Star Wars

Truly a classic. While Star Wars (A New Hope) isn’t my favorite film of the franchise, it’s still a stellar film. It was way ahead of its time with set design, special effects, and fleshed out universe. It’s no wonder it spawned countless sequels, games, books, toys, and a gigantic fanbase. Really the only thing that knocks half a star off from me is some of the pacing and character development, or lack thereof in some parts. Some of the action sequences, especially near the end felt a bit drawn out and lost my focus, but maybe it’s because I’ve seen this film many times and am used to the story. I felt as though Kenobi and Luke’s relatives could’ve been explored a bit more in the screenwriting. I know Kenobi gets his fair share of prequels eventually, but in the first movie he kind of felt a bit absent after his introduction. But those gripes aside, everything else is fantastic. You’re immediately thrown into a world unlike any other. But there’s an interesting underlying metaphor about war. I think it was George Lucas who said it was supposed to be representative of the Vietnam War at the time. It’s also cool to see how the Empire has these massive ships, and intricate suits for their Stormtroopers. Meanwhile, the Rebels have a hodgepodge of suits, ships, and weaponry. They look a lot more amateur than their enemies. It’s very thoughtful set design and costuming. Of course, there’s the iconic soundtrack from John Williams. So iconic that even if you haven’t seen the films, you’ll still recognize the amazing theme song. The special effects, while a bit dated nowadays, were amazingly ahead of their time. I watched the version on Disney+ with the added CGI, but I’ve seen the older cuts on VHS without them and they’re still amazing. I sometimes wonder how this film got made on their budget of $11 million (unadjusted for inflation). There’s so many actors, so many landscapes, so many costumes, and so much more on top of that. I’m rewatching the entire series because I have never seen episode 9, and it has been quite some time since I’ve seen a Star Wars film. But rewatching this one made me appreciate the films a lot more than I used to.