1. Orange Yoda has the saber Luke lost on Bespin, “but that’s a story for another time”? No. That seems pretty important. Tell us now.
This will probably come in a later movie. Can only fit so much in one. Not really a plot hole.
2. We never find out how Poe Dameron survived the TIE fighter crash on Jakku and reconnected with the Resistance (all while completely abandoningFinn, his supposed new BFF). Dameron just shows back up flying an X-Wing, an odd thing for a dead guy to do.
He was tossed just like Finn was. The rest could be explained but is irrelevant.
3. Why and how was there a map to find Luke Skywalker? Shouldn’t it just be coordinates?
They may be using the term 'map' too literally. I think it was more something force-related, like a path of temples used in the past, and it was known that Luke had been following that path. Either way, while explanation of this is left incomplete, it's a minor plot hole.
4. Why do Max von Sydow’s character (whoever he was) and R2-D2 share the two pieces of this map? Did Luke give it to them in case of emergency? [Ed. Note – Jordan: Yes, I assume it was some sort of contingency plan in case of extreme emergencies. More pressing for me is why does R2 power up at the end to provide some very literal deus ex machina?]
To continue the thoughts above, it was also stated that some of this information was obtained from the data banks of the Death Star. R2 has a delayed power up once BB8 tells R2 he has the remaining map piece (I believe this was explained by a producer).
5. The Starkiller Base is used to destroy an entire planetary system, which we are led to believe is populated by the Galactic Senate. Or maybe it wasn’t? The aftermath of the First Order’s attack is not made clear. The First Order is also preparing to fire at the planet where the Resistance is based, yet nobody makes any attempt to evacuate? Leia just sits there, hoping the Resistance blows up the Starkiller Base in a battle that presumably takes place light years away.
Copied storyline from ANH.
6. The fact that those five planets were just wiped out by an opposing force doesn’t seem to matter to anyone once it’s done.
I actually just made this today:
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7. How were Finn and Rey able to use a light saber so expertly with no training? How could Rey fly the Falcon or use the Force? How were either of them able to take on Kylo Ren and not get killed within seconds? Clearly Rey is strong with the Force, yet we’ve always been led to believe someone has to receive training in order to wield it properly.
I wouldn't call their use "Expert", not anything near the expertise of prequel jedis' as they had far more training. However, Finn is a stormtrooper who was trained in Melee combat, as shown by the other stormtrooper who attacked him with an electro staff. It answers the question of "If Finn isn't force sensitive, why didn't the stormtrooper just shoot him?" and the answer is that the First Order stormtroopers are specifically trained to switch to melee combat when facing an oponent with a lightsaber, since a force user with a lightsaber could deflect a blaster back at them (They didn't know Finn wasn't a force user). And to answer for Rey, she also had some experience with melee combat, as shown, and she's force sensitive. Personally I think she is Luke's daughter, which would make her powerful and explain her rapid use of the powers once she realized she had them.
8. This also brings up the issue of it being unclear just how strong Kylo Ren is. When first introduced, he stops a laser bolt which was fired at his back from what essentially amounts to a sniper’s position. Ren then keeps the laser in mid-air — without even thinking about it — and while doing his mind-reading thing. We’ve never seen anybody do this before. Aren’t we to assume, then, he is very powerful and not to be fucked with?
He's fucking strong, that's for sure. This had to be established to show the task that will come for the characters in the future movies.
9. If that’s the case, why is Ren then wounded by Chewie, whose presence was made as he screamed before taking the shot? Shouldn’t Ren have been able to stop that crossbow fire or at least block it with his saber?
He just killed his father. I think anyone would be a little pre-occupied at that point.
12. “The Starkiller Base won’t detect you if you just haul ass directly into it at light speed! #yolo.” Remember the good old days when traveling at light speed required “precise calculations”?
30 Years ago? Yea, things can change.
13. What was the point of the Chrome trooper? She literally did NOTHING. If it was an effort to gender-balance, why not make the Grand Moff Tarkin Jr character female instead of casting Domhnall Gleeson?
They wanted to fit Gwendoline Christie into the movie.
14. What did the Starkiller being powered by the sun have to do with anything? How did that function as a plot point? And how was the First Order able to fire its weapon more than once if it drains the sun of its energy?
It's explained in the movie. The base has a hyperdrive. It drains a sun and then moves. It either moved after destroying the republic system, or it drained a sun and then moved to the second one before firing.
16. It often felt as if Han or Leia didn’t give two fucks about their split-up or their son turning evil. Abrams’ spastic pacing may likely be the main culprit for why it was so difficult to feel sold on any characters’ motivations or despair, but you have to wonder if, in between takes, Harrison Ford was thumbing through a yacht catalog and thinking how he’s going to spend the big pay-day. [Ed. Note – Jordan: I don’t agree with this. I thought Ford’s performance was fine, but I do not understand for the life of me why he walked out onto that bridge to face Ren.]
Why he walks out to the bridge to face Ren? Really? I'm not even going to bother answering that. These questions are getting dumber.
18. Why was General Leia’s military outfit called “The Resistance” when the Republic had been rebuilt after Episode VI? The First Order was not the dominant governing force, but an up and coming terrorist organization. They were more likely to be referred to as a “Resistance” or as “Rebels.” So why wasn’t Leia’s “Resistance” just called “the Republic Army” or “Republic Special Forces”?
The Resistance was separate from the Republic's military. As explained in the movie, Starkiller's attack destroyed a huge part of the Republic military.
19. When exactly did Ren build the Starkiller Base? It must have been done by that Harry Potter-looking villain long before Ren turned to the Dark Side. Right? The lack of explanation is confusing and just kinda lazy, or, worse, presumptuous in that, because audiences felt so wounded from the prequels, that they’ll just ignore anything questionable as long as it was cool.
Starkiller base was a planet converted into a base, and not a fully built base like the Deathstar. So even though it was bigger, it may not have taken longer to build than a Deathstar.