Today is The Day!

Yes, my friends.... this is a high holy day of the geeks. Star Wars Episode III has been released, and already consumed by a devout legion of fans.

I even tried to come a complete stop outside E's school, to drop him off and make the pilgrimage to the theatre. Unfortunately, I missed the line waiting outside the box office for the doors to open. The Internet is a wonderful thing. I had already ordered my tickets, and therefore did not need to wait. Sadly, Topeka is not geeky enough, and I was told there was no one waiting in line dressed in "costume". I had even gone to buy a disposable camera, to capture the moment. PS: Thanks for the idea, Diana!

The movie was, of course, impressive with the special effects. It's a dark movie, worthy of the PG-13 rating. I have more respect for Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, but c'mon guys...... he really only turns to the Dark Side to protect his wife? Yeah, yeah, the omnipotent use of power is cool and all, but I don't know. The film is respectful in the fact that it shows, repeatedly, that Anakin realizes what he's sold out to achieve. And in the end, the battle scenes between Anakin and Kenobi are way cool. I don't know... just getting to that point, Anakin seems not so smart. I guess this is an example of how a book can provide much more insight into a person's motivation than a movie can.

The movie only ran about 2.5 hours, not as long as I thought it would. There were a couple of things I wish they'd have explained better. Like, why was Gen. Grievous coughing and hacking? And why did Yoda feel compelled to mention Qui-Gon Jin's name at the end, so that Kenobi would learn to "commune" with him? Oh, and lastly.... why Sen. Organa ordered C-3PO's memory erased, but not R2's? R2 saw more action than 3PO.

The movie is worth seeing just for the grandeur. They make several references or visual arcs to the original trilogy. It's a sad movie, which someone like me enjoys. I was thinking about it quite a bit leaving the theatre, and am looking forward to seeing it again tonight. Hopefully then, there will be more people dressed in theme.

PS: Today is my rock star anniversary. Sorry, honey, you had to share it with the Force. But Happy Anniversary, anyway! :-*