Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens Trailer #2 Review

As a lifelong Star Wars superfan, I can hardly bear the excitement that I experience when something like another trailer for the latest installment in the legendary sci-fi saga is released. Just like the initial teaser, this second trailer plays heavily off of its built-in fandom with much of its imagery and dialogue. However, this one also shows us some footage of new characters, as well as a few brief glimpses at some of the action sequences. I'm fanboying out right now.

The trailer opens on a landscape shot of a desert planet, similarly to the first teaser. As the camera pans across the horizon following a speeder, it catches a view of a fallen Star Destroyer, symbolizing the fall of the Empire after Return of the Jedi. We are then treated to a voice over by none other than Luke Skywalker himself as he speaks the words he once said to Leia when revealing himself as her brother: "The force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. My sister has it."

But then he adds a new line to it..."You have that power too." He is most likely speaking to his child, which in the case of the expanded Star Wars universe, would be his son, Ben Skywalker. It has not yet been confirmed that Ben will be making an appearance in the film or even that Luke has a kid, but that's the logical conclusion to make when you hear him say those lines. And I think it would be great to see Luke as a father in this new sequel trilogy.

There were a number of images and reveals within this new trailer that caught my eye which I'd like to talk about. While Luke is performing his monologue, we get to see a few interesting things, the first being the charred remains of Darth Vader's helmet. I don't know if Luke retrieved it from the fire that burned his father at the end of Episode VI or if it was kept for some other reason. I'll be interested to find out.

We also see the passing of a lightsaber into what appears to be a child's hands. It looks to me like the lightsaber is Anakin's original, which would back up the theory that Luke is speaking to his son in the trailer and giving him that lightsaber just as Ben Kenobi gave Luke his first in Episode IV.

The new villain, who was revealed to be someone named Kylo Ren, makes an appearance with his
cross-hilted lightsaber. The concept art that was revealed of him reminds me somewhat of a cross between Darth Maul and Darth Vader. I'm hoping he's a strong central antagonist, which the prequels were severely lacking of. John Boyega's Finn and Daisy Ridley's Rey also get some screen time with this new trailer. It looks like Finn is a stormtrooper who somehow gets stranded and is found by Rey, who seems to be a native of the planet. I don't know the circumstances behind all this or how the journey goes from there. But I'm very excited to learn these things once I finally see the film.

They have chosen to show off some of the action scenes in this trailer. Abrams is known for crafting exciting films with well-shot action. His two Star Trek movies had some of the series' most impressive space battles, and his contribution to the Mission: Impossible franchise has what I believe to be the best action sequences in all four of the films that have been released so far. From what is shown in the trailer, The Force Awakens will be no different. The effects also look phenomenal.

The end of this trailer holds the moment that every Star Wars fan has been waiting for since it was revealed that the original cast was returning for these new movies. We get to see Han Solo - played once again by Harrison Ford -  with his old blaster and Chewbacca holding his classic Bowcaster. It's a very brief shot, and Han only says one line, but it was enough to get my pulse racing and my eyes tearing up with joy. Oh, how we've missed the old Millennium Falcon gang. It's going to be amazing to see them on the big screen again alongside Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.

I loved this trailer, probably more than the first one. We got all that nostalgic stuff that will make us Star Wars fans giddy with pure happiness, while also some new looks at what else JJ Abrams and company are bringing to the table with this movie and the new Star Wars films in general. I like what I see so far. The Force Awakens is safely locked in as my most anticipated film of 2015; December can't come quick enough.