Until this week, I had never seen “Star Wars.”
Limited Exposure
Technically, I have seen episodes one through three, but even as an outsider I know the more recent movies in the franchise do not really count. I write this off as a result of my dad being a jock and musician in the ‘70s who was unfazed by the sci-fi world George Lucas created.
Growing up, the only frame of reference I had for the legendary “Star Wars” was Hayden Christensen as Anakin, “Spaceballs,” Disney’s “Star Tours” attraction in Tomorrowland and about the five minutes I had briefly seen of the original episodes. As a result of my limited exposure, I had some pretty misguided expectations for what “Star Wars” was like. Before sitting down to watch “Star Wars” for the first time, I wrote a list of those expectations.
Expectations & Reality
First, I was anticipating Princess Leia’s (Carrie Fisher) hair to be magnificent. I was also pumped to see Harrison Ford pre-Indiana Jones because I heard he was a babe as Han Solo. And I know the correct name for them is Ewok, but I was looking forward to the cute “teddy bear” creatures. Another thing on my list of expectations was Darth Vader (David Prowse) being the most menacing villain ever. But lastly, I was expecting “Star Wars: Episode IV” to be life changing.
I am glad to report Leia’s hair did not disappoint. However, I still prefer Ford as Indy rather than Han Solo. Although there were no Ewoks in this episode, Lucas’ other characters in this galaxy far, far away can only be described as out of this world — no pun intended, honestly. His imagination is made evident throughout the movie and as a writer, I raise my hand in respect for someone who can create such a magnificent world and story. Honestly though, I was severely let down by how unintimidating Darth Vader was. While watching the film, I wrote “Darth Vader is way less scary” and later wrote “I thought Vader would be scarier.” I also remarked on the fact that I thought he fought against Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) as someone who had little experience with a light saber. I will probably be fought for saying this, but in my opinion from what I have seen so far, Voldemort could totally take him.
Conclusions
I have come to the conclusion that C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and Luke (Mark Hamill) are essentially college students with the amount of whining and complaining the two do. Also, I am pretty convinced that R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) is my spirit animal because my notes say “R2-D2 is bae” and “R2 is sass machine.” If I had to pick one character from the movie to spend a week with, it would for sure be R2-D2.
So, what was my final take on my first experience with “Star Wars?” Even though it did not change my life, I am stoked I finally watched the movie I missed out on throughout my entire life and I cannot wait until I get to watch “The Empire Strikes Back.”
