Review: The Force is strong with ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

Derek Richardson

The first significant trailer for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has finally debuted.

The new trailer is a true teaser giving fans everything they want: lightsabers, Tie Fighters, and of course Han Solo and Chewbacca. Those that haven’t seen the trailer should stop reading now and watch it. From here on, there will be potential spoilers.

First, it is important to note that the Star Wars canon has been rebooted. Any book or comic in the Star Wars Expanded Universe is no longer necessarily true. The only thing canonical now are the six Star Wars films, the two animated TV series, and any book released after September 2014. Things could end up similar or completely different from the old canon giving J.J. Abrams and Disney complete creativity with upcoming films.

The trailer starts with a slow pan of the surface of a desert planet with a speeder in the distance traveling across the sand with an old Star Destroyer wreckage on the horizon. This happens while the iconic theme, “The Light of the Force,” plays for the audience. It gives the audience a sense of nostalgia, yet wonder for the future of Star Wars.

Then the screen goes to black, and we hear Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker begin to explain that the force is strong in his family. While he says that, the people he mentions are shown in montage form: the burnt remains of Darth Vader’s helmet, Skywalker’s robotic hand touching R2D2, a child’s hand giving Leia a light saber.

Then, the screen shows the text “This Christmas” with a louder version of “The Light of the Force.” If someone didn’t have chills at this point, they do now.

The rest of the trailer is a throwback to everything that was great about the original trilogy. We see X-Wings. We see the villain and his cross-guard light saber. We see TIE Fighters shooting. We see the main characters played by John Boyega and Daisy Ridley running from an explosion. All of this occurs with epic, suspenseful music.

Things look practical and real with CGI used only when logical. It’s a natural extension of the original trilogy. This is just a teaser trailer though, and anything is possible in terms of the quality of the final movie, but J.J. Abrams and Disney seem to be doing everything right in the creation and marketing of this film.

Finally, if you weren’t sold by this point, the trailer cheats. It fades to black before we hear our favorite smuggler-turned-hero speak.

“Chewie, we’re home,” Han Solo said with Chewbacca standing next to him. It’s said in such a way that makes you wonder if J.J. Abrams will kill him off in the first half of the film.

The most exciting thing about this movie is the realization that this is the first Star Wars since 1983 that the audience will go into not knowing a thing about the plot. There will be no sacred cows with J.J. Abrams.

So far, everything is living up to all the hopes and dreams of fans and non-fans alike. And to think, in the next two years, there will be three Star Wars films to look forward to!

The Force Awakens on December 18, 2015, and if this trailer is any indication for what awaits, we are all in for an epic ride not seen since 1977.