Star Wars Episode VII & Jurassic World Trailers!
So I had to do an emergency blog today because I’ve seen two trailers from two franchises over the past two days that were big for me during my childhood.
Looking for something to be thankful for? Let’s start with these:
Jurassic World
Okay, It’s obvious that this film is again playing on our fears of bioengineering. And really, it’s a great fear to play on because every year we advance so much in the field. It’s common for film and literature to assume that when we do make these steps, we’ll screw up severely and who’s to say we won’t? We aren’t perfect. We use stories and art as cautionary tales for the moral gray areas humans face as we push boundaries and test waters that many would argue are not boundaries we need to tamper with.
This time Jurassic World is taking the concept and pushing it a bit further than the original. As you can clearly tell from the trailer, scientists (who, in movies, can’t help but to meddle and cause world destruction) have created a creature that they can’t control.
It seems that Jurassic Park is an open and “safe” place for families to explore a prehistoric world. Kind of like if all of Orlando, Florida’s theme parks were put into one awesome ancient experience. I have to say, If I had the chance, I might be the first in line to visit this place.
Visually, I’m not entirely impressed with all the graphics. They aren’t horrible for 2015 by any stretch, but I’m not especially wowed. I’ve seen graphics and dinosaurs look about this good in Discovery Channel specials and with a budget as big as I imagine Spielberg allowed, I think a little extra flare may have been due. I am, however, stoked that they didn’t show that horrible monster that’s the root of the major conflict. Keep me guessing so I have nightmares. That’s exactly how I like it. Well played.
Let’s look at the worst part of this trailer:
“Almost forty feet high. Really think she climbed out?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“What kind of Dinosaur they cooked up in that lab.”
Really? Not only are these lines actually in the movie, but they decided to feature them in the trailer? Are they trying to make the movie look bad?
All ranting aside, I’m still going to watch this.
Let’s move on to my personal favorite
Star Wars VII
Anyone who knows me personally knows that I’ve been incredibly nervous for this new set of Star Wars films. This isn’t just because I fear for my own enjoyment, but because I want my son (who’s now nearly 2) to grow up with the same awe that I had when I first watched Episodes IV-VI. Dear, J. J. Abrams: Don’t screw this up for him (and me).
Watching this trailer, I’m very pleased with where it’s going. I have a sense of nostalgia mixed with a very strong sense of newness. I see a certain excitement and dynamic from the franchise that I haven’t seen from it before. Characters who aren’t flat and unfeeling and the J. J. Abram’s brand of dramatic SciFi that we saw him accomplish with the new Star Trek films.
The cute droids and otherworldly technology carried over into this new movie. The storm troopers look just as frightening as they did when I was young, only this time, I have faith that maybe they’ll actually be able to aim a blaster and make a kill once in a while. I’m beyond excited to see the return of X-Wing fighters, the Millennium Falcon and, of course, the Sith.
By the way: that Sith lightsaber is bound to thrill and piss off a lot of people. It’s a double edged lightsaber (see what I did right there?), but I personally love that they took the Broadsword idea and brought it to the very Samurai/Ninja feel of the Jedi/Sith legend. There is obvious cross over between the western world of Knights and the Eastern world of Samurai in the Star Wars universe and it’s nice to see them continue to play with those lines.
But what do you think?
Are you thrilled or disappointed with these trailers?
Will these films be amazing or horrible?
I’d really love to know your thoughts, so feel free to leave them in the comments!
