The Force Awakens: Trailer Review

“Somewhere in space, this may all be happening right now…”

Trailers were originally shown at the end of movies, which is why they are called trailers. That didn’t last long, though. Trailers actually use to be my favorite part about going to the movies. I would show up 20 minutes ahead of time, popcorn in hand, ready to devour each one (each trailer that is). I would hope that they would never end and actually be disappointed when the movie started.

I’m not like that anymore. All trailers are available online, and usually before they enter cinemas. Trailers these days have a tendency to give away the film’s entire plot, and often the ending. When you watch a trailer on a tablet or phone, some of the magic is lost. You can pick apart each frame and debate each snippet. Nothing is a mystery. Nothing is sacred.

My first Star Wars trailer was in December of 1998. I can’t remember which movie I went to.  I think I must of known that the trailer was going to air. So when I saw this-my heart started pumping!

Alright. They got me. It was a joke and a good one. But that’s what good trailers should do. They should surprise you with the unexpected. So after the Austin Powers thing, the trailer for Phantom Menace finally arrived.

I’m not gonna lie. The movie looked freaking amazing. The first image of the Gungans rising out the mist seemed as epic as anything I could imagine. I remember going home and swearing that I would someday become a great film director. George Lucas was my hero. I wanted to be George Lucas.

The next several months were agony for me. I didn’t pay attention to anything in school. I just dreamed of Episode I. In computer club after school, I would try to stream the preview for the movie. Each day I would wait for it to load and after half-an-hour every day only half the trailer would be viewable.

Today this is still a good trailer but with obvious problems in hindsight. Jar Jar is still there. The Yoda puppet still looks crappy. The CGI is now dated, although back then it was miraculous.

I don’t remember having any religious experiences with the trailers for Episode II, though the arena scene looked cool. By the time Episode III came out, I was a sophomore in college and I had become pretty jaded with the prequels. There was still hope that Revenge of the Sith could be good, but the idea that George Lucas was my hero had started to die in my heart.

So now we find ourselves. 2014: another chapter in the times of Star Wars fans. On our computers, watching this thing over and over again. Picking apart frame by frame.

Ok… Let us pick.

We open on Tatooine and BAM! Black Stormtrooper. I actually think this is the coolest thing about this trailer. It feels very Joss Whedon to me.  When is that guy going to direct a Star Wars movie, by the way?

Next we have some kind of rolling Astromech Droid. Not going to lie, this is my least favorite part about this trailer. This is that physics-altering CGI that really pisses me off about films of the past 15 years. Also the Astromech looks at the camera. Not cool.

Next, new Stormtroopers. Cool! Except these guys have been leaked all over the internet for months.

Alright. Lady on speeder. Part of me cringes because it reminds me of Anakin in Attack of the Clones going to find his mother.

Next, X-Wing pilot flying over lake. Now this is what I’m talking about! Very Emipire Strikes Back! It feels real. Maybe even too real, like they are on Earth.

Then the Sith. This scene splits the fans. It looks cool. Sith in in snowy woods. Never had a snowy woods in a Star Wars film yet. Then the saber… cool. Then… What the fuck was that? Fracking cross guards? That’s not a lightsaber!

This one will be debated among fans for a while, but some are saying that crossguards make sense. Especially in a universe where people keep losing hands in lightsaber duels.

The last scene is the Falcon cruising above the desert landscape. This scene probably has the most weight because you don’t see any original characters in this trailer, but you know who’s flying that bucket of bolts as it whips above the desert landscape. It’s Captain Solo and his first mate Chewa-fucking-bacca!

I’m happy with this trailer. It teases enough without going too far. I’m considering letting this trailer be the only preview for “The Force Awakens” that I watch until I have seen the film. I really don’t want any more than this. I want to be surprised. In this internet world that picks apart everything months before it is released to the world, when is the last time you have been really surprised by a cinema experience?