The force is with you

(TONYA JAMESON, Charlotte Observer)
You were supposed to be the chosen one! Star Wars fan ready for the final installment at Birkdale Village on Wednesday.

I had the lamest crowd at Star Wars tonight. Cinema 8 at Birkdale Village was as quiet as a library when the opening line (Long ago, blah, blah) flashed on the screen. At Regal Stonecrest, where my roommate saw the movie, he said people cheered as soon as the blue words appeared on the screen. And fans got even rowdier when R2-D2 was putting the smackdown on a couple of droid bullies. Another friend called from Chicago and said there was a light saber battle in his cinema. Next time, I'll screen hop.

"Revenge of the Sith" is the best of the three prequels. It's as good as "Return of the Jedi," my least favorite of the originals. It takes "Sith" way too long to show what I really wanted to see: Anakin Skywalker embrace the dark side, fight Obi-Wan Kenobi and become the man in black. During Skywalker's journey to evil I noticed plenty of similarities between the power hungry jedi and President Bush, as well as the United States and the Republic. (More on that in a later arts column.) When Anakin and Obi-Wan were spanking the bad guys the movie flowed well. It sputtered with stilted dialogue and Yoda's gibberish. Talking backwards does not wise one make. Oh, and pay attention to Chancellor Palpatine. He gets way too much of a rush being around Anakin when the dark side of the force is working its mojo.

Look me up tomorrow. I'll give you the scoop on the grand opening of Rick's Cabaret, formerly Club 2000.