Was it EVER explained why they had to make a space horse assault on the transmitter at the end instead of just proton torpedo it to death? I wonder if they were going to reprogram it in an early draft rather than just blow it up but the image of a cavalry charge on a star destroyer was too good to pass up. Maybe JJ really wanted the three way battle RotJ had and this was his hamfisted solution.
its a visual scene, an image for the trailers. that is how much of the ST is made IMO. this was something that would look cool in a trailer, or, if it looked dumb, then perhaps it would at least go viral, fulfilling it's role in promoting the movie. story wise yeah it is a callback to
ROTJ, and the technology vs sticks and stones Ewok battle that closed the movie. this is an old, fundamental concept to SW, so I don't mind it, and for the stupidness of it all, at least it's something new, and kind of something u would see in an old space adventure comic book. iirc the Ewoks came about from an early idea for the prequels, the Wookie planet battle, wherein General Luke Skywalker trains Wookies to fly X-Wings or something. the idea of an empire vs guerrilla warfare (ie Vietnam) it's tied in to Lucas's earlier role as potential director of
Apocalypse Now. Coppola, friend and business partner, and his film, had a big influence on SW. so i see this stuff as carrying on that tradition in a new, if silly, way. i like it.
Or more like how robust the Star Wars brand is that it can survive so many attempts to kill it
people may say "it's dead" or "killed" this is pure dramatics. some say it died with the PT but those movies made about as much as the modern ones, a fuck ton. some say it died with the
SE, or with
ROTJ. the fact are these are all hugely popular and successful films, regardless of subjective critical quality, regardless of the goodness or badness of certain films or the purity of the canon.
the franchise has never died in any practical sense and never will. if you are serious about canon or movies taking themselves seriously then you may discount certain films or other works but in general they are all loved by someone. IMO it's best to just not take it all so seriously and focus on celebrating the things you love.