Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduces plenty of great new characters. I can’t wait to see more of Rey, Finn, Poe, and BB-8. But I’m more than happy to leave behind Maz Kanata, the bar-owner/Yoda stand-in/exposition mouthpiece the film churns out in the second act. What could have been a strong addition to the franchise instead reeks of the film’s attempt to mimic what works well in the previous movies. In the case of Maz, it’s like director J.J. Abrams and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan were trying to have it all, and they end up getting nothing.

Here are a few of the problems I have with Ms. Kanata:

Spoilers Ahead for The Force Awakens

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Image via Lucasfilm

Terrible Design

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Image via Lucasfilm

Abrams put such a heavy emphasis on practical effects, and yet when it comes to non-human characters (other than Chewbacca and the droids) who needed close-up interaction, he opted for motion-capture which made those characters feel cheap and plastic. I understand that puppets and animatronics have a limited range of emotions, and yet that limited range has carried well-written characters far beyond their technical means. There are no serious Star Wars fans who want the Yoda in the original trilogy digitally replaced just so he can be “more expressive”. They already believe in his character and his behavior. It’s all about timing and movement from a talented puppeteer.

Motion-capture is a good idea when puppetry, animatronics, and make-up are off the table, and while Maz’s diminutive size and gigantic noggin make it so she couldn’t be done with make-up, the motion capture still lands her in the uncanny valley. She doesn’t look endearing enough but she’s not photoreal either. The result is that she ends up looking instantly dated and cartoonish.

The other problem is character design. Maz looks like a grapefruit with eyes, and while Abrams may have felt charmed by this “old lady with large glasses” look, it doesn’t carry over to the film. It’s orange Yoda, and no one is fooled.

Trying to Outdo Yoda

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Image via Lucasfilm

When you imitate a beloved and instantly recognized character like Yoda, you’re almost setting yourself up to fail. The series had already introduced a grandfatherly-like character who was full of wisdom and in tune with the Force. Rather than bring us someone entirely different, all The Force Awakens does is make Maz slightly older, in perfect health, maternal, and give her normal diction. Beyond that, she serves a similar purpose, but there’s very little there to make us gravitate to her.

The one moment where she breaks free of being a Yoda imitation is when she asks Han about Chewbacca, and says, “I like that wookiee.” It hints at a specific history she has with Han and a worthwhile adventure off screen. There’s a shorthand that’s been skillfully dropped in, and the character’s importance is conveyed without having to pause for a moment of import, which is exactly what the film does when she then sits down at a table with Rey, Finn, and Han and guides them on what to do next.

Because The Force Awakens is in a bit of a rush (it’s a movie that tries to do a lot), we don’t ease into knowing or appreciating Maz. We’re just told that this is a voice of wisdom and we should trust her. While the transitive property of us trusting Han means we should trust Maz, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to give a bar owner control of BB-8, and therefore the fate of the universe. She’s good for giving the new kids the skinny on the light side/dark side. That’s not a character; that’s a plot device.

The Force-Sensitive Bar Owner with a Castle Shrine

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Image via Disney

Maz has too many things. While I’m willing to accept a collection of qualities in a protagonist like Rey (great fighter, great pilot, strong with the Force), especially one who’s groundbreaking and meant to be a hero to young girls in the audience who have never had a figure they can emulate, for a supporting character like Maz, it’s too much. It feels like being around for over 1,000 years she had accumulated a lot of stuff, but nothing specific.

There are nice little touches like the flags that line the outside of her cantina castle, but already we’re stuck—why is a cantina also a castle? Abrams wants to have that Mos Eisley feel, but he’s putting it in a place where the bar owner has a gigantic statue of herself at the top of her castle. What kind of game is she running? How does she have so much, and how does she bridge such a gap in clientele and design? I’m not saying that a dive bar can’t be found in grand place, but in The Force Awakens, it feels like yet another example of Abrams emulating the original trilogy without thinking of form following function.

It doesn’t help that in addition to being aware of everything that’s happening, Maz’s millennia of experience makes her attuned to the Force. She says she’s not a Jedi (thank goodness), but she also gets to be the voice that tells Rey—a young woman she’s just met—how the Force works and how to bend it to her will. Then she hands Rey Luke’s original lightsaber and sends her on her way. That’s a lot of power for such a nothing character.

The Film Forgets Her

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Image via Lucasfilm

But let’s give the film the benefit of the doubt. Let’s assume that Maz deserves everything the movie builds her up to be: a Force-sensitive person worthy of a gigantic statue as well as a must-visit watering hole that plays host to both hero and scoundrel alike. More than that, this is a person who was worthy to hold on to Luke’s lightsaber and keep it locked away rather than seek out Han or Leia (unless Luke asked her to hold on to it, which looks to be the case). She is a grand new character and deserves our respect.

Except once she hands Finn Luke’s lightsaber, the film forgets about her. We don’t even know for sure if she survives the First Order’s assault on her home. Presumably, she survives since her death would give the movie a little bit more in the way of added stakes by showing that the First Order can kill New Yoda, but since the movie leaves it ambiguous, her exit is treated with all of the gravity of a shrug. If she’s alive, she’s alive, and if not, so what. She’s served her purpose.

It should be noted that an earlier cut of the film tried to keep Maz in play, and that she handed Luke’s lightsaber directly to Leia, but Abrams felt it was unnecessary. So while Lupita Nyong’o filmed scenes at the Resistance base, those scenes were deemed useless for the finished film. No one needs to check in with Maz after she’s handed off a lightsaber because there’s nothing more to say.

That’s not what you want to take away from a supposedly pivotal character. I’m glad that I don’t feel that way about all the other newcomers, who have emotional ranges and the promise of interesting arcs. But for Maz Kanata, I’m more than fine if the franchise is done with her.

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