Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Teaser Trailer Thoughts and Impressions
-Something very familiar but very new
-Yesterday evening, seemingly random, Disney released an 11-second teaser of Rogue One. This teaser came with the reveal that tomorrow (which is now today), a full teaser trailer would be released on Good Morning America, a popular morning talk show. Well, today with the release of the long-awaited teaser trailer , fans and critics alike have taken to the internet to give their thoughts and impressions. With that being said, it's only right that I take part in the discussion. Here's my trailer breakdown:
Right from the get go, we come to one of my favorite parts of this trailer: the music. After getting past that screen letting us viewers know that the trailer is appropriate for all audiences, a soft and faint music begins playing. Sure enough, the music playing is that Star Wars theme we're all so familiar with. Yes, the one that plays when Luke stares off into the dual sunset of Tatooine. Yes, the one masterfully remixed for the first full-length Episode 7 trailer. That one. It's a beautiful rendition and takes cues from Jurassic World. Like in Jurassic World, the theme is being played softly on a piano. Obviously, there's no link there; just a recognition of a smart musical decision. This rendition of John William's classic sets the tone for the trailer. You know right off the bat that this isn't going to be a fun time. It's eerie and alarming, soft but loud and clear. This movie will not be heroic and light. This movie will be dark and grim.
The shot presented here is Felicity Jones' character being led through a door, passing by that weird rebel armor first seen in beginning Episode 4.
Next, we see Felicity Jones' character turn around to look at the camera (us). It's hear that we hear her mutter her name: Jyn Erso. As the scene continues on, we hear a man naming off charges against Jyn. Forgery, stealing, assault and resisting arrest. Jyn is not a good citizen of the galactic universe. She's a lawbreaker, through and through. It's a refreshing change of pace as we're used to following a lead who seemingly can only do good. Jyn stands as the complete opposite of that.
After walking through what appears to be a base on Yavin IV (first seen in Episode 4), Jyn is brought to a table opposite Mon Mothma, played by Genevieve O'Reilly. It's important to note that while walking through this base hangar, we see a jungle outside and vines hanging over the garage door. If this is Yavin IV, then this base is actually an old temple. Anyway, as we arrive to the table with Jyn, Mothma declares Jyn "reckless, aggressive, and undisciplined." She continues on, stating that Jyn has been on her own since she was 15. Why? We don't know. Maybe she ran away from home or maybe her parents were killed. I'm sure we'll find out in December.
Next up is something I completely missed in my viewings but credit to Jacob Hall of Slash Film for catching this. Behind Jyn is a tall and thin droid, clearly a droid that towers over any average human in height. As Hall pointed out, this could be Alan Tudyk's character. Rumors suggest that Tudyk is playing a character brought to life by motion capture that is a "reprogrammed, Imperial assault droid who towers over an average human." This might be a stretch but it is possible.
Following that scene, we get a taste of Jyn's capabilities. We learn that she is very capable at holding her own. She defeats with ease a group of Stormtroopers. It's quick and brutal. This is certainly new to us in that in previous Star Wars entries, we watch our female lead grow into the heroine she was destined to be. Here, Jyn has that part covered. She's kicking butts and taking names already.
Here is your cliche hero shot featuring our heroes, or those who appear to be heroes aka Jyn and Luna's character, determinedly walking forward beside X-Wing pilots and soldiers, ready to take on a mission. Nothing too significant here but an exciting shot nonetheless.
We get another glimpse at Mendelsohn's villain character. With the sun setting, dead soldiers littered on the ground, and a ship glimmering with embers post-explosion, it appears his character is making an appearance after the battle. With that in mind, whatever goes down on this planet must be big. Why else would he leave the comfort of the Death Star to walk the ground of a tropical battlefield?
Here, we have one of the most interesting and conversation-starting scenes from the teaser trailer. There's those red figures, the Emperor's Royal Guard, which indicates that the cloaked figure menacingly walking forward might be Emperor Palpatine. It could be Vader (who's supposedly in this movie) but in my opinion, the outfit doesn't match that of Vader's. Any other possibilities?
Whitaker's character appears to be laying into Jyn. In some capacity, it reveals that his character has been through the ringer plenty of times; at least enough times that he feels he can scold Jyn on the possibilities of being caught, fighting the Empire, etc.
Just like the majority of the cast, we get no name or dialogue from Jiang Wen's character but we do get a dope action scene that makes Wen look like a total badass. Rumors suggest he's a bounty hunter turned rebel fighter. His outfit follows that rumor but whether or not that's true, we won't find out for some time to come.
Finally, this shot. We get another shot of that new tropical planet with some rebel soldiers racing along its' beaches, but more importantly, the freaking walkers. FOUR AT-AT's, yes FOUR! The rebels were always the underdogs but man, they are way way under this time around. To add to this, Edwards shoots the shot from ground up which gives the walkers an even more terrifying and menacing presence. If this trailer indicates anything, it's that Edwards totally understands what he's doing with this movie.
The teaser trailer ends with this magnificent shot of Jyn clearly in an Imperial outfit. This is one of the shots that everyone is currently talking about. Here's my take: Okay, so with the announcement of Rogue One and the reveal that this movie will be about the crew that stole the Death Star plans, my mind immediately decided that "Rogue One" was the name of the squadron that completes the task. I still think this is true but I think the name of the title stands to have a double meaning. With Jyn in Imperial garb, it's reasonable to say that she infiltrates the Empire and then goes "rogue". She poses as an Imperial to gain understanding of the Death Star and then use that info to go "rogue" and let the rebellion know exactly what's going on in there. Jyn is essentially the "rogue one." Time will tell but I have a feeling that I'm right.
Finally, we get our title reveal and the month that this movie will be released. Pretty standard stuff here but it makes for a cool wallpaper.
-Welp folks, we did it. This was a frame-by-frame breakdown of the Rogue One teaser trailer. I, for one, am extremely stoked to see this story played out on the big screen, and if it's anything like this trailer, it seems that Edwards will knock it out of the park with this movie.
Thanks for joining me readers!
Questions and Comments are always welcomed!
What about the loud duck noises? Goose? Why not a standard siren noise?
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I learned a lot. I feel like a super noob.