My review of the most anticipated movie of all time
5-19-99
I will be seeing it again and this review will be added to, so stay tuned. Until then, happy reading.
The most anticipated movie in the history of film? Most certainly.
We have waited 16 years for a new installment in Lucas' magnificent series, and it will be interesting to see the multitudes of reactions that come from the movie now that it has been released.
Seeing the film on opening night, with one other screen in the milti-screen complex, filled with anxious fans waiting for the film to begin, was something that I would not have pased up on for anything. 6 hours was not too long to wait....
Next door to us, we knew immediately when the movie had started. The floor rumbled and the walls rattled.
The saga had begun for those seated 15 minutes before us and we trembled in anticipation,knowing that we were next.
We were seated early, the Lucasfilm logo appeared, and the familiar A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The crowd went wild. The cheers were deafening.
Then, all of a sudden, it was silent.
If a pin dropped, you would have heard it.
Everyone waited patiently, until the familiar boom of the main title exploded across the sound system and the long awaited STAR WARS began a story we had waited 16 long years to see.
The crowd cheered as the familiar starfield appeared and then was silent once more as the movie began.
I tried to go into this film with no expectations. I was worried that the effects would look fake and thereby deter my enjoyment of the film. To my great surprise, I was mistaken.
Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed in many other things.
The splendor of the enormous sets, the costume design and the wonder of the advancements in the technology, which brought many of these alien creatures to life, were certainly a sight to see.
But something was lacking in the film.
The interaction with the characters was not there.
I came away not caring who lived and who died. There was no emotion or enough of it, to make me care what happened to the characters.
When the film ended, the friends that I went with, and I, were literally stunned into silence. We said nothing. We looked at each other, watched the credits roll, and found ourselves unable to speak. We were speechless.
The film moved slowly for a long while. It set up the background for what would come in the next two episodes. There was not as much action as I would have liked.
There were many unresolved plot lines, which I can hope will be resolved in the future installments.
We all sat quietly and watched the movie unfold before our eyes.
Sadly, I kept watching (and at 2am with no action, can you blame me?) when this movie would end so I could go home and go to bed.
The snap-hiss of the lightsaber duel at the end was the one thing that kept me awake when I seriously closed my eyes during several scenes.
Of course, I am not ruling out entirely that I was exhausted and knowing I had to go to work the next day, may have had some impact.
So I willbe returning to see if a different environment and time of day will change my first impressions of the film.
My heart twisted to see the noble (and best acted character in the film) Qui Gon Jinn, meet the wrong end of the double-edged lightsaber. But I did not have the tears in my eyes threatening to spill over like the final heart-wrenching scene in Return of the Jedi. Obi-Wan's screams twisted my heart and that was very well acted. The lightsaber battle in the next moments were fast, furious and entertaining.
I was not swept up in the euphoria of their moment of victory. How did they win? Sheer luck? When they won, I did not cheer. The celebration was not complete and total.
The ending celebration ceremony left me wanting more. It was short, very Ewokish in its music, and did not give me the closure to the movie I so desperately wanted to feel.
It was fun. It was entertaining. It provided the background and the stepping stones that we will need to understand the next installment. But I will always wonder what could have been.
But it was not exhilarating, mind-boggling entertainment where we wondered what would happen to the main characters scene after scene.
But it was Star Wars, who could not help but like it?
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