Film Preview: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Page Revisions:

(November 30, 2014) Original
(April 19, 2015) New Trailer (#2)
(October 25, 2015) New Trailer (#3) / New Posters (#1-#4) / Page Redesigned
(December 13, 2015) New Posters (#5-#22)

Release Date:

December 18, 2015

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “A continuation of the saga created by George Lucas set thirty years after Return of the Jedi”

Poster Rating: B+ / F / B / C / B / B- (5) / C+ / C / B- (3) / C+ / C+ (6)

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: (#1) All of the films in the franchise have built on this industry-leading design, one that has its roots in the all-star films of earlier films, but which gained prominence in the post-Star Wars era. This is the case because it works effectively. (#2) I’m all about teaser posters, but they could have been a teensy bit more creative with this one.

(#3) A nice hand-drawn design that taps into nostalgia quite easily while recognizing that this film is for an additional new generation. (#4) This is how you get Jawas. It’s an adequate design, but it feels too calculated and pushy to be creative.

(#5) Comparing this design and the first, you notice the subtle differences in size. Such as the size of Harrison Ford versus the lack of Chewbacca. The decreased number of items in favor of more details. There isn’t a whole lot of difference, but the lack of detail is a slight hindrance. (#6-#10) These character posters, using the same pose are interesting to an extent, but without a sufficient variance to the backgrounds, they aren’t as good as they could be. (#11) Why this poster puts Kylo Ren as the central figure is anyone’s guess. Either the poster makers know their target audience or they have no clue how to market familiar faces.

(#12) Is walking into the sunset, other than its tangential relationship to the original franchise, really that appealing a graphic. All the poster seems willing to do is sell the IMAX 3D element, but this image doesn’t quite make that seem like it’s that important. (#13-#15) I like that the producers are trying to tie the new film back into the old through older styles of designs, but for a younger generation, they aren’t really that interesting. (#16-#22) These character posters are a slight improvement over the prior set, with small details in the background, but those aren’t sufficient and I’ll take extra umbrage at the Han Solo / Leia design with Leia, who used to have her own individual poster, is relegated to standing behind her man. It gives the viewer the unfortunate impression that she’s nothing without him, which the opposite is most certainly true.

Trailer Rating: B- / A- / B

SEE ALL TRAILERS BELOW
Review: (#1) In the wake of this trailer’s release on the internet, I’ve seen countless memes and discussions about how the trailer takes everyone back to their childhoods when they made the Star Wars franchise the gargantuan nerd phenomenon that it is. While I can tune out some of that noise and watch the trailer with an open mind, it is notably less impressive and heart-thumping as it should be. A handful of homage images and a cheesy new lightsaber don’t create the level of enthusiasm those who aren’t die-hard fans of the franchise would need to be impressed.

(#2) When I first watched the trailer, it followed a day of rampant discussion on Facebook. Fanboys were celebrating and cheering with joy and that overzealous excitement affected my initial viewing of the trailer, which I found to be a mixed bag with hollow images, plot-less action and none of it seemed that interesting. However, after watching it a second time, I’ve come to realize that this is a near perfect teaser for a film that is designed for die hard fans. Non-fans may still have their memories and childhoods revisited, but this is purely for the fans and it does a tremendous job with plenty of nice touches that will appeal to fans, including a voice over by a familiar character, and two rogues that were a singular part of George Lucas’ original vision.

(#3) We get more details, but less excitement. It will stimulate fans to no end, but those who aren’t that enthused by the franchise, there just isn’t enough here to justify interest. Leia gets very little screentime, the less the trailer actually says, the more people will read into it. There is no doubt that those who have been talking about the new Star Wars film since it was announced will surely find this the most exciting development so far, but the rest of us can’t wait for it to be over with.

Oscar Prospects:

The film will undoubtedly dominate the creative categories, but with only the first film making any inroads outside of that area, don’t expect it to appear anywhere near Best Picture.