Star Wars! Nothing but Star Wars....Do I See!*

The rumors were coming out of Detroit.

There was a movie there unlike any other.  Some had made the trek to the Motor City, and they came back delirious with joy.  They had seen a science fiction movie like no other.

But I did not rush down to Detroit to see it.  I waited patiently for it come to Saginaw, Michigan.

Okay, maybe not so patiently.  But I did wait.  And I was there in line, with my friend Randy Bloomfield.  It was the first movie I had to "Que" for.  It wasn't days, but it was an hour or so.

Were the rumors true?  Was it going to be as good as they said it was going to be?  Or would it fail to live up to the hype?

Well, it didn't live up to the hype.  It exceeded it.  Every science fiction movie I had seen prior to that hadn't been quite what I was looking for.  But this, as Obi-Won might say, was the droid (movie) I was looking for. I knew that I was finally watching what I had always dreamed of when they got to the Cantina scene.  A bar, set with a variety of aliens.  There was no shying away, no fuzzy shots, no spending three quarters of the movie on a spaceship, no waiting to the end to catch a glimpse of an out-of-focus or cheesy looking alien. Just BAM!  YOU. ARE. SOMEPLACE.  ELSE.

And the plot!  Space opera writ large, with western-style overtones!

And the characters!  People and robots and villains you actually cared about!

And the myth!  An epic story that crossed the galaxy, one that was long ago and far away.  But right there on the screen in front of you, larger than life.

Each new movie that came out was an event, something I looked forward to with great anticipation.  And they never disappointed me.  I was a fan of each of those first three movies.  And I was attentive enough to know that the creator, George Lucas, talked about them being a set of nine movies, three complete trilogies.

When the original movies were re-released, I took my young sons, Greg and Doug, to each one, and I watched their incredible joy at seeing them.

And when George Lucas returned and finally delivered the second trilogy, I was there.  Doug and I saw the first on it's special advance showing, with this old man willing to stay up until 2 AM on a work night just to see it.

Now Disney has once again revived the franchise and have put in charge one of my favorite directors, J. J. Abrams.  It looks through the roof awesome, with the old characters I fell in love with returning, and an exciting new story to carry it forward.  The initial reviews are impressive, and I can't wait.

But I will wait.

Why?

Because I want to see it not only with Alison, but also with my sons.  Greg, the film editor.  Doug, the environmentalist scientist and avid science fiction reader,  And Benjamin, my 15 year old Robot King.
And that chance won't come until after Christmas.

As difficult as it may be, as friends and the media dribble out more and more plot details, it will still be worth the wait.  The Strait Boys must thrill to it united.

May the force be with you!


*thanx and a hat's tip for the title inspiration, via Blue Skies as sung by Willie Nelson, with additional inspiration from Bill Murray and his lounge singer SNL skits.