The Scene I Waited 22 Years For

As is no secret to anyone who knows me, I grew up on a steady diet of super heroes and science fiction. From the ages of 7-13 I was completely obsessed with “Star Wars,” and its attendant action figures, comic books, and other ephemera, dominated my consciousness like nothing else.

I was not alone. All my close friends were enthralled by George Lucas’ vision of a galaxy far, far away to one degree or another. Every last one of my friends owned figures and playsets, and we endlessly debated who was cooler. I was always partial to Luke Skywalker, whereas most of my friends preferred the more charismatic Han Solo.

I devoured anything related to the saga, including the novels, and often dialogue and entire scenes not found in the films were revealed in those pages. One passage in the novel for “Return of the Jedi” particularly enthralled me. In it, Ben Kenobi relates to Luke how Darth Vader found himself trapped in the infamous black suit.

He vaguely references a light saber duel above a “molten pit,” which nearly killed them both, and left Vader in the life-sustaining armor. By this time, Lucas had revealed his intention to create a series of prequels that detailed the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker, and one would assume that scene would factor heavily in those films.

And then, nothing.

Life went on. The promise of the prequels grew more and more remote, and I found new obsessions to occupy myself with. In 1997, Lucas re-released the original trilogy and began filming the first prequel, to be released in 1999. All of a sudden, I was a kid again, and the promise of that spectacular scene was once again on my mind.

“The Phantom Menace” arrived in 1999, and it was a little disconcerting to say the least. For about the first half hour I was like, “I waited 16 years for this??”

The movie picked up about halfway through, but I left the theater disappointed. Even though there were glimpses of the original magic, most notably during the final light saber duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul, it was obvious Lucas had gone off the deep end, pandering to a seven-year old’s mentality – something he did not do with the Original Trilogy, despite his claims to the contrary.

“The scene” was still two films and six years away. Lucas improved upon “Phantom Menace” with “Attack of the Clones,” which still had much to groan about. In this film, it was not the stupid hijinks of Jar Jar Binks that hurt the film, but the insipid romance between Anakin Skywalker and Queen Amidala, and their horrific, stilted love scenes.

By now, I was an apologist for Lucas. I was giving him the slack my friends refused to. I knew what he was presenting us with in no way measured up to the O.T. but I kept giving him the benefit of the doubt. I was hoping that the final film would wash away the disappointment of the first two.

“Revenge of the Sith” was released in 2005, and by this time, the digital age for spoilers and inside info had reached its zenith. I knew the story from beginning to end, and was hopeful. “The scene” was promised to be spectacular – perhaps the longest duel in film history. Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen practiced it for months, and both spoke of their commitment to get it right. I caught glimpses of it in trailers and behind the scenes videos and my excitement grew.

It’s hard to put into words what seeing this piece of “Star Wars” history meant to me. It connected me to a time in my life when all I had to worry about was, would there ever be another “Star Wars” film, and granted, though the prequels were disappointing, returning to that universe, however flawed, connected me to my youth in a way nothing else could.

The day the film came out I took a vacation day from work and saw a 10:00 (A.M.!) show, by myself. By this time, my friends had little else but scorn for the new trilogy, but this was it. This was the moment I had been waiting 22 years for.

As the film unspooled I found myself enjoying the film in a way I had not enjoyed the first two. It was dark, oppressive, bereft of much of the stupid humor that permeated its predecessors. Of course, the dopey romance was still there, only not as prevalent.

After the first hour, I found myself thinking, “Now this is ‘Star Wars!’” Most of my friends gave the film a very grudging thumbs-up, as they were still disgusted by the prior films, and felt this was too little, too late. I felt like Lucas could’ve just made this film and I would have been happy.

Before I knew it, the final confrontation arrived. It was a masterpiece of stunt work, editing and effects. It contained all the drama and anguish I expected. It was everything I hoped it would be. In a series of films rife with disappointment, Lucas managed not to trample on the one moment I cherished.

I’ll always view the Prequel Trilogy as a missed opportunity. They don’t diminish my love of the Original Trilogy either. What I take away though, is a moment, a scene, that I dreamt about for more than two decades, realized exactly as I hoped it be. Thanks for at least not messing that up George.



The scene!