Why Didn't They Just Blast It?

[Huckleberry Josh]

When the stormtroopers were searching for C-3PO and R2-D2 in ANH and they came upon a locked door , why didn't they blast the door open? If all the other doors weren't locked and there was one locked door , wouldn't they have thought that was a little fishy? That was pretty stupid on their part.

[Fulit]

Ooh, don't you hate that? Especially considering that anyone of us who've had brushes with the law know that a locked door NEVER keeps a cop out. If anything, thats an invitation to bust it down. The only explanation I can muster is maybe in the future, doors are stronger and the Stormtroopers know they need some heavy equipment to break it down, and they're in a hurry, so they just say, "Forget it, move on to the next". Or maybe in the future, cops actually listen to the "no warrant, no entry" rule. Ha! Or maybe GeorgieBoy's just a little lazy when it comes to certain details.

[odb]

The only reason I can think off is that the door belongs to a docking bay. So when a ship lands in one there's a quarantine period when the door is locked so nothing can go in or out, controlled by traffic control so theorectically no one else can get in the docking bay (except for hacking R2 units). So when the Stormtroopers check them they should know who's in there.

Either that or they keep emtpy bays locked and the Stormtroopers beleive it is empty so there is no one in there.

[187-Maul]

that's reasonable odb but why does alomost everybody always say (like Fulit in his post) : maybe in the future things are like... - don't you remember: a long time ago...pretty funny that even the deepest starwars fans use to say this (I often do to)

[JediTricks]

I believe the thinking here was that if a door is locked, then the droids couldn't get into it.

[MisterPL]

Why Didn't They Just Blast It?

Well then, that would've been a different story altogether, wouldn't it?

I have little peeves like this throughout MOST of the OT. It just makes me wonder things like, "What if those stormtroopers DID blow the door open?" Would they have blown up the droids as well (short movie)? Would they have captured Artoo but left Threepio to go for help? Would this have helped further the story and made it better or just different?

In many cases, little changes like this would have at least changed the pace of the film. In this instance, it certainly would have made Mos Eisley seem like a VERY dangerous place to be. Lucas remarked during the making of the Special Edition, his intention was to make the Empire's presence in Mos Eisley more visible, hence things like Imperial landing craft and extra scenes with troops. What I missed, however, was an earlier notion of actually seeing public executions in the streets, making the stormtroopers a very real threat to our heroes and creating a little extra tension during Ben's Jedi mind trick scene.

I'd love to see those Stormtroopers blast that door,... shoving Threepio off to the side, and taking off with Artoo. Threepio races to the Cantina (where he KNOWS he's not welcome), butts in on Ben's negotiation with Han, and suddenly it's a mad dash to the docking bay where the Imperials are about to take off with Artoo. There, Luke gets a crash-course in Lightsabre 101, showing Ben (and the audience) his natural Jedi abilities while dispatching the bad guys and rescuing Artoo. Meanwhile, Han, Chewie, and Threepio are interrupted at Docking Bay 94 by Jabba & Friends. With all the underlying tension, this isn't such a slow, "Ain't Han cooool?" scene anymore, it's RUSHED. "Yeah yeah, Jabba, you'll get your money, but I GOTTA GO!!!" Blaster fire erupts around them as Ben, Luke and Artoo speed past, pursued by a fresh squad of Stormtroopers. In the confusion, Jabba's henchmen - aided by fan fave Boba Fett - return fire, unwittingly covering for our heroes as they make their escape...

But that's what I would've done. In the end - as with Greedo shooting first - it's George's decision, good or bad. Lord knows, he can always change it.

[JEDIpartner]

Very nice work there... I like your take on the whole scene. It would have indeed changed the whole dynamic of the film (and given birth to the subtitle "Get Shorty" long before a film of the same name would be released )

Yes... it would have been more of a "who can get the plans back" film. Niiiiice!

[MisterPL]

Thanks, JEDIpartnr. I was hoping someone would like it!

It just goes to show how one little script change can affect the whole dynamic of a sequence - even the entire story - and still lead to the same conclusion (the heroes escape).

There would still be some other holes to plug, though:

- Ben & Luke would have to sell the landspeeder IMMEDIATELY upon arriving in Mos Eisley to have enough ready cash to wave in front of Solo. It would actually make more sense, considering leaving Tatooine is a "do or die" situation.

- I'd remove the whole Greedo scene in favor of a really threatening Jabba scene. Solo and Chewie enter Docking Bay 94 to find themselves face to face with the Hutt and his bodybuards. Their retreat is blocked by Greedo and Fett. Clearly, Jabba's tired of Han's crap and is there to take the Falcon, maybe even the Wookiee. Han pleads his case, showing the audience what a slippery scoundrel he can be, but is cut short by the sudden arrival of Ben, Luke, Artoo and the pursuing Imperials. (Maybe Han still gets to shoot Greedo during the meleé.)

The only question that bothered me was, if Artoo was SO important, why didn't Ben aquire transportation by himself and entrust the safety of the droids to Luke? Why trust the droids to stay out of trouble outside the Cantina? My answer lies in the question, "Why does Luke need to stay with Ben?" I think Ben's looking at the bigger picture. Sure, the Death Star plans are important, but they're just a catalyst, a call to action. Luke, the son of Skywalker, is what's REALLY important in the long run. Therefore, Ben keeps Luke at his side, remaining his guardian until he's reunited with his sister.

Can you tell I've been working on a Star Wars rewrite for a while now?

[Jargo]

Why not just scrap the OT altogether and start over using Ewan as Obi-Wan and recasting luke et al. new digital effects from the get go will soup up the pace and style of the movie and give it a real cutting edge. No need to worry about making a segue into the OT when the whole thing is redone as it will all tie in nicely as one continuous flow. All those little niggles ironed out and the holes plugged. New solutions like the one's MisterPL has come up with will give the OT redux a bit of zip and zing where the whole story was slack and tired and slack jawed. Bring on the rewrites and reshoots!!!!!!



I hope no-one takes that seriously BTW

[Rollo Tomassi]

Y'know what would've REALLY messed with the dynamics of the film? If the gunner on the Star Destroyer had said "hmmmm...no lifeforms? Well, I'll just use it as target practice then..."