Last night, millions of nerds cried out because they had to watch an American football game in order to catch the final trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Since it’s the biggest nerd movie of 2015, I want to hear your thoughts on the trailer (embedded below, for your convenience). I’ve watched the clip thrice and will watch it lots more before the movie comes out on December 18. For now, here are some random thoughts on the final trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
00:08: The trailer kicks of with Rey (Daisy Ridley) dressed as an albino teenage mutant ninja turtle. Her outfit is useful in the arid environment of Tatooine…because, you know, sand. As Anakin Skywalker once said about sand, “It’s coarse and irritating and it gets everywhere.”
00:39: Finn (John Boyega) takes off his stormtrooper helmet. Some longtime Star Wars fans have a problem with Finn (presumably) becoming a Jedi. In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Yoda said that a six-year old Anakin Skywalker was too old to become a Jedi. Finn appears to be in his 20s, so some hardcore nerds have an issue with him being the next “chosen one,” while Fox News has an issue with a…melanin-enhanced person becoming a Jedi. Also, Finn appears to suck at piloting his T.I.E. fighter. So yeah, an old (for Jedi training) stormtrooper reject is your new hero!
00:50: There be lens flare. You really didn’t think JJ Abrams would drop it, did you?
00:53: Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) has a bad-ass name and a bad-ass voice. Too bad his helmet makes him look like an evil aardvark. The good news is that he’s a fan of Transformers: The Movie and quotes a song from the soundtrack to Darth Vader’s helmet.
01:05: The Millennium Falcon appears, in all of its shabby glory. You’ve never heard of the Millennium Falcon? This part of the trailer made me mark out and become a kid again.
01:15: Han Solo (Harrison Ford), looking as leathery as a worn out saddle bag, appears and tells the kids, “It’s true.” Apparently news dissemination sucks in their world, making it so that tank girl and a stormtrooper reject are ignorant of recent history. Clearly they have the technology, but apparently there weren’t any bloggers a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
01:17: The first warp lines appear. JJ Abrams did an excellent job modernizing warp lines in the recent Star Trek movies. These old-school warp effects look like stick figures. I guess they have nostalgic value. *shrug*
01:24: Kylo Ren is flanked by what appears to be imperial guards. Some people say they’re his Sith followers, but that would have him breaking the Sith rule of two. Either way, having a gang makes him look like a bit of a pussy. Darth Vader didn’t need any backup.
01:25: I love the X-Wing, but am disappointed that it hasn’t made any significant advancements (to the naked eye) in 30 years. Hell, Airbus and Boeing move at a glacial pace and even their birds look considerably sleeker than ones from 30 years ago.
01:40: Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is whining to R2-D2 about not being in the official movie poster. That’s what he gets for going to Toshi Station to pick up some power converters, which apparently constitutes playing with your friends in Tatooine.
01:46: Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), what a wookiee. Finn, Chewie, and Han appear to be getting arrested. Some things never change for scoundrels.
01:57: Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer) cries on Han’s shoulder, sad about what a hottie she was in the late 70s and early 80s. Hopefully they don’t show old Leia in a metal bikini.
01:58: Finn starts a lightsaber duel with Kylo Ren. He leads with a strong stance, but looks inept after that. This has lead some people to believe that Finn isn’t Force sensitive. I’m not sure about any of that. Swordsmanship is a fine art that’s difficult to master. When you add in laser swords and the fact that Finn sucked as a stormtrooper, of course he’s not going to be the best dualist. On a side note, my favorite lightsaber form is Soresu. What’s yours?
Anyway, that’s what I observed from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens final trailer. I’m sure that you guys and gals noticed many things that I did not and that certain bits meant much more to you than they did to me. With that in mind, kindly use the Force, let go, and share your thoughts on the trailer in the comments section.
Yeah, how could they be unaware of recent history? For them to think the Dark Side and the Jedi aren’t real.
Loved the trailer. Ever since GotG I have had great faith in what Disney would pull off here. That said here we go:
I’m not sold on Finn being force sensitive. He got shot down presumably by a non force sensitive pilot or machine. Jedi/Sith pilots have been lauded for their ability due to seeing into the future momentarily. It’s part of what gives them great reflexes. It’s also a very big reason most if not all of them are pretty good with a lightsaber. I also agree with the age comments for him. It doesn’t make sense but Luke was trained at a similar age. However with the discarded EU the ramifications of that aren’t so clear but Anakin did turn pretty evil.
Regarding Finn and Rey’s seeming lack of knowledge on the Jedi falls in line with the attitude towards force users from the first two trilogies. Remember episode 1? (ugh). Well the Viceroy’s lieutenant asks if he has ever encountered a Jedi Knight before. Then in episode 4 everyone in the warroom is skeptical of Vader’s abilities and really don’t believe in the force. It’s plausible in a galaxy with billions and billions (read that in Carl Sagan voice) of life forms that seeing a Jedi much less a Sith would be a rarity. I’d say that nearly all of Coruscant never saw a Jedi. I don’t think it’s plausible that everyone knows about Luke’s fight with Vader and the Emperor. (i hope Vader is resurrected. the best villain)
Nothing makes me feel like a kid as much as seeing the Millennium Falcon and hearing Tie Fighter noises!
Lightsaber style: give me Makashi and Juyo.
I’m certain that someone in the rebellion had (the equivalent of) Print Shop and published The Rebellion Newsletter. After the destruction of the second Death Star, one of the front-page articles would’ve been titles, “We Got Jedi!”
Although I’m much more of a Star Trek geek than a Star Wars one, this trailer made me break my ban on not watching movie trailers. In part because I’m probably not going to see the movie in theaters (since the tickets are all sold out already).
That said, it should be no surprise to say that I think they showed too much. I could be wrong, though. Time may prove that.
While I am familiar with all six Star Wars movies (and a few Star Wars games) I know virtually nothing about the EU, so I don’t know if anything from the EU made its way into this trailer/film. I don’t know who any of the people in this trailer are with the exception of Han Solo, Leia and Luke Skywalker (I’m assuming he was the guy with the artificial hand touching R2-D2). I’ve heard some names around the Internet like something-“Ren” and “Finn” but I don’t know who they are and I don’t want to know because when I see the movie, I want it to be a surprise. I’d prefer going into a movie not knowing who the (new) people are… like the black Stormtrooper. (I thought all the stormtroopers were all clones of Jango Fett. What the hell?)
I used to like Darth Vader as a bad guy just like every nerd on the planet until the prequel movies completely ruined the character for me. To be fair, the last scene in which we see Vader die (sans his helmet) in Episode VI also took away some of the mystique (and badassness) of the character as well. Now, when I look at Darth Vader, all I can think about is that whiny, emo, little “I-can’t-act-in-this-movie-for-shit” bitch Hayden Christensen. Before this, Darth Vader was the deep-voiced, force-choke-at-will, badass, “screw-you-I’m-Darth-Vader-that’s-why,” James Earl Jones. Now I look at the iconic helmet and think; awww, what happened to that cute, little Jake Lloyd? Not the image I want in my head when I think of a sith lord or whatever he was.
Anyway, the trailer looked cool, which means nothing because most trailers look cool. I hope the movie doesn’t turn out to be a turd like Episode 1.
FYI, Disney killed the EU. So the old books and comics are no longer canon. The six movies, Clone Wars animated series, Rebels animated series, the recently released book, and the new comics are canon.