Flawed, but Undeniably Great

Rating: 10/10 (30 May 2010)

Star Wars is an undeniably great film. It, perhaps more than any other movie before or since, truly defined the word "epic". What do we mean by "epic"? We mean engrossing, inviting, and just plain real. Action movies nowadays never seem to be possible. They just seem to show technologies advances and provide us with plain eye-candy. Star Wars doesn't have that edge. Its special effects has stood the test of time, but it doesn't grip us anymore with the same effect it used to. And its other elements: its acting, its screenplay, its plot, are all rather ordinary.
Sure, you may wish it was the most perfect a film could get. You may wish that it had the pure awe-inspiring qualities of the undeniably great films such as Citizen Kane and Casablanca. It's not. That improves it, oddly enough. It brings it down to our level, makes us enjoy with for the sheer fun and joy it inspires in us. To try to improve the flaws would ruin the entire film. So what if the acting isn't sheer nirvana (though that is debatable), its characters are so endearing. So what if the screenplay is average, the story is timeless. So what if the action isn't the crash-bang of today's action films, it just gives it such a classic atmosphere.
We love it for its flaws. We love it for the sheer impact it had on the film industry. We love it because it just appeals to us, the audience, and because it gives us a hell of a fun ride on the way. Why is it so great? It just is.