have action sequences that are too long and CGI space creatures.

I think people forget that overall I still find it a decent movie, I'm just upset that they played it safe and relied far too heavily on nostalgia and spectacle.  I've got no problem with a return to a "Hero's Journey," and I am okay with some of the similarities with a New Hope, but they bit off more than they can chew and it shows.

It's nothing that can't be fixed, and everything isn't ruined (as it was with the Phantom Menace)

[dkersten]

I get that, and I know the whole Darth Caedus/Jacen Solo story.

Just throw out any knowledge there, the extended universe as we know it is dead and buried now.  They didn't even use the kids' names ffs. I mean, why do they have to completely pretend that none of the story was written and marketed as the "OFFICIAL STORY" as sanctioned by Lucasfilm?  Frankly, I could have overlooked pretty much everything wrong with the last 4 movies if they had just stuck to, at the minimum, the bones of the story they authorized and endorsed.  But this is a dead argument now.. any hope of even using a little of the far superior story in the books is completely gone.

Frankly I think they covered the loss and the reason for him leaving and all that, but I think it deserved a little more. One of the early previews had a dialogue bit by Luke talking about how his family is strong in the force.  Perhaps there is more there that would explain the history but it hit the cutting room floor.  I think him leaving was true to character, and with the loss of his son and then the loss of his ship, he needed some kind of "win" before he could really make it back. 

[harveybirdman]

There is so much to explore with many of the characters.  They really needed a scene with Solo and Ren before the death scene.  I don't care if it was a flashback or what.  Something had to happen to get the audience more emotionally invested in that scene, I feel that it probably should have taken place in Episode 8.

One of the things that's bothering me is that we just have to accept that all of the sudden a Stormtrooper who is supposedly (according to General Hux) conditioned from birth to be a loyal to the core fighting machine growing a conscious.  At first we're led to believe that perhaps Finn is force sensitive which I find compelling.  However he spends the rest of the movie running away and it seems that the force sensitive thing was some sort of gotcha moment to distract you that Rey was the real Jedi (which was obvious from the start with the parallels to Anakin Skywalker, so why even pretend Finn might be a future Jedi?)

[BadMouth]

I'm just upset that they played it safe and relied far too heavily on nostalgia and spectacle.

The hardcore fan who bought my ticket would have been greatly disappointed without the massive doses of nostalgia and spectacle.
He is drawn to big crowds, loud noises, flashing lights, hyperspin, etc.  He was overjoyed with the movie. 
On leaving the movie I brought up not so subtle hints, foreshadowing, remaining mysteries, etc. 
He didn't spend any time thinking about any of it.

Not everyone's mind works the same way.
A deep and thoughtful story bores the crap out of a lot of people.

[harveybirdman]

Yeah but a deep and thoughtful story could have been made with the spectacle as a backdrop....

Not everyone is going to be happy no matter what, I get that.... I just hope the writing improves over the next films.

I think Rouge One will be a nice barometer of things to come.  If it is mostly spectacle with the lose constructs of a relevant story then I'm pretty much guaranteed not to like any more offerings in the Star Wars Universe.

[yotsuya]

Remind me to never go to the movies with any of you ---saint's minions---.

[harveybirdman]

People like me are definitely in the minority... There's whole lots of STAR WARS YEAH AWESOME LOVE IT YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dkersten]

Just because I like discussing it doesn't mean I sit in the movie like a Grinch yelling and screaming about it or talking to the others in the theater during the movie...  I have a lot of reservations about it, but it is still Star Wars, and I just dropped another $150 on tickets to take the family to see it again. 

At least two of my friends saw it 3 times this weekend already, and both of them are reserving comments about the story.  My brother is waiting until after Christmas to see it but he already knows Han's fate, just because his dumbass brother in law posted a spoiler on Facebook. I would rather go to the movie with a hundred rabid fans who want to talk about how disappointed they are afterward than with one idiot who spoils it for everyone...  Although the article about the idiot who spoiled it at the theater in front of a line of avid fans waiting for the next showing and got beat up by Chewbacca, a Stormtrooper, and Boba Fett was fake, I have to be honest, if someone had pulled that I would have jumped in to deliver a few kicks and punches...   

[harveybirdman]

Yeah my biggest gripe is when people say, "You just want to find something wrong with it."

No I really don't, I wanted to be dancing around singing the praises of this movie if it were Really good.

Instead I have to deal with the fact that it was a very well dressed 6.

[Ian]

Again the problem for me is the writing.  I have a feeling this thing was edited to ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- and important stuff was lost to post production.

This, although I have trouble throwing writing (say what you want about JJ: Kasdan was there too) under the bus for editing.

My guess would be that there is a lot of backstory that they couldn't disclose in an efficient manner and folks like us notice the gaps amidst the action. There were quite a few elements that look to be MacGuffins on the screen that I bet were well-plotted on the page. I do think that perhaps they had trouble deciding how to approach Rey as the next Anakin and honestly fumbled the ball because we all hated Anakin in the prequels, so they avoided dealing with it. The whole thing felt like it moved too fast and would have been better handled with an additional hour or two of running time.

The worlds felt lived-in (a big issue for me with the prequels vs originals) and I cared about the characters. I think the casting for Rey and Finn was spot on. Can take or leave Poe (thought he should have been left dead). Fassbender would have been the better choice for Kylo Ren, but Driver did well.

All in all, I enjoyed it and is definitely better than 4 of the previous films. That is no small feat with the most dedicated fandom in history waiting for you to ---fudgesicle--- up.

Anybody who undertakes the task of contributing to that universe has serious intenstinal fortitude and gets a  from me.

This! 

[Ian]

People like me are definitely in the minority... There's whole lots of STAR WARS YEAH AWESOME LOVE IT YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have to understand the Original Trilogy even had pretty terrible writing. With the exception of Empire. So really 1 movie in the first 6 was great. The others all had a lot of things wrong with the story, characters, etc. This one is closer to Empire than any of the others. I wouldn't say it was perfect. But damn it was good in Star Wars terms.

[dkersten]

After a second showing in a brand new Imax theater with a very powerful sound system, I have to say my opinion of the movie is greatly improved.  I picked up on details I missed the first time that actually filled in the story a little more, and was able to take a closer look at things that bothered me before.  It still isn't perfect, but easily the third best Star Wars movie ever made.

Overall I would give it an 8 now, where before it was a marginal 6.

Having seen it once already I wasn't so busy taking in the ambiance of the movie and was able to focus more on the acting and the story itself.  It felt way more cohesive the second time around and didn't feel like they were trying too hard. 

Really it just suffered from poor editing.  The important story stuff was downplayed or overshadowed by other things going on and they didn't play out all the elements so much as just say them in the background in some cases.

My biggest gripe is the final scene.  It should NOT have happened at all.  It had no bearing on this movie and made everything that happened feel trivial.  Luke is missing for decades and the galaxy is going to ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- without him around.  The resistance is dividing its time between finding Luke and fighting off the Order and people are dying to find the slightest clue as to his whereabouts, yet the first real clue they get leads him right to the exact hill he is standing on, when in fact he was supposed to be searching for something and would never have known exactly where he would be...  WTF. 

Here is how it should have ended:  First off, when Han dies and Leia feels it, there should have also been a glimpse of a man in robes sitting in a ruined temple (with the mechanical hand so we know it was Luke) who stiffens as if feeling the lightsaber going through his own body, then slumps down as if knowing his failure cost the life of his old friend.  At that moment, R2 should come out of his low power mode and start whistling to 3PO, who can't get anyone to pay attention because of the ensuing battle.  After the battle settles and people are back and trying to put the pieces back together, 3PO and R2 both finally get the attention of Leia and bring up the map of the galaxy, and instead of a big section that mysteriously nobody recognizes, have the fragment overlay on the known map to show the location of the system Luke was heading to when he first left (which would explain why nobody could recognize the map fragment they had).  When Rey returns, she approaches Leia and comforts her, maybe saying a few words about Han's last effort to save their son.  Once she says goodbye to Fin, the final scene should be her telling Leia she will send word when she picks up Luke's trail.  Then she reassures Leia that she WILL find Luke.  Rey and Chewie fly off in the Falcon and enter hyperspace.  The end.

It would be reminiscent of the end scene in Empire where Luke was going after Han, and they could open the next movie with Rey, looking like she had spent months searching, finally coming upon the ruins of the temple and finds Luke.  It would make it seem like he was actually hard to find and it took both the efforts of the last decade in finding the pieces of the map along with a person strong in the Force searching the right system to find him. 

[harveybirdman]

I am also anxious for a second viewing to hopefully have a similar experience.

[CheffoJeffo]

An interesting aside. Writer and publishing friends -- whom I might expect to zoom in on the issues -- all loved it unreservedly.

[wp34]

I liked it better the second time as well.  Carrie Fisher about took me out of the movie the first time.  The second time I thought she was fine.  I was too preoccupied to notice Maz Kanata much the first time but she is an awesome character and example of how CGI can add to a movie.

Here is how it should have ended:  First off, when Han dies and Leia feels it, there should have also been a glimpse of a man in robes sitting in a ruined temple (with the mechanical hand so we know it was Luke) who stiffens as if feeling the lightsaber going through his own body, then slumps down as if knowing his failure cost the life of his old friend.  At that moment, R2 should come out of his low power mode and start whistling to 3PO, who can't get anyone to pay attention because of the ensuing battle.  After the battle settles and people are back and trying to put the pieces back together, 3PO and R2 both finally get the attention of Leia and bring up the map of the galaxy, and instead of a big section that mysteriously nobody recognizes, have the fragment overlay on the known map to show the location of the system Luke was heading to when he first left (which would explain why nobody could recognize the map fragment they had).  When Rey returns, she approaches Leia and comforts her, maybe saying a few words about Han's last effort to save their son.  Once she says goodbye to Fin, the final scene should be her telling Leia she will send word when she picks up Luke's trail.  Then she reassures Leia that she WILL find Luke.  Rey and Chewie fly off in the Falcon and enter hyperspace.  The end.

It would be reminiscent of the end scene in Empire where Luke was going after Han, and they could open the next movie with Rey, looking like she had spent months searching, finally coming upon the ruins of the temple and finds Luke.  It would make it seem like he was actually hard to find and it took both the efforts of the last decade in finding the pieces of the map along with a person strong in the Force searching the right system to find him.

The ending didn't bother me but I do like your ending.  If they wanted to extend the search for Luke into the next movie yours would have worked better.

[Generic Eric]

I liked it better the second time as well.  Carrie Fisher about took me out of the movie the first time.  The second time I thought she was fine.  I was too preoccupied to notice Maz Kanata much the first time but she is an awesome character and example of how CGI can add to a movie.

Here is how it should have ended:  First off, when Han dies and Leia feels it, there should have also been a glimpse of a man in robes sitting in a ruined temple (with the mechanical hand so we know it was Luke) who stiffens as if feeling the lightsaber going through his own body, then slumps down as if knowing his failure cost the life of his old friend.  At that moment, R2 should come out of his low power mode and start whistling to 3PO, who can't get anyone to pay attention because of the ensuing battle.  After the battle settles and people are back and trying to put the pieces back together, 3PO and R2 both finally get the attention of Leia and bring up the map of the galaxy, and instead of a big section that mysteriously nobody recognizes, have the fragment overlay on the known map to show the location of the system Luke was heading to when he first left (which would explain why nobody could recognize the map fragment they had).  When Rey returns, she approaches Leia and comforts her, maybe saying a few words about Han's last effort to save their son.  Once she says goodbye to Fin, the final scene should be her telling Leia she will send word when she picks up Luke's trail.  Then she reassures Leia that she WILL find Luke.  Rey and Chewie fly off in the Falcon and enter hyperspace.  The end.

It would be reminiscent of the end scene in Empire where Luke was going after Han, and they could open the next movie with Rey, looking like she had spent months searching, finally coming upon the ruins of the temple and finds Luke.  It would make it seem like he was actually hard to find and it took both the efforts of the last decade in finding the pieces of the map along with a person strong in the Force searching the right system to find him.

The ending didn't bother me but I do like your ending.  If they wanted to extend the search for Luke into the next movie yours would have worked better.

This ending is better.  @dkersten,  you should write books or something.

[harveybirdman]

I may have to give episode 7 the same treatment I gave the finale of How I met your mother and rewrite it in my head.

I could seem myself endorsing Kersten's version as cannon.

[dkersten]

@dkersten,  you should write books or something.

I've thought about it...

[wp34]

Looks like Captain Phasma will be featured more prominently in the next movie.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Star-Wars-Episode-8-Feature-Whole-Lot-More-One-Side-Character-101547.html

[jdbailey1206]

@dkersten,  you should write books or something.

I've thought about it...

Everybody take note.  This may be the shortest response dkersten has ever written.   

[Token]

Needed more midichlorians.

[pbj]

You nerds will complain about anything.  The movie was great.

 

[Slippyblade]

Just saw it yesterday.  Loved every bit of it.

Very happy with what they did with Rey's character and looking forward to seeing her evolve and develop.  Even Fin with his, "OMG, run away!!!!!" attitude was good.  Only thing that got under my skin was the big dog fight scene at the end.  I was ok with the "blow up the oscillator", but they really shouldn't have had a trench run.  That was just silly.

[harveybirdman]

The first twenty minutes is great after that it starts blowing.  I can't believe how many of you guys are hypnotized by nostalgia and visuals because short of that there isn't much substance.

[Token]

You nerds will complain about anything.  The movie was great.

 

+1

The first twenty minutes is great after that it starts blowing.  I can't believe how many of you guys are hypnotized by nostalgia and visuals because short of that there isn't much substance.

I liked it. It was entertaining. You expect substance from the seventh movie in a space fantasy series? This ain't Bill Shakespeare.

[wp34]

Just saw it yesterday.  Loved every bit of it.

Very happy with what they did with Rey's character and looking forward to seeing her evolve and develop.  Even Fin with his, "OMG, run away!!!!!" attitude was good.  Only thing that got under my skin was the big dog fight scene at the end.  I was ok with the "blow up the oscillator", but they really shouldn't have had a trench run.  That was just silly.

The new characters were very exciting to me as well.   Those three will be moving the story forward for at least the next two movies so getting them right was a huge relief. 

[harveybirdman]

I liked the new characters as well but I'd say the fact that Finn is a puss, Rey is inexplicably powerful with the force, and Kylo Ren has wild inconsistency in his force power is plenty of evidence that they didn't nail them.

With regard to thr overarching story I understand that it's not Shakespeare but it can at least have enough exposition to set the stage for the story and make me care about what the characters are fighting for and what's at stake.

I think everyone is just so relieved it doesn't suck like the prequels and therefore can't seem to remove those rose colored spectacles.

[Ian]

The first twenty minutes is great after that it starts blowing.  I can't believe how many of you guys are hypnotized by nostalgia and visuals because short of that there isn't much substance.

I am not an idiot... I don't get hypnotized by nostalgia or visuals...  if that was a case I would love the prequels and even ROTJ, but I like The Force Awakens better than those 4 movies. Why can't I? I am not here telling you; you are being hyper critical of space saga movie. No you are entitled to your opinion. Let us have ours. 

[Ian]

I think everyone is just so relieved it doesn't suck like the prequels and therefore can't seem to remove those rose colored spectacles.

Not true... it's a good movie. Yes far better than the prequels much better than ROTJ... arguably on par with  A New Hope. Not as good as Empire. How is that bad company to keep?

[leapinlew]

The first twenty minutes is great after that it starts blowing.  I can't believe how many of you guys are hypnotized by nostalgia and visuals because short of that there isn't much substance.

I am not an idiot... I don't get hypnotized by nostalgia or visuals...  if that was a case I would love the prequels and even ROTJ, but I like The Force Awakens better than those 4 movies. Why can't I? I am not here telling you; you are being hyper critical of space saga movie. No you are entitled to your opinion. Let us have ours. 

Totally agree with you Ian. It was a dick thing to say. Basically you either agree with him and the film was an abyssal failure your blind.

I don't think he meant to sound like that much of a jerk. I think he is trying to reason why he doesn't like the movie as much as everyone else. Blaming everyone else, that's easier than realizing you might be overly critical. Star wars isn't this complex theatrical production. It's a space adventure. He sees gaping wide plot holes, and most others are waiting for more backstory. He sees underdeveloped characters and while I don't totally disagree, I see more films coming and realize that character development often ends up on the cutting room floor.

[Ian]

The first twenty minutes is great after that it starts blowing.  I can't believe how many of you guys are hypnotized by nostalgia and visuals because short of that there isn't much substance.

I am not an idiot... I don't get hypnotized by nostalgia or visuals...  if that was a case I would love the prequels and even ROTJ, but I like The Force Awakens better than those 4 movies. Why can't I? I am not here telling you; you are being hyper critical of space saga movie. No you are entitled to your opinion. Let us have ours. 

Totally agree with you Ian. It was a dick thing to say. Basically you either agree with him and the film was an abyssal failure your blind.

I don't think he meant to sound like that much of a jerk. I think he is trying to reason why he doesn't like the movie as much as everyone else. Blaming everyone else, that's easier than realizing you might be overly critical. Star wars isn't this complex theatrical production. It's a space adventure. He sees gaping wide plot holes, and most others are waiting for more backstory. He sees underdeveloped characters and while I don't totally disagree, I see more films coming and realize that character development often ends up on the cutting room floor.

I know... I like harveybirdman hes an arcade stud (and a good dude it's nothing personal)... Just trying to keep it 100.

But I agree.. it really needed to be 3 hours long to get all of those wonderful nuggets of character development to really take shape. But it got me extremely pumped to see Episode 8. As far as everyone who has looked at the script, Rian has done an amazing job with the story. But I still stand by the fact this is a top three Star Wars movie. And that isn't a bad thing at all and I am not Hypnotized at least I don't think so because George Lucas told me so years ago 

[harveybirdman]

ROTJ is light years better the TFA.

But I didn't intend to be a jerk, It must be just as irratting to you to hear someone be critical of TFA as it is to me for people to fail to see its massive flaws.

We can leave it at that.  As I've said it's better than the prequels and it's not so far gone that they can't write their way back into my heart.  However I'm a bit skeptical at this point that we're never going to get any deeper than the megablockbuster blueprint.

[wp34]

He sees gaping wide plot holes, and most others are waiting for more backstory. He sees underdeveloped characters and while I don't totally disagree, I see more films coming and realize that character development often ends up on the cutting room floor.

Well put Lew.

ROTJ is light years better the TFA.

Too early to tell.  Jedi is the weakest of the originals and on some days I prefer EP3 over it.  Having said that I have a fresh appreciation for how tight the 3rd act of Jedi was.  The editing is brilliant between the battle in space, Endor and between Vader and Luke.   They tried to do something similar at the end of E7 and it didn't work as well.

[leapinlew]

However I'm a bit skeptical at this point that we're never going to get any deeper

It's a space soap opera you saw when you were most likely under 12 years old. How deep is it really?

I remember wanting Episode I, II and III to be more ... I don't know, violent or dark I guess. If you look at star wars as a family franchise to be shared experience from parent to child, it really helps put expectations in check.

[harveybirdman]

I just watched 4 and 5 tonight, to try and see everyone's point about their supposed flaws and just how shallow they are. And the reality is the flaws aren't there.  They are genius in every way.  I take back what has been said about TFA being a rehash of ANH, it pales in comparison.   After it's first action scene  ANH spends nearly 30 mins plus setting up the remainder of the movie with brilliant exposition.   If TFA had taken its cues from ANH perhaps it too would have had a justified and satisfying climax

Lucas may have been a hack but between Kershner, Brackett,  and Kasdan Empire took things to even higher highs.  The characters grow and develop and you feel how close their friendship is.  So close in fact that Luke nearly loses his life to save them.  None of it feels manufactured because it is justified by their actions in the stories.

I realize at this point I'm not convincing anyone to dislike TFA, but no one will change my mind either on any of the following  things.

1) The original trilogy is vastly superior to anything that has been produced since.

2) Even post Lucas and with Disney pulling the strings it is still possible to produce a Star Wars movie that is both a money maker and just as good as the original films.  I hope to live to see it.

3) JJ Abrams blows, he ruined LOST with a retarded ending and never explained anything then pretended like he knew everything after the series wrapped. Even now I see interviews with him pulling the same ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- Trying to add details here and there that were never discussed.  I'm so happy this hack is not returning.

[pbj]

Meh I watched 10-15 minutes of one episode of the first season of Lost and said, "they're all dead and this is purgatory."  Never understood why anyone ever thought there was more to it.

 

We've been rewatching the original movies today.  It's been 30 years, it will never be the same.  We were entertained by the new movie.

 

[Locke141]

A main story arc in "Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" is that while the Millennium Falcon is being chased to Lando Calrissian's Cloud City, Luke Skywalker is learning how to be a Jedi from Yoda. Despite a brief detour in a meteor, the Millennium Falcon seems to get to Cloud City in relatively short time, and since the two scenes are linked that also means Skywalker learned how to be a Jedi in an afternoon.

Granted, in point two, it was mentioned that it should take a long time for the Millennium Falcon to travel, but plot holes shouldn't be used to explain away other plot holes. Don't encourage black holes into "Star Wars."

Anyway, Skywalker does abandon the training early to go save his friends, but when he returns in "Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi," Yoda tells him he has nothing left to learn and that all he needs to do now to become a Jedi is to defeat Darth Vader. Surely, young Skywalker could have used more training to defeat Vader than the amount of time it took the Millennium Falcon to visit Calrissian. To make it even more clear that it doesn't take long to get to Cloud City, Skywalker then uses his swamped ship to quickly get to his friends to help them. Something doesn't add up here.

Also, this is a side note, but Obi-Wan Kenobi claims he was trained by Yoda in "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back," but then in the prequels it's clear he is mainly trained by Qui-Gon Jinn. Yoda doesn't really work long hours.

I loved it but I'll admit the above may have been a better ending.

With regards to the expanded universe, Lucas removed him self in the early stages of production. They did not like his outline. From wikipedia: "Abrams said that the key for the film was to return to the roots of the first Star Wars film and be based more on emotion than explanation" I don't think the fact that the movie was similar to E4 is a bad thing and unlike 4 they have the benefit of knowing that there will be two more episodes.

And any one that says there are not plot holes in the original trilogy has some rose colored nerd glasses on.

Here is just one.

Major Plot Hole: Leia is an emotionless shell of a person. She is given no reaction scene or developed character trauma for any of the following events:
(1) her home planet (not house, not family, not city; PLANET) is destroyed in an unprecedented display of power;
(2) at some point she must realize the man who tortured her and destroyed her planet is her father (Return of the Jedi: she knows she is Luke's brother and that Luke is Vader's son);
(3) she is made into a scantily clad slave-girl by a lascivious, obese alien pervert (insert here: speculations of off-screen violations fit only for Japanese animated porn);
(4) lastly, don't forget the iconic, "wait--what?" revelation of the series: she has kissed her own brother romantically.
The only time she is ever given emotion is upon witnessing Han get frozen in carbonite.  Han: the guy who led her on and then didn't even return her "I love you" properly.

http://www.movieplotholes.com/star-wars-a-new-hope-plot-holes.html
or here
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/21/star-wars-plot-holes_n_6015682.html

[CheffoJeffo]

While I would have liked another hour of film for me to get stuff that ended up in the recycle bin, I have to recognize that it doesn't need to meet my expectations for story structure and narrative/character arc.

To my mind, the best measure of Episode VII's success is the fact that my youngest walks around the house humming the Imperial March and that my two sons spend hours together in the same room playing Battlefront. Neither had previously shown any significant interest in Star Wars despite my best efforts. 

[harveybirdman]

With all due respect Locke, most of those plot holes are created by the prequels which are rubbish and we can't fault the OT for their idiocy.

Also it is implied that Obi Wan was "Wise" to hide them from me.  Is it not possible that Obi Wan or even Master Yoda used their force powers to block the Sith from inadvertently discovering the children of Vader?

I have to admit the Yavin Plot Hole is the most intriguing to me, why didn't they just blow up the planet in their way.  It's fair, we also have to assume that the Death Star has the capability of traveling through Hyper Space since it can be in the Alderan System and Yavin Systems and the Millennium Falcon clearly traveled past light speed to arrive at the Rebel base.  So therefore, why could they not just come out of hyperspace in firing range?

It's funny how things like this are much easier to overlook when there is a compelling story with compelling characters.  But here would be my counter point.  Much like Xerxes in 300, or the Japanese Army from Last Samurai, the Empire sees the Rebellion as nothing more than  fleas with inferior weapons and no REAL threat to their rule.  For pete's sake the Death Star defenses were designed to repel a full scale attack from Cruisers and Destroyers (as we see in ROTJ) they never considered that they'd be attacked by 30 single ship Rebel fighters. 

The real plot hole might be why didn't they dispatch more of the 1000s of TIEs they must have had on board to overwhelm them but again maybe that speaks to my next point.  Perhaps their woeful deployment of TIE's and dramatic orbit of Yavin was intended to allow enough people to escape to spread the message of hopelessness against Imperial rule.  This is emphasized in quotes such as "Fear will keep them in line, Fear of this Station."   Perhaps Tarken intended to make those pilots watch as their rebellion was ended, only to be captured thereafter by tractor beam and executed live via transmission to all parts of the galaxy.

You are entitled to your opinion, but I think the OT holds up MUCH better to criticism than TFA.