Star Wars: The Force Awakens (JJ Abrams) -- NO SPOILERS IN THIS THREAD!

[Henry Gale]

[

Show Spoiler

Wheeewwwww. Fuck. Yass.

]

[Qrazy]

Looks boring.

[Qrazy]

Those two tiny blades coming out of the sides seem fairly useless other than for burning your own leg or hand off.

It seems to function as a crossguard to protect the hand of the wielder. Sort of makes sense because only saber can stop saber but at the same time I agree that it looks lame. It's problematic because as we can see in the clip the metal part of the sword extends horizontally past the girth of the initial blade. So if you slid your saber down that saber you should still be able to cut through the guard, no? I've always thought of sabers as more Asian in inspiration (which historically often feature swords without crossguards). This guy's saber seems like a longsword which makes little sense in relation to the light weight and fighting style of these types of weapons.

[EyesWideOpen]

Those two tiny blades coming out of the sides seem fairly useless other than for burning your own leg or hand off.

I don't know let's say two lightsabers hit each other and then you turn the handle towards them and that tiny blade gets them in the face.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I'm not saying there is no situation in which those blades would come in handy, they would just seem to pose a far greater risk than they are worth. And a crossguard would make sense if they could somehow be dulled, but I've never seen a crossguard that is as sharp and deadly as the blade of the sword. I also agree with Qrazy about the lack of need for a longsword/crossguard on a light saber, which is light, quick, and really deadly. It just seems like something tacked on to "look cool and different" without thinking about practicality and necessity.

[Ezee E]

Loved it. New direction, and I'm fine with that. Still feels like Star Wars based off that small bit.

Three bladed light saber seems weird, but I'm sure we'll see how it plays.

[Spinal]

I consider myself a pretty big Star Wars skeptic at this point, but I thought that trailer was great. It's definitely a good thing that it doesn't feel like a Lucas film. It seems clear that Abrams is bringing a lot of new ideas and rhythms.

[number8]

I surprisingly don't have any opinion on it. I'm weirdly so used to seeing new ancillary Star Wars projects over the past decade that this is still registering as just one of those?

[EyesWideOpen]

I'm not saying there is no situation in which those blades would come in handy, they would just seem to pose a far greater risk than they are worth. And a crossguard would make sense if they could somehow be dulled, but I've never seen a crossguard that is as sharp and deadly as the blade of the sword. I also agree with Qrazy about the lack of need for a longsword/crossguard on a light saber, which is light, quick, and really deadly. It just seems like something tacked on to "look cool and different" without thinking about practicality and necessity.

There are tons of products/items/objects that have things just to be cool and different so I don't know why the Star Wars world would be any different.

[Spinal]

I just hope we can make it through the whole movie without someone yelling "Nooooo!" or telling someone else they've got a bad feeling about something.

[Ezee E]

Yeah, I gather that the lightsaber is acting like a middle-aged one, but just looks kinda funny on first glance. The risk is certainly higher though since the longswords aren't sharp at the bottom, but meh

[Ezee E]

I just hope we can make it through the whole movie without someone yelling "Nooooo!" or telling someone else they've got a bad feeling about something.

This.

And a lack of a Jar Jar Binks type of character would be great. Kids will love it no matter what.

[Ezee E]

Btw, total Leone moment with the stormtrooper in the desert.

[Morris Schæffer]

The "weird saber to protect hand" talk is (possibly) interesting because a while back there was a rumour that the movie's prologue [

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would be Luke's chopped-off Empire hand floating

] through space.Unconfirmed though.

[Morris Schæffer]

Oh man a lot more rousing with sound enabled, but little to go on. Apart from the lack of anything infantile, I do not see how some are getting "a new direction" vibe from this. Or that it doesn't look like a Lucasfilm product. I'm sure JJ and writers will heed the wrongdoings of the past, but I see sand, the falcon, tie fighter, x-wings, light sabers. How is this not intensely familiar? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Sycophant]

There's admittedly little to go on. But in each shot, people are doing things. Not just saying stuff positioned against a CG background (of course, I'm sure previous teasers probably relied a lot on more visual/action shots). Things look a little dirty and not CG clean and sterile. I must say, I'm not quite pumped, but I'm interested. I'll certainly see this in a theater.

[Sycophant]

It just seems like something tacked on to "look cool and different" without thinking about practicality and necessity.

I can't say that it doesn't. And I also can't say that I don't like it.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Metroid ball R2 unit wtf

[Ezee E]

Oh man a lot more rousing with sound enabled, but little to go on. Apart from the lack of anything infantile, I do not see how some are getting "a new direction" vibe from this. Or that it doesn't look like a Lucasfilm product. I'm sure JJ and writers will heed the wrongdoings of the past, but I see sand, the falcon, tie fighter, x-wings, light sabers. How is this not intensely familiar? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Yes, they are there. So it looks Star Wars, but the camera positioning, the movement of the X-Wings, and the look of the droids is much different than previous movies.

And I do think in a good way.

[Neclord]

I'd say it looks a lot like an Abrams film, which is not something I object to.

[Skitch]

Lukes severed hand falls through bottom of Cloud City, through a worm hole through time and properly sets Luke's alarm droid.

[

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The Force Awakens

]

[Dead & Messed Up]

Yes, they are there. So it looks Star Wars, but the camera positioning, the movement of the X-Wings, and the look of the droids is much different than previous movies.

And I do think in a good way.

Didn't realize it until putting it in a Star Wars context, but Abrams is so busy with his camera. The camera shudders against X-Wing engine rumble, jitters alongside rolling R2, tracks the Sith like a cameraman.

Or maybe I didn't realize how placid Lucas's camera was.

I don't wanna judge one way or the other. It's just a weird fit to Star Wars.

[Morris Schæffer]

Yes, they are there. So it looks Star Wars, but the camera positioning, the movement of the X-Wings, and the look of the droids is much different than previous movies.

And I do think in a good way.

I remain resolutely unpersuaded of this, but the finished movie may yet make me see otherwise.

[Spinal]

Kenny Baker is 80 years old. Does he actually still do anything, or are they just giving him a courtesy credit?

[Winston*]

The dramatic cut from panicked John Boyega to a soccer ball droid was pretty weird.