Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens – Trailer Reaction

Star Wars, a series that truly lives in the nostalgia of Geekdom. Like Star Trek it has the unique ability to pull us all back in. However this space opera is about the battle and the struggle of the good vs evil. One that was uniquely told in the Original Trilogy and informed by the Prequels which also hurt the future of the franchise.

I am not a huge fan of the Prequels, their cinematography or their stories. The original was very well received by us all. People our parents age and of our own generation grew up on the nostalgia of our parents. However in doing that, they awakened the Prequels and from their the various Animated series.

Jumping to the case here of Episode VII, the beginning of the new trilogy, I am uncertain what to think. Today the trailer was released to the masses, some attacking and others loving with another group of ‘meh’. I am one of those ‘meh’ with a touch of excited.

First we cannot go on without discussing the many very cool visuals.

Uncertain whom he is but wearing the Stormtrooper disguise is evident here while looking freaked out.

I am assuming this is one of the offspring of Leia and Han fleeing from something on a Tatooine version of the Endor speeder.

The Tatooine Speeder.

Wall-E meets R2-D2 here in this interesting design of a Astromech droid for the new Trilogy. It could be an off shoot of R2.

Rebel Pilot inside the X-Wing

Awesome practical effects for the X-Wings on either a new world or Naboo-esque planet. Thawed out Hoth? Sorry still looks cool here.

The new Stormtroopers which look very very cool here. More sleek but still dangerous.

Now the Millennium Falcon’s return was icing on the cake here for this trailer as I really enjoyed seeing the ship in full force. A noticeable difference is the satellite dish that was smacked from the side in ROTJ has been replaced with a flat version on top probably to allow more aerodynamic flight maneuvers.

The final image I want to show is this random Sith warrior. Don’t know anything besides him having some unique light-saber. This one appears to have electricity coming off of it unlike the smoother versions used in the past. It also has two offshoots which I cannot help but think self impalement and or slicing one’s own person with it. I don’t like it in that application but the new glow effect is cool.

The only thing this trailer is missing which I have a feeling may reveal itself to us in time for the Superbowl, is the reveal of the classic cast members. I think this trailer could have benefited very largely from the inclusion of Luke in some dark or quickly revealed way.

I would have loved to have seen this in the trailer. Despite his almost throwback to the Alec Guiness Obi Wan Kenobi here.

The villain is rumored to do something in this vein. Hurt and holding the Vader mask.

My thoughts aren’t necessarily bad here but I do want to see more. I feel slightly underwhelmed from the decision not to include the old cast. I know they play a lesser role in this trilogy but the thought or nod here would have been nice. Another interesting concept was the narration in the trailer giving us the return to the dark side and light sides of the force. I just wish we SAW a Jedi in this trailer and not just the Sith.

The only hope I have is that JJ Abrams doesn’t screw this the way he did Star Trek. He made the old Trek too flashy on his “re-envisioning” and I think that will happen that here as well. I will say I am extremely happy to see that the music returned with it here unaltered. This teaser seemed too clean and too shiny to the Original Trilogy. This seemed like a decent mix between the styles of the two trilogies. Mind you this is WAY to early to tell the scope of the viewing but so far, I am slightly underwhelmed despite being happy to eventually see closer to what I grew up with.

Just for fun here’s the trailer for all to see!