It's Not Easy Being A Star Wars Fan

For us Star Wars fans, seeing the first preview for Episode IX was the highlight of our day yesterday. We can't wait to see The Rise of Skywalker when it reaches theaters on December 20th! One thing I've noticed in the Internet age is that for every positive reaction, there are always a handful of negative reactions. I've seen this more and more with every movie that's come out since the prequels.

I was five years old when the first Star Wars movie came out in 1977. It was the summer before I started kindergarten, so I was really too young to appreciate it. I didn't get into Star Wars until 1980. My mom bought me my first Star Wars action figures for Christmas that year: Chewbacca, Yoda and C-3PO. By then, I was hooked! My dad took me to see The Empire Strikes Back for the first time the following August, the day after my brother was born.

I was eleven when Return of the Jedi came out. I remember seeing some mixed reviews by movie critics. Some of them thought the Ewoks were silly, and roasted George Lucas about having a second Death Star. As an adult, I can see their points. Back then, however, I was so enamored by Star Wars that I just didn't care. I proudly wore my Star Wars shirts to school and played with my action figures and read the Marvel comic books at home.

The Empire Strikes Back is still my favorite movie of all-time. It has great themes of hope and betrayal. It also gave us Hoth, Dagobah, Cloud City, carbon freezing, Lando, the bounty hunters, Yoda, and "Luke, I am your father!" I refused to believe that Vader was Luke's father until Return of the Jedi. I see a lot of the parallels between Vader and Luke in other personal relationships at times.

Star Wars isn't the only science fiction series that I enjoy. I remember watching the original Star Trek series and some of the movies with one of my cousins when we were kids.(I could never get into the Next Generation or any of the other Star Trek series that followed, though.) I also enjoyed Gil Gerard's Buck Rogers show and the miniseries and TV show V. I read the Marvel Star Wars comics and the ROM: Spaceknight and Micronauts series that were based on toy lines. The writing and artwork were what captivated me.

I went to the special edition screenings of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and was excited to hear that the prequel movies were happening. They weren't as great as the originals, but they did give us some cool things like Jango Fett, Yoda wielding a lightsaber and Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader. The Gungans were kind of annoying, and the whole Trade Federation was confusing for a lot of viewers. Hayden Christensen wasn't that great as an actor, either.

A lot of people have heavily criticized The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. I didn't like the fact that Han and Luke died, respectively, but I also knew that these movies were part of a nine-movie series that has to end eventually. They're setting the stage for new generations of heroes, just like Obi-Wan and the Jedi Council set the stage for Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia, Lando, the droids and the Rebels to be the focus of the original movies.

I've also heard a lot of people complain about the stand-alone movies Rogue One and Solo. Rogue One was one of the best Star Wars movies ever, in my opinion. It sets the stage for A New Hope nicely. Solo wasn't the best movie in the world, but it was a fun movie that was nicely done by director Ron Howard. It helped us establish how Han won the Falcon from Lando and how he met Chewie, among other things. That's what us diehards care about more, anyway.

I'm eagerly anticipating Episode IX. It was great to see Billy Dee Williams back onscreen again in the trailer, and a lot of us are wondering if the insidious laugh at the end means that Emperor Palpatine will be back. I'm also wondering how they will incorporate footage of the late Carrie Fisher. I take all movies with a grain of salt: they're an escape from reality for a few hours that we all need at times. I'm sure I'll see this one at least a couple of times in the theater so that I can absorb all of the nuances and pick out favorite moments. I'll do the same when I buy the movie on DVD too.

Well, that's all I have for now, so until next time, have a great week everyone - may the Force be with you!