Yoda rocks! (and other reasons you should see Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones)

Geek that I am, I am not one of those who camped out for tickets to see the second of the planned nine Star Wars movies [if you didn't know there were nine in the series, not only are you not a geek, you haven't been paying attention for the last twenty years]. After the last one, I was not going to rush out to get my ticket. I will admit that I was somewhat disappointed by the Phantom Menace, although all in all, I compared it not to the whole series but to the fourth movie, which also had whiny kids, cheesy dialogue, and annoying aliens--but a better all-around story. I figured George Lucas might be a tad bit rusty, so I was willing to give him a second chance. So, when D suggested going, his treat, I was more than willing. So D, A, and I headed out to Lexington Green, home of the cinema that happens to be next to Joseph-Beth Booksellers, our favourite bookshop, where we could browse before heading to a galaxy far, far away....(I can't believe I just said that.)

The movie was great. Really. It answered many questions and raised many others. It had stupendous action scenes, a little more subtle humour (well, except for 3P0, but he sort of exists to be hysterical and deadpan all at once) and mushy stuff for those who like that sort of thing, without making you want to throw up. I found that a lot of my suspicions/intuitions were right. I found myself still wondering, as I dropped off last night, how the third movie will play out. And I dreamt about clones....

This morning I was still in a Star Wars mood and found a picture of Yoda and set it as my wallpaper. A coworker saw it and he and I started talking about Star Wars. I'd always been a little embarrassed that I didn't see any of the movies until Empire (I was 10 when A New Hope came out, but we didn't have a cinema nearby). I remember the stir it caused, with lines around the whole block. A few of my friends saw the movie, but a lot just didn't get the whole story--we played with the action figures and made up our own stories. For a long time, I remember, I thought Luke and Leia were supposed to get married, because that's what one of my friends had thought had happened (well, everyone was in white at the medal ceremony, but unless Leia was officiating at a gay ceremony for Luke and Han, I don't think so....) So, I'm talking to Todd and he says he first saw Return of the Jedi and I asked him how old he is (young, I knew, but still....) Turns out he was born in 1981. He wasn't even ALIVE when Star Wars began. Granted, I know there are new generations enjoying it, but gee, I didn't expect to be working with someone whose parents probably were in high school then. So, that was a little creepy. But hey, I'm getting used to being of a more middling age. Especially since I was in high school when he was born. Sigh.

Anyway, see the show in the theatre. It goes without saying that the special effects deserve the big screen experience. We went to a matinee that was pretty packed and had to sit on the second row, but I was happy to see that nothing was particularly skewed. I'm still scarred by the size of Scully's heels on X-Files when we saw that movie in about the same position. And rest assured, Jar Jar Binks has only a very small (but unfortunately pivotal) role (for which he just needs to die die die...but I digress.)
I think everyone's in place by the end of this movie and ready for the third movie to be incredibly strong.