Karen: Thoughts? Even for a teaser trailer, it seems pretty meager...I'd hoped to see at least one of the original cast (Luke, Leia, Han, Hell, even Chewie), if just a fleeting glimpse. Still, nice to see the Falcon in action again. I'm guardedly excited about this.
Saw this posted on another blog yesterday; the comments ran the gamut from excited to "ah, geeze, this'll suck, the last good Star Wars movie was the first one..."
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think this might actually be pretty good. As much as I have begun to really dislike his revamping of Star Trek (I just recently finally got around to watching Into Sherlock, er, I mean, Into Darkness), I think the Abrams treatment might actually do the Star Wars franchise some good.
I dunno, Karen, I dunno. . .
ReplyDelete(Up kinda early this Saturday a.m.-- we'll be heading out to get our Christmas tree as soon as everyone's up. . . )
I think "meager" sums it up pretty well. If there wasn't the weight of nearly 40 years of Star Wars history to support it, this (admittedly VERY early) teaser would be instantly forgettable for me. It appears to be a completely random juxtaposition of moments and images with no sense of narrative whatsoever. Literally, the first six or seven snippets picked up off of the editing bench, y'know? (Although editing is all done digitally now, I'm pretty sure-- but still, the metaphorical bench, then. . . ) As teasers go, it fails for me in its one crucial purpose-- it doesn't make me say, "Oo- what's going on in that moment? What's the whole story here? How does this turn out?" It doesn't, on its own merits, create any desire in me to cross the threshold into the world of the film-- which I REALLY want it to do.
What's kind of interesting (as sort of an editorial sidebar) is that, even as trailers/teasers have become a HUGE entertainment vehicle all their own (almost stand-alone, even) w/ the advent of the internet age, there also seems to have been an alarming tendency over the last 20 years to "push" them in one of two opposing directions. They either a) end up encapsulating the entire film, giving away plot twists and even climactic moments- 'cause that's often where the best special effects occur-- or b) they rely solely on effect, flash, fast choppy editing, and loud music to synthetically create a sense of drama and substance that actually isn't there-- and never actually answer the basic question of "What's this movie about-?".
I would, for the life of me, like to toss some clear examples of both-- but I generally don't see those films, and the titles never stick w/ me. HOWEVER, a couple of quick examples of VERY solid trailers -ones which made me eager to see the film, and left enough of the story's questions intact for further exploration- would be the animated feature "9" (man, what a GREAT film, too, that never found a proper market), and COWBOYS & ALIENS. The latter is particularly noteworthy because, while the film was enh- okay-, the trailer had me chompin' at the bit every time I saw it at the theater. It may have been one of the best trailers out that season, in fact.
HB
Hmm ... the mystery deepens! Well, this trailer certainly can be called a real teaser, we only see some stormtroopers and of course our beloved Millennium Falcon,but little else. Oh yeah, that dark figure wielding a red lightsaber, definitely a Sith.
ReplyDeletePersonally,I think this movie will be good; it's too early to say if it'll be great, but almost anything new will be better than the tepid mess George Lucas left us with those last three movies. Let's just say I'm cautiously optimistic for this new movie.
- Mike 'may the Force be with JJ Abrams' from Trinidad & Tobago.
This actually looks pretty cool to me. When I was kid, a big part of my world pretty much revolved around Star Wars.
ReplyDeleteThe scene of the X-Wings skimming above the water, and the Falcon in action again fighting off a squad of Tie-Fighters, and the that awesome Star Wars theme music really took me back and got me totally stoked for this.
Then I saw it isn't coming out till a year from now. A YEAR!! Wow! That's a long time to tease us.
Like William, I was really thrilled by the X-Wings, Falcon, and Star Wars theme music.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of it was not so interesting. The droid with the ball made me cringe. It felt like something cheesy from the prequels.
But it certainly makes me more interested in the movie. I had been not interested in seeing it at all. The teaser moves me firmly into the 'I would watch it for free on TV' category.
I will be interested in seeing future trailers were you actually get a sense of what the movie is about.
Alan
Even though there's only a few snippets here, one really thing I really like is that there seems to be actual outdoor sets and real props and whatnot, i.e., it's not just going to be a bunch of actors jumping around in front of green screens...
ReplyDeleteI have to admit feeling a tinge of excitement, though they didn't really reveal much. I'm sure we'll get trailers next summer with the original cast. Hey, at least this is something.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big JJ Abrams fan, but I'm cautiously optimistic.
Agreed on that 100% Edo; the look of the film is definitely an improvement over the highly synthetic "prequels."
ReplyDeleteAnd hey, at least we got to see the Millennium Falcon.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteAh.. Star Wars! Nothing but Star Wars! Gimme those Star Wars.. don't let them end! Ah.. Star Wars! If they should bar wars.. please let these Star Wars stay-ay!
And, hey! How about that nutty Star Wars bar? Can you forget all those creatures in there?
And, hey! Darth Vader in that black and evil mask - did he scare you as much as he scared me-e-e-e?
"Star Wars-s-s-s!"
The Prowler (this space intentionally left blank by author).
Yeah, I loved seeing the Falcon and TIE fighters skimming over the desert; is that Tatooine? I know they said it wasn't, but it sure looks like Tatooine to me.
ReplyDeleteMike W.
All I can say is when they struck up the score right as the Millennium Falcon rose, I got goosebumps.
ReplyDeleteAre we to assume that the gent at the very beginning of the clip is one of the new "good guys", infiltrating the Empire? I ask, as let's just say he looks different than Jango Fett -- and if I understand my cloning, that isn't possible.
Might we also assume that the young lady on the "bike" is one of Han and Leia's twins?
Agreed on the rolling droid, but that could be a completely throwaway scene from the film. Not going to worry about it.
So, as many have said above, this would be the definition of "teaser". But I am intrigued, and optimistic.
Doug
No interest at all.
ReplyDeleteLooks 'Meh.....'
Hiya,
ReplyDeleteCast back your thoughts to those ancient times to when the first teaser trailer for "The Empire Strikes Back" came out. Remember that one? A series of photos of the characters in various settings.
This may not be much but it's better than that.
By the way, a lot of the children that I know prefer the prequels to the original trilogy. I think, like with the "whose your favorite Doctor Who", which one you like the best has more to do with which one you've seen first.
pfgavigan
Doug, I agree with you on the science of cloning, but from my point of view, from what I see daily, when anything starts to go widespread, especially involving government, you can always be assured of not only a lose of quality but a loss of focus. The standard then becomes not what was once dreamed up in an office somewhere but what is the best that can be done by that employee on any given day.
ReplyDeleteDo I know for a fact that there are days when there are no quality checks yet reports are done and turned in at the end of each day? I'm not prepared to answer that at this time and on advice of my attorney I'm going to invoke my rights as guaranteed under the fifth amendment.....
Could there be clones produced that are so far off the scale that they bare no resemblance whatsoever to the original template? I'm not prepared to answer that at this time and on advice of my attorney I'm going to invoke my rights as guaranteed under the fifth amendment.....
Before I start to bring down the Empire's entire cloning process with what is squirreled away in my garage, I am a bit confused. Were there novels that continued the expansion of the Star Wars universe that were then collected into comics or did the comics come first?
The Prowler (A stranger wearing all black met me on the tarmac told him I was sorry but I ain't never going back He said you ain't in trouble, son learned to fire without a gun got a new assignment now you working for the Pentagon).
Boy, that's a good question about where the precedent lies for the post-film(s) expansion of the SW universe, Prowl. I know nothing whatsoever about any of the comics series (which, gosh, first came into being just after the first film was wrapping up in the theaters!)-- but that ENORMOUS expanded universe from the scores (hundreds?) of novels and series is just so incredibly vast that, to many younger fans (like HBSon) it actually is far more the "real" Star Wars to them than any of the films. I haven't read them myself, but have them told and explained to me at length by that particular fan in his more youthful days, and if I were a fan, THAT'S the world that I'd be wanting to see brought to life. . .
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know? What's considedered the "real" Star Wars in all that multiplicity of cross-media product output? (Heck. . . are the bajillion video games part of that universe's canon, too?)
HB
I'm not even sure that the Stormtroopers in the original movie trilogy are supposed to be clones. If I'm not mistaken, I think the clone program was phased out after the Clone Wars (and after the Emperor came to power). Thus I believe there is a marked difference between Clone Troopers and Stormtroopers.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand, Stormtroopers are recruits from the citizenry of the Empire, much like our own military.
There is a new animated series on Disney Channel called "Star Wars Rebels", which I believe is supposed to be cannon. There is an episode of that show that centers around the Imperial military academy, in which young recruits are in training to become Stormtroopers.
Myself, I'm an original trilogy man. Never had any use for the extended universe stuff and the less said about the prequels the better. Still I'm willing to give this new movie a go.
ReplyDelete..but if they make Luke a bad guy, I'm out.
Mattcomix, ditto, and I didn't even like 'Return of the Jedi'.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, 'This isn't my Star Wars..'.
"Who would ever have a Stormtrooper with his helmet off..??"
It somehow.. just kills it. Perhaps more so than the prequels.
In fairness to our unhelmeted Stormtrooper, who I understand has taken some abuse via the Internet over the weekend (some of it racially-based... really?), we need to remember that Luke and Han infiltrated the Stormtrooper ranks and were indeed seen without the helmets on. I'm still going with this fellow being a good guy, and a plot line in that vein. But I truly know nothing of the proposed story.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Do people really hate the prequels, elements of the prequels, or in general dislike them because they find them unnecessary? Remember, Lucas's original vision was a 9-chapter epic.
Doug
Doug, I was just about to say the exact same thing, in regards to Luke and Han and the stormtrooper outfits. Besides, how do we know the Empire didn't start recruiting non-clones to be stormtroopers? it just seems like such a minor thing to stick on.
ReplyDeleteBut regarding the prequels: I dislike them for several reasons: one, because I think in general they are just not very good movies. Poor dialog, poor characterization for our main guy (Anakin/Vader), a terrible actor in that role, a focus on using CGI that clearly didn't work all the time...just a lot of unnecessary elements. Two, explaining things that don't need to be explained -like the Force. Midichlorians? Bleh. Three, reducing Vader to a simpering twit. Also, although Lucas insists he had 9 films in mind from the start, if you go back and look at early notes and interviews, it's clear that this changed over time. Vader wasn't even Luke's father originally. It bothers me a great deal when Lucas now claims that all of the films are Vader's story, when clearly the first three are about Luke...but I am a big Luke fan.
Karen took most of my comments about the prequels. I will just add that I found the backstory of Anakin and Ben Kenobi as well as the Emperor did not line up with what I expected from the original series.
ReplyDeleteFor me, retcons are only acceptable, in both movies and comics, if they actually work. And they work if they seem like they could have been true all along and are sort of cool. The revelation in Empire that Vader was Luke's father sort of worked. I find it less convincing and cool now than back in the day.
For me, none of the retcons seemed to make sense or be exciting. They seemed dumb and showed a lack of respect for the fans.
Alan
@Doug. Honestly, in execution the prequels feel like a lot bad fanfiction (especially the pushing of Bobba Fetts importance) despite the fact that the actual creator is in the drivers seat. Enough so to make me wonder if Anakin's backstory would have just been better off as backstory.
ReplyDeleteThe picture painted by Obi-Wan and Yoda in dialog made a much better story than what we got.