New ‘Star Wars: Battlefront’ Trailer: Anna Kendrick Dies And Goes To Jedi Heaven
The lastStar Wars: Battlefronttrailerwas a masterpiece of emotional manipulation. It was the lion lurking in the tall grass, watching your helpless nostalgia sneak away from the pack for a drink at the watering hole. It saw the weak spots in your armor, it knew how to break through emotional malaise, it was well aware that your defenses were already down becauseStar Wars: The Force Awakensactually looks like it could be the movie you’ve been waiting for. And then it struck. Even if you were prepared to see through its emotionally manipulative tactics, it forced a lump into your throat and a tear into your eye. Youmustplay this video game. It’s effective advertising.
The new trailer tries something, uh, a little different. Whereas the first trailer was all about the joys ofStar Wars(the joys of childhood!) rescuing you from your adult responsibilities, this one seems to have a slightly darker tone. To be fair, that dark tone is probably unintentional, but it represents the exactwrong Star Warsiconography to borrow and the effect is really, really weird.
But hey, it also featuresAnna Kendrick. Watch the newStar Wars Battlefronttrailer for yourself after the jump.
The trailer shares a similar theme to that first one: here comesStar Wars: Battlefrontto rescue you from the humdrum real world! And the game does look good. A modern update of the bestStar Wars video games ever made,Battlefrontjust lets you pick a side in the galactic conflict and flings you into battle. If you’re lucky, you can eventually spawn as a hero and cut down your foes as Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker.This one will even give you a taste of the theStar Warsuniverse between the events ofReturn of the JediandThe Force Awakens.
But while the first trailer saw the central character drawn into his fantasies by leaping into the cockpit of an X-Wing, this trailer is all about fans all over the word getting Jedi-Raptured out of their clothing and into a colorful afterlife where they can endlessly respawn into a never-ending war between the forces of good and evil.
Let’s think about this trailer for more than five seconds. Even the most casualStar Warsfan is familiar with the iconography being borrowed here. In the original 1977 film, Obi-Wan Kenobi duels Darth Vader, telling his old friend that if he’s struck down, he will become more powerful than he can possibly imagine. And we know what happens next: old Ben is struck down, only to show up again as a Force ghost, guiding Luke from beyond the grave.
So what are we to make of this trailer, which features mass groups of people vanishing into thin air Kenobi-style so they can get a taste of that sweetBattlefrontaction? Either the Force really is the one true God and it’s calling its faithful home, or large groups of people are willing themselves to death so they can play the newStar Warsvideo game. In either case, the suggestion here is thatStar Wars: Battlefrontis heaven, which is an awfully crazy thing to say aboutanyvideo game. C’mon. The beta was really good, but it wasn’tthatgood.
In any case, Anna Kendrick is apparently willing to die to playStar Wars: Battlefront. And that’s an insane way to sell a video game.
Star Wars: Battlefrontwill be available onNovember 17, 2015. It will be available in stores. Do not take rash action. Force-assisted suicide is not the answer.
