Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 9 Mistakes Episode VIII Can't Afford To Repeat

5. A Plot Built From Endless Coincidences

Given how meticulous you'd have expected J.J. Abrams and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan to have been across the length of the writing process, it's somewhat shocking as to just how many "lazy coincidences" there are scattered throughout The Force Awakens. Some of the film's coincidences are somewhat forgivable, like the one that sees Finn crash-landing on Jakku close to where Rey's settlement is located (who cares, right?). Others, like Han Solo finding the Millennium Falcon just minutes after Rey and Finn take off in it, aren't so easy to dismiss. Case in point: Rey knows and remembers that she must stay on Jakku, but doesn't remember who left her there in the first place? How does that work? Let's hope that Rian Johnson has an more active continuity director on set for the duration of Episode VIII, then, because one thing the movie cannot do is - like Episode VII - find itself constructed from an endless stream of coincidences. Fans don't like lines like: "Oh, it's, uh, because of the Force" as an answer to their questions; it's a response that stinks of laziness. Which means that it's Johnson's job to make sure his script holds up to scrutiny on this front.