Thursday, October 13, 2016

Star Wars Rogue One Trailer #2 - Review/Discussion: WOW





Hyperbolic overload incoming

This is by far the best trailer to come out for Rogue One A Star Wars Story to date. This trailer was amazing and had everything you could want as a Star Wars fan. It gave us glimpse into the story, more character information, while still not feeling the it was spoiling anything. Plus, we got some more glimpse of the Darth Vader. I liked the first two teaser trailers they released for the film, but this was a step above those. People still might be worrying about the amount of reshoots the film has gone through, but this trailer should help ease almost any concern.

Rogue One looks different than any other Star Wars film to date. While Episode 7 was directed by JJ Abraham and had its own voice separate from the originals or prequels it still very much looked like a Star Wars movie. Rogue One feels completely different because of the shot angles and flair Gareth Edwards is bringing to the film. I loved the camera panning up to see the Star Destroyer hovering in the sky or the shot of the Tie Fighter raising up in the previous trailer. It sets Rogue One apart, which is a good thing. This film is going to stand on its own and hopefully open up the universe for many other different types of movies to be told in the franchise.

I had been a little worried about the stiffness of some of the actors in the previous trailers. The dialogue just didn’t ring true to me from what I had seen previously. I was still giving them a pass because it’s hard to get context in a one to two-minute trailer. This one eased my concerns. Felicity Jones seemed spot on and I can’t wait to see more of her in the film. Who knows if the reshoots went back and fixed some of these issues, or if it was just the limited context of the trailers. Either way it doesn’t matter. The film looks fantastic, and the trailer got me excited for the movie, and I now can’t wait to see it. This is the job of any trailer, and Rogue One hit a homerun with this effort.

The only small gripe I had with the trailer is the way the title of the film seemed shoehorned into the story. Again this could be the context of the trailer, and when it happens in the movie it will flow and make more sense, but for the trailer it just seemed forced. This is just a minor gripe, but on my third or fourth viewing it was something which continued to stick out from the rest of the trailer. Everything else with the line delivery, action, and story points displayed was spot on. If trailers are any indication of how good or bad a movie can be, then Rogue One should be a hit with this effort.

The big concern I’ve had about Rogue One is that the general movie going audience was going to have a hard time understanding when this film takes place. When the first trailer came I saw people questioning when the film takes place in Star Wars fan groups.  People who are big enough fans to be in groups on Facebook or other platforms didn’t even know when the story took place after the first trailer. The general audience who just like movies and aren’t as big on Star Wars fans could be lost on when this movie happens.

This is why the trailers should play up Darth Vader. My biggest gripe of the second teaser trailer was that they didn’t show enough of Vader. We got a small glimpse at the end, but for me this wasn’t highlighted enough to move the needle for mass audiences. This trailer highlights the Dark Lord of the Sith more and we get to see him stalking up to someone in all his glory. This is a fantastic shot and one I hope can highlight the fact of when Rogue One takes place for the vast majority of the movie going audience. I understand it’s a double edged sword on how much you show of Vader. Too much and we get spoiled for the film, but too little and I think you run the risk of people not knowing when this film takes place within the Star Wars universe, even with the Death Star so prominent in all the trailers.

I loved this trailer. Rogue One has always been my most anticipated film of the year, and this trailer only heightened my excitement. When can I preorder my tickets for the movie, can we crash all the ticket services again like we did with Episode 7?  Comment and let me know what you thought of the trailer. Did you love it or just think it was okay? Did anyone out there hate it? 

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