Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer

>magic energy sword
>practical
>"over the top" - it's fantasy, everything in these films is over the top and ridiculous

hahahahaha. ok

also lol'd at comparing a shotgun (something real) to an energy sword. Funny shit

Right, so because we're dealing in science fiction, anything goes and nothing looks ridiculous because anything is possible in a fantasy universe. Might as well have Luke rebirth as a Wookie because it's science fiction and anything goes, right?

Wait, no, that's retarded, and so is your logic. Things in both fantasy and science fiction alike typically have a reason for existing and some practical purpose. It's world-building, essentially. Typically they don't just throw random dumb shit in and go "yup, put it in there cuz it looks cool". The idea is that they're trying to make build a world that isn't humorous joke - and putting things in like that lightsaber doesn't help their goal. I'm surprised this even has to be explained really.

Did the original Star Wars trilogy have a series of bad guys with unique lightsabers? No. Because it's stupid and doesn't really even belong in the Star Wars universe. It'll be great for selling toys though. It's not like I'm proclaiming the movie is crap because of this lightsaber, I'm just saying it's a pretty lame one and sticks out like a sore thumb. It's not like the teaser showed much at all - so I'm not really sure what else there is even to discuss. I appreciate that it wasn't complete fan service, but I don't necessarily think they've got the best creative minds on this one based on what was shown so far.

I'm curious, what's so ridiculous and over-the-top about the original Star Wars trilogy anyways?...

Agreed. This excuse is the same as saying "GTA's mediocre writing is acceptable because it's done all in the spirit of satire!!" There's mature, intelligent, witty satire, and then there's a crude, juvenile, child's interpretation of it which the GTA series flaunts thinking somehow it's some sort of badge of honor.

Star Wars is an alternate, fantasy universe, but that doesn't automatically entitle it to any absurdity. Not that I find the hilt to be one, but in terms of practicality I'm not seeing it.

What? I don't know what Luke and a Wookie have to do with anything - I was talking specifically about the cross lightsaber - bringing out exaggerated strawmen doesn't give your argument any credibility.

I think it looks fine and totally in line with everything else in the franchise. For everyone to have the exact same lightsaber is kind of boring to be honest. It's cool that they're trying to bring a new spin on it to show this isn't just a fan service film. As for the second bolded, If the leaks are to be believed than the wielder of it isn't a jedi and the reason two blades protrude from the end is because he can't control it fully. I think that's pretty interesting and opens up the possibility of the character's development relating to him wielding his lightsaber properly. There's your practical purpose and world building aspect of it.

Why is it stupid for them to have unique lightsabers? You keep saying it's a terrible idea but you never address why. I think it's cool that each lightsaber is different and reflects the wielder, that shows the creators thought about the characters on every possible angle. I haven't ever followed the franchise outside of the films so if there's some kind of narrative reason why it's stupid then feel free to aware me on it. As of right now, I don't get the nerd rage (not from you but others that I'm reading impressions from too).

Everything was over the top and ridiculous about the original films. They're lighthearted live action cartoons for adults and I've never taken them seriously.

Trailer didn't make me go hype for this film

Probably for the best to go in with no expectations.

Nice signature btw; very Sir Jimmy Savile.

If the worst/most debated thing about this movie is a lazer cross-guard, then JJ has already won.

Probably because there is no trailer.

It's a teaser, and it did its job, everyone's talking about it.

Luke was in a stormtrooper suit when he stole one, the white suit would help keep you cooler in the desert. I'm betting on it's stolen, I bet 7 will be awsome then 8 and 9 will suck and then the franchise will be full on ruined.

The very CONCEPT of the light sabre.

Well, to be honest, the concept of lightsabers is pretty ridiculous to begin with. And I'm not even talking from a "that isn't possible" standpoint, but from a "they'd be too dangerous for anyone to actually use" standpoint. One we're accepting the use of lightsabers at all, I'm not gonna complain to much about an extra blade or a hilt. It ultimately comes down to how the movie sells viewers on the concept, so we'll just have to wait and see. ANY lightsaber is a ridiculously impractical idea. And if the internet was around before the original movie came out, I'm sure we'd have legions of sci-fi/fantasy nerds complaining about how stupid it is for people to be using swords made out of laser beams. But the movie sold us all on the concept, so no problem.

Anyway, as I expected, there wasn't much to see here. Which is fine, since it's just a teaser. Overall, I seem to like the look that they seem to be going for. I'm actually not a prequel hater, but I will agree that the prequels were too CGI-heavy and cartoony-looking for their own good. So it's good to see that these movies seem to look a bit more "real" (though it feels silly saying that about a Star Wars movie). My point is that while this gives no indication of characters or story, we can see a little bit of the look that they're going for, and I like how the world seems to have a bit more visual weight to it, as if this stuff actually exists in a physical form.

I almost shed a tear when the original SW music hit while the Millennium Falcon flew across the sky. Seeing that beautiful ship take flight again after all these years man... That really hit me.

I think we should not judge the lightsaber until we see it in use. It may look goofy to you guys (I think it looks awesome) but the hilt might not be guards and with the siths or assassins fighting style, he probably kicks a lot of ass with it and uses it for different fighting techniques. We should chill until the actual trailer that could show us the saber in use.

I've always enjoyed the look and feel of the SW films, new and old. What needed to be taken from Lucas and handled by real grownup professionals was the dialogue, and the direction of the actors. Listening to the dialogue in the prequels, and the delivery of same by actors who have proved their competency in other films, made me envy the deaf.

Looks pretty cool, interesting having a stormtrooper as a main character. Unless he's not a stormtrooper and has just stolen a suit like Luke did.

Not all stormtroopers are sympathetic to the cause of the Empire (many were conscripted). And you also have to remember, at this point, the Empire is fractured and in the process of being dissolved. So many might be questioning their loyalty.

I honestly think an Imperial as a protagonist is brilliant. Whether he is loyal to the Empire or not. We only ever get the "good guys" perspective on events.

Aren't clone troopers a white New Zealand guy? Unless that was disregard.

I think by this point in the timeline, most of the clones have died off or are too old to serve as stormtroopers, most of the stormtroopers are people who have been recruited.

Whatever happened to those aliens who where growing them?

I'm not interested in anything to do with J.J. Abrams. Besides that I'm sick of all these reboots like Star Trek, etc.

... Revan is not going to be mentioned seeing as he existed THOUSANDS of years before any of the events that are occurring here... Furthermore I can't stand the criticism of the lightsaber.. People saying it's impractical and stupid.. But they are perfectly ok with people flying across the screen with ridiculous acrobatics in a fight.. Right.

YEP lets focus on a completely mundane part of it while ignoring a universe in which people are flipping around on the screen in ridiculous acrobatics when they fight! Makes perfect sense.... This is like crying out about the absurdity of Godzilla breathing fire while ignoring the fact that it's a 300 foot fucking lizard.

we will nitpick this all year thank you very much.

I just find this hilarious that it's THIS of all things that send people over the edge.. Not the majority of ridiculous fight scenes in basically the last 2 movies in which we had dumbass fight scenes with people flipping around all over the place with ridiculous flourishing that is in no way practical.. This isn't even the most outlandish lightsaber in the universe.. Exar Kun's was a double bladed lightsaber with the hilt size of a single saber in which he used it one handed.. There are lightsaber whips... There are extremely rare materials that do deflect lightsabers in the universe like cortosis.. So you couldn't even make the argument that it could cut through the cross guard because there are substances out there that does stop it.. I mean if this flips peoples lids, how can you guys even stomach watching ANY of the movies? This isn't even the first lightsaber in the Star Wars extended universe that had a cross guard to it...

I love the X-Wing visual shot!

It's not a reboot. It's a continuation.

I think it's just because people have to nitpick about SOMETHING. And since the teaser really didn't show much of anything, their pickings are pretty slim.

To be fair, that's not saying that the new lightsaber isn't stupid. But for a series like this it really has to be evaluated in the proper context. You can't judge it based on a 2 second video clip taken out of context and not having a direct relation to anything else in the movie. Again, this is Star Wars, and that light saber scene was so brief that the reveal basically amounts to a still screen capture. Go through ANY of these movies and take random screen captures, and a hell of a lot of them will look stupid when stripped of all context. My point being, people need to cool the hell down. Let's wait until we actually see something substantial before judging this stuff. If not the entire movie, then at least let's wait for an actual trailer or video clip in which we get to see the lightsaber in use.

Anyway, why are people so eager to hate on new Star Wars movies? A while back I posted a theory that people WANT continuations of their favourite franchises to suck, because that makes the originals look better by comparison. Is that what's going on here? Are people afraid that if the new Star Wars movies are awesome that it'll make the originals look shitty by comparison? I just find this whole thing sort of weird. When these movies were first announced, it seemed like the entire internet was like, "Hell yes! New Star Wars movies and George Lucas isn't there to ruin them! OMG, this is the best thing ever, Star Wars will end on a high note and it'll wash the bad taste of the prequels out of our collective mouths!" But then the first time we actually barely see the tiniest glimpse of anything, everyone's dismissing it because of 2 second long clips showing black stormtroopers and ball droids and light sabers with a beam hilt. I'm not even a Star Wars fan, so I'm not invested in this and don't particularly care if these movies end up being a stain on the franchise. And even I find it a little bit weird that people seemed to want these movies so much until they actually get a tiny glimpse, at which point they need to rip it to shreds for the tiniest little thing.

Racist?

Or maybe he doesn't want a Storm Trooper to be the main character?

Why the **** would a storm trooper be the main the character? It has Luke, Han Solo; That girl.

And a young girl (presumably offspring and the main Jedi character).

Wonder who this guy is; at first I thought it was Luke but it could actually be the emperor?

Looks like it was the guy in the trailer.

I'd like to see you guys argue with this. Watch the whole video.

This is what i've been saying all along:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiabUnjU84w

The sword is brilliant.

Wow, are people seriously arguing about the science behind Star Wars? They added "fiction" into the genre for a reason.

His video is a joke - he even acknowledges as much. You can make up as much stuff as you want to justify it not looking stupid, but I think the people who are defending the design's practicability are completely missing the point - it looks incredibly stupid, not matter what you use to justify it. Back to what I said, anything more than just a single lightsaber design to me looks retarded. It looked stupid in Phantom Menace, General Grievous looked stupid with his multi-saber swinging action, and it looks stupid here. They can come with up a billion ways to show how it works within the universe and whatnot - but you'd be missing the entire point of what people are critiquing. The fact that you have to into deep discussions to justify why it isn't a stupid idea is enough to prove that people in general think it's a pretty stupid idea.

Looking at the early concept art (assuming it's the same person) a hand looks replaced.

People use real swords all the time. What's so dangerous about a lightsaber, given that someone has had the proper training with it? If that's ridiculous to you, I think you just aren't thinking about it enough. These things weren't super-common weapons or anything like that, they were obviously only obtained by those skilled enough to use it (and skilled with the "force"). Obviously we have different ideas about what reaches into the realm of "ridiculous". I agree that it's a *little* ridiculous, but not in the realm of "Okay, this is so ridiculous, anything goes!" - like the modded lightsabers are. They honestly detract a lot more than what they bring to the table. It's tacky from any point of view you look at it IMO, no matter how it's introduced. Maybe if it was just something they just threw into the film, I wouldn't have much to say about it, but with the way they presented it in the trailer, it was as if "Oooh, look at this badass lightsaber, I bet you want to see the film now!" - as if it were the centerpiece of the teaser, and it's just super lame.

My *care* level for JJ Abrams and his version of sci-fi flicks couldn't be any less, frankly. He can do whatever he wants with the films. Star Wars for me will always be the original trilogy, and I'm not really budging on that stance. That doesn't mean I won't point out things that look stupid though. The SW universe, particularly the one fleshed out with all the EU material, is pretty crappy and ridiculous. Despite them eliminating the EU, this feels like something that belongs right in it. Or, in the prequels, which I found to be very poor and ridiculous too. I'm sure this movie will be a lot better than the prequels, but at the same time I'm expecting tons of dumb schlock - the same dumb schlock that plagued the recent Star Trek movies. With all of Abram's focus on making things look cool and polished, the plot will off in nonsensical La-la-land. It would be great if they can at least make the villains make a little more sense than Khan or Nero.

Angry Joe Impression on the Star Wars tease trailer:

Really?

I saw it and thought he's laughing at the nerds who are actually nit-picking the most practical designed saber to date....

To each their own.

Okay. By that same logic, the new lightsaber is obviously only for those skilled enough to use it. If you can accept someone going through the training it takes to become a master of the light saber without ever making a single mistake (seeing as how mistakes would be either fatal or crippling), then it's a pretty freaking small stretch to assume that they'd be able to avoid maiming themselves with the hilt.

What's the purpose of metal tubing on the hilt if there was just a beam? Makes no sense. Once again, we all saw what happens when a lightsaber contacts the hilt (it breaks). It really just doesn't make any sense given what we know about lightsabers based on what we've seen in the previous films.

Well obviously training for a unique lightsaber wouldn't exist, he'd have to have trained himself. The stretch is that this villain would have to have went through an extraordinary amount of time and effort just to have a slightly different lightsaber, which frankly, just looks stupid. The design looks cumbersome and distinctly less versatile than the already iffy-lightsaber. Could be a possibility though. In the concept art they show he has a robotic hand - so unless the dude is full-on robot, it's possible he had his hand sliced off so he decided to modify and create a lightsaber to his liking which prevents that from happening again. I honestly have no problem with the concept of the crossguard in that context, I just think its the combination of the idea on paper versus the execution that seems a little bit iffy.

Like I said, we don't know the execution yet since all we've seen so far is 2 seconds of the light saber in what might as well amount to a still image. So let's just hold our horses and stop complaining until we actually see something substantial in the appropriate context. We'll see how the filmmakers execute the idea, and they'll either sell us on the concept or they won't. Until then, who knows?

I don't really know why you'd need more than 2 seconds to critique the design, we can plain-as-day see what the light saber looks like. I wouldn't expect much in the way of a technical explanation - Star Wars and J. J. Abrams usually avoid explaining things in their versions of sci-fi. Was there any reason for Darth Maul to have his special light saber in Phantom Menace? No, he just had one. I don't even think there was a single comment on it in the entirety of that film. For this one they might provide a literary explanation perhaps, but I'd be really surprised if they even give a single line describing how it actually works in a way that would contradict people's criticisms of the design. In his last film, Into Darkness, they froze a volcano with cold fusion. With technobabble as crappy as that, I highly doubt J. J. Abrams would have much concern with the verisimilitude of lightsabers, or any sci-fi concepts for that matter. It really doesn't matter if it's a crossguard or not - it's a fairly simple subjective matter, some people think the lightsaber looks bad ass, other people think it looks stupid. I'm in the latter camp. It's a valid complaint about what's revealed in the teaser which leads to speculation regarding the movie - and that's all it is, speculation. Nothing wrong with that.

Everyone of course can have their own opinion about how they think the light saber works and why they like it or don't like it. For me, as I've mentioned before, the design looks weird and it's a little confusing. I'm down for toying with the concept of a light saber, but it has to be done tastefully and with respect to the universe in which it's supposed to belong to. When I think of lightsaber, I always thought of some versatile Jedi weapon that could be used in many situations. But then I see this guy hulking around an extra-large one with extra blades, and then I'm questioning "Why wouldn't someone just shoot him in the knees?". That light saber doesn't seem particularly useful for spinning around to deflect gun fire, and if he did do it, it'd look awfully silly - slicing up the ground beneath him in the process. I get this wacky comic-vibe. I can see why for many people this might not stand out as being something that bothers them, but I personally was hoping they nixed the EU content because they wanted try to maintain a SW universe that was slightly less silly, but now I get a sense that this movie might be drifting off into its own brand of silliness.

The light saber itself isn't really important, but It alludes to the subject of the film's capacity to satisfy diehard fans. It's an interesting subject to me because the newer Star Trek films are the epitome of films that devalues an existing franchise in order to sell a more aesthetically appealing, more exciting, streamlined version of the Star Trek universe we once knew. I'm curious to see if this will be the case with the Star Wars movies. Details, like new light-saber designs, sort of gives an idea which direction these films are taking as well as who they're trying to most appeal to with the films. Will it be for the people who grew up with Star Wars? Will it be targeted more towards the youth of today? Or will it target both? The film isn't going to be out for another year, you can sit in a shell devoid of speculation, but honestly speculation is half the fun of it. This film might have more discussion concerning it pre-release than post-release.

Also

Please watch that video carefully again.

The metal tubing is to protect the users hand from under the crossguard....it's common sense. Without that metal tubuing, the top of his hand would be dangerously close to the horizontal beems.

It's the single most practically designed light-saber. But its a sci-fi fantasy film, JJ went so practical/usefull that the nitpicking fanboys are upset.

Why is everyone freaking out over this? It was a TEASER, not a full reveal!!! They aren't going to give a full trailer showing Luke, Han, Leia, Chewy and the others until probably Summer. I was quite impressed from what they showed. It looks much less cartooney than the George Lucas StarWars of this generation.....NO JAR JAR!!! The new Sith figure looks to be quite menacing in the vein of Darth Maul. lets hope that he has more than 15 minutes of screen time. I think the overall visual look is going to blow every other StarWars out of the water based on the current technology that is available to movie makers.

At the end of the day, IT IS STARWARS and everyone and I mean everyone will run to the theaters to see it next holiday season and if you say you wont you are a LIAR!!!

Most of these points are just stupid.....The new Lightsaber looks the way it does because it has the cross guard beams across the handle. Those beams are for defense not some wacky attack. Secondly, the Stormtrooper at the beginning IS NOT THE MAIN CHARACTER!!!! Apparently you have never heard of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill or Carrie Fisher!!!???? You know, the actors that built this franchise. Yeah, I some how doubt any of them would have signed up for a bit role!!! This movie will be about Luke rebuilding the Jedi order....i.e. "The Force Awakens" title. Han and Leia's kids will also be featured and yes, that storm trooper character in the trailer has a prominent role as well.

@ShoTTyMcNaDeS: Don't shoot the messenger. I just found the info and shared it here.

As for your point about the old cast, they are reappearing to hand the franchise off to a new generation. These movies are set 20 years after the end of Return of the Jedi. We can't really speculate as to what is going to happen in the films due to the fact Disney retconned the entire post-ROTJ EU canon... they could either take elements and play on them, or rewrite the entire thing. We won't know until we see the movie, or they release more info.

It's 4chan- expect shit.

I suppose, but if we're going by that logic - all lightsabers should have handguards because their hand would be close to the beams. The cross isn't any more dangerous than a regular light saber in that regard - if you have your hand too high in either situation, you're losing it. If they chose a different/better design, I feel perhaps people wouldn't be so fixated on it. I've already seen a few fan-made designs floating around the internet that look better than the one revealed. The rumored leaked information doesn't even seem to hint that the light saber is supposed to protect the hands, as much as it's just supposed to be really big and has off-shooting beams. But if it's wielded by someone who isn't even trained in the force, it seems even more pointless. I'm interested to see the direction they take this, though I have little faith in J. J. Abrams in pulling off a film that nearly appeases everyone.

I believe original light-sabers where inspired by Samurai swords. Apart from the side beams, this light-saber appears much longer as if it is inspired by a Scottish claymore.

@uninspiredcup said:

I believe original light-sabers where inspired by Samurai swords. Apart from the side beams, this light-saber appears much longer as if it is inspired by a Scottish claymore.

It is indeed longer and claymore like. Original lightsabers don't look a ton like Samurai swords but I agree that it is where they drew the inspiration from. I don't really think the idea of long claymores and lightsabers mesh quite well. Physical weapons benefit from additional mass, weight, and "heft" - lightsabers not so much. It doesn't really seem as much as a weapon that has an inherent advantage over a regular lightsaber - but rather more like a weapon that is less useful than a lightsaber in just about any application. There's no real reason why a bigger lightsaber would inherently be better than a regular-sized one. Seems something you'd want to use to scare people rather than actually bring to a battle. But lots of things in battle existed only for the purpose of intimidation.