Long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away...

But you already know all that.  Were you aware that you still have two days to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the Llano Theatre in downtown Plains, Montana?  Yes, it's been held over for a second week and at these ticket prices, you have no excuse for not seeing your favorite science fiction epic at least a second, if not a third or fourth time.  It’s playing tonight and tomorrow evening at 8 p.m.

Now those of you who have been following this saga since the beginning (1977), know the story well.  Here’s how imdb.com summarizes the plot of the very first movie, now called Episode IV, A New Hope:

Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader.

Fast forward almost forty years and here’s how I would summarize Episode VII, The Force Awakens:

A storm trooper on the lam joins forces with two cocky pilots, a wookiee and a droid to save the galaxy from the First Order’s world-destroying battle-station, while also attempting to rescue the scavenger/pilot Rey from the evil Kylo Ren.

Sound familiar?  Yeah, you’ve seen this movie before, but who cares?  There’s plenty of action, not a little amount of humor, and most of the cast of the original 1977 movie are back.  

Oh, and it’s another father/son flick.  Remember Darth Vader telling Luke “I am your father.”  That was news to Luke (and also to Princess Leia, who it turns out is Luke’s sister), but Kylo Ren, Darth Vader’s stand in for Episode VII, knows full well he is the son of Han Solo and Princess, now General, Leia.  The question here is rather is there enough light left in Ren to bring him back from the Dark Side.  Nope—that’s not the question.  The ONLY question in this movie that you haven’t already answered for yourself is “Who is Rey, and why did her family abandon her on the desert planet Jakku?”  I’m sure we’ll find out in Episode VIII (due in 2017) or possibly Episode IX (due in 2019).  One blogger has already made his guess, but I won’t reveal his thinking.

OK, I’ve now seen The Force Awakens twice, both times at the Llano, and I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing it again.  So this evening, or tomorrow evening, or both, head downtown, buy your $5 ticket ($4 for children—and there’s nothing here that children shouldn’t see), grab a big bag of buttered popcorn and a large drink and settle in for an enjoyable evening.  

And my favorite line in the whole 2 hour fifteen minute movie?  When Han Solo sees Princess, sorry, General Leia for the first time in who knows how long, he says simply “You’ve changed your hair.”  Yep, spoiler alert, she’s not wearing the cinnamon buns over her ears.

Upcoming films at the Llano Theatre (subject to change):

DADDY'S HOME PG-13
January 29 - 31
JOY PG-13
February 5 - 7
KUNG FU PANDA 3 PG
February 12 - 14
THE FINEST HOURS PG-13
February 19 - 21

Final bit of revelation:  I have no connection to the Llano Theatre.  I just appreciate the fact that a small town, Plains, Montana, has a movie house that shows great movies at a reasonable price usually within a month of their first on-screen appearance in the big cities, and I want to make sure that those of us who live in the area continue to enjoy this luxury for a long, long time.