Lucas Has Obviously Read Tolkien

Rating: 7/10 (20 February 2004)

I`ve never really thought much of STAR WARS . I remember when it was released in 1977 everyone was going bannanas as to how good it was . I finally managed to see it when it was broadcast on television in 1982 and was very disappointed with what I saw , okay it was entertaining to a certain degree but I didn`t believe for one moment it deserved the hype or massive audience figures . One other thing that sprung to my mind many years later is that it`s unoriginal
!!!! SPOILERS TO THIS AND LOTR !!!!
I can`t help thinking that Obi Wan Kenobi has been based on Gandalf from LORD OF THE RINGS . They`re both wise old men , they both " die " a heroic death and both come come back as etheral beings in the trilogy and both are played in the films by Knights of the stage. However whereas Ian Mckellan gives an outstanding performance as Gandalf Alec Guinness has little impact as Obi Wan . I do not say this lightly as I rate Guinness as the greatest actor of the 20th century . In fact as one reviewer has already pointed out none of the actors give much of a performance except Harrison Ford who is the only member of the cast who went onto become a household name . Compare the performances of the cast of the LOTR trilogy who could all easily pass as Knights of the stage
I`m not saying this is a bad movie - it`s not . It is entertaining and does have a sense of humour and the costume design is excellent especially the stormtrooper uniforms but what I`m saying is it`s not a great one either and certainly doesn`t deserve to be in the IMDB top ten movies .

And as a footnote is it just coincidence that Christopher Lee was cast in ATTACK OF THE CLONES after appearing in LORD OF THE RINGS ?