Lightsabers pierced the hot, night air as people watched the fanfare surrounding the final installment of the George Lucas series. In Greenbelt, where well-dressed people are usually found promenading across the stone steps past coffee shops and high-end stores, strangely dressed people sauntered by clad in brown coats, monkish robes and the odd headgear.
At the premiere of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in Greenbelt 3, the scene was littered with characters from the current and past episodes. Clones, dressed in crisp white plastic, walked by casually, some still wearing their IDs. Several Jedis chatted in the background, while Darth Vader, in all his black-clad glory, looking more like a butch version of Karl Lagerfeld than an evil Sith lord, posed for pictures, giving people the thumbs-up sign every so often.
It was a surreal sight to see. Children looked on, the younger ones slightly frightened by the sweaty, oddly dressed characters. But it was the older crowd, those who caught the Mark Hamill-Carrie Fisher originals – if not on the big screen then on Betamax – who felt the most nostalgic.
"I can’t believe it’s actually over," John Edualino, a 32-year-old who counted himself a hardcore fan, said. He and his friends had played hooky the whole day, watching the first three installments on DVD. A friend of his, dressed in a Star Wars T-shirt, nodded sagely while chomping on a free hotdog courtesy of the Gentxt stand, as John added, "It’s always been a part of our lives, this great mythic story, and we feel sad letting go."
For some people, John’s fandom is just a bit too much. "It’s just a movie," photographer Mark Nicdao said dryly, while lining up for a ticket at the premiere. "It’s not really a big deal."
Most people fall in between the two camps. Fans of the series who have faithfully attended the screenings of the prequels – despite lackluster reviews – are there to see how the story ends.
"I just want to know how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader," one moviegoer explained. She had gotten her ticket free. Globe Gentxt had been steadily giving away free tickets to subscribers, along with other snacks and goodies, throughout the night.
Somewhere in the crowd, Gary Valenciano was spotted. "He’s a big fan," Mark Parlade, one of the staffers behind the premiere, said of the singer’s attendance.
At the stage, a "cos play" was going on. People were parading their costumes, faces drawn into scowls for those under the dark force, for the waiting crowd. When the prize was announced, a cell phone from Globe, some people snapped their fingers and shook their heads, wishing that they, too, had the presence of mind to come in costume.
But it was the thrumming dramatic score by John Williams, that well-known instrumental theme, which got the crowd roaring. Performed by the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra, the Star Wars theme had everyone standing up to catch a glimpse of the trailer being shown on stage.
Though the spirits of many fans were saddened by the end of the extended series, calling it "the end of an era, a farewell to their childhood," the atmosphere for the most part was light.
When screening time came close, people were herded to the cinema, eager to get good seats. As the lights dimmed in the theater and those immortal words flashed onscreen, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...," people began cheering. And in between shouts of "Yay!" and "Shhh, be quiet!" the seminal series finally came to a close. To paraphrase Yoda, "This one a long time I have waited for."