adywan said:
So your logic is that it shouldn't be a difficult escape because the rebels have such a powerful weapon to back them up and that the transport should escape as easily as it does originally? So why even bother to provide two X-wings as escorts if it should be so easy? And why later on in the battle is Rieekan so worried that they can't protect two transports at a time? They got away so easily the first time and surely the ion cannon can just blast any stardestroyer in their path.
Exactly. That's the enjoyable part, a little sliver of triumph in the middle of being walked right over. The battle as a whole is full of these, like when Luke blows up an AT-AT or when that other one is famously restricted by that cable. There's no half victory in those either, but as soon as the rebels had their little spotlight the empire is back to remind you that they're still there and they're still going to walk right over some rebel asses.
And I already said they are doing nothing because the transport is grossly out of range, nowhere in the OT is even a Star Destroyer being portrayed as having a range of more than a few hundred meters. Suddenly one is bullseyeing X-Wings while it's practically still a dot on the horizon.
Regardless, discussing the physics of space flight in regards to Star Wars is pretty pointless, the speeds, ranges and power of a ship is obviously "as needed" rather than to any specification. And what is needed in that scene is that the Star Destroyer is far away and the ion cannon disables it so the transport can pass, before it enters the danger zone. Why would the rebels wait with firing until they were in range of the SD? Who says they were even going to fire at all and not just capture them with their tractor beam like someone suggested? A million things could be said, but ultimately you are messing with a creative decision for no reason.
And your result is emotionally out of tune with the rest of the battle. As I said before, it's about small but shining victories in the middle of overwhelming defeat, not about frustration.
I'm sorry, but your interpretation is very flawed. I'm sorry if I come off as rude, but it's hard not to when everyone explodes in my face for expressing my opinion.
EDIT:
In fact, the whole movie is like that. Nowhere is there any frustration or half victories in the whole movie. Either the empire is totally owning our heroes, or they're having one of their small but shining victories. But every time they do, save the very end, the empire is always right back on their tail.