It came out near the end of 4th grade. I read the comic and novel before I could talk my parents into taking me. I had an LP of the condensed version of the story. It was as good as could be for a kid of my age, seeing it around 10 years old.
It has been with me since.
I read books, saw the 2nd soon after release. I saw the 3rd as a matinee after school with a buddy before I could drive and my mom had to take us. The multiplex era was something that had emerged from between when 1 and 3 came out, so it was easier to get to see it than it was merely a few years earlier. This was a ground floor start for me at that age, not like coming upon something already with a history I had to catch up on later.
I kept with it, have no idea how many times I have seen them.
1 was mind blowing. It really still is.
2 is the best in the franchise. It really still is.
3 only partially was something I liked. I didn't like the tone of parts of it. Still don't.
Don't call them by episode titles around me. The watch order is 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 and you can watch the two spin offs and the Baby Yoda show whenever.
When the prequels came out I was in line early and sat there in utter disbelief in just how much I didn't enjoy them, and how much people at the time did not want to admit they didn't either.
The new ones are a mixed bag. 7 is good. 8 is bold, but really just not great. 9 is a lot of movie. The two spin offs are really enjoyable and the just about to conclude first streaming series is so good it reminds me just how close to good the rest of them are.
I am 52 and am trying to decide how 10 year old me would have felt if the entire story was available then and he would have been ok with it. So, that's it. That's my review.
Last night I got to see something before it could be spoiled that ended a 42 plus year relationship with a story, and in an of itself that is crazy.
