My new Spot-on column is up and it’s driven by the fact that today is the 30th anniversary of Star Wars.
When I started working on the piece earlier this week, I was prepared be quite cynical about the whole thing. I had quotes from a co-worker of mine about how the second trilogy has actually diminished the original films a bit in his eyes. But then I called my buddy Larry Ross of Blast from the Past and he turned out to be on site at Celebration IV in L.A. Talking to him about Star Wars and about the sights he was seeing there, I got infected by excitement. In fact, when I got home from work, I noticed that G4 is showing the live special Star Wars at 30 and I’m watching it and geeking out.
My friend Larry thinks that none of the films have been as good as the first one, not even The Empire Strikes Back, which people like to cite as being the highest in quality. I guess I have to agree with him. As far as the new ones, they’re all a massive disappointment, but there is that cool fight with Darth Maul in Phantom Menace and the one between Yoda and Dooku in Attack of the Clones. And Ian McDiarmid‘s performance as Palpatine is very good.
What the hell. I’m still hooked.