The Circle is Now Complete.

After 3 tries and getting Sold Out, we finally saw Star Wars this weekend. It was a long and wonder filled road since my first meeting with this monster back in 1977. I saw the first Star Wars on the big screen in Bayside, New York. I remember the biggest secret in film history being revealed in Empire. Bigger than Rosebud, bigger than Kaiser Soza, bigger than who did it in Clue: The Movie, Luke I am Your Father stunned millions of viewers and sucked us in even more. My Uncle owned a Video Store back then and I had a bootleg copy of The Empire Strikes Back the week after it hit theaters, the tape was watched so much and think we might have actually worn the video off of it. But the big one was Return Of the Jedi. I was in 8th grade and I bought my first Time magazine as it had pictures from the new movie and I carried it in my backpack for weeks and we all gathered round it in the playground to try and figure who was doing what and what these pics of a half finished Death Star were (for the record I thought is was the original Death Star all blowed up and found in the depths of space waiting to be salvaged). On the day of it's release it seemed like my whole school ran up to Bell Blvd to catch the 3pm showing. We were packed in like sardines, with bookbags on the sticky floor and us Catholic School kids still in uniform, but what a movie, what a show and what an experience.

I was skeptical when I heard Lucas was returning to the beginning and while floored by the film making and ground breaking effects the first 2 of the new trilogy left me wanting. This final installment however wowed me out of my seat. For the first time in history you know the entire plot of the film, who lives, who dies and how it has to end and are STILL blown away by the storytelling and film work. Walking in you knew:
1) Anakin would turn to the Dark Side
2) The Emperor would win
3) Padme would die giving birth
4) Obi-wan would retire to Tatoonie
5) Yoda would go into exile
6) Every other Jedi you knew and maybe loves (even Sammy J) would be killed
7) The sneak peak at the Death Star plans in II would start to be built
But still it was an incredible film!! Lucas pulled it off and I could not be happier. I enjoyed this almost 30 year journey and am thankful to Lucas for letting us along for the ride.