Much ado about Star Wars

MANILA, Philippines – If the official trailer of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is any indication, it does foretell lots of action, lots of effects and lots of digital attractions that will sit well with our “Hollywood-ized” audience, especially the millennials in our midst.

Shown to selected press people at the Ayala Museum recently, the trailer of the latest Star Wars franchise was shown complete with the human replica of light saber-toting characters from the movie hobnobbing with the guests.

This grandfather was reminded that the seventh episode of Star Wars is set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi with many of the characters in the original episodes staging a comeback including Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO plus Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, and many more.

Screened with the sound wonders of Dolby, the Star Wars trailer features the saga of the Millennium Falcon in a death-defying dogfight sequence with the Star Destroyer wreckage complete with the holographic star-map in the Falcon’s main cabin.

You can’t figure out what to expect in the full film version but you guess the millennials will get to see the brutal raids by both Kylo Ren and the First Order’s silver-armored Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), a pitched air battle above a lakeside fortress between X-Wings and TIE Fighters, BB-8 taking the droid co-pilot seat in Poe’s X-Wing and many more.

The sight of Luke’s original pale blue light saber with his live replica in the audience is another visual treat.

On the whole, you get the usual Star Wars line-up of planets limned in by landscape of sand, forests and ice and it helped that musical scorer John Williams gave the film the sense of grandeur way above (or below) its intrinsic cinematic worth.

All told, the trailer outline of this coming J.J. Abrams film sequel will indeed be a potential box-office threat to the final entries of the Metro Manila Film Festival.

With its huge marketing potentials looming in the showbiz horizon, Disney Southeast Asia has partnered with Globe Telecom by offering a complete Star Wars experience outside the theater front.

Related to this marketing thrust, Globe is transforming its Generation 3 (GEN3) stores into a Star Wars-themed hub with creative installations like the Battle Pod arcade games, and premium collectible accessories, toys, gadgets up for grabs for all Star Wars fans. 

Said Dan Horan, senior advisor for Consumer Business at Globe during the partnership launching: “Our collaboration with Disney and its brands such as Star Wars allows us to bring more wonderful experiences to our customers: From exclusive theatrical releases to innovative offerings. As the Star Wars fever heightens in the Philippines, we want to ensure that we do not just give our customers exclusive access to the premiere but also transport them into the Star Wars galaxy.”

In May this year, Globe signed a comprehensive and multi-year collaboration with Disney Southeast Asia, giving customers access to video-on-demand, interactive content, theatricals, promotions and other related marketing materials.

A night of cocktails rubbing elbows with the characters from Star Wars surely hinted of another imminent Hollywood invasion when the movie hits Manila on Dec. 17.

(For details, call Globe Telecom, Inc. with e-mail address [email protected] or visit www.globe.com.ph/press-room)