Wowee-wow-wow! I just watched The Last Jedi. I've had a dopamine rush all day. I loved the movie so much -- I'm more than a little freaking out about all the things I've seen. I might pass out like an overworked Tauntan.
Or scream like a Rancor when his meal runs away from him.
Don't worry, I won't give away any spoilers. In fact, I would like to write about the joys of avoiding as many spoilers as possible, including trailers, promos, and even merchandise that reveal the world of Star Wars before the film is released.
My youngest daughter and I watched The Last Jedi Friday morning,
Of course, one's love for a fictional world is probably immeasurable. I don't know if there is a scientific way to prove that one fan's joy is more potent than another's.
(I searched the internet briefly and couldn't find a graph that would quantify feelings of Star Wars love, but I did find a nifty chart that ranks bad feelings.)
But here's the thing, so many Star Wars fans (so-called) are hyper-critical. They bash on George Lucas. They hate the prequels. They even hate ewoks. For a movie franchise that warns of the dangers of hatred, there's a lot of hatred in the Star Wars fandom.
...
...
...
But for me, there's only unadulterated love. That's a good word for this situation: unadulterated... Star Wars takes away the adultness of my life. It revamps all the best feelings of childhood, but it doesn't even feel like dusty old nostalgia. In Star Wars, the stories -- the myths -- of my childhood continue to expand, in new and surprising ways.
At its core, Star Wars is about friendship. It's about good people who attempt to diminish evil, sometimes by combat, sometimes by bringing those in darkness. Ever since I was a kid, I felt like I was friends with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo... and so many other characters from Lucas' imagination. Part of it is the storytelling, part of it is the world building -- with its dazzling special effects -- but an enormous part is the performances of the actors. I hear a lot of people complain about the cheesy quality of acting in the Star Wars franchise, but I've always found that the majority of the actors, over the decades, have done an exceptional job of helping me believe in these impossible realms.
Sir Alec Guinness truly led the way in Episode IV. He even earned an Oscar nomination. Ever time I watch the original film, his speeches give me chills. Ah, Obi-Wan Kenobi!
But for me, there's only unadulterated love. That's a good word for this situation: unadulterated... Star Wars takes away the adultness of my life. It revamps all the best feelings of childhood, but it doesn't even feel like dusty old nostalgia. In Star Wars, the stories -- the myths -- of my childhood continue to expand, in new and surprising ways.
At its core, Star Wars is about friendship. It's about good people who attempt to diminish evil, sometimes by combat, sometimes by bringing those in darkness. Ever since I was a kid, I felt like I was friends with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo... and so many other characters from Lucas' imagination. Part of it is the storytelling, part of it is the world building -- with its dazzling special effects -- but an enormous part is the performances of the actors. I hear a lot of people complain about the cheesy quality of acting in the Star Wars franchise, but I've always found that the majority of the actors, over the decades, have done an exceptional job of helping me believe in these impossible realms.
Sir Alec Guinness truly led the way in Episode IV. He even earned an Oscar nomination. Ever time I watch the original film, his speeches give me chills. Ah, Obi-Wan Kenobi!
And only the most stone-hearted of critics could resist the charms of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fischer's chemistry in Empire. As for Mark Hamill, he was the conduit for all eight-year-old kids, like me back in the 80s, to imagine that we were the heroes (sometimes scared, sometimes whiny, always naive) of the epic. And don't get me started on the amazing vocal work of Anthony Daniels and the puppetry of Frank Oz.
Now, if you look at the above paragraph, you might think that I'm about to say that the films since Return of the Jedi pale in comparison -- but I think the most amazing aspect of the new trilogy is that they somehow cast people who have equally wonderful chemistry. Daisy Riddle, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Issac, and many other new members of the franchise are all incredibly charismatic. I want to find out what happens to their characters just as much as I wanted to find out what happens to Luke, Han, Leia, and Vader.
I could ramble on... in fact, I'm only posting a small portion of my thoughts. I wrote about this way too much last night! But let me just say that one of the reasons why I think I enjoyed The Last Jedi, The Force Awakens and the prequels so much is that I avoided watching trailers, looking up spoilers, and listening to rumors. That way, my expectations were neutral. With each movie, I had no idea what planet we would visit, what characters would pop up. Every Star Wars movie has been a fun ride because I go in blind and I come out with brand new visions.
And I also come out recharged to work on my own stuff... which I'm going to get started on right now! (Unless, of course, Cheri wants to go with me to check out a matinee.)
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