The movie that started it all. In the early 70s, George Lucas began working on a film entitled Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Starkiller as taken from the “Journal of the Whills”. Yes, the title was a bit odd, but that’s not why people in the industry thought George Lucas was so crazy. The bizarre part about Lucas’ new project was that a movie as far out there as this one had never been brought to the big screen. Films, at this point in American history, were very reflective of the times. Vietnam, Watergate, oil shortages, recessions—all led way to highly depressing and gritty films. A space opera with blasters, laser-swords, and floating objects definitely did not coincide with the rest of popular cinema. Nonetheless, despite all the naysayers, George Lucas released Star Wars (shortened from its original title and later renamed A New Hope), and the movie quickly became a cultural phenomenon. A New Hope changed the world of film and, simply, the world, as a whole. And it gave me a lot to review 41 years later. Let’s get down to it.

Story: 10

This story is probably the most unoriginal story in the ‘Star Wars’ saga at its core. It’s based off a pretty common literary trope: a princess, also known as the damsel in distress, needing to be rescued by a hero. But George Lucas manages to flip this trope completely on its head. First and foremost, the damsel in distress is not the victim; she’s a strong and empowered leader. The hero going to rescue her is not alone; he is accompanied by a rag-tag group of unlikely friends. The princess also knows the location of vital information to the bad guys. The bad guys are in the midst of fighting a galactic civil war. And the bad guys also have a space station that is capable of destroying entire planets. All these wrinkles make the story so unique, and it’s this last wrinkle that actually becomes the focus of this movie. The objective of the film is that the Rebels need to destroy the Death Star, and how they accomplish this objective makes for an unbelievably entertaining two hours of cinema.

Characters: 10

On the surface, the ensemble of characters in this film is all over the place. You’ve got a farmboy, a princess, a pirate, an old wizard, two robots, and a dog/bear hybrid that manages to walk like a human. In no way should this film actually work, but it does. In fact, this movie was so successful because of its absurd ensemble of characters. The insane special effects might’ve brought people back to the theaters a couple of times, but it was the characters that kept people coming back dozens of times (yes, people seriously did that). Luke Skywalker (his last name was obviously changed) became an icon. Harrison Ford was arguably the biggest actor in Hollywood for his performance as Han Solo. Girls were wearing their hair up in Princess Leia buns. The characters were so lovable, and they still are to this day. The main reason why the characters are so lovable is because of their chemistry and interactions together on screen. Again, it just works. Oh, and the greatest villain in cinema history is introduced, as well.

Locations: 8

This movie is a bit tough to judge in the locations category. I say this because the places we go to in this movie have become so iconic, but there really isn’t a whole lot special about them. Tatooine has a bunch of sand. Yavin IV is pretty cool, but we only spend time inside the Rebel base when we’re there; we never get to explore the planet. And then there’s the Death Star. The exterior of it is amazing and so is its destructive power, but the interior is just…eh. But alas, since these locations have become so popular amongst the ‘Star Wars’ faithful, I can only really dock off two points.

Tatooine

Yavin IV

Death Star

Humor: 8

There are lots of great gags in this film. And all of it comes directly from the characters—their personalities, attributes, shortcomings, etc. I’ve referred to “Star Wars humor” in the past, and this movie is what establishes that style of comedy so perfectly. My favorite comedic moment in the film comes when Han and Luke go undercover as Stormtroopers in an attempt to save Princess Leia from the detention block. It makes me laugh every time I watch it.

Score: 9

This is far from being the best score in ‘Star Wars’, but it establishes so many of the themes that are reoccurring throughout the entire saga. In my opinion, it’s this movie that best shows the brilliance of John Williams. Nothing like ‘Star Wars’ had ever been made before; so many people had such a hard time processing what was actually happening. John Williams, though, was able to recognize the spirit of this movie. He put together a score that not only embodied that spirit, but enhanced it. And now we can’t even imagine an episodic film without John Williams spearheading the music. “Binary Sunset” is my favorite track from this film, as it has been the most revisited theme in all of ‘Star Wars’.

Pacing: 9

This film has the most definitive beginning, middle, and end out of all the ‘Star Wars’ films. We are introduced to all the characters at the beginning, they experience conflict in the middle, and then there’s a resolution to that conflict in the end. Simple. It’s the slowest-paced movie in the saga, but that’s just how movies were made back in the 70s: slow. And even though it is slow compared to the rest of the ‘Star Wars’ movies, it still has an incredibly smooth progression of events throughout the film.

Dialogue: 9

The reason why this movie’s dialogue gets so many points in the dialogue category is because of how many memorable lines are produced. And I mean ICONIC lines. This scene is a perfect example of the film’s very well-thought out dialogue, capped off with a cherished quote among ‘Star Wars’ fans.

Action: 8

The action suffers a tiny bit in this category simply because this movie was made in 1977. The special effects were nowhere near what they are today, and even if they were, George Lucas probably wouldn’t have been able to afford them considering the film’s smaller budget. The lightsaber battle between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan is probably the worst in all of ‘Star Wars’, and the Death Star Assault is hindered by a lack of technology. Nevertheless, these two moments are highly memorable action scenes within the saga. The action that takes place with the Millennium Falcon is quite memorable, as well.

Cinematography: 10

This movie feels like it really takes place out of this world, and I would argue that it’s the first movie to ever accomplish that feat. This feeling is achieved because of the great cinematography displayed by George Lucas. Not to mention, he creates a number of phenomenal shots, all thanks to his brilliant vision.

Moments: 10

There are so many moments, so I’ll just list my favorites. Vader’s introduction. Luke and the Twin Suns. Han shooting first. Alderaan’s destruction. The aforementioned Death Star Assault. And the Throne Room celebration. These moments have become so entrenched in pop culture, and they are a huge part of what makes this movie so incredible.

Overall Score: 91

*IMPORTANT* Even though this is the last required blog post, I will still be posting a blog next week to reveal the #1 movie on my list. Come back and see!