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May the force be with you as you try to score tickets this weekend to "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith."
Wednesday afternoon, Yvonne Keirn, general manager of North Pointe Cinemas, said, "I look for it to be sold out all the time. ... I think we will be turning people away. We just got done previewing it and it is awesome, just awesome."
She said it was right up there with the last "Lord of the Rings" movie "Return of the King."
"They were just able to capture each individual character to their full potential."
Tickets for the Wednesday night midnight showing of "Star Wars" on three screens were almost gone by 2 p.m. and totally sold out by show time. Keirn said The Rave, Fort Wayne, planned a midnight showing on nine screens and they were sold out by Wednesday afternoon.
Bryan Mort and Randy Stutzman were waiting in line at North Pointe at 10 a.m. Wednesday for the midnight showing.
"It's 'Star Wars'!" said Mort of why he was there so early. "I love it. I wanted to be the first in line for the last movie."
He took a personal day off work to wait in line for it as his expectations for the film are high.
"I know that it will pretty much be awesome," said Mort. "It's just a culmination of what all the other movies talked about, it's darker. You get to see Darth Vader again."
Stutzman said he was waiting to keep his friend Mort company. "I figured I never did it before so I might as well try."
He and Mort knew exactly where they wanted to sit, too.
"Right in front of the bars, right where the bars are at," said Stutzman.
As Robert Raymer sat in his seat for the midnight showing, he said he was there " 'cause it's a good movie. Heck, it's 'Star Wars.'"
It was the first "Star Wars" midnight show he attended. "I like 'Star Wars.' I think everyone should love 'Star Wars.' I hope to see a good storyline, action and everything a good movie should have."
"I got asked by my friend to come," said Amy Zeltwanger. She saw "Episode I" but said she wasn't that big of a fan. She anticipated seeing how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader.
Her friend, Katie Sheets, said, "I guess I've seen the other ones and I thought it would be fun to come at midnight."
Though she wasn't a huge fan, she saw the other five episodes and wanted to see how Luke and Leiah came into the picture.
"I hope the third is better than the first two," Sheets said. "I think the first two are different than the older ones."
"Episode III" is writer-director George Lucas' final film in the "Star Wars" series. The film, set three years after "Episode II," depicts Anakin Skywalker's gradual transition to the "dark side" of the Force. The PG-13 movie is expected to make more than $350 million at the box office this summer.
Today at North Pointe Cinemas, beginning with the 4:30 p.m. "Star Wars" showing, Keirn said the 501st Club will be on hand dressed up as characters from the highly anticipated conclusion.
"They're a non-profit organization and love doing it and they called and asked if they could do it and I said sure, I would love to have them," she said.
The previous "Star Wars" films were rated G. "Episode III" is PG-13 Keirn said because there are stronger action scenes and special effects, making for a slightly more violent film. But, she said, the whole family can still enjoy the flick.
North Pointe is selling advanced tickets now for the weekend, up to May 26. Memorial Day weekend tickets go on sale May 25. While the movie was on three screens for the midnight showing last night, it will be in only the theater's big screening room for the remainder of its time at North Pointe. The theater seats more than 300 people.
Show times are 4:30, 8 and 11:15 p.m. tonight and Friday; noon, 3:30, 6:45 and 10:15 p.m. Saturday; and noon, 3:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday. The movie is slightly more than 2-1/2 hours.
After the midnight showing was over, Raymer said of the movie, "It was awesome. It was the best movie I've ever seen."
