Countdown to Star Wars Episode VII, pt 4: What does the 1st official trailer tell us?

The first official trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered on  October 19, 2015. There were two teaser trailers that came before it. This official trailer created a sensation on the internet with tickets being sold out in a matter of minutes and crashing online ticket sale systems as a result of the very high level demand.  This is due to the great anticipation of a film that has a very strong legacy behind it. Let’s just hope that people are not disappointed. But what does the official trailer tell us to actually expect apart from the fact that this is just another Star Wars film. Will this film be a disappointment like Star Wars , Episode 1: The Phantom Menace? Or will it meet these soaring expectations? As I write the official trailer has been viewed 42 million times on the official Star Wars Youtube channel. This is impressive especially when you consider that the first teaser trailer has been viewed 23 million times on the Star Wars Youtube channel and the second teaser trailer has been viewed 66 million times. Obviously these figures are for the Star Wars Youtube channel and so when you consider other Youtube channels that have shared the same content you’re looking at, easily,   over 100 million views each for the first 2 teaser trailers. The numbers for the official trailer on the Star Wars Youtube channel  are fairly accurate, however, when you consider that this is the channel that most people have been directed to. This is evident with the increase of subscriptions to the Star Wars Youtube channel since the official trailer premiered.  These numbers definitely show the very high level of expectation for the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. No superhero movie can match this high level of demand; not even Batman vs. Superman.  

Well apart from a basic story outline the most important thing I took from this official trailer is that Star Wars: The Force Awakens  will be the most impressive Star Wars film ever made from a visual point of view.  Before I say why I think that is so I am going to briefly describe the basic story outline that has been presented. I am not going to speculate on details  but just the basic story outline for the film that is pretty obvious. Obviously the details, or how the story is told, will determine if this film has a major impact and that’s why we must wait for the film to premiere.

The basic storyline presented in the trailer is pretty easy to follow. There are some vague statements and images that clearly show that several isolated individuals will form a band of adventurers to challenge the dark side. The trailer first introduces us to the wanderer Rey who introduces herself as ‘No one’ and then it introduces Finn who claims he ‘has nothing to fight for.’ The first two teaser trailers clearly indicate that these two will meet up on a desolate planet (Tatooine perhaps?) or an area of a planet that is mostly a desert. If it is Tatooine then the film will clearly be adhering to tradition. Tatooine is the only planet in Star Wars lore that is largely made up of desert (could be wrong) or the only planet that has been featured which has such a large area of desert. I don’t know the details but I would not be surprised if it is Tatooine. Anyways it becomes clear that there is something to fight for because Kylo Ren, a member of the dark side who seems to be strong in the ways of the force, states that ‘Nothing will stand in our way. I will finish what you started.’ An image of Darth Vader’s damaged mask is then featured. It is clear that Kylo Ren has some big shoes to fill because from his days as Anakin Skywalker to his children, Luke and Leia, Darth Vader is the most dominant figure of the past two Star Wars trilogies. More so than the emperor who comes across as just a conniving politician that managed to create the galactic empire. All of this would mean nothing if he did not have a powerful figure like Vader by his side.  In terms of power Darth Vader is clearly the most prominent figure of Star Wars lore. Ren has big shoes to fill.

Following Ren’s pledge to finish what Vader started it is clear that Finn and Rey will eventually link up with an aged Han Solo and a, supposedly, aged Chewbacca. It is clear that is when the action in the story really begins. Solo reminds his young compatriots that the stories about the Dark side (Sith) and the jedi   are real. It is clear that the force has been dormant up until this point but will emerge or awaken with the likes of Kylo Ren (Knights of Ren) and Finn (Jedi) as they battle for the soul of the galaxy. We also see an aged Princess Leia but the mysterious figure of Luke Skywalker is still not featured although he does add his voice to the second teaser trailer. We do know that he is the figure in a shroud placing his hand on R2-D2. Skywalker will clearly play a pivotal role in training Finn to become a Jedi knight.  It is also clear that the forces that Ren leads are remnants of the former Galactic Empire that was destroyed in Episode 6: The Return of the Jedi. These remnants are known as the First Order. The Rebel forces are now known as the resistance. There are a lot of aerial battles between the First Order and the Resistance featured in this trailer and this is because there is another important character called Poe Dameron, a top pilot for the Resistance. We do know that there will be a major confrontation between Finn and Ren as the age old battle between Jedi and the dark side resumes. The Force Awakens means that there are individuals that have been brought into a conflict because they are strong in the ways of the force. This applies to both the dark side and the Jedi. 

The movie is set 30 years after Episode 6 and so it is clear that the force has remained dormant until it reached out to a couple of individuals who will use it for particular purposes; good or bad. Finn and Rey seem skeptical at first until Solo tells them that the stories about the Jedi and the dark side are  true. It is not surprising that some people still remain forgetful because in Episodes 4 to 6 Luke Skywalker was the only Jedi of note because the ageing Obi Wan and Yoda were on the way out. Leia is strong with the force but she never received any training to become Jedi. Maybe Luke eventually taught her. Darth Vader represented the darkside. The Emperor was an ageing individual desperate to cling to power.  The light saber battles between jedi and Sith were isolated. It seemed that the  defeat of the empire by the rebels was won primarily by the tactical organization and execution of plans by the rebel air force and troops on the ground as opposed to light saber fights between Jedi and Sith. So it’s not surprising that the Jedi and the Sith, who  embody the ways  of the force,  are still considered to be legends. Maybe this film will finally put them at the forefront of the epic battle that will follow.

Well the story outline wasn’t so basic after all; suffice to say that the battle between the Jedi  and the dark side will resume.

For me the most impressive element about the trailer were the visuals. The visuals will clearly be a highpoint of this film regardless of whether it is good or not.  I was impressed because this will clearly be the most impressive Star Wars film from a visual point of view. The CGI seems very organic meaning that it is integrated into the live sets seamlessly. When I watched the 2^nd teaser trailer there was a distant shot of a small vehicle moving fairly fast across the desert with the remnants of a fallen star destroyer in the background. The visuals were very impressive because one could see the the star destroyer as a hazy image in the distance that had a real live quality to it. These sorts of images seem to be in keeping with Episode 4: A New Hope which was very impressive considering that it was released in 1977. Obviously there is now a significant visual upgrade. In the official trailer the images of millennium falcon flying through relics of imperial ships as it’s being chased by aerial planes of the first order, that want to shoot it down, are very impressive. The shots are close up in order to emphasize that these are real models of the actual planes. Seeing a close up shot of  the resistance planes rippling the water as they fly close by was also impressive.  As for all the other elements such as the light sabers and the laser beams it’s as you were.  I heard the director J.J. Abrahams say at Comic Con that they wanted to use a lot of real live models and it clearly shows in the trailer. One would think that George Lucas would have done a better job with the CGI in Episodes 1 to 3. The images, however,  are very plastic and contrived. There is no live quality to all the abundance of CGI on display. This was one of the major disappointments of those episodes because it deviated from Episodes 4 to 6 when Lucas and the other directors had less to work with but still produced visual spectacle at the time because they had to rely on live models. It seems like Abrahams and Co. are now going back to the look of Episodes 4 to 6. That is a good thing because now the CGI is more advanced.

Well it still remains to be seen if this will be a good or great film but for now I will be content with the impressive visuals on display. It is clear that the visuals will not be a disappointment. That is one certainty and so now I hope that how the story is told will be just as good.  I would also like to see how the new characters make their mark. If they do  we could be looking at the second great Star Wars trilogy that caters to a modern audience from a dramatic point of view.