I don’t want to hear about how bad the last two movies were; I enjoyed them. Maybe not as much as Star Wars or Empire Strikes Back, but Jar Jar seems only about as bad as Ewoks in my view. I don’t want to hear about the movie being anti-Bush because, frankly, there isn’t much to be taken seriously about any of the Star Wars flicks.

I don’t want to hear about the bad acting, writing, or directing because, c’mon, have you actually watched the original movie lately. Bad acting, writing, and directing is what George Lucas does with these movies. Luke was at least as whiny as Anakin, for example. In fact, even as a kid, I hated Luke Skywalker and wondered why all these other cool people were hanging out with such a petulant little kid.

But as a kid, I was willing to forgive the trite writing, the phony spirituality, and the soap opera stories simply because I wanted to go there. I wanted to join the Rebellion (whether I could understand the dynamics of the political situation or not). I wanted a light saber or a blaster and I wanted a giant wookie best friend. I wanted to tool around the galaxy in a hot rod spaceship (does anyone else think that a little bit of American Graffiti crept in on some of the ships?), fighting evil, and seeing Leia in a metal bikini.

Hubba hubba.

If I were to see Star Wars today for the very first time, would I think it was a good movie? Let’s just say that I have doubts. When I was seven, though, it was like glimpsing heaven--and each one of the sequels has been viewed through that seven year old’s eyes.

The only question in my mind is whether I should go see it at a midnight show on opening day or if I should wait until the g-phrase is back in town to see it first with her. One way is more polite, but the other way just gives me an excuse to go back for seconds…

Revenge of the Sith will probably be like every other Star Wars movie: filled with plot holes, clunky dialog, cool lightsaber duels, goofy spirituality, and kick ass special effects. That is, it’s precisely what I want.

Update: Strong in the way of linking is De Doc. Heh. Yeah. Sorry about that…