Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer Review

Lucasfilm is a historic film production company originally run and owned by

George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars. By having this logo appear at the
beginning of the trailer its quite clear that the trailer will be related to Star
Wars. The legendary logo is always used at the beginning of a Star Wars film
or trailer, meaning that its quite exclusively Star Wars. In addition, its quite
important to have the logo there for copyright and business reasons.

This shot will be very nostalgic for long-time Star Wars fans. The shot features
the iconic Star Destroyer and X-Wing Fighter as featured in many of the other
Star Wars films. In addition, the audience is able to tell that the film is a Sci-Fi
due to the obvious iconography of there being a couple of spaceships. The
size of the Star Destroyer compared to the tiny speeder at the bottom of the
frame shows the sheer scale of the shot, and also whats to come in the
movie itself.

Again, another very iconic shot is this one, of Darth Vaders burned out mask.
Most people will be aware of this mask or the character himself through pop
culture, therefore not keeping this shot exclusively for existing Star Wars
fans. If people dont know the character, its almost definite that they know
the sound effect played of his wheezed breathing. The fact that its burned
out symbolizes the old trilogy, confirming it as something of the past. This
shot again reinforces the fact that the film is a Sci-Fi flick with its unusual
design of the mask and also the silvery colour scheme it has.

In addition to the previous two shots, this shot is also very iconic. Much like
Darth Vader, many people, regardless of being a Star Wars fan or not, will
know who R2D2 is. By having him in the trailer, it acts as nostalgia for the old
fans and something familiar for the new ones. The colour scheme is orange
and red with embers flying about in the frame. This adds a more mysterious
tone to the trailer, perhaps representing anger or violence. The metal hand
shown adds to the fact that the film is a Sci-Fi, as well as R2D2, the droid.

This shot is what I believe to be truly symbolic and an important feature of

the trailer. This shot symbolizes the handing of the Star Wars saga from the
old generation of fans to the new generation, as well as its more literal
meaning in the context of the narrative. The lightsaber is a highly iconic
weapon featured in movie history, as well as any parodies or merchandise.
The inclusion of something iconic acts as a drawing factor for the audience to
view the film. The darker colour scheme with what appears to be futuristic
buildings in the background reinforces the idea of the film being Science
Fiction.

At this point of the trailer, the iconic John Williams Star Wars score has kicked
in as we see the heavily iconic Rogue One squadron zooming past the
camera. For the old fans, its something of nostalgia and for the newer fans
its something truly visually stunning. The landscape is beautiful and natural
while the spaceships gives it that Sci-Fi edge. The colour scheme is bright and
shiny to perhaps lure the audience into a feeling of security and happiness
before what follows in the trailer.

Like most trailers, we are introduced to the antagonist of the film about
halfway through. Here, we see Sith, Kylo Ren in centre frame in a close up,
signifying his character of some importance. The lightsaber glow behind him
is significant to those new fans and old fans of the saga. The colour scheme
of destruction with the harsher red and black colours help the audience see
this character as the antagonist of the series.

This shot is highly symbolic and representative of the Third Reich. The
imagery of the master race stood in front of red flags draped over massive
buildings is a clear representation of the Nazis rising to power in Germany.
This symbolism helps the audience see these characters as enemies,
especially for those who are long-time fans of the series who know that the
Stormtroopers make up the armies of the Galactic Empire. The colour scheme
is bright to show this Aryan Race in all of its might and power.

This shot introduces much of the action into the trailer with Stormtroopers
flying around, hit with explosions from the spaceship shooting at them. This
pays tribute to the action genre, so rather than just being a Sci-Fi film, this
trailer makes sure that the audience know that it is just as much about the
Wars than the Star.

Perhaps the most iconic spaceship in all of movie history, The Millenium
Falcon makes its appearance in this shot. Giving a sense of thrill and speed to
the film, this shot helps punctuate the point of the film: Star Wars is
returning. Calling back to the first scenes of the trailer, the planet is quite
clearly the same, tying up some of the narrative of the trailer. The spaceships
ij combat again help to inform the audience that they are watching the trailer
for a Sci-Fi film.

Chewie, were home.

This simple line of dialogue sums up the entire trailer in one go. The climax of
the film trailer entails the main characters of the original trilogy appearing on
the screen for the first time in 32 years together. As important for existing
fans as it is new fans, the emphasis on these characters helps the audience
understand that they are in for a complete nostalgia-fest, one of the many
USPs of this movie.