It's a Wrap

Referring to my childhood, of course. Last night I finally saw Revenge of the Sith, the final chapter of the Star Wars saga which was such an integral part of my younger years. I'd like to think that, with a wife, three kids, and a mortgage, I'd successfully transitioned to adulthood. This uncompeted series was the final loose end from my youth and with the release of this film that end is now neatly wrapped up. For the first time in my life there are no more Star Wars films to look forward to, and that's a bit disappointing. Granted, the last three weren't that great; the characters are pretty forgettable, the dialog was consistently lousy, and Hayden Christiansen and Natalie Portman weren't quite up to the large roles they attempted. Still, I don't think there is a better series of movies to completely transport the viewer to another world.

There are rumors of a television series and a steady stream of books enlarging the Star Wars story but they're just not the same. Star Wars was big and it was visual, which can't be pulled off in either of those media. The best thing Lucas could do now is leave the legend be. Finis.

Let me tie this into OTR, albeit very loosely. If you are a Star Wars fan and haven't listened to the NPR dramatization of the first film, do so. I don't know to what extent Lucas was involved in the production but it adds a lot of scenes and material that were not a part of the original film. The radio series is 6 30-minute episodes - 3 hours. The original film was only 2 hours or so. You do the math. To what extent these additions are "canon" I don't know, but it adds some depth to portions of the movie that were a bit thin. The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi were also dramatized but, to my recollection, are pretty faithful to the original films.