The Force Awakens discussion thread (spoilers)

[squarehead93]

NOTE: mods, hopefully this thread conforms to the rules, since this thread is self-contained as far as spoilers go, and I'm assuming almost all of us have seen it by now.

Hi all,

Been a while since I've been around this neck of the woods but I thought I'd stop by to talk about The Force Awakens, since we're all Star Wars nerds.

I want to hear what you guys think but first I wanted to give my two cents.

What I liked:
The movie was the perfect blend of practical and digital effects IMO, a la Mad Max: Fury Road. The practical effects gave it a warmth and realism the prequels sorely lacked, while the digital effects gave it a scope and generally allowed it to do things even the originals couldn't do due to budget and technology limitations of the time.

The entire cast, especially the newcomers, delivered on all fronts. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher were great (the latter gave one of his best performances of the saga, IMHO. He was exactly what a sadder, older, and wiser Han would be like, with touches of his old self coming out). But it was the new cast that stole the show. Daisy Ridley as Rey is the MVP of this show, and I can't wait to see how her story plays out, but I found John Boyega's Finn a to be one of the most human and relatable characters of a universe filled with space smugglers and Jedi Knights. I was concerned that Adam Driver as Kylo Ren would fall flat, as Disney has been using the Marvel films as a template for Star Wars, and those films are notorious for cookie-cutter, disposable villains not worth investing in emotionally. But Ren proved to be an extremely watchable character everytime he was on the screen. He very intentionally looked like he was trying hard to fill the shoes of Vader and still coming into himself, while being menacing and fascinating all the same. He didn't seem like some second-rate Darth Vader knockoff that I'd worried he'd be.

The humor and dialogue of the film was perhaps the best of the entire saga. I know that's gonna be a controversial statement in a place where the originals are holy, but hear me out. George Lucas, even at his peak, has never been known for his dialogue. While the prequels were notoriously wooden and flat in this regard, the originals had a lot of functional dialogue. It is the talent of the actors and the fact that Lucas' creative control wasn't so total that it worked. The banter in The Force Awakens just had a certain lifelike quality to it that I wasn't expecting to see in a Star Wars flick. Also, I can't remember laughing this hard or this many times in a Star Wars film. JJ Abrams got it: what makes people laugh is people humor. While Lucas would try to make us laugh with goofiness such as the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi or *cringe* Jar Jar stepping in poop in The Phantom Menace, the humor in The Force Awakens just felt human and natural. Chewbacca in particular had me laughing with his facial expressions, a testament to the talent that is Peter Mayhew.

Finally, the movie just had a whole lot of Star Warsiness that the prequels lacked. As GT said, the Jedi felt mythical again, because they're still legend, and not a bunch of superheroes running around. No midi-chlorians mentioned.

Despite a couple parts that cut were a little too close to the originals, I actually felt like the movie felt fresh. What it repeated or referenced felt at least appropriate, if not an enhancement to the film. There were actually a few ballsy moves this film made, aside from focusing on a fresh cast (including black and female leads, which apparently concerned a disturbingly large number of people). Not showing Luke till the very end (and even then without dialogue) and killing Han (despite Harrison Ford being the most likely to get the axe for IRL reasons) definitely felt like risky moves that paid off.

What I didn't like:
John WIlliams' soundtrack, with the exception of Rey's theme, was somewhat underwhelming, and it kills me to write that. Even in the dark times that were the prequels, Williams' compositions were among the few things in those films that were as good as the originals (Duel of the Fates, anyone?). That's not to say it's bad in this film, just that it really didn't stand out at all. And Williams' scores have always been a huge part of what makes a Star Wars movie authentic. He's always been an indispensable part of the films, yet given his output for this film I feel that any other competent composer could have done the same.

Having yet another Death Star was obviously the biggest offender for repeating the originals and the only time I felt like they went too far. It really broke my suspension of disbelief. The First Order is supposed to be a smaller, more fanatical version of the Empire (which it convincingly was), but somehow had the resources to build a third Death Star, except bigger than the originals because it was literally carved out of a fucking planet and capable of shooting lasers at faster-than-light speeds that can destroy an entire star system from light-years away Not to mention it's hard to believe the First Order, with its obsession with the old Empire, wouldn't have learned from their history and decided not to over-invest in giant superweapons with glaring weaknesses. This isn't just nerdy nitpicking. Even a casual viewer would find this all hard to believe. That suspension of disbelief again. We can believe in the Force and hyperdrives and whatnot, but stuff has to at least be plausible within its own universe for us to go along with it. The scene where someone mentions "no, this is the Death Star" and pulls up a hologram of it for comparison to Starkiller Base was the closest Star Wars has come to self-parody. So bad. Not to mention the Resistance basically finds a weakness within minutes, but somehow the First Order knew where they were the whole time despite needing a tracking device to find the rebel base in A New Hope. Whereas the Death Star and the secret plans were always the central focus of the original film, the Starkiller Base plot just felt unnecessary and tacked on. Finn mentions he was initially returning to rescue Rey, not to take down the base. Honestly, the whole thing could have been scratched with minimal change to the plot. The X-Wings could have come in to cover the heroes' escape. I know this seems like I'm really picking on this one element, but it honestly was by far the biggest flaw in the film in my mind.


That all being said, all my gripes have come after I sat down to think about the film. While I was watching it, I couldn't take my eyes away. And that's what matters most. Any movie is going to bend the fabric of plausibility out of necessity; you have to fit in a story that achieves catharsis within a two-hour span. Hell, even the originals had their plot holes and tidbits that seemingly didn't hold up to scrutiny. Star Wars has never taken itself too seriously in this regard; it's a classic good-vs-evil fantasy story. A good film needn't necessarily have airtight believability, it should make you so engrossed in the characters, action, and story that you don't even notice, let alone care, while watching it. That's exactly what The Force Awakens did for me. I still remember the feeling of watching A New Hope for the first time as a little boy and being on the edge of my seat as Luke makes his fateful attack run, wondering if he'll succeed. The Force Awakens nailed that feeling. As an adult, it's hard to ever replicate that childlike engrossment in a movie. We're too damn cynical. It's not that we don't want the good guys to win (most of the time), it's just that we know they will. When Rey and Kylo Ren were reaching for the lightsaber and she grabbed it, the theater erupted in applause. Star Wars is supposed to make you shove your cynicism up your ass and make you root for the good guys fighting evil, and The Force Awakens nailed that feeling for me.

[Jaeven]

Concerning the super weapon, we don't know exactly how much resources the First Order has. According to the lore, the First Order is stationed somewhere in the Unknown Regions. How much territory and resources they have, we don't know. For me, it seemed like the super weapon was no more than a tool anyways, rather than the key the Death Star represented for the Empire. Snoke didn't seem particularly bothered by its loss.

I would note that the X-wings weren't getting anywhere despite the shields being down. It took Chewbacca to blow a big hole into it for the X-wings to proceed.

That said, parts of the super weapon didn't make much sense to me either. But considering it only shows up for the end and is until then not a big plot point makes it forgivable. I just hope we don't see a second Starkiller base in Episode 9. That'd be a step too far.

[The Saxman]

Te fact that Starkiller Base was so superfluous to the plot is a part of why its such a problematic inclusion, and made it feel more tacked on just for nostalgia. Overall I'm not bothered at all that TFA mirrored the original film; in fact I think that's part of its strength given Star Wars' deep connection to universal mythic storytelling. Myths are cyclical, and it just works, especially because of the subtle differences in HOW those same elements are used. But I think eliminating Starkiller and having the Resistance fight a more conventional final battle would have worked better.

[BattleDog]

I don't think Starkiller Base was superfluous since it basically shot out the Republic's knees.

That's going to have a huge impact on the next film.

There were a couple of things I did take issue with - namely the Falcon jumping to lightspeed inside another's artificial gravity and later dropping out of lightspeed inside atmosphere.

[Vince T]

.... not to mention Han implementing a precision with that last jumpü that would drive even the best jedi pilot to tears. That, for me was the one moment when I thought "ok that may be overdoing it a little"

[The Saxman]

TBH, the whole "gravity well stops hyperdrive" thing is problematic to begin with when you consider the instant you enter a star system you're in the gravity well of its star. Earth is in the sun's gravity well. Jupiter is in the gravity well. Every object in the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud are all within the sun's gravity well. Han even SAYS right in the original film that it's possible (just fatal) to fly through a star while in hyperspace.

[FunkyFreshMan]

Holy cow, looks like this movie is dredging up all kinds of skeletons! Hi, guys. Long time, no see...assuming anyone remembers me. It's been years since I've posted anything here, but I'm still among the living and I have an urge to talk Star Wars.

Anyways, squarehead, I'm pretty much on board with your assessment. But, to add in my own thoughts:

For me, the overall plotline was a little predictable. I sort of had it more-or-less figured out before I went in and I'm not really that smart of a cookie. I kind of figured they were going to pull a "Jacen Solo" with Kylo, and heck, even Han's fate didn't really come as a huge shock. As soon as he stepped into a room with a narrow catwalk suspended over an Imperial-style Pit of Doomtm, I kind of knew bad stuff was about to happen. Really, the biggest "wow" moments for me were little things. The way they introduced our favorite YT-1300 freighter, for instance. Did not see that one coming, and I loved it.

The soundtrack did kind of blend into the background a bit. I didn't realize it until after the movie, but I really don't remember how any of the melodies went, other than the Main Theme, of course.

I also thought Phasma was kind of funny, too. Not detrimental to the movie or anything, just in how everybody was expecting her to be this awesome, butt-kicking, name-taking villain and everything, but she really ended up being...just kind of there. A few scenes, a few lines of dialogue—blink-and-you-miss-her. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of her character, though.

Could have used more gratuitous starfighter battles, but the entire movie could have been gratuitous starfighter battles and it still wouldn't have been enough for me.

Now the good, so I don't sound like I'm complaining. I really liked the new characters. I was worried that I wouldn't; that they wouldn't have the same charm as the original characters, especially when they were in the same movie as the original characters. But I admit, they surprised me. Never heard of either Daisy Ridley or John Boyega before this, but I thought they played their characters well. I look forward to seeing more of them. And Poe Dameron, while he can only ever hope to be half as good as Wedge Antilles, is nonetheless my homeboy now (in fact, he sort of reminded me of a mix of EU Wedge and EU Janson).

What they did with Kylo Ren sort of surprised me, too. In a good way. A little angsty, but juuuuuuust borderline enough that he wasn't "I hate sand" angsty. Maybe that's because he had a better actor, a better writer, a better director—I don't know, but he didn't come off nearly as annoying as Anakin. I also found the idea that he's actually afraid of falling to the Light Side to be fresh. That he wants to go Dark, but he's struggling with this little bit of Light that's tugging at him. If that was something that had been done before in the Old EU, I never ran across it.

Overall, it was a fun movie. Not quite what I expected, and it had its "seriously?" moments, but I enjoyed it despite its flaws. I definitely plan on seeing it again to find some of the stuff that I missed the first time around.


As far as Starkiller Base, I sort of imagine it going something like this:

Meanwhile, at a First Order meeting, shortly before the construction of Starkiller Base:

"Okay guys, we need something to show the galaxy we're not screwing around. Something that shows we're better than the Empire. Let's brainstorm some ideas here."
"Ooh! How about we build a Death Star!"
"Nah, that's kind of been done already. Twice. We want to show that we're more powerful and more advanced than the Empire. Something that says, 'Whoa, these guys are crazy and unnecessarily extravagant! We should probably just surrender now.'"
"Okay, we build a *bigger* Death Star!"
"Yeah, let's maybe try to move *away* from the Death Star ideas."
"Guys, I got it. We build a bigger Death Star...and put it *inside* a planet!"
"All right, I'll go for that. But let's at least not call it a 'Death Star.' There's a lot of bad mojo around that name."
"Hmmm...Death Star...Death...Kill...Kill Star........Ooh! Starkiller!"
"I like it, I like it. Everyone cool with Jim's idea?"
"Yep."
"Yeah."
"Cool with me."
"Sounds like it's settled then. Phil, get on the comm and get in touch with that company that built the first Death Star."
"You sure you want to go with them? They kind of have a thing for poorly defended thermal exhaust ports that lead directly to the main reactor."
"Nah, they've started doing thermal oscillators now. It'll be fine."

[Red_Leader]

Funky, that reminded me of the parody trailer for "A Lost Hope" when they were trying to name the Death Star.

"I call it.. The Sphere O' Fear. Or.. Planet Death"
...
"The Killing Ball?"
"Death Moon!"
"Giant Hurt Ball!"
"The Deathticle!" (the hand motion is hilarious)


Also, was it too much to ask for to have Admiral Ackbar yell "It's a map!"

[Tuskin]

According to the Visual Dictionary, the Sullustian X-Wing Pilot was Nien Nunb, interesting.

Played by the actor from ROTJ as well, same with Ackbar

[Bman]

Thought it was a good film. It's definitely different, but I agree they threw in a few crumbs of EU in there. Thought I heard the "Knights of Ren" mentioned in the film. Sith Lord (Emperor?) "Snoke", where did he come from ? The StarKillerBase (basically another Death Star in substance over form, is getting a little old). I know it was planet/moon converted into one. The DS was a schematic designed by one of the Trade Federation Separatist Leaders... if you remember, he gave it to Count Dooku which eventually Empire put into fruition in ANH and ROTJ, and now. By the way, with Palpatine and Vader gone, and Empire in disarray before the "First Order" took over, why doesn't the Trade Federation systems resurrect from the past and restore their economic and political clout in parts of the galaxy ? That would be another interesting enemy of the New Republic to deal with, besides the First Order and the gangsters, pirates, and bandit groups.

SPOILERS... DO NOT read the below if you have NOT seen the film yet !!!! . . . .

Few thoughts that linger on my mind.... disappointed Harrison Ford finally got his wish of his character being killed off. I know he's aging, but he's good for a few more films, even if minor roles. He's one of the backbone pillars of the franchise. At least Fisher and Hamil are still in it. Would have been nice to see Hamil say something at the end of the film. My three questions.... did Kylo Ren get off the StarKillerBase before it blew ?, Is Kylo a cousin to Rey, and if so, then is Rey the secret daughter of Luke ?

[The Saxman]

The film certainly seems to suggest that Rey is Luke's daughter, particularly the importance Maz puts on Anakin/Luke's lightsaber calling to her, and the vision and memories touching it unlocked. Han probably knew more than what he was telling her, as well (Maz doesn't approach Rey until AFTER she asks Han about her).

[Jaeven]

Thought it was a good film. It's definitely different, but I agree they threw in a few crumbs of EU in there. Thought I heard the "Knights of Ren" mentioned in the film. Sith Lord (Emperor?) "Snoke", where did he come from ? The StarKillerBase (basically another Death Star in substance over form, is getting a little old). I know it was planet/moon converted into one. The DS was a schematic designed by one of the Trade Federation Separatist Leaders... if you remember, he gave it to Count Dooku which eventually Empire put into fruition in ANH and ROTJ, and now. By the way, with Palpatine and Vader gone, and Empire in disarray before the "First Order" took over, why doesn't the Trade Federation systems resurrect from the past and restore their economic and political clout in parts of the galaxy ? That would be another interesting enemy of the New Republic to deal with, besides the First Order and the gangsters, pirates, and bandit groups.

SPOILERS... DO NOT read the below if you have NOT seen the film yet !!!! . . . .

Few thoughts that linger on my mind.... disappointed Harrison Ford finally got his wish of his character being killed off. I know he's aging, but he's good for a few more films, even if minor roles. He's one of the backbone pillars of the franchise. At least Fisher and Hamil are still in it. Would have been nice to see Hamil say something at the end of the film. My three questions.... did Kylo Ren get off the StarKillerBase before it blew ?, Is Kylo a cousin to Rey, and if so, then is Rey the secret daughter of Luke ?

I think Ford likely wouldn't have signed on if he hadn't gotten his wish. He's wanted Han Solo to die all the way back after Empire Strikes Back.

[Tuskin]

I read it wasn't Ford's idea to kill off Han in EP7, he was actually happy to come back. JJ/Kasdan decided to kill him off.

[FOARP]

Loved the movie, it basically reawakened my inner Star Wars Fanboi and (judging by the buzz on various forums) that of a lot of other people as well.

The actors were great, the dialogue was actually funny, the plot may have been pretty easy to suss out but at least the film didn't waste vast amounts of time explaining stuff that was actually inconsequential to the film the way the prequels did, it was a tight two-and-a-bit hours and didn't become bloated and tiresome the way many modern movies do (especially anything by Peter Jackson).

Kudos for keeping this mod going, and fingers crossed for a new Star Wars fighter sim!

[Old_Jedi]

Well, this really took me back to 1977 when, as a 13-year old, I saw SWEp IV just after it opened in the UK. I did enjoy VII, but was left with too many unanswered plot points - nicely summarised here: http://screenrant.com/star-wars-7-force ... /?view=all.

However, if SW is the new 'Lost' the back story will slowly unfold over the next 2 films and the plot holes will fill in.

But - they cannot get away from he rather lazy idea of another Death Star in all but name...so mnay repeated ideas...and why were they still the Rebellion? The Empire has gone... and OMG, didn't Leia look old....

OJ

[Old_Jedi]

Weird co-incidence - as I posted this my kids are watching "When Harry met Sally", with Princess Leia, looking much younger!

[Marcos_Edson]

Damn, just lost all I've writen...
Anyway, still digesting the movie but the all familiar super-weapon with an awful weakness kinda make my eyes roll... I just wonder if the guys who wrote the story are fan of anime, just see the first 20 seconds of the following video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQoPcobDdLY

And a super-weapon capable of firing through hyperspace is not new, either, Galaxy Rangers had one back in the 1980's... Maybe ripping of the concept was revenge for the bad guys capital ships in GR being so similar to Imperial star destroyers...

[Forceflow]

Finally made it into the movie! (Yes I know... but we missed the ticket sale and then it took forever to get a good showing) Overall I am very happy with the movie. For me this movie very much was how I remember the original trilogy back when I first saw it. I loved Rey and the fact that it appears that we finally get a female lead Jedi. Thought I have to say I am not too much of a fan of Finn... But who knows, there's potential there, so maybe he'll grow on me in the next movie. Of course it was also great to see all the others return, Han, Leia, Chewie, Luke... every time one of those appeared on screen the first time I got goosebumps. Really great to see them all return.

As for the story, well I did not really like the Starkiller. For me that was over the top, even for Star Wars. And it really did not seem like the Rebellion went anywhere after RotJ. If at all it seems they got smaller and less influential. And I really would have preferred some more backstory on the First Order. They felt way too much like the empire for me. Some variation there would have been nice. But then it's the formula of the first movie, which worked and The Force Awakens worked for me too. So maybe JJ was on to something after all.

I for one can't wait to see how it will keep on going. I just really hope that they will find their own way from now on and will deviate a little bit from the original trilogy. I really don't want to see a frozen Finn at the end of the next movie

[Marcos_Edson]

As for the story, well I did not really like the Starkiller. For me that was over the top, even for Star Wars.

Yeah... I'm here hoping some backstory will tell that base was also Papatine's thing and started being built in the early days of the Empire and the First Order just found and finished it... Or even older than that, from the times of the very, very Old Republic... Having the First Order being able to build something several times bigger that a Death Star is too forced... Have it been used on the course of the new three movies might have been a good idea (introduction on the first movie, revealed to the Republic and being used for the first time on the second, final fate on the third). Instead, it goes boom quite uneventfully right now... The Force forbid they have another one anytime soon...

And it really did not seem like the Rebellion went anywhere after RotJ. If at all it seems they got smaller and less influential. And I really would have preferred some more backstory on the First Order.

Indeed, I wonder if we'll have to rely only on books and comics to learn more about the First Order... Based only on the opening crawl, their main objective is Force related, finding and killing Luke, and the former Imperial people just happen to be around...
Leia is said to have support of the Republic in fighting them, like the Resistance is not really part of the Republic... That lines made me compare the First Order with terrorist groups of our world, they are small, we know they exist, they can do some really bad sh*t sometimes but are a "smaller problem"... until a planet (or many...) is blown up... From the movie I couldn't figure if there is a war going on between the Republic and First Order, apparently only Leia's group was doing that and I wonder if we'll at least see some information on the background in the next movie, like a war room scene with admiral Akbar reporting on systems that have been dominated or switched sides to the First Order while others kept support to the Republic/Resistance and fought back...

I really don't want to see a frozen Finn at the end of the next movie

Eh, eh, yes... He's a funny guy and good comic relief (maybe a bit over the top) but he still doesn't have the honor to be frozen on carbonite...
As of Rey, there seems to be a lot of talk of her being "too perfect", that "Mary Sue" thing but hell, I loved how badass she is, her face when she beats Kylo would let Palpatine proud... talk about bordering the Dark Side...

[Jaeven]

Concerning the First Order, New Republic and Resistance:

From what has been released so far the First Order pretty much sits where the Imperial Remnant was in the EU, plus an unspecified part of the Unknown Regions which the hard-line Imperials fled to after the Empire surrendered to the New Republic. How much total territory the First Order has control over or how big their forces are isn't clear at this point.

The Resistance is basically just a proxy-funded military group that is concerned by the actions of the First Order, whereas the New Republic see the First Order as irrelevant and thinks they're still complying the treaty signed after the Empire surrendered. Some New Republic officials secretly fund the Resistance, whereas others see the Resistance and Leia as fanatics living in the past.

The New Republic is the dominant power in the galaxy and has the largest fleet. They're not officially involved in the conflict between the Resistance and the First Order (until Starkiller base nukes their capital and the majority of their fleet). As mentioned above though, some senators are secretly funding and supplying the resistance. There is also at least one senator that is corrupt and pretty much bought by the First Order. Would be amusing if there was more of them and they got blown up with the others when Hosnian Prime was destroyed.


I'm really interested to see where they're taking this in Episode VIII. I mean, the Republic's government is all killed and a good chunk of their fleet is destroyed. Wouldn't surprise me to see Episode VIII opening with the First Order having conquered significant parts of the New Republic.

[Vince T]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that they removed the center of galactic power from Coruscant.

Interesting enough I remember Darth Plagueis musing in his novel how the only way the Old Republic could have saved itself was by moving the political governing body away from Coruscant "Where temptation and opportunity lurked around every corner"

[FunkyFreshMan]

Have it been used on the course of the new three movies might have been a good idea (introduction on the first movie, revealed to the Republic and being used for the first time on the second, final fate on the third). Instead, it goes boom quite uneventfully right now... The Force forbid they have another one anytime soon...

Since they were going to go the Bigger Death Star route anyway, I was actually hoping they'd throw in a major plot twist where the Resistance actually loses the first battle against the Starkiller. Just when you start thinking, "Man, this is just like Yavin all over again," BAM! Major loss sends the Resistance on the run, Starkiller Base is still at large through the rest of the trilogy (or at least the second movie), the First Order gets to gloat that they are indeed more powerful and dangerous than the Empire, and then the First Order gets cocky which ultimately becomes its undoing. Something like that. There are so many ways that story could have branched off, and it would have made Starkiller Base seem like much more of an accomplishment.

[Tuskin]

I re-watched it the other day, yeah Poe mentions Mag-Pulses when telling Finn how to work the turret on the TIE

[Jaeven]

I re-watched it the other day, yeah Poe mentions Mag-Pulses when telling Finn how to work the turret on the TIE

Somewhat amusingly, Mag Pulses actually seem play a big role in the new canon. Both the Special Forces TIE Fighter and the T-70 X-wing are equipped with them.

Have it been used on the course of the new three movies might have been a good idea (introduction on the first movie, revealed to the Republic and being used for the first time on the second, final fate on the third). Instead, it goes boom quite uneventfully right now... The Force forbid they have another one anytime soon...

Since they were going to go the Bigger Death Star route anyway, I was actually hoping they'd throw in a major plot twist where the Resistance actually loses the first battle against the Starkiller. Just when you start thinking, "Man, this is just like Yavin all over again," BAM! Major loss sends the Resistance on the run, Starkiller Base is still at large through the rest of the trilogy (or at least the second movie), the First Order gets to gloat that they are indeed more powerful and dangerous than the Empire, and then the First Order gets cocky which ultimately becomes its undoing. Something like that. There are so many ways that story could have branched off, and it would have made Starkiller Base seem like much more of an accomplishment.

I would have loved to see Starkiller base being nothing more than a bait that doesn't even work to lure major parts of the Republic fleet into an ambush.

[BattleDog]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that they removed the center of galactic power from Coruscant.

Interesting enough I remember Darth Plagueis musing in his novel how the only way the Old Republic could have saved itself was by moving the political governing body away from Coruscant "Where temptation and opportunity lurked around every corner"

You know what, I think they moved the capital for two reasons.

1. So the film makers don't have to blow up Coruscant.

2. So that the Imperial Remnant, sorry, "First Order" would be willing to blow up the Republic Capital.

The idea that the Capital moves periodically, whilst being cute, isn't really practical. Given the size of the Senate (one of the best parts of the Prequels is seeing the scale of the senate Rotunda) it would be prohibitively expensive to move the machinery of government on a regular basis unless the Senate actually worked from a starship.

The film also doesn't explain why the majority of the Republic Fleet is at the capital.

These are all questions that need to be cleared up in the first five minutes of Episode VIII.