Instead of waiting in a long line in Union Station's food court, where even this late at night there were construction crews working on major renovations, we were able to lay claim to great seats in the auditorium 90 minutes early.

At precisely 12:01am, the house lights dimmed to start the typical train of previews. The glimpses of Batman Begins, Fantastic 4 and War of the Worlds looked good. Then finally, after the 20th Century Fox fanfare, the last two hours of the 28-year journey to complete the Star Wars saga began with the familiar 10 words.

Without spoiling anything, I'll say that this episode felt like the most concentrated and textured look into the Star Wars universe. The acting was predictably wooden, with the actors spewing some pretty idiotic dialog. But the climactic light saber duel and parallel plot resolutions over the last 30 minutes kept me at the edge of my seat even though it was 2am by then. After the not-cheerful ending, the credits rolled to a very satisified me.

You must go see for yourself--or wait until the DVD release in November.

- mike lee - washington, dc