When I was a child my mother and I would go every Thursday night to the RKO Theater at 1320 Castle Hill Avenue in the Bronx. They usually had black and white double features for $1.50 per person, plus 25 cents for popcorn. In the sparsely populated darkness we could have a good time without having to talk to one another. Aside from 1961's (which left a deep impression on me) and a few war movies and domestic dramas, I only remember the science fiction films. They hinted at what I had already suspected: that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.

At my age, silly fables about atomic chickens and other irradiated friendlies were quite enough to fill a child's brain with happiness. My favorites were "Them" and "Attack of the Crab Monsters". A masterpiece like 1956's , however, was on a whole different level, and the science fiction craze seemed to fizzle out in embarrassment after that. The rest of the 1950's were filled with depressing movies about junkies, with sleazy jazz soundtracks. Starring Frank Sinatra.

1977's burst onto this barren wasteland with an excitement last seen in the old Saturday morning and movie serials which had invented the that many in Lucas' audience assumed was his creation. This opening, in fact, was the best part of the movie, made indelible by the fantastically stirring theme music by John Williams, which has remained the best known dinner bell to Pavlovianic movie fans ever since.

Like so many "classics", however, this movie was not the product of a towering genius, but just a good filmmaker who got lucky and cashed out. In subsequent years, George made tons of money selling crap to addicted children and forgot about the mythology that had inspired his movie, a mythology explored so much better by Joseph Campbell in than any filmmaker before or since. As the documentary showed, the fans knew what was great about this movie even if its auteur didn't. None of George's sequels were worth watching, especially not the first which shameless repeated the ending of the original. At least the second sequel gave us , a leader of the rebellion who happened to be a squid.

Last year I saw Jurrasic World in 3D and had to sit through 30 minutes of commercials just to see in high heels. I vowed never to be suckered into another 3D extravaganza. But then was released. How could anybody resist that?

Well, it turns out I could. I found a mostly watchable "screener" on Pirate Bay last night and decided to watch it. I would now recommend that all serious reviewers watch a slightly out of focus, poorly lit and almost inaudible version of any new blockbuster to get a sense of the actualy quality of the movie. Unfortunately we are all bedazzled by new tech, and it impairs our appreciation of the art of storytelling. CGI spectaculars tend to become yesterdays headlines. If the original King Kong hadn't offered a quite original story, no one would remember its cheezey special effects. Forunately a handful of 3D movies have been okay so far, especially and .

If I do eventually decide to see this movie in 3D I'm sure I will love the production values. J. J. Abrahms does have a vivid imagination, as Lost and Cloverfield demonstrate, but now that he's mega-rich he has turned to the dark side. All he cares about is the bottom line, like his idol Lucas the Lucky.

There is good news, bad news, and really bad news about this movie. The good news is that Rey, the heroine played by Daisy Ridley, is a convincingly indomitable and inspiring champion. I liked the third act where she discovers that she too has superpowers (i. e. "the force") and so can overcome the new Darth Vada in a duel. It's magic, yes, but so was the original. Also good news is that we see Admiral Ackbar — for one second.

The bad news is that

1. the story line is about what you'd get from a film school flunkie trying to finish his "write a movie like Star Wars screenplay" homework without putting too much work into it. (Another 20 years and all reboots will be perfect thanks to crowd-sourcing from fan fiction.)
2. countless plot points from the original were shamelessly repeated, such as:
   1. the Wookie, which is almost as bad as reviving Jar Jar.
   2. the barroom scene with music nowhere as interesting or startling as Benny Goodman's.
   3. a third-act assembly of the rebel commanders around a 12-foot diameter computer display of the targetted death star.
   4. a final "let's blow up a death star" scene.
   5. yes, another fricken death star.

The really bad news is that

1. they brought back Harrison Ford. Harrison has no acting range and adds nothing to this movie.
2. they brought back Carrie Fisher. Carrie has all the charisma of the old Hollywood drunk she's actually become.
3. they brought back Mark Hamlin for five seconds but gave him nothing whatsoever to say.

I believe that if you're making popcorn, you might as well make the kind that will please most of the people most of the time, and I guess Jay Jay has done a good job learning financial spreadsheets. I'm glad there'll be more Star Wars replicants. But it's not art, and it's no longer new. In 100 years people will only remember the original and all these "reboots" will be booted out of the galaxy.

Keep a Little Magic in Your Heart
[Repurposed from www.merrimentdesign.com ]