Discombobulating your perception of reality
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....
Unbeknownst to me at the time, the 25th of May in 1977 would prove to be one of the points in my life that will forever stay with me. I remember this time but like most childhood memories the details of that day are lost in the fog of distant past. It was not until years later that I finally reflected on this day with increased fervor. I am of course referring to the original theatrical release of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
Throughout the course of time, from Episodes IV to VI and from I to III, I found myself beginning to form opinions of the individual movies for not just their entertainment value but their ability to paint a picture that truly mesmerized me and drew me into the story. In my opinion, Episode IV by far was the best, as it builds the foundation that the other episodes build upon to further the story. Episodes I thru III are basically utter junk; they look nice on the screen but do nothing to hold up to the caliber displayed in the first three films. On a side note, Episode V has a special place in my heart; after the Empire's defeat at Yavin they refortified and hit back with frenzied resolve. Yes, I root for the Empire.
With Disney's acquiring the rights to continue the saga further, I do have tentative high hopes. For the most part, Pirates of the Caribbean was a great success but Disney has had some flops too. For now we wait and see. If Disney suffers an epic failure, you can expect further commenting here to that regard.
As I type this, we are officially less than seven months away from the release of Episode VII: The Force Awakens. I now have very high hopes of an extremely well directed movie. J.J. Abrams, in my opinion, knocked both the latest Star Trek releases out of the park and I have high hopes he will do the same with the latest Star Wars installment.
Let's start with the obvious; this was not another rehash of Episodes I, II, or III so it was not an utter failure. But, and this is a big but, I have issues with that damn light saber that Kylo Ren was wielding. It seemed to be more eye-candy and less about staying with the Star Wars saga. Overall though, I felt the film was well done and it was fun to watch. Disney performed well and created a great addition to the continuing saga.
Where do I start...Disney hit this so far out of the park I think it went into orbit. This film completely blew me away. No silly eye-candy, no high-priced stars, just a great story. This film answered so many questions that were asked and left unanswered at the end of Episode IV, we just didn't know what to ask. At this point, it seems to be a complete full circle back. We knew that a lot of Bothans died getting the Death Star Plans, we just didn't know how. In addition, adding to some of the back story, prior to Episode IV. Extremely well done, on par with the first three films. If you are a Star Wars fan and have not seen this film yet, stop what you are doing, call off work, make an excuse, and see this film. Props to Disney, well done.
It was with great saddness that we learned of the untimely passing of Carrie Fisher. To make matters even worse, her mother, Debbie Reynolds, passed several days later. I, as well as other Star Wars fans, took this news pretty hard.
R.I.P. Carrie, you will forever be our Princess.
15 Dec 2017
I plan on attending this on opening night. An item of note, Carrie had already completed all of her filming prior to her passing.