Trailer Review – Star Wars The Last Jedi

So the most anticipated trailer, at least for me, has finally dropped. We finally have our first teaser trailer of The Last Jedi that has come out during Star Wars Celebration. Before we delve into talking about it let me point out that this review will more than probably have no objectivity whatsoever. Star Wars brings out the fanboy inside of me and it has remained one of my greatest loves since I was a kid. Watching Star Wars Celebration on my computer I was very excited and sensing the trailer arriving I was jumping around my apartment so as you can imagine it was going to be very difficult for me not to enjoy the trailer.

Without a doubt I absolutely LOVED the new trailer. It had everything I wanted and more as it made me excited about the film without revealing too much information as I do not want to know a lot about the movie before I actually see it. The trailer with the use of music immediately took us to that world we all love, to that galaxy far far away that has become a second home for many of us. When I see a trailer or a movie the most important thing for me is that it delivers emotionally and this trailer definitely did that.

If we go into details the trailer seems to be building towards a movie in which the central figure will be Luke Skywalker and his personal struggle, all of this while Rey is trained by him and Finn, Poe and Leia continue the struggle against the powerful First Order. The Last Jedi will show us, as seen in the trailer, Rey training in the planet where the first Jedi Temple was created Ahch-To. We have seen in a quick scene what appears to be some of the first books written by the Jedi and in my favourite scene from the trailer we see Luke over watching Rey training with her lightsabre. The trailer is action packed as we also see several scenes of the Resistance fighting against The Last Order in different planets and a classic and must happen in any Star Wars movie, spaceship battles.

 In this movie we are finally going to see Luke Skywalker interact with the new generation of characters and from the trailer we can clearly see we are going to have a jaded Luke. The destruction of the temple where he was training the new generation of Jedi, seen in a flashback in the trailer, has clearly changed him and he seems to have come to the conclusion that the way of the Jedi is wrong (maybe reading those books he realized that the original Jedi teachings have changed and they must return to those) and seems in the path to becoming a Gray Jedi. As seen in the dialogue during the trailer the balance in the force in this movie is going to be found somewhere between the light side and the dark side and this is highlighted in that scene in which Luke seems to be guiding Rey through meditation and she sees images of Leia, Kylo etc…all accompanied by whispers of other characters like Yoda, Obi-Wan and what seems to be Padme.

The trailer has worked perfectly for me and has delivered in every way that matters. I am incredibly excited to see this movie and happy about the way it seems to be going. The wait for the movie is going to be very long and I can’t wait for December to finally come. As I wait all I can do in the words for Luke Skywalker is “Breathe, just breathe” and rejoice in the fact that in 8 months my favourite movie saga, Star Wars, will be back with its new instalment, Star Wars The Last Jedi.

Rey – A Mary Sue?

So I have decided to address one of the most controversial issues on Star Wars today and that is the character of Rey played by Daisy Ridley and the idea that she is what people call a “Mary Sue”. First impression of the movie were mostly favourable and I remember talking to a lot of people who loved the Rey character. Yet as time passed I started listening and reading a lot of complaints about how Rey was overpowered, how she was too good at everything she did basically becoming a Mary Sue character. I am and will ever will be baffled by this argument, at least in regard to the Star Wars Universe since this is something that can be stated about other characters in the Star Wars mythos but no one has ever brought it up.

I remember quite well the day I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was the first showing of the movie on the theatre in New York I used to go. It was a rainy day and I was incredibly lucky to be the first person to get to the theatre and enter the cinema. I clearly remember the anticipation of all of us waiting, the expectation, and the nervousness we all had at finally seeing a new Star Wars movie after so long. I remember the joy we all felt when it finished, unknown people cheering and celebrating. During the movie the greatest cheer I heard was when Rey finally defeated Kylo Ren, it was deafening. The fact that now this has become a controversial, frowned upon moment by many fans still to this date surprises me.

The whole theatre rejoiced so much at this exact moment

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Let’s first state something, Rey was able to defeat Kylo for one simple reason and that was the fact that Kylo was heavily injured from the bowshot he received from Chewbacca. Kylo was weak and very hurt, which resulted in Rey, a very skilled warrior on her own right, getting the drop on him thanks in part to her discovering the Force.

But this is beyond the fact, people complain about the fact that Rey should not be such a skilled pilot (even though in the novelization we learned she had been practicing for a long time), she should not have been able to sneak away, she should not be able to fight like that…every time I hear those complaints I can’t help but think about the stupidity of them. Star Wars has always had characters like that, characters that without any formal training are able to do incredible things.

If we review we see that in the Phantom Menace a 9 year old Anakin was able to somehow destroy the confederation ships where many other more experienced pilots couldn’t. Padme Admidala, a politician, was somehow an incredible shot and a skilled figher. If we jump to A New Hope, Luke Skywalker was able to sneak around a highly manned battle station, shoot down several TIE Fighters and somehow become the ACE pilot in the Rebel Fleet whilst using a type of space ship he had never used before, was able to survive a fierce space battle and somehow do a “one in a million” shot and destroy the Death Star. Luke did all of that within the first days of becoming a rebel…yet no one has ever complained about how ridiculous it is.

Why has no one complained? Because this films are for fun, they are not meant to be taken too seriously and most of all because Luke is a man. Let’s not allow ourselves to be distracted Rey might be a “Mary Sue” but so was Luke. The only reason that we get complaints about Rey is due to the fact that she is a woman and people are not used to seeing a woman in such a position. Rey is a great role model for girls around the world and it is incredibly refreshing to see such a strong female character in this types of movies, a woman who is a warrior and a good one at that.

It is time we stop complaining about this issue and just rejoice in how wonderful Rey was. Heroes in Star Wars tend to be overpowered and very skilled but the importance of the story and the characters are what matter. In Rey we are given a vulnerable yet powerful warrior, a role that is rarely seen in women in film and I really think we should appreciate that. We don’t need to call her a Mary Sue because within the rules of Star Wars she fits perfectly the role of a hero, just like Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker.

Let’s all stop hating on this character and enjoy this rebirth we are having of the Star Wars saga. Right now this are great times to be Star Wars fans since we get to enjoy great fun movies at a pace we have never had before. I propose we all sit back and enjoy this wonderful amazing ride we are currently on.

Mara Jade Skywalker

There has been a lot of speculation since the Force Awakens premiered over the idea that Luke Skywalker was married and that in the last shot of the movie he is actually standing next to the grave of his dead wife. Fact is, we do not know yet and so far all we can base theories is on pure speculation and a single shot with slightly raised stones. However with the recent announcement that the term Emperor’s Hand is once again official in the world of Star Wars, I think it is a good time as any to talk about the wife of Luke Skywalker in the old EU stories, my favourite legend character Mara Jade Skywalker.

Mara Jade was raised to become the most trusted servant of the Emperor, killing all those her master wished her to do so for many years. Just before the Emperor faced his death at the Second Death Star he gave her what turned out to be his last order as he was dying, kill Luke Skywalker. Haunted by the death of her master she would turn all of her focus on achieving this goal becoming an outlaw, a smuggler and attempting several times unsuccessfully to kill Luke. In trying to achieve her goal she would ultimately fall in love with the Skywalker Jedi marrying him and becoming one of the most powerful Jedi Masters in the new Jedi Order and a key figure in the New Republic who would ultimately die at the hands of her nephew Darth Caedus attempting to protect her son.

The wedding and one of my favourite comics!

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I remember fondly reading the comics she was on, loving her character and being captivated by the growth and development of her character both in the books and comics. She was a strong willed woman, capable of standing by herself and giving us not just a good companion for the greatest Jedi Master but also providing a capable independent warrior. Her chapters on the Yuuzhan Vong series were always a personal favourite and among many of my preferred chapters

Mara Jade: Wise Jedi Master, deadly warrior

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I honestly hope we somehow get Mara Jade in the official canon again. If there ever is to be a wife for Luke it would be a great nod to us fans, who have been reading and devouring everything Star Wars, to have Mara back again. I realize this is highly improbable and even if they do so a lot of changes to the character would have to be implemented to make it fit with the new official story, yet I for one would be jubilant to see this amazing red-haired Jedi back into cannon (even if when Star Wars the Last Jedi begins she is already dead). The thought of seeing new comics with Mara, I will admit is a thought that makes me extremely happy.

Whilst I wait for that day to come, knowing full well that it is extremely unlike this day will ever come, I will be chilling in my room reading everything I own with Mara and hoping for her return.

Star Wars Theories and Fandom

I have always enjoyed thinking about Star Wars theories. All of the many books, encyclopaedias and comics I have collected in Star Wars (most of them now considered part of the EU) have been bought in a quest for me to know more about that galaxy far far away that has enthralled me so. Having read so much and seen the movies so many times one of the aspects I enjoy about Star Wars is coming up with theories about what will happen in the future. That I said I believe that lately the whole theorizing with Star Wars has gotten out of control!

As soon as Force Awakens finished I was already thinking about who Rey really was, who Snoke might be, why Luke was alone in that planet or what might happen in the next Star Wars movie. If you are a Star Wars fan that is unavoidable, our love for the story, for the world its set on makes us want to know more and more and more and that is of course a very good thing (especially for Disney since they know we are going to devour anything Star Wars related.) However I have the feeling that lately that this tendency is slowly becoming harmful, and it is not just exclusive to Star Wars.

Snoke is clearly an ewok

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Theories on who Snoke is, the parents of Rey etc…are found everywhere. People use the tiniest of possibilities to present us theories that become too far-fetched but also very interesting. The problems lies with the fact that when some of this awesome theories (not the ridiculous ones like Snoke=Mace Windu) do not become true fans are disappointed even though they were never a possibility. I have seen this happening with Game of Thrones, the theories some fans came up with are incredible and sound really interesting, however when they don’t come to fruition, since they were really far-fetched, fans become angry about it and disappointed in the show/film. I feel like there is a danger of this happening with Star Wars and the current amount of theories floating around. There is also the danger of spoiling yourself too much, some of the theories might actually be correct and fans who read them when they go to see the movie might find themselves disappointed since they had predicted that would happen.

The internet is a wonderful thing that has allow us to communicate with people all around the world but it has also made us really impatient and overeager to have an immediate response and knowledge. We need to find a balance with coming up with theories and also waiting to see how the movies surprises us. I personally can’t wait to see the movie and be surprised by all of it.

Meanwhile I will be kicking back confident in that Rey is a Skywalker, Mara Jade will feature in canon and Snoke is secretly an ewok wanting revenge for the Rebels bringing death to their home.