Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) Non-Spoilers! (1 Viewer)

[Tim Glover]

The more I watch the trailer the more I love it!

I also love the sweeping music. Seeing The Saga Will End on the screen ...then slowly fades to The Story Lasts Forever with John Williams epic music... even today I have misty eyes and a lump in my throat.

1977-2019

It's been a wonderful journey. Some polarizing films here and there. But these people are kind of like family. A lot of us grew up with them. And then there's Rey. It's only been 3 movies but there is something about her and her intensity on screen. There's a heartfelt connection. The ending is needed but also bittersweet.

Its a great trailer!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

What I’ve realized is that for a lot of things I really enjoy and love, like Star Wars, that they’re often popular for very different reasons than the reasons that might keep bringing me back to the table.

I don’t think that makes my fandom any more or less important than anyone else’s. I’m interesting in the emotional journeys these characters will take. Others come for the world building and stick around for the story. I’ve come to realize that there’s nothing wrong with either perspective (or any different variation one might feel) but that I don’t really fit in with the Comic Con crowd. And that’s ok too.

 

[TravisR]

Of course there's already a goofy Star Wars name for the space-horsies. Hell, there's even a Wookieepedia-entry on them by now, stating their planet of origin, which links to other species that live there, with photos that haven't popped up in any trailer yet. This franchise's hardcore fandom gathers no moss, I'll give them that.

I used to think I was a fan when I was a kid, but I was a fucking dilettante.

Same here. It was a different game back in the 80's and early 90's though. You just had to know the names and species of the aliens in the cantina & Jabba's palace & the plot of the Zahn trilogy and you were basically a Star Wars master. Now there's 11 movies, hundreds of TV episodes, hundreds of canon comics, probably 30 novels, etc. and that doesn't get into the massive amount of Legends/EU stuff.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

No context provided for anything. Little idea what the movie is about. Movies are about story and characters and this trailer gave none of that.

We've gotten so used to trailers spoiling the whole movie that we have trouble accepting it when one just gives us enough of a taste to pique our interest.

 

[dpippel]

We've gotten so used to trailers spoiling the whole movie that we have trouble accepting it when one just gives us enough of a taste to pique our interest.

Yes, and I applaud Disney for showing some restraint with this trailer in regards to spoilers. I wish it happened more often.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Yes, and I applaud Disney for showing some restraint with this trailer in regards to spoilers. I wish it happened more often.

I agree completely here, but I think the reason it doesn't happen more often is that most movies actually have to depend on the trailer to sell it to you. Because this is the end of the Skywalker saga, Disney knows people are going to show up in the theater no matter what, so they don't have to show as much as they normally would to sell tickets. I bought my ticket an hour or so before the trailer even dropped yesterday, so while the trailer was cool to see, my ticket sale was not dependent upon liking it. My guess is most people here feel the same. Disney is taking advantage of that in holding back showing things. They probably don't feel like they can take that risk with most movies where the trailer actually has to be the thing that putts butts in seats.

 

[dpippel]

I agree completely here, but I think the reason it doesn't happen more often is that most movies actually have to depend on the trailer to sell it to you. Because this is the end of the Skywalker saga, Disney knows people are going to show up in the theater no matter what, so they don't have to show as much as they normally would to sell tickets. I bought my ticket an hour or so before the trailer even dropped yesterday, so while the trailer was cool to see, my ticket sale was not dependent upon liking it. My guess is most people here feel the same. Disney is taking advantage of that in holding back showing things. They probably don't feel like they can take that risk with most movies where the trailer actually has to be the thing that putts butts in seats.

You're probably right Jake, but IMO a marketing department that can't get butts in seats without giving away the store should simply be fired.

 

[joshEH]

Dan Mindel leveled up his cinematography-game from TFA (which was already pretty well-shot), that's for sure.

Second half of the trailer gave me goosebumps. SPACE-HORSE CHARGE ON THE SURFACE OF A SPACESHIP is the kind of gonzo shit I love.

 

[Jake Lipson]

You're probably right Jake, but IMO a marketing department that can't get butts in seats without giving away the store should simply be fired.

I agree with that -- but the studios are risk-averse, and they'd rather lay it out for us than chance people not coming.

 

[dpippel]

I agree with that -- but the studios are risk-averse, and they'd rather lay it out for us than chance people not coming.

Yep, pandering to the lowest common denominator.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Lucasfilm has released high-res stills from the trailer, albeit still too compressed (click to enlarge):

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Dan Mindel leveled up his cinematography-game from TFA (which was already pretty well-shot), that's for sure.

Second half of the trailer gave me goosebumps. SPACE-HORSE CHARGE ON THE SURFACE OF A SPACESHIP is the kind of gonzo shit I love.

I love the visual aesthetic that Mindel and Abrams have established across their work together. He’s become one of my favorite cinematographers to watch and I think he’s underrated.

You're probably right Jake, but IMO a marketing department that can't get butts in seats without giving away the store should simply be fired.

I’d be willing to be that marketing departments would in many cases like the opportunity to be more creative and abstract. I wouldn’t be surprised that there’s a lot of pressure from the people who write the checks to have all of the stuff show up in the ads. Even though I think it’s ridiculous, I think with these movies getting bigger and bigger, they’re scared of allowing a potential sales hook to go unused.

I used to think trailers giving away entire movies was a more recent phenomenon, and then I saw the original trailer to “Vertigo” which was a) about five minutes long and b) gave away the movie’s huge twist.

When he had all the clout in the world, M. Night Shyamalan wouldn’t allow the marketing department to use anything past the half hour mark of his movie. And I think that’s actually a reasonable guiding principle. If watching 30 minutes of your movie doesn’t compel me to want to see the rest of it, something’s gone wrong. So it stands to reason that all I should need to really know is teases of that first half hour to know whether I’d be interested in seeing where it goes.

But that’s probably not going to happen very often these days. With movies now expected to make the majority of their money in the first week or two, there’s no time for word of mouth. And as I mentioned earlier and while I know NYC is at the high end of prices - it’ll be $28 a ticket to see this movie in a good theater. For that kind of money, I understand why many people want an ironclad guarantee that it won’t be a waste.

Weirdly (from an experience point of view but not from an investment point of view), people today seem so much more adventurous about what they’re willing to watch - but the caveat is that that sense of adventure only covers the subscriptions at home. People will get into a weird show in large numbers and spend eight hours in a row watching something that ten years ago I’d never have imagined more than a dozen people caring about, so long as it comes as part of a $10 a month subscription - but that doesn’t translate to what they’re willing to pay to see, a la carte, out of the house.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

We've gotten so used to trailers spoiling the whole movie that we have trouble accepting it when one just gives us enough of a taste to pique our interest.

Agree there is a balancing act in crafting a trailer. For me this trailer did little to heighten my interest. All it does is leans heavily on the iconography of the series without providing any substance.

 

[Jake Lipson]

This trailer leans too hard on the iconography of the series without providing any substance.

You wouldn't call C-3PO's line about taking one last look at his friends substantial?

The trailer delivered exactly what I want because I don't want to know anything going into the movie. I understand the desire by some people to know more, but we're all going to see it anyway, and it's only 58 days away from release. It won't be long now. So what's the problem with the trailer opting to show less plot?

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Ha. That what I loved about the trailer.

heheh. To each his own.

Given where the previous movie left off, there are a thousand different directions this one can head. Would have been nice to have provided a few sign posts or tease where the main characters' heads are at.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

You wouldn't call C-3PO's line about taking one last look at his friends substantial?

That's a nice character beat to be sure but it's for a character that has been given little to do in this trilogy. Where's the same moment for Rey, Kylo, etc - aka the main characters? So yeah, character and story are the most important things for me. SW music and images are fine - but those are expected.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Where's the same moment for Rey, Kylo, etc - aka the main characters?

I'm sure they get theirs in the actual movie. They're obviously being saved, and I'm totally on board with that. I don't want to see something that significant for them now.

 

[Michael Henry]

Yep. Something big, and round, and...

So, how are we going to feel when/if they trot out a new Death Star? Or at best another Super Massive Weapon that has to be destroyed?

 

[Jason_V]

You wouldn't call C-3PO's line about taking one last look at his friends substantial?

Oh, that line, for me, is for the audience, not for the characters. C-3PO has had little to nothing to do with the story in this trilogy. Sure, he knows Poe and Finn and Rey, but his connection is to Luke, Leia and Han. This is a character the audience has been with since the opening scene of Star Wars back in 1977. What he says is 100% directed at the audience: we're getting one last look at the friends we've seen on screen for decades.

This movie is playing with nostalgia and saying goodbye...one of the reasons I think we haven't seen much of the actual story. They know the old school fans are going to go because it's the last hurrah (regardless of what anyone thought of The Last Jedi). They also know the hype will get the new school fans and the people who are just mildly curious.

So we play with old friends and "one last rodeo," so to speak, one more time. It also stands to reason: in continuity, Han and Luke are both dead and, in real life, Carrie Fisher is gone. The old guard is literally gone and this will be the last time we presumably get to see any of them on the big screen together.

 

[TJPC]

The first thought that came to my mind about this movie was, “Gee I hope I will be able to complete my trilogy by buying a 3D Blu ray of it”.

At least I’ll be able to see it in that format in the theatre.