Star Wars: 20 Worst Franchise Moments (So Far)
16. The Starkiller Base
Film: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The Force Awakens is a lot of fun, but remaking A New Hope was a serious error and really hurt the franchise's credibility.
Nowhere does this copy and paste approach hurt more than with the introduction of the Starkiller Base, which is essentially a Death Star planet. Having already recycled the Death Star for Return of the Jedi, this was an extremely lazy setting for the finale.
None of the action which takes place on the planet is bad but this plot device is too lazy, ludicrous and unimaginative to work. The battle above the planet, led by Poe, isn't given enough screen-time either and not only feels like an afterthought but is an unimaginative attempt to copy A New Hope's climax. The original Death Star Battle is a wonderful finale and there was no point trying to copy something which was already nearly perfect.
This doesn't ruin the movie, but the Starkiller Base really didn't work. It's because of the introduction of this that the film loses momentum in the second half.