Breaking down the Star Wars The Force Awakens Teaser 2

As was expected, The new teaser trailer for Star Wars The Force Awakens dropped today at the end of the Star Wars Celebration panel with JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy. Let me tell you… I almost fainted watching the trailer. I may be a Star Wars fanboy, so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt, but that trailer hit every note it needed to and then some.

First, if you haven’t seen footage from the panel yet, go and check it out. JJ & Kathleen don’t give away anything shocking other than the desert planet is not Tatooine but instead a planet called “Jakku”(sp?). The younger cast members Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, and John Boyega joined Abrams and Kennedy on stage to chat about the filming. They were then replaced by the droid mechanics and the real BB-8 onstage. And then finally the old cast showed up with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels (who seems to really love these events), and Peter Mayhew. I think Harrison Ford would have been there too, but is recovering from his recent airplane mishap.

First things first. The Force Awakens Teaser Trailer 2

It’s not like you haven’t already watched this 100 times, but once more to refresh your memory before we get into this.

Why you gotta bring up old stuff?

One of the major gripes against the first teaser trailer was that they didn’t show any of the old crew. This time they gave us a taste. Mark Hamill does the opening voiceover and presumably is in at least one scene with R2D2. Mark’s voiceover mentions his sister (Carrie Fisher) as some feminine looking hands exchange a lightsaber. And of course, the final scene of the trailer with Han Solo and Chewbacca which nearly brought me to tears as Han says “Chewie… we’re home”.

More New Hotness

Then they roll back in the younger crew again. Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac) swoops in with some X-Wings skimming just above the water. His look of celebration contrasts with the look of concentration from the first teaser trailer, so we might assume he has succeeded in whatever mission he was set out to do.

The X-Wings from both teasers
The X-Wings from both teasers

Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) share the stage with BB-8 for a minute and then we get our first good look at the villain, Kylo Ren. In the first trailer he seems to be limping along, but in this trailer he is clearly kicking ass. The slo-mo of his lightsaber swing reminds me a bit of Anakin’s slashing through the Sand People village. You can also see what appear to be stormtroopers in the background. They aren’t shooting at him, so is he on their side? I’m thinking probably yes.

We get our first good look at the face of Kylo Ren
We get our first good look at the face of Kylo Ren

Kylo Ren swings his lightsaber

We get a glimpse into a few more characters and ships including the Chrome Trooper Captain Phasma.

Captain Phasma the Chrome Trooper
Meet Captain Phasma the Chrome Trooper. Is this Gwendoline Christie’s character?

Hit the beat

Unlike the first trailer which gave you a series of moments, this one had more pacing to it. The trailer starts with the legendary John Williams score that we all know and love which instantly brings us back into the Star Wars universe. Luke’s voiceover cuts in and rings in more nostalgia. Then you get punched in the face with X-wings, red lightsabers, explosions and running, Tie fighters swooping, the crescendo of the Falcon being chased (again)… and then… the brakes are slammed home as you hear Han Solo’s distinctive voice and closing with the Wookie howl.

Gimme a minute, I gotta go watch it again.

What we’ve learned

We know the new Stormtroopers look awesome. The Chrome Trooper looks awesome. The BB-8 droid is a real object and not CG. The red lightsaber guy is somehow related to the empire as you can (sorta) see Stormtroopers behind him. Yes, there is a lot of CG, but there’s also a lot of practical effects. I’m really digging the camera work and it seems to be shot brilliantly from what I’ve seen in the trailers. For example, the picture below has the real BB-8 rolling along, with real explosions going off in the distance while the CG Tie fighter is just a little dot shooting laser beams.

Rey, Finn, and BB8 run from Tie fighter attack
Rey doesn’t have to be fast. She just needs to be faster than Finn. #dontLookBack We don’t know why the Tie fighter is angry.

Someone has Vader’s mask. It’s possible (likely?) that Luke has it and took it from the funeral pyre at the end of Episode 6. But take a look at that thing. Is that really how you want to remember your dead father?

Vader's Burnt Mask
Voiceover: “My father had it”. This looks like someone plucked Vader’s mask out from the funeral pyre at the end of Ep 6. Creepy much?

We still don’t know much about the plot. The little bit we “know” from rumors and innuendo on the Internets that is mostly corroborated by the teasers is that Finn (John Boyega’s character) was a Stormtrooper, left them for some reason, and ends up with Rey. Rumor still says that “somehow” Luke’s lightsaber ends up on the planet that we now know is Jakku which starts a search that leads to Han & Chewie who are not in possession of the Millennium Falcon at least at the beginning of the movie. Where does the Chrome Trooper fit into all of this? Where has Luke been? How the F&*K did Han loose the Millennium Falcon?

Check out our full gallery of stills from the trailer along with *ahem* a little commentary.

 

Is there reason to doubt?

I’ll let Submariner75 chime in here:

Man, yall mothaf*&#%s get too hype too early. The past three star wars have sucked so badly, I can’t even believe there is hype over this shit. Mean Gene probably in the bathroom masturbating at LUDICROUS speed right now.

I’m sorry, but I learned from Prometheus. I’m not getting hyped over that bullshit. Going by the trailer – “meh” at best. Hell, the trailer for Interstellar looked better.

You’re just setting yourself up for one massive let down. Keep cool. Don’t be a bitch. No hype. That’s the problem with Dorks. They blow a wad over a trailer and then the movie ends up sucking balls.

I looked at the trailer twice and didn’t blink once. The f#&king Star Wars cartoon made me and my wife EXPLODE. That trailer…..yeah whatever…..I’ll see it three weeks after the premiere when the crowds die down.

Man, if this shit hits theaters and you hardcore Dorks go on suicide watch because Jar Jar Binks ended up defeating all the Jedi while wearing a tuxedo with Penguin tails and white gloves, I’m going to laugh my ass off!

He does have a point… Go back and look at the ORIGINAL teaser trailer for The Phantom Menace. That looked AMAZING too. We hadn’t seen anything from Star Wars in years and all of a sudden here’s several jedi, lightsaber fights, tanks, a massive droid army, “A communications disruption can only mean one thing. Invasion”, droidikas, our first view of the Republic Senate, YODA, the podracing, the fighter battles, “Wipe them out. All of them”. I get the tingles watching it.

The tingles turned out to be the onset of a seizure when we got an overdose of Jar Jar, from the hapless droids saying “roger roger”, and the incredibly wooden acting from some actors that have shown they can act when NOT directed by Mr. Lucas (Portman, Neeson, McGregor, Jackson, etc). Indeed The Phantom Menace has to be one of the biggest let downs from a trailer that I can recall. A little piece of our souls died that day.

So cause for doubt? Well, maybe not so much doubt as a cause for cautious optimism.

Personally, I can’t wait until December.

Who is flying the Millennium Falcon?
Who is flying the Millennium Falcon?
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