Star Wars: The Force
Awakens (Part 1)
[Spoiler alert – I’ve waited a week but don’t want to ruin
anything for anyone, so if you haven’t seen it and you are going to, read this
after]
[I believe my opinion is different than many others who have
experienced this move. Realize that’s
what opinions are all about]
[Some of my comments might appear to be nitpicking. Don’t mean them as such, just helps to make
my point]
As many of you know, I am a pretty big Star Wars fan. I have been since I first heard of the movie
in December of 1976. Even more so as I began
seeing articles and stills through the early part of 1977. I became so enthralled with them film that
the girl I was dating refused to let me refer to it by name. I had to call it “The Movie”, and even then,
rarely allowed to mention it. No, I was
not there on May 25, 1977. I was 17,
scared of driving on the Schuylkill Expressway, and a theatre in Philadelphia
was one of the less than 30 screens it debuted on across the country. I waited, graduated high school, and waited,
changed my name to Uncle Gregg (now Unkle Gregg) and waited, flew to Germany
and back and waited. Then it was
suddenly July 21st and I lined up (7th in line) for the
1:15 PM show. Prior to leaving for the
theatre (at the Valley Forge Sheraton, I might add) my mom expressed her
concern, “I hope you aren’t disappointed.”
I was far from disappointed. The
film that would alter my life unfolded before me. I booed when Darth Vader appeared. I held my breath as I entered hyper drive. I gripped my seat as I flew down the Death
star trench. And I cheered when our
heroes received their medals (poor Chewie).
I left the theatre with just 2 questions, when will I see it again and
will there be more. I saw it again the
next day, then 2 days later, then 3 days after that. By the end of the year, I had seen it 8
times. Every time fully enjoying it.
Life happened, more Star Wars happened. Things were happy. I remember reading about a year after Return
of the Jedi came out that Lucas said that next he would tackle the first three
episodes and that he was waiting until the actors were old enough to portray
themselves in the final trilogy.
Somewhere around Empire, he had talked about 12 movies, three of which
were just off shoots.
Early 1990’s I read an article based on an interview with
Lucas. Nope, he was done, no prequels,
no sequels. By now, Star Wars had
entered the world of the written page, and this seemed to be the fate of that
Galaxy far, far away.
The Special Editions happened. Hell, I enjoyed them. Why complain, it was more Star Wars! Yeah, we all know Han shot first (until my
recent discovery I posted about in Facebook revealing the mysterious third
shooter on the “sandy” knoll). It was
great seeing them on the big screen again.
More waiting. The
prequels, which I didn’t mind at all.
Sith is my favorite followed by Clones and then Phantom Menace. I get that they were expository. I get that the first one was geared at kids
and subsequent ones for older and older folks.
I get that Episode I wasn’t going to be about Anakin becoming Darth
Vader. I was a fan from way back. I enjoyed what was presented before me,
whether it is what I personally wanted or not.
Not my Galaxy to play with. And
they still had the heart of the first.
They still felt like Star Wars. Side
note, watch Revenge of the Sith and follow it with Return of the Jedi. There is something that happens to Jedi that
wasn’t there when I first saw it (no, not the apparitions at the end).
Then a bunch of stuff happened, oddly the stars were of the
appropriate age and Star Wars VII was announced. Very cool.
What’s Lucas got planned? Why was
he so protective of this part of the timeline with the novels? How old are the twins? Does Luke go bad (again)? Wait a minute, what was that? You aren’t filming Lucas’ story? You are getting rid of the expanded
universe? That’s cool, JJ Abrams is a
big fan and knows his stuff and he did (in my opinion) a great job in reenvisioning
Star Trek (note, reenvisioning, not continuing).
At 7:00 PM PST, on December 17, 2015 I sat, third row
center, reclining chair, surrounded by my kids to see the first new Star Wars
movie (not including Clone Wars) I had seen in over 10 years. And my mother’s words rang true. I was disappointed.
To be continued . . .
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