In case you didn’t know, a new Star Wars movie was released in movie theater’s on December 18th (yes that was sarcasm). I have no qualms admitting that I am a Star Wars fan. “Fan”, being short for “Fanatic” pretty much sums up my passion for everything that took place a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. All that being said, it should come as no surprise that I purchased tickets for the midnight showing for Star Wars: The Force Awakens when they became available. I purchased tickets for me and eight other friends, all of whom are also Star Wars Fans. The venue I chose to see The Force Awakens was at Cinetopia in the Vancouver Mall, centrally located in Vancouver, WA. Cinetopia has a couple of different theaters to chose from, I chose The Movie Parlor. The Movie Parlor is a smaller theater, that accommodates somewhere around 30 to 35 people. It’s a very intimate setting and perfect for Dorks…er fans, like my friends and me
The day of the movie, my friends and I showed up a little early to enjoy the great food, and great beer selection in the Brewtopia restaurant, located inside the Cinetopia movie complex. Since we had assigned seats, we were able to truly get our Geek…er Fandom on, without worrying about waiting in a line. At approximately 11:50pm, we entered the Movie Parlor, found our assigned seats, hamming it up, giddy as school children. Finally, at exactly midnight the lights went down and no one spoke for 2 1/2 hours. Yes, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was everything I wanted from a Star Wars movie, and then some.
As fun as seeing The Force Awakens with my fellow Nerds….er friends was, the true magic came when I went back to Cinetopia on Christmas, to see Star Wars with my family. My children are 4 and 7 years old, and weren’t around to watch the Star Wars prequels…..thank goodness. (I could get into why the Star Wars prequels are brutal, but that’s a different blog for a different day.) So this was the first time, as a father, I got to share a part of my childhood with my kids. I can imagine that, that same feeling would come over any parent walking their children into a theme park that they too had experienced as a child. Or a journey to Wrigley Field to experience the singing of “take me out to the ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch. For me, seeing my son and daughter race down the aisle to find the our seats; watching them grab popcorn and sip their soft drinks; holding on to their coats as the lights go down; and finally seeing their eyes open wide as the Star Wars title theme erupts; that my friends is the real power of the force, and true magic. And as we were walking out of the theater once the movie ended, there were no discussions on the dichotomy of the light and dark side of the force, or guessing on who’s going to be the director on the next Star Wars films. No, there was none of that. There were only sounds of two happy children making light saber sounds with there mouths, mixed with an occasional Imperial March theme.
I know some may raise an eyebrow at me, or give me a blank stare as I talk about this deep connection I had with my kids at a Star Wars movie, and that’s ok. In the end, the Star Wars movie was just the means for us to come together as a family. Spending that time with my kids at a Star Wars movie was all about me wanting to fall in love with Star Wars all over again, only this time share that love with my children.
Whether you’re a fan of Star Wars or not, if you haven’t seen The Force Awakens yet, please do. It’s fantastic, and perfect for the young ones who might be starting to really get into the Star Wars universe.
I also highly suggest checking out Cinetopia. They have three locations in the Portland Metro Area. It’s an awesome venue to see any movie with friends and family alike. I’ll probably do a review on Cinetopia after the new year.
Thanks for reading. Here’s a question: What’s the one thing (or multiple things) that you loved as a child, that you’d like to share with your own children? Leave the comments below. I do respond to comments!
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