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Ranking The 11 Shots From The Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer

After weeks of speculation, the first footage for J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens is now available for viewing. Was it worth the hype? Did it make us turn from the comfortingly dismissive cynicism of the Dark side toward the fanboyish optimism of the Light? The consensus: yeah, pretty much. Which is a little surprising, considering how little of a trailer it actually is. Unless Abrams plans on breaking up every other shot with a black insert, just half of the 88-second trailer has any actual footage in it. At only 11 shots long, is there much of anything that we can infer about the new movie’s plot, or how good it’s going to be?

2) Check This Sith Out

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Nostalgia Bait: 60/100

Neat New Stuff: 90/100

NEW LIGHTSABER! NEW LIGHTSABER!

While lightsaber fetishization will never really top the reveal of Darth Maul’s double-bladed one in The Phantom Menace, the unveiled hilted lightsaber certainly tries. Beyond just a design change, the saber itself glows and crackles with intensity both familiar and novel. Does it indicate this particular lightsaber hasn’t been wielded in awhile, or that computers can add a lot more particle effects to a laser sword these days? Maybe both.

Presumably, this is the new Sith character that Adam Driver is reported to be playing, and like everyone else in the trailer, he seems to be moving with purpose. The snow obviously recalls Empire’s frozen planet of Hoth, but the presence of trees would indicate we’re somewhere else entirely. Coupled with Sydow’s narration that clearly labels this character as part of the Dark Side, this easily could have been the OMG sendoff for the entire trailer.