Today marks the culmination of the dreams of literally dozens of nerds and halfwits for 20 years. Today Star Wars Chapter 1 was released. Not being a Star Wars fanatic, I was interested in seeing the film but decided it would be best to wait until the rabid mobs of moviegoers had finally become sated after their 124th viewing of the movie, probably by next December.
Yet last night I BECAME one of those nerds. I fell in line with the throngs of geeks who haven't gotten laid since 1996. Some of my nerdling friends had the opportunity to see the flick in its very first showing at 12:01 AM, May 19th. I, having no JOB or anything, decided that I would go. As the zero hour drew near, I began to regret my impulsiveness, but there was no turning back.
When I got there an hour early (one of our group had been in line since 9:00), it was crowded, but there was no bloodthirsty mob chanting "Give us tickets or give us death!" Even when we finally got in, there were still empty seats in the theater until about a quarter to 12. It didn't really matter to me. We got our seats.
I was a bit apprehensive about the movie. As I'm sure you've heard, reviews have been lukewarm with a lot of people saying that it wasn't as good as the first.
To that I say bullshit. It was every bit as good as the first which, objectively speaking, was merely OK. The quasi-religious fervor in which people hold the Star Wars series is no doubt a cause for some people being disappointed. They expected an orgasmic film that brought them unspeakable joy for the paltry price of $6.50 (less in the afternoons). They should just smoke crack.
The movie was good. Go see it.
One thing I wonder, though, is whose cult is strongest? Star Wars' or Star Trek's? Trekkies have their own nickname, but Star Wars has more merchandising. I guess that's a question for the ages.
Of course, a Star Destroyer would blast the Enterprise into atoms in no time.