Star Wars: Episode IV Movie Review

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

Buy Star Wars Episode IV on Amazon Video
Written by: George Lucas
Directed by: George Lucas
Starring: Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford , Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse
Rated:PG

Plot
Young Luke Skywalker stumbles across two droids that lead him into an adventure with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, and a Wookiee to save Princess Leia from Darth Vader and stop the Empire's world-destroying battle-station.

Verdict
I'm swayed by nostalgia. I grew up watching this film so many times. It's a story about a boy that lands in a great adventure, the impetus for many movies. The scale is impressive. Imagine seeing this for the first time in the '70s, it had to be even more awe inspiring than it is today. The effects hold up well, though there is no sound in space.
It's imaginative and fun, with a sense of child like wonder. Laser guns and light sabers in space, while the earnest Luke wants to save the world from a bad guy dressed in black.
Luke's kind of whiny, but Darth Vader is an iconic villain though he doesn't do much. I didn't remember him being so subservient to Tarkin. Han is a side character that's more endearing than the main character. Obi Wan is just cool. This is a titan of sci-fi and a must see.
Watch it.

Review
Star Wars is a cultural cornerstone, and this is the movie that started it all. It's a big part wish fulfillment. We're meant to identify with Luke, a young man farming for his aunt and uncle while wishing to leave the planet and discover adventure. This is the movie that spawned a mega franchise. Star Wars is everywhere and the original trilogy spawned my love of sci-fi and was a source of creativity. I watched this movie so many times when I was young. This franchise expanded what was possible for a movie and story telling.
It's the kind of adventure you dream about as a child, saving the princess and defeating the bad guy. This takes that idea to space. One of the first things we see is the evil Darth Vader, menacing and robotic.

At first it seems like quite a coincidence that the droids with the princess's distress message, Luke, and Ben Kenobi all happen to end up at the same place, but Kenobi has been watching after Luke. With any good adventure you need help along the way and that's where Ben and Luke find Han Solo and Chewbacca.
Solo is a scoundrel with a good heart. While Luke can be kind of whiny and impatient, Solo is charming. Luke's goal is to save the princess, which is a bit bland. He doesn't have much nuance. Solo is a smuggler, in great debt and hunted. Depending on what version you see he shot Greedo first. Later versions were edited to show Greedo shooting first.
I forgot how subservient Vader is to Tarkin. He really is a dog on a leash in this movie, though that doesn't make him any less menacing. The Empire is willing to wipe out entire planets on a whim. The Empire uniforms were modeled after 1940s German uniforms.
Princess Leia may be imprisoned, but she's fierce, not the typical damsel in distress.

The designs are iconic, from Darth Vader to storm troopers, C3PO, R2D2, x-wings, and the Death Star. Everything just looks cool. You see these costumes and you want one for yourself.
This expanded on what people thought was possible in a movie, and it made light sabers iconic. Who hasn't had a makeshift light saber battle with whatever they could find around their house?
This was before CGI, and the scale models and practical props exhibit an adherence to physics that many movies lose through extensive CGI. The effects still hold up really well. Even though I can see some of the 'seams', it doesn't diminish it.

Star Wars is a grand adventure, wish fulfillment that created a pattern followed many times since. A kid wishes he was special and discovers he is. Star Wars went above and beyond creating an entire world. There are various aliens and the force, this magical ability to exhibit super human powers. Star Wars endures because it taps into our imaginations and wonder, presenting this massive world where anything is possible and providing a fun adventure that ends in the good guys defying all odds to beat the bad guys.
The music is incredible. Even now when I see the yellow logo and hear that familiar introduction to the text crawl, excitement wells up as a smile crosses my face. This is Star Wars.