My brother treated the family to one of the first screenings of the Star Wars. I will say the clampdown on details was a damned good thing, because it let the plot twists and turns hit with even more emotional punch. One of these nearly got my family killed as we were leaving the theater (I posted that over on the Book of Face, but I’ll probably do a quick post here later).

I will say this: in lesser hands, this movie would have just been a tribute film to the first Star Wars. We have all the elements – hero’s journey, lovable scamps, omnipresent evil force, awesome space battles. Except it wasn’t just a tribute. It was the melding of all we loved about the original with new themes and characters that make Episode VII more than the sum of its parts. 

I look forward to seeing it again. And again. And again.