Star Wars

Yesterday was the brother’s birthday so we took him to see Star Wars. I know we’re probably the last people in the universe to see it, if my Facebook is anything to go by, but we were waiting for the crushing crowds to die down because we’re an antisocial bunch of people.
We’d planned to watch it in Shen on Monday but, as I said, it was the brother’s birthday and he’s a huge star wars fan, so I let Google do it’s magic. It found it in 3D IMAX in Council Bluffs. (I love 3D)
We’d never been to the theater there, so we had to use Google maps, which seemed to know the theme of our evening:

Ok. It’s probably been that way since the whole “choose light side or dark side” thing, but I hadn’t used it yet.
The theater is pretty cool, with a dome in the lobby that creates fantastic acoustics.

And of course there’s the obligatory poster pics.

As to the movie, I don’t want to do spoilers, just in case we’re not the last people to see it. BUT I’m not sure whether the person they put on the cart and say “We have a heart beat” is who we think it is. It might be. It’s just I didn’t see any skin and at the time I thought, “that’s an odd angle”. Not to mention, if it is who we’re supposed to think it is, then the film makers missed some obvious opportunities. For instance a tight shot of the person’s face as they’re  loaded on the cart would have been an obvious choice, a funeral for the one who is dead would also have been an amazing gut wrenching moment, while a passing on of their personal item -with a certain general saying “He’d have wanted you to take it” etc – would have rounded things off better and, truthfully, was a conversation that I not only expected, but felt odd about them skipping. The lack of these obvious things seems like a chance for a surprise – though I suppose, despite the cohesion of the rest of the film, it could just be sloppy film making. I wouldn’t think it would be a purposeful red hearing because then fans will be disappointed…
Anyway, other than that tidbit I was quite happy with it all. It felt far more Star Wars then the prequel trilogy did – partially because of the sets (it’s nearly impossible to believe that the world in episode six came AFTER the one in episode two, no matter how much spin they put on it) and partially because of the plot and general feel. I’m not saying the prequel set was bad – despite many people’s arguments I was an Anakin fan in 2 & 3 and blame Padme for everything – but they didn’t feel right and I think I know why. The new one felt right because it was made by fans who loved the source material and wanted to pay homage to it and keep all the little nuances, while the prequels were made by the creator – who, while he had  affection for the series, is not a fanboy. He doesn’t love the way the first three turned out (or he wouldn’t have kept redoing them) and rather than seeing the prequels as a way to pay homage, they were a way to fix all those things that annoyed him about the others. He was looking to create something better than episode six. The new crew was looking to make something that was “as good” as episode six. Why was Lucas striving to surpass a blockbuster? Because he lost the point. The special effects were great blah, blah, but what sold the movies and still does is the characters – the banter between Han and Luke, the friendship with Chewie, etc etc. Just like the original Star Trek is great not because of the dime store props, but because of the characters. That’s why the new Star Trek reboot is working and why the new Star Wars worked – it’s centered on the characters and all the flash and effects are in the background to give them context rather than the characters existing to give the flash context.
Now let’s see if they can keep it up.
It’s late. Tomorrow I have to return to the online world, so I’m out for now.
Have a cantina kind of day.
Jo 🙂

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