Hello, My Name is Josh and I am a Star Wars Addict

The snare drums rattle and the emboldened trumpets blare out the 20th Century Fox theme. As a child I remember seeing another 20th Century Fox movie for the first time and being confused and slightly offended those glowing blue words didn’t follow after. “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” The luminous azure font works like an incantation; sending rapturous beams of exaltation and slapping a permanent two-hour smile on my face. Then, the fanfare, the yellow font imposed over the starlit canvas of outer space, and until the credits roll, I’m one giant human goosebump.

Regularly, as a kid and in my early 30’s, I will subject myself to this ritual and without fail I succumb like Anakin for Padme. There is nothing quite like the first minute of a Star Wars movie to hype you up for the next two hours. I swear that when I would watch the original trilogy of movies when I was home sick, I got better not because of the rest, but because of the pleasing immersion into the bacta bath that was the Star Wars universe.

Hello, my name is Josh and I am a Star Wars addict. My wife vetoed my efforts to name out kids Luke and Leia, Star Wars action figures adorn my office, I frequently quote the movies to any and everyone, will cosplay at the Episode VII premiere, and sometimes lay up at night trying to force pull my glass of water to my hand. To quote comedian and avid Star Wars fan Tracy Morgan, “I’ve seen Star Wars five hundred times.”

When I set out on this new series hoping to review each of the six existing Star Wars movies in anticipation of seeing and reviewing the new movie coming out December 18th, 2015; I honestly wasn’t sure how I was going to approach it or if I would be able to do it at all. I loved the movies and all but like Wedge after getting hit in the engine by Vader’s TIE, I wasn’t sure how much good I could be.

But I knew, as Obi-Wan said, “The Force will be with you, always.” I have to write about Star Wars. I have to brave putting the blast shield over my face and trust my instincts. The words on the page might be as ugly as a Gamorrean’s face, but I have to do it. The setting twin suns of Tatooine called amidst the gentle horns of John Williams’ score to take my first step into a larger world.

There are six months(!!) until the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and in that six month span leading up to its release, I will be reviewing all six films. Starting next week Wednesday with the original 1977 Star Wars and working through the films by their release dates, not their chronology within the Star Wars universe. The reason for this is to let each movie build on top of one another as it was originally experienced by the fans. That way, I can avoid getting bogged down in analysis of how each film plays into the other and focusing on each individual film and how it relates to what came before, not after.

Bear with me as we head on this grand galactic adventure. I’m sure it will much more pleasant than spending a night in the innards of a tauntaun.