Classic Science Fiction

Rating: 9/10 (3 February 2004)

"Star Wars" became a movie classic because it was intelligent science fiction that went beyond what had been done before in the genre. Lucas' space opera incorporated themes from world mythologies into a movie that both adults and children could appreciate. The result was a franchise that had both popular and intellectual appeal. I have heard college students discuss the Star Wars trilogy as if it were the "Illiad", and it does not seem silly at all for them to do so.
What was the appeal of "Star Wars." The first film in what is now sometimes referred to as "the original trilogy" (to distinguish it from the prequel trilogy) introduced the movie audience to "the force," which had both a dark side and a light side; as well as a "will". The universe at the beginning of Star Wars is controlled by an evil Empire, which is in turn being resisted by the "Alliance." The movie begins with the capture of an Alliance ship by an Imperial cruiser. As the movie's villain, Darth Vader, boards the ship in search of secret plans stolen by the Alliance, two droids (including one who has the missing plans) jettison to the surface of the planet around which the Alliance cruiser was orbiting. There they encounter a young farmer (Luke Skywalker), whose father (Anakin Skywalker) was a pilot in the "Clone Wars" (an important war, as we later find out), and an aging jedi knight named Obi Wan Kenobi (the jedi's having the power to use "the force" for combat and enlightenment). As the movie progresses, the jedi knight teaches the young farmer the jedi skills, and they join forces with a blockade runner named Han Solo and a princess named Leia, to fight the evil Empire.
This movie brilliantly sets the stage for events that occur during the next two films, but you have to see the entire trilogy to fully appreciate Lucas' contribution.
**Note: While it might be tempting in light of the release of the prequel trilogy to see them first, I think that it is best to see the original first, with the prequel trilogy filling in the gaps later.