REVIEW: Star Wars the Last Jedi Trailer
Well, we've all seen it, we've all made our reactions and speculations, we all can't wait to see the film on December 15th, now, let's take an in-depth look at some of the shots and sequences from the new The Last Jedi trailer to see what might be in store for us. Also, if you don't want any spoilers, even if they are speculative, LEAVE NOW!
Not too far into the trailer, we get a cool shot of one of the new First Order vehicles in the film, the AT-M6 walker, which is like the AT-ATs, but much taller with a massive blaster cannon in the middle. If you notice closely, you can see some original AT-AT walkers next the AT-M6s as well. These walkers will be used in a massive battle on the new planet Crait. I can already hear the complaints of, oh boy, this trilogy's version of the Battle of Hoth. However, the First Order is the successor to the Empire, so of course they would use and update their equipment. However, if the actual battle plays out like the Battle of Hoth, then you have reason to complain.
Another shot early in the trailer shows Kylo Ren with his mask on, most likely early in the film as we see later in the trailer Ren destroying his helmet. This will mean a big change for the character as perhaps he is growing past his, "I want to be Darth Vader," phase. We also see him throughout the trailer still recovering from his defeat from Rey wearing a bandage on his face where Rey slashed him with a lightsaber.
These two shots will most likely be among the first in the film as the Last Jedi literally takes place right after the Force Awakens. The sight of Luke receiving his old lightsaber, the lightsaber of his father, has got to be overwhelming for him after not seeing it for over thirty years. Also, there is a reason why Luke's robotic hand looks more robotic, I'll get to that later.
There are a bunch of sequences of Rey training on Ach-to learning of her true strength and power. Snoke even says at the beginning of the trailer that someone, whether it be Ren or Rey, has a pure raw power. Rey says she wants to open up and also believes this power was always in her. This leads to a great shot where she literally cracks the ground beneath her while meditating. This basically scares Luke saying he has only seen this raw power once before and wasn't afraid of it back then, but is now. Many fans are debating whether he is talking about Ren, who was his apprentice before destroying his new Jedi order, or the Emperor, who as we all now has UNLIMITED POWER!
This might be the first Star Wars film to show us a flashback that wasn't part of a force vision. We get more shots of Luke's Jedi order and temple being destroyed. This shot shows Luke rising above some rubble which would explain why Luke's hand is more robotic as the synthetic skin probably melted away. A lot of people are raising concerns of the direction Luke is taking in the movie from the trailer as they don't want him becoming paranoid as they want him to be the heroic and stoic Jedi master from Legends. I can understand your concern, but I like the dark direction they're taking with Luke, as well as the overall tone from the movie so far, it's one way of keeping the franchise...dare I say, fresh.
Damn it, the porgs, they are adorable aren't they. I feel the porgs are going to be like the Ewoks for fans. You either love them or you hate them. I don't feel they will be in the film as much as their marketing campaign will want you to believe. Plus, I don't think the climax of the film will be the First Order being defeated by a bunch of porgs, as hilarious as that sight would be.
Here is a crystal-looking fox/wolf creature from Crait. Will they have something to do with the story? Who the hell knows at this point?
There is a great sequence in the trailer where we see Ren piloting his new Tie Silencer and being a badass destroying Resistance fighters and ships. There is an emotional sequence where he has Leia's capitol ships in sight and is debating whether or not to pull the trigger to destroy it. Ok, I'll just get this out of the way, there is going to be so many emotions going into this movie due to Carrie Fisher's death. Nobody is ready to say goodbye to her. I just hope the film gives her the proper sendoff that she deserves. She will always be our princess and we wouldn't want it any other way.
It seems Finn will have a much more deeper and emotional arc in this film than in the previous film. Certain shots show Finn undercover in the First Order, which, I don't know how that will work because isn't he public enemy number one to them now. Regardless, it will all probably end with a climatic final duel between Finn and Captain Phasma, which I'm excited to see.
We actually get to see what Snoke looks like in the flesh and uh, yeah, Rey has seen some better days has she? What will this meeting between hero and villain lead to? I guess we'll have to wait to see. Although, again, Snoke says in the trailer, whether it be to Ren or Rey, to fulfill your destiny.
Finally, the sequence everyone is talking about. Rey says she wants someone to show her, her place in the galaxy. It then shows Ren extending a hand to someone. GASP! Is Rey turning to the dark side? Is Ren turning back to the light side? It's still unclear what's going on in this moment though I don't believe the two shots are from the same scene. I do believe Ren is extending his hand to Rey but for what purpose, I'm not sure.
So yeah, this was a great trailer. I'll admit, while it's nowhere near as bad as other Hollywood trailers, it is the most "spoilery" trailer in the recent Star Wars film saga, though I don't think it gives too much away to ruin the movie for everyone. There is still a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of characters and scenes we haven't seen yet. The trailer has a lot of familiar, but it also showcases that perhaps this trilogy is now going in a direction we haven't seen in Star Wars before, which is always a nervous, but exciting proposition to be sure.
