So, a thing happened this week. You may have heard about it, and you may even have witnessed it first-hand. It was the new Star Wars trailer. And it set the internet alight.
Since my brother and I are Hex Dimension's biggest Star Wars nerds (which, at this point, means we're experts in stuff that doesn't matter any more) we naturally had thoughts and wanted to share them. Our reactions turned out to be very similar, but for quite different reasons. David once again demonstrates why he's the one with a writing degree - firstly by having a much better argument than mine, and secondly by saying more with two words ("exquisitely dumb") than I managed with two whole paragraphs. It was fun to write against each other like this, though, even if we did both somehow use the word "freaking" the exact same way.
To read our thoughts, click the image below. This blog post actually continues after the link, because I have a few additional points to make. So, once you've read the article, head back here if you fancy some extra fanboy rantings!
Since my brother and I are Hex Dimension's biggest Star Wars nerds (which, at this point, means we're experts in stuff that doesn't matter any more) we naturally had thoughts and wanted to share them. Our reactions turned out to be very similar, but for quite different reasons. David once again demonstrates why he's the one with a writing degree - firstly by having a much better argument than mine, and secondly by saying more with two words ("exquisitely dumb") than I managed with two whole paragraphs. It was fun to write against each other like this, though, even if we did both somehow use the word "freaking" the exact same way.
To read our thoughts, click the image below. This blog post actually continues after the link, because I have a few additional points to make. So, once you've read the article, head back here if you fancy some extra fanboy rantings!
You back? Ok, so you've read the piece, and you've probably rolled your eyes at my rather excessive reaction to something that's only on screen for a couple of seconds. As David says in the article, my disdain for that lightsaber is probably somewhat misplaced. Certainly, I've receieved a few comments from readers to that effect - it is, after all, just a prop in a film.
But here's the thing. If you'd never seen the trailer, and I showed you a screenshot of that lightsaber, would you even know what it was? Would you be able to tell that it was from a Star Wars movie? Because, for every other lightsaber in the series - even the purple one, or the one with two blades, or the Inquisitor's crazy spinning frizbee from Rebels - you can always instantly tell.
This thing? I don't think you could. Personally, I wouldn't even know that it's from a sci-fi - it looks more like a fire-sword from a fantasy movie. For all that it shows us familiar things, like X-wings and Stormtroopers and droids, the lightsaber in this trailer doesn't even register as a lightsaber. And, for me at least, that is a huge problem.
And, on top of that, I have a growing fear that the stupid design for this 'saber - from it's turbulant blade to its rediculous crossguard - is just another symptom of the backward-facing rehashing that David wrote about. We know that the new X-wings are derived from Ralph McQuarrie's early concept-art for the original film, and that the new droid is based on early notes for R2-D2. What if this production is so stuck in the past - so beholden to nostalgia - that they're using designs from old posters too?
...I really hate that sword.
But here's the thing. If you'd never seen the trailer, and I showed you a screenshot of that lightsaber, would you even know what it was? Would you be able to tell that it was from a Star Wars movie? Because, for every other lightsaber in the series - even the purple one, or the one with two blades, or the Inquisitor's crazy spinning frizbee from Rebels - you can always instantly tell.
This thing? I don't think you could. Personally, I wouldn't even know that it's from a sci-fi - it looks more like a fire-sword from a fantasy movie. For all that it shows us familiar things, like X-wings and Stormtroopers and droids, the lightsaber in this trailer doesn't even register as a lightsaber. And, for me at least, that is a huge problem.
...I really hate that sword.
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