A 'Star Wars' Virgin : Round 1

Twins, huh? I didn't see that one coming...but we'll get to that.

So I finished the first round of Star Wars movies! I watched IV, V, and VI and I have to say, overall, I really liked them. At first I wasn't sure what to think with the Han Solo chest hair, the corny lines, pouty main character, and bad special effects but I told myself I just needed to watch it for what it is and for the time period that it was. I got a lot of advice about which order you're 'suppose' to watch these movies. Some said to watch it by release date, others said to sort of mix the first three and the last three together, and others said to watch from episode 1 and on. I ended up going with the release date order because that was what I had always heard as the way to watch them, and honestly I had already started the first movie before I decided to do this challenge, so I couldn't start over. But I really liked watching it this way, I feel like I was right along with Luke Skywalker in his quest to find out who he is and I think that would've ruined it a bit for me if I would've  known everything ahead of time.

So let's get right to it. Let me take this time to mention one of my favorite exchanges of the whole series:

Leia: Aren’t you a little short to be a stormtrooper?

Luke: I’m Luke Skywalker, and I’m here to rescue you!

Dawwww, Luke! He's like a puppy. 

I think I need to start by apologizing for thinking Princess Leia was going to be this damsel in distress princess that everyone needed to save. Yes, she literally needed saved, but I pictured her to be randomly flailing around and people were going to have to stop and pick her up all the time. I guess I just only knew the gold bikini scene where she's Jabba the Hut's prisoner. But she totally kicked ASS. I love her. I mean, she was in the Force Awakens, that's true, but to me she was just another character. Again, I knew enough to know who she waaaass but I just didn't get the full scope of her until watching these originals. When she grabbed that weapon and shot off the storm troopers, I was impressed! And she kills Jabba! She's awesome. 

That brings me to Han Solo, if you'll remember my initial thoughts on what I assumed coming into these movies,  I thought Han Solo was a 'good guy' in my head that equaled me thinking he was a Jedi. I had all these visions that Luke was going to join them in their fight against the Empire. Boy was I wrong. I found out that he's a smuggler with a sidekick named Chewbacca and he's the one that has the Millennium Falcon! So he's on the run and becomes tangled up with the Rebel Alliance in the first movie. He then becomes an unofficial member. Anyways, I find his exchanges with Leia kind of annoying but I understand why he becomes an important character. I already knew he would get with Leia since in the Force Awakens, Kylo Ren is their son, but I wasn't prepared for all the corny lines and really wanted Leia to keep saying things like "into the trash, flyboy!" Also, all the chest hair...

I loved Luke Skywalker as a main character in the first movie. I didn't realize he would be learning all of these things about himself, I suppose it sort of mirrors Rey in the Force Awakens. I'm assuming that's on purpose. In Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi,  Luke sort of falls flat for me. He spends two weeks training with Yoda and all of the sudden he's a master Jedi? Okay... Even if that was believable for me, I still felt like he got a little boring. I missed young, naive Luke. The best moments with Luke are when he's finding out who he is. I did love his lightSABER fights with Darth Vader, particularly the one in Return of the Jedi. That was amazing!

What I Learned:

• LUKE AND LEIA ARE TWINS! I really don't think I ever knew this! I always just knew "Luke, I am your father". So this was a big reveal to me. When I watched the first movie I was anticipating a love triangle between Luke, Leia, and Han and we would have to see if she wanted the good boy or the bad boy. Also, didn't they kiss? I think I remember a kiss..so that's a bit strange but I liked this twist. And I was underwhelmed with Leia's reaction to the news. You'd think she would be like "Uhhh, Darth Vader is my DAD!". But she was just like "Oh yeah, Luke is my brother, Han, so you can make out with me now". 

• James Earl Jones is the Darth Vader voice. This didn't work for me since I equate his voice to that of Morgan Freeman, very soothing and reassuring, so I was never afraid of Vader. I get it though. 

• Not everyone in the Rebel Alliance is a Jedi. 

• Storm troopers are dummies. 

• If you're literally hanging in the universe at the bottom of a ship while escaping your crazy father who just cut off your hand, just use your twin super powers and have her come rescue you. Then fall perfectly into the small door that was opened for you. Works every time. 

• R2D2 is not a robot, he's a droid and he plays a very integral part in their fight against the Empire! Even if C3PO puts him down all the time... 

• Around the 3rd movie, my biggest question was "Why doesn't Darth Vader take off his helmet like Kylo Ren?". Besides just not being as gorgeous as Adam Driver (that hair <3), I found out that he actually needs it to breathe! I was also disappointed that it wasn't actually James Earl Jones...

So Many Questions: 

• So what happened to Darth Vader to make him look so scarred up and need the helmet to breathe?

• Why are there so many species on all these different planets? And how come some of the species need a translator like C3PO with Jabba the Hut, but everyone pretty much knows what Chewbacca and the Ewoks are saying?

• Who is this "beautiful but sad" mother of Luke & Leia? I know there is a Queen in the next couple of films...soo...maybe? I mean she is Princess Leia...

• What happened to all the Jedis?

• What is Obi-wan Kenobi's relationship with Darth Vader? 

• How did Darth Vader become Darth Vader?

• Who is Emperor Palpatine, really?

That's it for now. Is there anything I missed? Anything I should keep an eye and ear out for? I'll be starting the Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. I'm a little weary going into these movies because people always mention how terrible they are but I feel like I just need to see for myself. I need answers!

xoxo.