I recently saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Who am I kidding, I saw it opening weekend. Not opening day, mind you; I have some restraint. With the sting of the prequels still in my head, I waited for critical consensus to appear before I ventured to the theater. It was Sunday, the 20th. As an avid Star Wars fan, I have a few thoughts about the movie. Unlike when I saw Star Trek Into Darkness, I did not bring a notepad and a pen to take down thoughts during the film, opting instead to immerse myself completely in this new saga. These thoughts are a mixture of first-impressions combined with thoughts upon repeat viewings. I have seen The Force Awakens twice now, diligently taking notes the second time. There are massive spoilers in this as I run down the film from start to finish, so if you’re interested in seeing the movie (who isn’t. The better question is, why haven’t you seen it yet?), you may want to look away. And let’s be frank, you really don’t want to spoil this film for yourself. It’s a good one.
Are You Ready For Some Star Wars: The Force Awakens!?
Remember early 1977? The Oakland Raiders had just won Super Bowl XI in Pasadena, California. The Raiders! I know! The game drew an estimated 62 million viewers and had a half-time show produced by Disney. Just across town in Hollywood, a tsunami was coming and there were few who knew about it; the Star Wars phenomenon was about to begin and it there was nothing to stop it from permeating American culture for the foreseeable future.
What am I on about? On ESPN this very week in 2015, these things were brought together once again — Star Wars and the NFL, now multi-billion dollar Empires, joined Forces to promote the hype, not to mention Disney being back in the mix as well. In case you missed it, the official (non-teaser) trailer for The Force Awakens debuted during Monday Night Football, and I’m here to break it down once again. Bear with me because there’s a lot here compared to the teasers. Get excited.
*ting!*
A single piano note plays. Intriguing. Who’s this? A Oakland Tusken Raider?
Looks like Daisy Ridley’s character, whose name I still don’t know (and will try not to find out until I see the movie.) She’s in the wrecked hull of a crashed starship on Tatooine (that’s a lot of assumptions), perhaps the one the Falcon flies through in the second teaser.
She rappels down into a hangar bay, ruined by time and nature. There’s a TIE Fighter wing in one of the bays. Definitely Imperial, probably a Star Destroyer.
“Who are you?”
I was just wondering that! Daisy walks along Tatooine at dusk followed by soccer ball robot, BB-8.
“I am no one.”
Thanks, Arya Stark. If this girl gets an Arya-like story arc, I will be happy with this new trilogy.
A starship takes off as Daisy watches, a wondrous smirk growing on her face. Looks like she has bigger aspirations than being a scavenger on Tatooine. She’s our Luke, I would imagine.
Pan over a group of soldiers in formation, in front of them an elevated platform on which a black robed figure speaks. Behind him, a large red banner with a pseudo-Imperial sigil. A similar shot was used in the second teaser, albeit with the troopers facing the other way. Still no idea who this figure is, but his entourage is less hidden from this vantage point.
“I was raised to do one thing…”
What’s that, pant and look worried? ‘Cause that’s all you’ve done through three trailers so far, John Boyega. Something to note, he speaks with an American accent, despite being British. I wonder why that decision was made, given the proliferation of British talent throughout the saga.
An explosion in space and a TIE Fighter careening toward Tatooine like a wounded bat, wings folding in the outer atmosphere.
“…but I’ve got nothing to fight for.”
Mos Eisley Spaceport. Just kidding, it’s clearly Daisy’s little scavenger village. Isn’t John-Boy lucky to have crash landed near there, considering the probe droid that was pursuing him in the first teaser?
Alright alright alright, here’s our villain. On the bridge of a neo-Star Destroyer. God I love this. The classic ship architecture, the unmistakeably Imperial helmets, the red illumination (plus lense flair), everything.
“Nothing will stand in our way.”
Looks like a World War I era gas mask. Retro, but super creepy.
“I will finish what you started.”
Melted Vader mask makes a re-appearance, and now we know it’s likely in this guy’s hands, not Luke’s as I had previously imagined. I wonder what he thought Darth Vader’s mission was?
The music swells as our bad guy hovers his hand over another man’s face, who then begins to scream. Some kind of Force mind-meld, maybe? And this other guy, he kinda looks like Oscar Issac, does he not?
Fade to a shot of a forest exploding in a wall of flame. My first thought: new Death Star attack (see poster), second-person view?
The Millennium Falcon! Every time, man. It’s fleeing a single TIE Fighter on Tatooine, flying among the ruins of crashed Star Destroyers. This setting has been pretty well fleshed out among the three trailers; how this scene comes into the narrative, I am very curious to find out.
“There were stories about what happened.”
“It’s true…”
“…All of it.”
Here we go again. Han Mothaflippin’ Solo. On the Falcon. Accompanied by the “Han Solo and The Princess” motif from The Empire Strikes Back. This looks like a good movie already, but dammit J.J., that’s emotional manipulation! How am I supposed to be objective when you pull that?
Hyperspace! Was there ever this shot in the prequels? I honestly don’t remember.
Our villain, with a red cross-guard lightsaber, standing in the rain with a bunch of guys who look like knights. All around lay bodies. That’s… cheerful…
A shot of X-Wings locking into attack formation over water precedes this shot of them bearing down on a garrison of Storm Troopers among ruins.
“The dark side…”
The best Star Wars movie is the one that prominently features a Terran battle scene, rather than one set in space. Here’s a battle scene set on a planet. This bodes well.
“…a Jedi…”
At what looks like a Rebel base, a militant John-Boy, gun in hand, walks by and locks eyes with X-Wing pilot Oscar Isaac, who gives him a pat on the shoulder.
John-Boy stares back. Not a very emotive look, but he seems like a relatively naïve character from what I’ve seen. If that’s true, it gives him an easy narrative and story arc. Han Solo’s narration would certainly frame him as a Jedi-to-be.
Third-person X-Wing battle. Can we have this in video game form, please?
TIE Fighters? Here? We’re in danger! What’s that? I’ve already used that one before? Hmm…. Well, it looks like the neo-Empire has followed John-Boy to Daisy’s camp and now they’re attacking.
From the looks on our heroes’ faces, that was their ride.
This is almost a throwaway shot, on screen for less than a second. It’s John-Boy, BB-8, and Han Solo coming upon a temple-like building. There’s a crudely constructed red droid walking away. It’s probably CGI, and hopefully something that wasn’t added just to make the shot more dense. On the building, there are numerous flags with a myriad of colors and sigils. I can only hope this is where hermit Jedi Master Luke Skywalker resides.
“…they’re real.”
This shot is re-used from the second teaser trailer. It’s clearly Luke Skywalker, so perhaps my logical leap in the previous paragraph is not unfounded. (It’s also the only appearance of Luke in this trailer. That intrigues me.)
An Imperial shuttle lands in a camp of Storm Troopers. Embers and smoke fly around, not unlike those from Luke’s fire above. The shuttle is clearly the one flying to the Star Destroyer from the second teaser, and the troop transport on the right side is clearly the one on which the Storm Troopers from the first teaser are deployed. What does this all mean? Not sure yet.
Dark Helmet super Storm Trooper (played by Gwendoline Christie, I believe) marches toward/out of the shuttle. She (?) must be the film’s secondary villain; the Emperor to Vader-Junior’s Vader. Does that make sense? No?
Cross-guard lightsaber comes crashing down in a re-used shot from the second teaser.
Daisy Ridley cries over what looks like a body. A hairy body. That’s not Chewbacca… is it…? …
“The Force…”
Oh shit, it’s Chewbacca. Scenes aren’t put next to each other in trailers for no reason, you know. Here John-Boy, Chewie and Han appear to be surrendering on a battlefield, likely the planet with the X-Wing fight. But they look confused…
BB-8 pulls Astromech droid duty on an X-Wing, presumably piloted by Oscar Isaac. The frozen landscape behind is probably the one where the Imperial installation with the Storm Troopers and black-robed figure were. The swarm of TIE Fighters closing in kinda confirms that, doesn’t it?
“…it’s calling to you.”
*points at self* “…me?” So what I just said it now pretty much 100% confirmed. After a re-used shot of Oscar Isaac piloting his X-Wing, we see the above. That structure jutting out of the mountain is probably that exact installation. Pretty impressive wall, too. So this means so far we’ve got X-Wings on a jungly planet with lakes and a snowy planet. Hopefully they don’t overdo the battles here.
Storm Troopers run off of a troop transport, firing away. Different angle of the sequence from the first teaser. Lots of re-used scenes in these trailers — this tells me that tens of minutes of film aren’t even a little bit touched here. That’s good!
Fierce, angry Daisy Ridley fires a blast rifle. It’s got a red beam, so you know it’s an enemy weapon (right?). She’s pissed at whomever killed Chewie, I bet.
X-Wing guns down a Storm Trooper. Nice shot, Jansen!
Rapid fire trailer climax sequence starts with this re-used shot.
Pursued by a TIE Fighter into the wrecked starship hull, an explosion catches the Millennium Falcon on fire. Those visual effects are already excellent.
The bridge of a Star Destroyer explodes. If this is the same ship as earlier, spoilers.
Princess Leia! She’s sad…
But she’s there with Han Solo — that makes is better, right? I really hope she’s not crying about Chewbacca. Dammit. Meanwhile, in the background we see a bunch of familiarly dressed Rebel folk. This jungly planet with lakes must be the new Yavin IV.
John-Boy lights up a blue lightsaber. He’s in the woods and it’s snowing. Still makes me think of Game of Thrones. Star Wars is coming (this winter.)
Does he really think he can take this guy? I have a bad feeling about this.
…
“Just let it in.”
*tears*
God damn. God damn! I am excited for this film!
Which means I’m done talking about it. Yep. There will undoubtedly be more trailers coming for The Force Awakens before it hits theatres in less than two months; I will not comment on them, nor the film until it’s been watched multiple times. Not a peep until then. Hell, I might not even watch the next trailers voluntarily in that time. (Lies) Gotta keep those expectations in check.
Two months isn’t a long time, right?
The Force Awakens, A Little More
There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it? Surely, if you’ve been paying attention over the last day and a half, you have. Yesterday, at the Star Wars Celebration, which I honestly didn’t know was a thing, a new teaser for Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens dropped. Whereas the first was Star Wars-y in visuals, sounds and feel, this one dives into the nostalgia headfirst off the top. Let’s take a look!
That music. I don’t understand how a deep, but glimmering tone can so immediately place the viewer into the Star Wars universe, yet here we are.
A speeder zooms across a desert wasteland, dunes in the background. The camera pans to the right, revealing the skeleton of a crashed X-Wing fighter. In the background, the slope of a mountain gradually rises, until… holy crap.
That’s no mountain, it’s a wrecked Imperial Star Destroyer! Sweet Jesus that’s awesome.
——————
“The Force is strong in my family.”
The unmistakable voice of Mark Hamill, quoting himself from Return of the Jedi. Any Star Wars fan knows where this is going. I myself began to quote along with him:
“My father has it.”
What an image. Darth Vader’s melted mask and skull.
“I have it.”
Luke and R2-D2! Kinda looks like another pyre. Maybe he’s become an Obi-Wan-like hermit on Tatooine? His artificial hand looks like it got an upgrade too, then again it used to have skin on it.
“My sister has it.”
That looks an awful lot like Luke’s lightsaber from Jedi. Is that Leia receiving it?
…
“You have that power too.”
There’s no shot along with this quote. Who, exactly, is Luke talking to? Does he have children? Could this be Leia and Han’s children? Is one of the protagonists a Skywalker? I don’t know, I haven’t read much about the movie to keep it a mystery. This trailer is certainly doing a good job of that.
More X-Wings! I assume this is the same planet we saw them skimming over in the last trailer.
Evil Sith with the crossguard lightsaber cuts someone down.
Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, not dressed like a Storm Trooper, run from an attacking TIE Fighter on a desert planet, presumably the same one as the opening shots of both trailers. I still don’t know if this is Tatooine or not. Hey, it’s soccer-ball robot rolling behind them!
A quick shot of this guy again in the same fiery environs, probably pushing or choking someone with the force. You know now that I think of it, this looks like it might be the same place Luke is in above. In the background are some kind of mechanical structure, and storm troopers. Speaking of:
Lines of Storm Troopers in formation in front of a black-robed figure on a platform. Who’s that? The Emperor? Are his clones canon? The red banner with black sigil hanging down from this station evokes Nazi Germany (the first film could be interpreted as a World War II allegory), the sigil not quite like that of the Galactic Empire, but not unlike it either. New-styled TIE Fighters are off to the left, while the landscape in the back is cold and icy and adorned with turrets. A spitting image of Hoth, but likely not Hoth.
Daisy Ridley looks up. ’nuff said.
TIE Fighters fly through the air. Again, what are they doing on a planet?
Inside the hangar of what I would imagine is a Star Destroyer, a rogue TIE Fighter attacks stationed Storm Troopers and blows up some docked TIE Fighters. We’ve seen hangar action in the prequels too, but this one looks much closer to Jedi than those did. That’s good!
John Boyega is not a Storm Trooper. Again, this is maybe some Trojan Horse style plot, not unlike the first Star Wars film. He’s sweaty and panting, obviously terrified and perhaps has just done or seen something regrettable.
A shuttle with folding wings flying accompanied by four escort craft return to an Imperial Star Destroyer. This is another visual I’ve not seen since Return of the Jedi, and boy is it welcome. The shuttle clearly derives from the old Lambda-class, while the ISD itself appears very close to the original, albeit a bit darker?
Who’s this guy!? Another villain? He looks like a badass mixture of a Storm Trooper and a TIE Fighter pilot, and this is the only shot we’ll see of him yet. Hopefully this film doesn’t have too many secondary plot lines…
Soccer-ball robot! I think I love this little guy. I hope he’s this generation’s R2-D2. Hey, wait a second. This place looks familiar. The ladder in the background, the grungy, rounded corridor frame…
Daisy extends a hand to John, who’s again on the ground, sweaty and panting. I would posit that this is after the explosions we saw earlier. He ponders a second, then gets up … without actually taking her hand. Hmm.
The Millennium Falcon! I know we already knew it was returning thanks to the climax of the first teaser, but I can’t help myself. It’s so good to see it back. It’s fleeing TIE Fighters, and again I assume this follows (or precedes) the sequence we saw in that teaser. They fly into a tunnel. Except that’s no tunnel. That’s clearly the engine of a crashed starship. And you know what? The configuration of the engines in the background can only mean one thing: this is an upside-down Executor-class Super Star Destroyer. Holy crap.
After a classic reverse POV shot of a TIE Fighter pilot, we’re treated to a chase down into the ship’s structure, not unlike the foray into the second Death Star in Jedi. This trailer is hitting all of the nostalgic beats, but unlike the prequels, this reeks of ruins — from Vader’s mask to the wreckage of classic starships. The Star Wars universe has aged as we have, and this time we’ve gotten back on the ride.
——————
“Chewie…”
“…we’re home.”
“Rgrgraagaaarrrr!”
Han and Chewie! Shit just got more real. The first reveal of the old cast in the new film. As if I wasn’t already interested! They’re on the Falcon, of course. Chewie’s got a Bowcaster, of course. And Han, well he’s wearing the same clothes he wore in Jedi. That’s… well, nostalgic I guess. I can’t believe we’re seeing these two together again. Han is naturally older, but Chewbacca hasn’t aged a day! Now the question becomes: how do these two fit into the chaos and intrigue of what we’ve seen? I’m cautiously skeptical, but getting more optimistic the more I see of this film.
It’s been almost five months since the first teaser and it’s just about eight months until release day. Time has flown — hopefully the wait until December is as short as the wait for this second trailer has been. Each time a new one comes out, the fact that Star Wars is actually coming back, the fact that the old cast is returning and probably not just peripherally, the fact that it’s not George Lucas writing or directing these new sequels, all of these things become more real. I’m staying reserved and cautious, but man, I can’t freakin’ wait for this film.
And so he spoke... 
