Don't Lecture Me, Obi-Wan!!
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The Star Wars Prequels often get mixed reviews, but these days they’re more popular than ever. When I was younger, I remember hearing they weren’t as good as the originals, and I probably agreed to some extent. Honestly, at that age, l likely just agreed with what everyone else said. When the first movie came out in 1999, I was fourteen, and I was twenty when the third movie came out in 2005. So the series spanned some good years for me. It was one of those comforting things that was always there. I remember how the movies always seemed to air on cable TV at Christmas time, and they would end up left on in the background. Oh, sweet nostalgia!
About 5 years ago, after not thinking about Star Wars in years, I randomly decided to rewatch the prequels. Little did I know, my mind was about to be blown. How did I forget about these movies? They’ve aged so well! I fell in love with the characters: Anakin, Padme, Obi-Wan, and Mace Windu! There was something brilliant about the way the movies were filmed. The wide and distant camera angles were refreshing, and they let your eyes feast on the beautiful colours, sets, and costumes. For the first time, I could see the vision that the films were trying to capture. The prequels were ahead of their time!
I wasted no time in letting everybody know how much I now loved the prequels, but I quickly found myself on the defensive. A colleague of mine hates them with a passion, and we butted heads over it a few times. I tried to convince people they should give the movies another watch like I had, but nobody did. When even some of my closest family members were giving me guff about liking the prequels, I decided—and maybe a bit out of spite—to declare the prequels my favourite Star Wars movies, Hayden Christensen my favourite actor, and Mace Windu the coolest Jedi of all time. The thing is though, they really were becoming my favourite.
It's great to see Hayden back in Star Wars these days. He deserves it! It bugged me that he almost quit acting because of all the hate he got from his role as Anakin. I think he’s an amazing actor, and he’s Canadian! I often get emotional about the matter. When I recently saw him back on screen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series I definitely cried. The next day I saw a video of Hayden being interviewed, along with Ewan McGregor at the Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022. It must have been his first interview in twenty years, and he was clearly overwhelmed with emotion from the positive reception he was getting from the fans. I cried.
I had no idea at the time that I would get a chance to attend Star Wars Celebration Europe the following year in 2023. I love Star Wars so much, and attending a huge event like that was an amazing experience. There were so many great costumes, and the atmosphere was incredible. My wife Sandy—who is a huge Star Wars fan, and who's even warmed up to the prequels over the last few years—scored us passes to attend the Ahsoka panel where we got to see the unveiling of the first Ahsoka trailers! It was epic. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get into the Hayden Christensen panel, as the panels were done by lottery. However, on our last day there we heard some loud cheers coming from the public stage, and we ran over just as they announced Anakin himself! Hayden was getting so much love from the crowd, and once again he was overwhelmed by it. I sobbed my eyes out, and I cheered him on as loud as I could. What a blast! We couldn’t have asked for a better ending to our trip!
Sandy and I managed to spot ourselves in the official Star Wars Celebration video of Hayden’s interview on YouTube the next day. I also captured my own little video (below).
My name is Gregory, and I love all things Star Wars. I have a growing collection of Star Wars figurines and even a Star Wars lunchbox—my niece has the same one. I once almost bought a vintage Attack of the Clones lunch box on Etsy, until I noticed it was second-hand. Gross!! I recently attended Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, in London England where I became a Star Wars super fan, and I’m already making plans to attend Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 with my fiancé Alexandra (also a Star Wars super fan). I’m not a Star Wars expert, nor do I believe such a thing exists. Like music or art, Star Wars is subjective. I try not to take it too seriously. Enter the geekdom and may the force be with you!
