Back to the Theater — Revenge of the Sith

Summer of 2003 was the last time I have seen a movie in the theater — it left me thirsting for more but something happened after that flick in 2003 (the Matrix Reloaded) and lets just say it curbed the remainder of 2003 and a good deal of 2004 due to recovery (go back through this blog and you’ll see first hadn the shit I’ve worried about and gone through).

But this week I’ve been itching — almost yearning — to see the final Lucas serving of his grand fable. His Magnum Opus of Fiction. I’ve been wanting to view first hand, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith. It was the hype for the Umpteenth time that was driving me to see this event movie… And so many times in the past, I have passed on it because I’m hearing impaired and following a movie in the theater is impossible for me — unless you can follow the story through images.

So – tonight’s only the second official evening of Sith‘s release and around 7 PM I said the hell with it and purchased my first ever movie ticket online. I got a ride to the theater and I experienced something I haven’t seen in more than a decade — opening weekend cinema pandemonium.

I can’t review the movie too well because like I said – it’s tough for me to follow films without knowing the dialogue. So if you’re reading this for a review – stop right now. If you are reading this for spolers or just my take on what I experienced – keep reading.

The feelng arriving at Woodlands 20 in Oldsmar reminded me of a crowded pro-sports event…. Not quite what I experienced at the Stanley Cup Finals but it ranked up there. I showed up — 20 after 7? The film was supposed to start at 7:45 and Movietickets.com suggests you show up 30-45 minutes early to pick up tickets. I was worried I’d miss out and get told the flick was sold out. The front box office had a pretty long line and I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with that….

…Dealing with the Automated Ticket Machine, now that was another story.

When purchasing tickets online all you have to do to get the tix is show up at this machine (just off to the right of the box office) and scan your credit card you used to buy the tix in the first place. I have a pretty-much-new ATM card and freaked out when I scanned it a few times with the machine and all I was getting was error messages. A line behind me was getting impatient and I limped off, worried about what woudl happen next.

Besides the Ticket machine, they can handle online ticket orders at the Guest Services counter. I went in and explained what happened and…. and… Well, shit, I just handed them my card, they scanned it, they handed me my ticket and told me auditorium 11.

I was in!

I’ve been eager to experience this opening night / opening weekend crowd and hype for a while now specifically because watching a movie with someone is a much more captivating experience. The last time I watched a movie for the first time with someone was – once again – back in 2003 with Reloaded. That was the second weekend of release but seeing my brother was just as hyped about this film as I was, it wasn’t that bad.

With Sith, however, it was much different. I got to the theater showing the movie and found it jam packed — still with time before even the opening trailers were set to be shown. I limped up the stairs, trying to find an open seat in the middle of the theater but that was a futile effort. Everything was jammed. I turned around and, with a little anxiety on my mind, tried to find a seat down low.

5 rows from the screen itself, the row was virtually empty. Why do I keep making big deals about these little things? But then again, it was reasons like that – the uncertainty – why I wanted to get to the theater ASAP before I even left, and of course why I couldn’t even try to get concessions before the movie. Not enough time. Besides, those lines were at least 3 people deep and it’s not like my balance coudl handle that shit anyway.

The movie itself opened and even with a maxed-out-CGI dogfight, I was immersed in the picture right away. I thought I was watching a buddy cop flick with some fo the banter going back and forth between Anakin and Obi-Wan from their seperate ships.

They said this movie was dark – and indeed, it’s dark. I thought it could be darker but then again I am just talking visuals here.

The one scene where I took in not only the visuals of the film but the audio as well was at the closing of the movie — where Owen and Beru Lars are given young Luke Skywalker…. The music from the original film came up and I got chills. I got choked up…. And I got sold on Sith in whole.

It’s not the Original trilogy. Nothing will ever come close to that… but it saved the Star Wars legacy by not being overly goofy or overly colorful. It wasn’t trying to show you a grandoise image tied to a flimsy story… it tried to tell you a story, which had been a sorely lacking feature in the previous two prequels.

They could have made another mvoei out of Sith — as Anakin’s turn does come abruptly and you do not see Darth Vader as a menace as much as eye candy. But the movie itself is good enough…. And from what I saw it was a sight better than what I had seen in Episodes I and II.