The one movie that changed it all

Rating: 9/10 (23 January 2016)

Oh, boy. Reviewing a film that so many critics have been writing about is so hard, but also deserves a try for sure. The original Star Wars is not that kind of movie you love because it's so well made or so complex and deep; you love it because it makes you happy. George Lucas back in the day didn't want to create the perfect sci-fi movie (he says so in a Rolling Stones review), as that was "2001: A Space Odyssey" in his opinion; he wanted to make something special in its lightness, a space opera not focusing on space (as did its future rival, Star Trek), but on a very, very simple story of a rescue (and later on in the saga, a family). Each character is just perfect in his role: Luke, the hero, with his strong sense of duty; Han Solo, the roughneck, a guy whose role in the universe is not yet written but soon will be; Princess Leia, a role model for girls at a time when a woman leading a group of adventurers was just fantasy. And this is just the main squad. I won't dwell on the amazing comedic commentary by the two droids (one of which, without a single word, became the favorite character of many fans!), the ominous figure of the mysterious Darth Vader and the mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, with the delicate role of introducing us to the mystical side of this world, the Force. No movie is perfect for me, and in this case I'll have to state the one, unimportant flaw in the whole original trilogy: the acting in itself isn't great and some points of the plot are off. That said, the chemistry between the actors is palpable and the story is so funny, you don't need to stress every aspect of it.
When every single scene in a movie is canon, you know you're watching a masterpiece. 9/10