The Film That Gave Sci-Fi Fantasy Films A Makeover

Rating: 9/10 (2 October 2010)

Writer & director George Lucas didn't invent science fiction as a film genre, but his landmark film "Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope" and its sequels and spin-offs certainly propelled science-fiction from the fringe to A-class productions. What made "Star Wars" so charismatic is the hokum that it embraces with such consummate love. Lucas has attributed his inspiration for the "Star Wars" franchise to his memories of Saturday matinée serial cliffhangers as well as his fascination with mythology. Mind you, nothing in the "Star Wars" franchise is remotely original except for its reliance on hoary clichés and conventions that fuel the 'space-as-an-adventure' formula with exotic worlds, lethal aliens, and ravishing damsels-in-distress. Basically, Luke Skywalker is another embodiment of "Flash Gordon" and Darth Vader is a riff on Ming the Merciless. Harrison Ford's Han Solo may be an outer space smuggler in a fast ship, but he resembles an old frontier western gunslinger for hire to the highest bidder. Alec Guinness is the older gunman/samurai warrior with a strange mind-set that enables him to control weaker minds. Robots and droids emerge as memorable characters, too. Surely, Darth Vader with his long flowing black robes, respirator breathing vocal deliver, and unmistakably Nazi-style helmet qualifies as one of the top twenty all-time evil villains. Lucas contrives weird aliens and animals and populates his film with a number of visually interesting settings. The Death Star as the ultimate weapon is really cool and presents the ultimate challenge to our heroes because they must destroy it. Essentially, the Death Star is comparable to the eponymous "Guns of Navarone." There is a lot of sophistication wrapped up in this seemingly superficial saga about a galactic rebellion against tyranny.