And so the saga will end.

Lord Vader approaches.

Star Wars. At its heart it is a story about the rise/fall and the redemption of a man. Somewhere in there as the backdrop is the birth of a galactic empire and the rebellion that ensues.




Truth be told I wasn't that avid a fan, or much of a fan at all, when the original series made its mark on the pop culture conscience. I'm not sure how I miss the seismic event that was Star Wars. I just didn't get much exposure to movies as a kid. So it wasn't until the prequel trilogies were marked for production that I became intrigued. Weird I should become a fan with this trilogy since most fans view the new set of movies as inferior to the originals.

Personally the films were never that great in my view. Don't get me wrong I love them, but from a pure movie standpoint there are weak links in the storytelling. Empire Strikes Back is exceptional, and the rest are OK. Let's face it, Jar Jar and the ewoks? If I were a member of the NRA, I'd be at flea markets selling some rugs.

Where Star Wars laid down its marker was its amalgam of a simple story with cutting edge effects. It transported people in masse to a realistic universe not of our own and made you care about the struggles. Quite literally George Lucas changed how movies where made aesthically. Just consider the companies that Star Wars spawned. ILM, THX, Pixar just to name a few. These companies were pioneers and still are giants in their respective fields of effects, sound and animation.

Father knows best

I've always been a sucker for big epic stories because they leave the outer reaches of the canvas blank. A movie set in a world not of our own just begs the viewer's imagination to fill in some of the rest that the movie doesn't touch upon. And the world of Star Wars is the grand daddy of them all, set in a sprawling universe pitting the forces of peace against the forces of tyranny.

As a storytelling device the Lord of the Rings movies are superior, but as much as I love those movies it can't compete. I'll take the fantasy conjured by Star Wars in a heartbeat over the lands of Middle-Earth. Hmm would I rather be a Jedi or a Hobbit? I can either have a lightsaber by my side or the demonic possessing ring? In reality I'm closer to being a hobbit than a Jedi, but we're talking about the world of make-believe here. And both of these series are far removed from Mister Roger's neighborhood.

This summer the saga of the Skywalkers will end on the silverscreen. But a little part of my childhood will continue on.