I was speaking more towards the people who think the human body blows up like a water balloon in space.
In a movie universe where spaceships and explosions can be heard in a vacuum, and often defy physics, giant slugs live inside an apparently airless asteroid, people with magical powers formally fight with improbable laser swords when a blaster would end things quicker, (see Obi-Wan vs. Grevious) and overgrown teddy bears kicked Imperial ass, Leia in space was the one bridge too far? I give up.
It wasn’t the improbability of Leia flying—we all know that films rely on suspending disbelief, and it was required many times in the OT, but it was more the TONE that struck me as so odd. The tone of the flying Leia scene was totally off, totally un-Star Wars-like, and I think that’s why so many people were like “WTF”?!
I’ve heard a lot of complaints about this scene, but never this. I’m honestly curious why you think so, in my mind tonally it’s one of the scenes that feels the most like classic Star Wars.
There was nothing in the OT that was tonally like that scene at all. It made me wonder if RJ had ever seen any of the OT films.
The “use the Force, Luke” scene in ANH, Ben’s Force ghost & Luke calling out to Leia with the Force in ESB, Luke making Threepio hover in ROTJ; there were plenty of unexpected Force-scenes in the OT that did things we hadn’t seen before. Why would TLJ be any different?
The only thing that I personally find to be “tonally different” is the fact that it’s a CG moment that would have been hard to pull off in the 80’s. That scene overall (Kylo/Leia connection moment included) actually really reminds me of the end of ESB.