Battle of the Star Wars bots: Why BB-8 is better than R2-D2

Bleep bloop

This week, the biggest film franchise of all time made its return to the big screen. Stuffed with special effects and cloaked in secrecy, Star Wars: The Last Jedi is 2017’s most hotly anticipated movie. Its direct predecessor, 2015’s The Force Awakens, grossed $1bn in 12 days and Disney obviously wasn’t going to mess with a proven formula. Most of the characters return – except for you-know-who – and that includes cutesy, football-esque BB-8. The plucky astromech droid made its debut in The Force Awakens, nearly replacing R2-D2 as the galaxy’s most popular robot.

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Now, after watching the latest instalment, it’s time to settle one of the biggest intergalactic disputes of modern times. Who’s better – BB-8 or R2-D2? The answer, obviously, is Beebs. Here’s why.

BB-8 has a much larger range of motion

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As far as sci-fi heroes go, R2 isn’t really built for it, is he? His clunky, box-like shell doesn’t allow for quick movements and he topples over all too easily. Throw in curmudgeonly sidekick C-3PO and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Their lack of mobility limits narrative pacing and means they can’t feature in any chase scenes. Boring.

BB-8, however, has a spherical structure that rotates in any way he chooses. He’s so fast he can even keep up with his human counterparts. In a straight-up-fight, Beebee beats R2 every time. Just look at him go!

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He’s seriously cute

Just watch this video and you’ll see what we mean

BB-8 doesn’t need an actor inside him

It’s well know that the Tattooine scenes from the original trilogy were shot in the Tunisian desert. But did you know that the intense heat inside R2-D2’s costume caused Kenny Baker to faint every so often? Luckily, BB-8 is remote-controlled, meaning no unfortunate sod has to sit inside him all day, slowly stewing like your Grandma’s boiled cabbage.

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R2-D2 is a dick to C-3PO

This one really gets us. Why doesn’t R2 just tell 3PO that Leia gave him some vital plans to give to Ben Kenobi? There’s no need to drag him out to a strange planet, stay silent and behave like some mysterious femme fatale. Furthermore, it’s just common courtesy to tell a friend there’s a plan to save them (Jabba’s Palace – Return Of The Jedi) rather than let them think they’ve been abandoned to a life of slavery or a gruesome death. BB-8 would never behave so selfishly.

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