10 Simple Fixes That Would Have Made Star Wars: The Force Awakens Perfect
3. Have R2 Steal The Map
R2-D2 was really wasted in The Force Awakens, spending most of the film in an completely unexplained comatose state. Maybe it's because they couldn't think of a way for the trash can to play a major part in the plot otherwise. Although if that's true then Abrams and Kasdan really weren't trying.
What they should have done is have him awake throughout the film at the Resistance, eventually tagging along with Han and Finn to Starkiller Base, wherein he steals the rest of the map that the First Order recovered from the Empire’s remains. Simple, but also incredibly effective; it wouldn't just make Artoo important, but it'd explain what the map is (it's definitely a map to the first Jedi Temple0 and how both sides have all but the final piece, a major unexplained point from the movie.
Crucially, it reintroduces him late enough to not distract from BB-8, yet still allows to opportunity for a bit of droid bickering. Easy.