Trailer Review 054 Star Wars: the Last Jedi [Spoiler Abound!]

Star Wars: the Last Jedi

Disney & Lucasfilm
[15th of December, 2017]

Chance of Success = 100%! Enough said!

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One of the first misdirects shown how that not everything is as it seems to be (which is apparently the running theme throughout the teaser) whereby the initial shot of apparently the space full of stars slowly morphing to a shot of some sort of foreign surface, as a hand belonging to Rey, the third trilogy's main protagonist, quickly comes into frame and letting us know she's still on the island (as we straight away would continue right after the Force Awakens' ending) ...

V Notice the similarity of her wardrobe with what Luke wore in his training with Yoda in Dagobah V

... and her shortness of breath could be deduced to be the aftereffects of a first time Force training by 'the Last Jedi' in the Star Wars Universe, Anakin Skywalker, if the voiceovers of him are to be believed. His intention though to whether or not continue on being a Jedi Master would be questioned especially by him since his last disciples were struck down and eliminated by Kylo Ren (and his niece, Ben Solo) and his Knights of Ren (which we would see later in the trailer and heard his ominous parting dialogue).

"Breathe ..."

An establishing shot of the Skellig Island, one of the most gorgeous location to film in the series following closely to last year's Rogue One's gorgeous scene at Laamu Atol, Maldives. They were the only two individuals on the planet Ahch-To as the overview look of the island didn't show the Millenium Falcon that she boarded on to reach the planet, as Chewbacca was just dropping her off and probably has to leave to help a certain Rebel Base under attack seen in the later parts of the teaser (again with the same plot line of the Empire Strikes Back as the young Jedi-to-be left to be trained as the other crew went off on their own adventures in other planets).

"Just breathe ..."

Maybe after the first training, Luke told Rey to tune in with the Force on the planet as the lore states that the Force is everywhere but certain planets have much stronger Force 'concentration' than others which was why Master Yoda was on Dagobah before and Luke went out of his way to find this planet, as a place of solitude as well as the place of the Force. This is what she is doing as she meditates on her feet, trying to feel the Force all around her that maybe would help her tune in to hers ...

"Now, reach out ...!"

... and she did! Continuing straight after that, she sat down with folded legs (notice the sole of her boots) and follow the Master's instructions to a tee, tuning into her own Force directly and affecting her surroundings and make the small rocks float a la the most recent Man of Steel or most importantly reminiscing of the signature scene in the director's last movie, Looper. Star Wars haven't use much close-up shots in the series throughout the years but Rian Johnson is certainly putting his own 'flavor' on the franchise. Oh, Mark Hamill mentioned in the panel that they would address 'the Mary Sue' perspective of her character as we would finally know of her parentage and the reason of her superiority in channeling in the Force in the first modern iteration.

"What do you see?"

"Help me, Obi ..."

Whether the above faint audio tribute to the New Hope is just a tribute to her role in the series or a foreshadowing of things to come?
Obi Wan Force ghost, anyone?

The scene transitions to see a very familiar figure, General Leia Organa, looking over the galactic map and leading the Resistance by taking over the role of Mon Mothma as the crew of human and Mon Calamaris (this shot is intentionally invoking the look and presence of Darth Vader, her father, that turned from the dark to the light side before his death, in tune with Rey's voiceover ...)

"Light."

"Seduced by the Dark Side ..."

Right after being freshly crushed with the lingering smoke, a closer look shown us that it wasn't the iconic melted face mask of Darth Vader from Episode VII but instead it was Kylo Ren's (indicated by the shiny metallic surface around the eyes that's synonymous with him if you've seen him enough time and judging by the slash across the face he suffered before, he might not want to cover it at all and embrace the turn to the Dark side) and his own theme playing in the background seals it (at the 50 seconds mark).  Since he left his mask on the planet that's now ceased to exist, this is probably a spare (from his Knights of Ren? Or maybe just his own spare) that serves as a replacement and he destroyed it probably just after finding out about Rey hence his trademark outburst.

"Darkness."

A shot of a makeshift bookcase made out of tree barks ... in the Star Wars: Shattered Empire comic, there is a storyline revolving around the Force trees and if these particular barks are from a Force tree, it could be Luke's that he planted and let it grown here or it's just native here since the planet is really Force-sensitive. Or possibly in a different place entirely but that's highly unlikely.

"It surround us and bind us ..."

What is found on it are old documents that the Skywalker has accrued in his journey across the galaxy to find relics and artifacts of the Jedi as (possibly) Rey's gloved hands going over the Jedi Order symbol that's almost gone on these ancient pages. Is it the Journal of the Whills? (Remember the Guardians of the Whills in Rogue One?) Is it the manifestation of Obi Wan Kenobi's Journal from the comics?

"the Balance."

Using a more recent example, she's just like Doctor Strange in his solo movie, trying to tap into the mystical powers and had to learn step by step and read everything about it and considering the training and reading materials at her fingertips, she would do just that to find the Balance between the Light and the Dark Force.

Contradictory of his parting dialogue at the end of the teaser, this memorable shot of Rey training with his own lightsaber as he watches intently from the back emphasizes his intention to train her as possibly to be the last Jedi. His voiceover on top of this scene though could indicate to something bigger, that maybe the Force goes way beyond the Light, the Dark and the Balance and only he knows it and the only way to achieve it is for the Jedi to end.

"lt's so much bigger."

As the trailer kicks into high gear, we go to another new planet, Crait, to see a representation of the clash between the Empire and Resistance on Hoth as the First Order Walkers far in the background (rumored to be larger than their AT-AT counterparts called Heavy Assault Walkers or AT-4X?) being confronted the still unnamed squadron of ships nicknamed 'skimmers' that cut through the surface and kick up the red dust (a beautiful contrast of color and making us envisioning the colorful carnage when they eventually clash).

We transitions to see Finn (or FN-2187 if you want to get technical) in a portable Bacta Pod that appeared to be in transit, probably because of  the impending assault by the Empire. It's still remains to be seen whether or not he would be in the pod until the lightsaber wound on his back has healed completely or would he be wearing a Bacta suit outside of it and take up arms if he's forced to.
(the Aurebesh in red on the display of the pod has been translated to indicate he's in stable condition and on his way to full recovery)

 This is the main reason Chewie is returning back in haste and Finn is being moved to safety, the assault on the Rebel Ship they were in at the end of the Force Awakens, as Poe Dameron seen here running with BB-8 leading him towards his X-Wing (it's a futile relationship between him and this particular fighter) that's caught in the explosion caused by First Order missiles visible in the background (we're seeing the Resistance again in the foreground ... maybe the next trailer would reverse the perspective to their side?)

A requisite shot of the Millennium Falcon shooting down a TIE fighter while being pursued by a couple in an unknown sky ...

... while the freshly trained Padawan is running in haste full speed with intention with the iconic lightsaber ignited at dusk. It has been ...

... reported that Kylo and his Knights of Ren would attack Ahch-Tu at night & the look of concern on her face would support the claim.

It's hard to pinpoint where exactly he is in this scene but suffice to say he's in attacking mode or at least trying to intimidate (with the weird turn of his signature makeshift lightsaber indicated he's just trying to scare somebody or twisting the knife after stabbing it to make it worse but the constant moving could indicate otherwise). The scar on his face isn't that bad but he wanted to brandish it as a battle scar and to remind him of his ultimate foe.
(in another promotional image in Star Wars Celebration, we could see his eyes starting to turn yellow but it's virtually indistinguishable in this shot so the turn might be coming in the later half of the Last Jedi)

"I only know one truth ..."

A different angle of the Force Vision Rey experienced when she touched the lightsaber for the first time whereby we could see the orange hue illuminating Luke and his trusty droid R2D2 was in face coming from a burned down temple and (assuming) bodies laid all over the place that's a result of the Knights of Ren's intent to torn down his teaching (and presumed attempt to build back up the Order) and wipe out all of his disciples hence his drop to his knees, collapsing under dread and loss of hope.

Another misdirection seen here as the emergence of Captain Phasma sans her reported spear (surprise, surprise, she didn't perish in the trash compactor) leading the Stormtroopers from the smokes coming off of the result of their attacks on the Rebel Ship (where Poe was in earlier) instead of the temple right before this scene (notice the glowing door way at the left, the reflecting floor and chunks of debris off of ships).

It wouldn't have been Star Wars without a space ship battle in the void of space just outside off of a planet which is also not yet mentioned in name. This type of clashes between the two forces were always reserved for the penultimate battle before the main duel between the main antagonist and protagonist i.e. between Rey and Kylo Ren but would they keep using the same formula again?

Notice that the Resistance ships appeared to be under attack just outside of the rumored casino planet, Canto Bight. Those ships are the new Republic Capital Ships, Mark I Starhawk from the Aftermath novels and a surprise appearance of a more elongated A-Wing.

"It's time for the Jedi ..."

" ... to end."

Leaving us with a pointed stinger for the first teaser of the Episode Eight is a great marketing ploy as this quote go against everything that he's done before in the trailer: helping Rey to tune in to the Force, leading her to see through it and even training her to use the lightsaber properly. Logical deduction would indicates that he said this right after the first conversation with Rey after his refusal to accept his own lightsaber since his own Padawans have been wiped out by his own nephew and his gang of Dark Force users. Whether or not this declaration by him is firm and cannot be changed or somehow Rey was able to coax him to teach her the way of the Force or maybe even he's teaching her to look past Jedi and Sith, we have to see the final product in the cinema this December 15th.

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a case for the trailer:

* Scenes to Admire *

the misdirect from stars to the island's surface coupled with the wonderfully familiar yet new fitting soundtrack,

the picturesque view of Skellig Island from the side as well as from the top showing the vast sea and the unique mountains,

showcasing the main protagonist on location in front of another gorgeous scene on the island fitting for a postcard,

a new type of close-up shot not usually seen in the franchise but synonymous with the sci-fi genre,

the melancholic look of General Leia in the series for the last time (this would be her last movie, period),

going back to the past to put the spotlight on the history of Jedi and the Force in general with a practical shot that wouldn't look out of place in Harry Potter universe,

the now memorable training scene between the lightsaber-wielding Jedi-in-training and the monitoring Jedi Master,

the new take on the famous fight on Hoth with a new planet and vehicles to duel against each other and striking color palette,

the hope of the Force for Luke devastatingly being burned up into smokes,

the impactful entrance of Captain Phasma against the smokes as her and other Stormtroopers' silhouettes visible on them,

 

- Synopsis -

Having taken her first steps into a larger world in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Rey continues her epic journey with Finn, Poe and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the saga.

- IMDb - wiki -

Cast

Daisy Johnson as Rey, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Adam Driver as Ben Solo/Kylo Ren, Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, John Boyega as Finn, Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke, Laura Dern, Benicio del Toro, Billie Lourd as Lieutenant Connix, ...

(Director - Rian Johnson [Brick, Looper, the Brothers Bloom] Genre Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Star Wars Universe)

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