'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' Trailer Review

Hello, fellow moviegoers!
   With Star Wars: The Force Awakens hitting theaters last year, many fans are now turning their sights towards the next film in this galactic franchise. What is coming as a surprise to many is that the new film is not Star Wars Episode VIII, but rather Rogue One: A Star Wars Story which is a completely separate beast entirely. If you’d like an explanation about what Rogue One is and what it means for the future of Star Wars, click here!
   Many Star Wars fans were abuzz this past week as the trailer for this new film was revealed on Good Morning America early Thursday morning. So how does the film look? Is this a good trailer? Here’s what I thought…

​   Overall, I really enjoyed the trailer. However, I do have a few concerns. First of all, I wasn’t a big fan of Felicity Jones’ character Jyn Erso. She seemed like a bit of a predictable and cliché character from what we’ve seen so far. The whole “She’s so rebellious that the Rebellion doesn’t trust her” angle doesn’t seem to really make sense. I mean, if the Rebellion had this big important mission, wouldn’t they give it to somebody they trust? They’ll probably explain it well in the film, but as of now it seems like weak storytelling. Also, the last shot of her in an Imperial uniform while Forest Whitaker’s character asks “What will you become?” feels like a thinly-veiled attempt at throwing the audience off their scent. Either she actually became an Imperial, or she’s in disguise. Either way, it was a bad ending to the trailer. They either did a poor job at trying to make audiences think she might be bad, or they gave away possibly a huge plot point in the film.
    Other than that, I thought this was a fantastic trailer. I’d like to note the exceptional editing of the sound and the music. They used the classic Star Wars score, however, they added their own flare to it to drive home the fact that this isn’t the typical Star Wars film. Also, the use of the Imperial siren when they cut to the action was brilliant. It built tension within the trailer while also tying in with the score and what is actually happening in the quick shots we see.
   There were several shots in this trailer that I wanted to point out specifically, because they were great. The first of which was the shot of the original Death Star being built, and the finishing touches being put on the “superlaser” (Yes, I researched it. That’s the canonical title). It really shows the audience that this film takes place before the events of A New Hope. The shot of the rebels running towards the AT-ATs as they’re being fired at was also very well done. It showed what the director has said is the point of this film, that these are Star WARS. They really want to make this a war film set in the Star Wars universe, and I would be willing to bet that shot is one of many intense war scenes in this film.
   The two standouts amongst the cast in this trailer were Ben Mendelsohn and Forest Whitaker. Even though we only see Mendelsohn in two shots (one of which we don’t even see his face) he looks amazing as a higher order Imperial Officer. While we don’t hear him speak, Mendelsohn is an awesome actor; and with only his outfit and one look on his face, he raised my excitement level for this film immensely. On the other hand, we hear Whitaker talk quite extensively as he narrates the back half of the trailer. I thought they teased him and his character very well. We see a couple shots of him, and he looks extremely intriguing. He looks as if he’s just some random guy they find on the street; yet, when he speaks it almost sounds as if he’s talking to someone (probably Felicity Jones) that he’s known for a long time. I’ve got a feeling that Whitaker will be one of the best parts of this film as a whole. 

   So what did you think of the trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story? Do you agree with my thoughts or not? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this article, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie news and other miscellaneous movie thoughts!
 
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