Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (Trailer #2)

This could not come at a more awesome and inspirational time for me.

As some of you know, I am on the verge of getting my Senior film, “Bill & Maggie’s Intergalactic Taxi Service” completed before graduating with a BA from SCAD here in Savannah, GA. And my film is very much a space-adventure-comedy short which takes a fair amount of inspiration from not only Star Wars, but from different animes and video games that inspired me as a kid.

The Empire Strikes Back is basically what got me to want to make movies in the first place, and my first major project as a 7 year old was recreating Empire shot by shot with an old VHS camera and a bunch of coats, bed sheets, cardboard, and tiny green straws.

My anticipation for the new Star Wars film fills me with boundless cheerful thoughts and an unwavering trust that Director J.J. Abrams knows how to handle the franchise the way that it should be. Though he’ll only be directing the first new Star Wars installment.

My thoughts on the new trailer? Very simple. It’s gettin’ there.

I don’t want to say that I’m dissapointed about anything, because I’m not. But I guess the problem I have is simply that watching a new trailer like this is not nearly as mind-blowingly awesome as it would be watching it for the first time in a movie theater with 5.1 surround sound. Because nothing beats 5.1 in a theater. NOTHING! It’s what makes the movie-going experience for me, because it literally surrounds you in sound more than stereo ever could on a home television. Even with headphones on.

So I guess my enjoyment of this new trailer was decidedly less than the first teaser, likely because I had to still imagine what a lot of the film might look like. And while this new trailer does show me far more and gives me a much better sense of what this film might turn out to be, I feel as if the euphoric experience I could have had viewing it was hampered by my smaller computer screen and my tiny headphones. It just doesn’t hold a candle in many cases. And you can be sure that I WILL watch this movie in an IMAX when it comes out, because nothing else will do. No sir!

Anyway, I think my most favorite things from this trailer have to start with the giant Star Destroyer crashed in the distance, as that helps give this version of Star Wars a greater amount of visual history and culture than the original trilogy did. The only constant and so-called ancient thing in that series of films was the Force. But there was never anything that suggested culture, or age, or lost civilizations, or even just a legacy of kings and queens and monarchs. And I really wish that it had had that. Because after Obi-wan dies, no one ever talks about the old-days much, everything is just “in-the-now.” And I feel as if that was a serious lost opportunity, which is why I’m sure the expanded universe novels worked to give the Star Wars universe an actual historical background.

Another thing I liked seeing was that ashy, charred helmet of Darth Vader, which also casts a haunting shadow of the old trilogy upon this new one, and really helps to link both together. It’s far more awesome to see that charred helmet than it was to see Hayden Christianson inside the Vader suit at the end of Sith.

Third thing I liked… obviously seeing Han Solo at the end of the trailer with Chewie. Because I just knew that they had to finally show at least one clip of him in this new trailer, since that’s what everybody and their 50 year old cousin was waiting to see since the last trailer came out. We wanted to see Han so much that they didn’t show any other member of the old cast except him, because he was the one we were most concerned about returning to the role, since he disliked having to be in Jedi so much back in the day. He just wanted to leave the role behind. But I’m actually really glad that he agreed to return. And I can only hope that J.J. was careful and tactful enough in his directing to get a good performance out of Harrison that won’t look fake or forced. Because that’s the last thing that I want to see in this new movie.

Speculation-wise, I actually think Carrie Fischer will be just fine when she comes back. She’ll be a lot more spunky and more outgoing I would think, considering that’s what Carrie is like most of the time in her roles these days. She’s far less reserved or anal-retentive as Princess Laia often seemed to be. Then again, maybe they’ll try to continue with that personality so as not to change up too much. But that would likely mean that Laia could serve as a figure of wisdom and guidance in this new film. Though I can’t quite see where or when she would come into the story, especially if she might not be married to Han Solo any more. There’s still a good chance of that. Which, considering what Han Solo is like, I wouldn’t find hard to believe after 35 years within the Star Wars universe. So much argumentation.

But what ever the situation, I would most definitely be excited to see Mark Hamill return to the role of Luke Skywalker, and hold the distinction of the new Jedi Master, hopefully expositing some more whimsical knowledge about the force and the history behind it.

That’s what I love most about sequels and reboots and expanded universes: you get to make homages and allusions to previous stories, characters, and material, which always gets my spine tingling with delight. It’s such a weird sensation, but it doesn’t come often. So I can’t wait to see what this film can bring to the table.

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