Star Wars fans are a notoriously devoted bunch. But the latest stunt by one bunch of die-hards may have out-geeked all competition.
Just days after the final trailer for new chapter The Force Awakens dropped – loudly, at half-time during a football game – a new fan-made trailer emerged, cutting the fresh footage with bits from earlier teasers into one complete "super-cut".
The result is a surprisingly coherent, three-and-a-half minute stand-alone primer, which irons out the official trailers’s juddery time-hopping to present scenes in a seemingly natural chronological context.
From what we can tell, material has been sourced from all four officially released spots – the first 88-second teaser from last November, the two minutes debuted at April’s Star Wars Celebration, a 15-second Instagram teaser from August, and the full and final, two minute 35 second trailer which debuted at Monday Night Football last Monday.
The “super-cut” is the work of fresh YouTube channel Science Vs Cinema, and has picked up 1,293,394 views since being posted last Thursday.
We open once again in the Abu Dhabi desert, before the action kicks off in a whirl of whizzing spaceships, jiggling light-sabres and ponderous platitudes (“the force ... it’s calling to you”). Things are tightly edited, and the score has been carefully respected in this jumbled presentation. Material is sensibly ordered to heighten tension – there’s still a visceral sense of surprise when Harrison Ford makes an appearance, even though we know he’s coming.
Overall, this works – it’s cogent, exciting, and more comprehensive than the official trailers. And if you haven’t fallen for the hype and seen any of the spots yet, then this offers the perfect way to catch-up.
I'm by no stretch a Star Wars convert, but by the end of the 220 seconds I was left, for the time, actually wanting to see the film. Which is the point of any trailer, after all.
rgarratt@thenational.ae
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
Mountain%20Boy
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The five pillars of Islam
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EZack%20Snyder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESofia%20Boutella%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%2C%20Ed%20Skrein%2C%20Michiel%20Huisman%2C%20Charlie%20Hunnam%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
THE SCORES
Ireland 125 all out
(20 overs; Stirling 72, Mustafa 4-18)
UAE 125 for 5
(17 overs, Mustafa 39, D’Silva 29, Usman 29)
UAE won by five wickets
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
Company%20Profile
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