The Force Awakens John Boyega as Finn

[Blade X]

Finn isn't useless. There are a number of actions he takes in the movie that lead to him saving lives. The character is comical at times but he still has depth and moments of heroism.

Spoiler

Finn helps Poe escape The First Order, supplies The Resistance with information about The Starkiller weapon and goes back to rescue Rey. Finn takes on Kylo Ren in a lightsabre duel despite not having force powers.

I knew about the lightsaber fight, but I didn't know about the other stuff. This info you provided me has eased my fears about the character.

Rey, Finn and Poe are the big three good guy leads of the new Star Wars trilogy.

This is why I have been telling people for a while. People tend to forget that the original trilogy did not solely revolve around Luke's heroism, but instead revolved around the heroic adventures of a team of rebels. The original SW movies was the perfect example of how to do a "heroic team" movie (the team being Luke,Han,Leia,Chewie,C3PO,R2,and Lando).

 

[Blade X]

"Comic relief" is usually associated with something that's there to make people laugh and little to nothing more.

Finn is literally nothing like that. His actions to further the plot and character development are there. Fact. He's just a funny guy like Han.

I have a theory that Finn is supposed to be this Trilogy's Han, which could be either positive or negative depending on whether or not a person is a Han fan or not.

 

[redhawk23]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/star...lucas-fn-2187/

I didn't even catch that Finn's number was 2187, which is a reference to Leia's cell number on the Death Star, which itself was a reference to a short film Lucas was obsessed with and inspired a lot of the rhetoric around the Force.

Some fairly deepcut trivia at play.

Years ago, in a pre-youtube world I spent a somewhat obnoxious amount of time trying to track down the 2187 film. I did eventually find it. The short is at the link for your convenience.

 

[Blade X]

Finn is integral to the entire plot of the film.

Spoiler

- He saves Poe from Kylo Ren
- Convinces BB8 to take everyone to The Resistance which helps not only give vital info about Luke's location, but also reunites Han and Leia
- Gives The Resistance vital information about Starkiller base
- Leads the charge to save Rey
- Knows who to deal with to turn the base's shields off for the Resistance fighters, allowing them to win the battle
- Destroys Tie Fighters, fights storm troopers, and faces Kylo Ren, even landing a few hits.
- He is also the ONLY character in the ENTIRE Star Wars franchise who fights with a lightsaber without being a force user.

Is that enough for you? Fin is one of the most integral characters in the movie, has the most fully-realized character arc, AND uses a lightsaber despite not being a Jedi or a Sith. I'm all for minority characters being represented well, but if you're complaining or worried about Finn, you're barking up the wrong tree.

Glad to hear that he is useful in a fight. I have a question about the lightsaber that Finn uses. Does he keep the lightsaber at the end of the movie?

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Glad to hear that he is useful in a fight. I have a question about the lightsaber that Finn uses. Does he keep the lightsaber at the end of the movie?

One word answer yes/no:

Spoiler

No.

 

[Blade X]

If the reasons why you like these characters hinge upon them having "cool powers and a cool lightsaber," then you're really selling the entire cast short. There is so much more to them than that. You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but that strikes me as an all too narrow and arbitrary criteria for picking favorites; you're destined to be disappointed if that's the only thing you'll accept.

It's not the SOLE reason why I like a particular heroic character, but it is a major reason. I hate seeing heroic Black characters (or any other heroic minority characters) that inhabit a universe with people with super powers not having any cool or useful super power or super weapon, while SOME of the white characters have cool super powers and super weapons. And yes, I know that most of the white characters in the SW universe (and in SW:TWA) don't have Force powers. My point is that I just want to see the heroic Black character in this movie have either Force powers or a cool weapon or powerful bionics. Of course, when it comes to popularity in the SW universe, Han is the most popular heroic SW character, so maybe that's why they didn't give Finn Force powers. Like I said, Finn is apparently the Han of this new SW trilogy.

As an aside, I think a big part of the reason we're seeing so much outcry and discontent over Phasma, Hux, Finn, and several others is that a lot of folks latched onto these characters and convinced themselves to fall in love with them. We see this a lot with the superhero movies, but the biggest difference is that in those cases, we at least have a point of reference with the comics and related media. We need to keep in mind that these are freshly conceived characters here; our preconceptions and expectations for them were never based on anything concrete or previously established.

That is certainly a possibility and a very good point.

 

[The Batman]

I'm actually pretty excited that he's not the Luke/Annakin of the series as it is rather unclear where his story will go from here.

Finn was my favorite element of this new film as he is pretty much the only new idea the film offers. His background as a defected Storm Trooper is very interesting. I can't wait to see what Rian Johnson has in store for him.

Ultimately, I agree with you. As much as, again, I wanted him to be the new Luke, what we have in the final product is the beginning of an interesting and as you said, new idea.

 

[summerteeth]

It's not the SOLE reason why I like a particular heroic character, but it is a major reason. I hate seeing heroic Black characters (or any other heroic minority characters) that inhabit a universe with people with super powers not having any cool or useful super power or super weapon, while SOME of the white characters have cool super powers and super weapons. And yes, I know that most of the white characters in the SW universe (and in SW:TWA) don't have Force powers. My point is that I just want to see the heroic Black character in this movie have either Force powers or a cool weapon or powerful bionics. Of course, when it comes to popularity in the SW universe, Han is the most popular heroic SW character, so maybe that's why they didn't give Finn Force powers. Like I said, Finn is apparently the Han of this new SW trilogy.



That is certainly a possibility and a very good point.

C'mon man, this is so weak. We don't even know for sure. What if he's a Mandolorian or something? And yes, him and Poe are sort of the Han's of this new trilogy. Han was always my favorite when I was a kid and Finn was my favorite character here in part because John Boyega was so darn good in the role as I knew he would be.

 

[John G. Lodge]

I loved the scene where Han, Chewie, and Finn captured Phasma. "You're not in charge anymore, Phasma! Ha!" "Dial it back, kid!"

 

[BH/HHH]

I loved him in this film, constantly entertaining, when he was afraid I felt his fear, when he cracked jokes I laugh and when he stood up for Rey I got the **** yeah feeling. Not only my favourite character of TFA but one of my favourite Star Wars characters period.

 

[False Prophet]

I know we're talking about a former Stormtrooper for the remnants of a Galactic Empire here, but Finn comes across as the most identifiable character. He chose the side he's on. It wasn't just circumstance or because he has a special talent. He overcame his fears. Everyone else seems to be on autopilot, already a hero or with a destiny in front of them.

 

[GarysMyOldman]

I have a feeling we'll have a Finn in Carbonite in Episode VIII, the First Order gets a hold of him and puts him in Carbonite so he cannot escape and they use him to trap the rebels.

He almost seemed like he represented the fan and he was so identifiable and relatable so fans could put themselves in his shoes throughout the movie. Great character for this series.

 

[vantheman77]

Finn, eh? I wonder if they got his name from a Jedi named Atros Finn of the Star Wars Old Republic MMO game.

 

[Visualiza]

I know we're talking about a former Stormtrooper for the remnants of a Galactic Empire here, but Finn comes across as the most identifiable character. He chose the side he's on. It wasn't just circumstance or because he has a special talent. He overcame his fears. Everyone else seems to be on autopilot, already a hero or with a destiny in front of them.

Kylo chose his side as well, the difference being that he's still conflicted about it. I'd call it an interesting parallel between the characters, but it's pretty clear from the end result that [BLACKOUT]Rey is being set up as his rival, rather than Finn.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[False Prophet]

Kylo chose his side as well, the difference being that he's still conflicted about it. I'd call it an interesting parallel between the characters, but it's pretty clear from the end result that [BLACKOUT]Rey is being set up as his rival, rather than Finn.[/BLACKOUT]

True. I'm hopeful even more characters are internally conflicted in Episode VIII, a la Empire and ROTJ.

 

[Lencho01]

[YT]zAOqTpr4_dY[/YT]

 

[BH/HHH]

I have a feeling we'll have a Finn in Carbonite in Episode VIII, the First Order gets a hold of him and puts him in Carbonite so he cannot escape and they use him to trap the rebels.

He almost seemed like he represented the fan and he was so identifiable and relatable so fans could put themselves in his shoes throughout the movie. Great character for this series.

That would just be a retread of Emoire though, it's also important to remember when Han Solo was trapped in Carbonite in Empire it wasn't the norm to do that to people/prisoners so I'm doubtful it would be revisited.

 

[GarysMyOldman]

That would just be a retread of Emoire though, it's also important to remember when Han Solo was trapped in Carbonite in Empire it wasn't the norm to do that to people/prisoners so I'm doubtful it would be revisited.

very true, Star Wars seems to retread a lot but in a good way, I wouldn't mind seeing that revisited but you're very right how that was a incidental thing that Han got froze like that.

But so far in 2nd of the series SW movies one of the heroes goes thru some sort of trauma so maybe we'll see someone lose a hand at least. I thought Kylo should of gotten his hand chopped in the finale.

 

[False Prophet]

Poor C3PO lost his arm. Isn't that enough?

 

[kang604]

Where is this criticism coming from? He's arguably the 2nd lead. He's integral to the story. Just because he had the bulk of the LOL moments doesn't discredit his several heroic acts throughout the film:

Spoiler

He went back for Rey (that boy is thirsty) into the heart of the First Order, overcoming his fear. He fought Kylo Ren dispite being completely outmatched and bought Rey time to recover. I think he could still possibly be a force-user, but clearly not on the same level as Rey.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Is there actually criticism of Finn? He's the best character in the film! And that's not coming from a place of bias, as he wasn't who I was most looking forward to before seeing the film. But his arc was the most emotionally resonant and compelling for me, as it's entrenched in STAR WARS lore but coming at it from an angle we're not used to seeing. Plus he gives a great performance, dramatic where required, but also funny.

As for complaints about him looking "weak" in the finale or not being badass enough...

Spoiler

He's a regular soldier with no Force powers or Jedi training, who squares up to a villain with near master-level Sith abilities and an expert lightsaber user, knowing he's hopelessly outmatched, and he manages to hold his own and get a few shots in before he's downed. I don't know about you, but that's pretty badass to me.

 

[Asgard]

Dont know why people say Finn will be like the new Han.

Dude cant even pilot a ship.

If anything, Rey is like an amalgamation of both Luke and Han. She's got the jedi powers, engineering affinity and she's an ace pilot. She's even got the Millenium Falcon.

Finn's role to me is more like the "everyman" role. He doesnt have any special abilities or skills but hes got a sense of humor and he tries his best even when he's outgunned or muscled.

 

[False Prophet]

And he's sensitive enough to enjoy holding hands. Repeatedly. He's a big friggin' deal.

 

[godisawesome]

Here's an idea I just had for Finn in later films: have other Stormtroopers like him, the ones raised with a serial number instead of a name, start to have "outbreaks" of individuality and defiance of orders. We know that at least some of the troopers are already able to recognize him on sight, and viewed his betrayal personally. So they're already talking about him...

 

[Silver Surfer]

Can we assume that Finn/Rey are going to be involved romantically going forward? Considering her and Poe don't even share a scene.