The beginning of my favorite movie trilogy

Rating: 9/10 (26 October 2001)

But not my favorite movie, which is still The Matrix, but it comes very, very close, and in some ways this even surpasses The Matrix. For example the opening scene and the theme music (Da-da, da-la-da, da-da...). It's fantastic old-fashioned entertainment that after more than twenty years, still manages to make a teenager of the 21st century very happy : )
The most amazing thing about the movie is the simplicity of the story -- it's so simple it can be summed up in just one sentence: farm boy rescues princess and saves the day. And then George Lucas threw in lots of action with special effects--I don't really mind that they are outdated--plus humor and romance into a cheesy script actually capable of holding it all together without going over the top: how genius is that?
Some people may say that it's just a kids' movie, but it's one hell of a kids' movie! Although the beginning was a bit slow, everything afterwards is full of tension and excitement. Spacecrafts! Explosions! More spacecrafts and loads and loads of Imperial Stormtroopers in white armors, blasting at our heroes and heroine! And between the howling and blasting, comic reliefs are inserted which produce an odd but pleasant effect. There are severed arms and laser weapons for the boys, big bun hairdo and romantic moments for the girls (but beware: watch the whole trilogy and when you think back, some become rather disturbing moments. You'll see what I mean.) , and all of the above for the grownups. Parents don't have to worry about violence and/or sex-- it has a perfect PG rating. Whether you are nine years young or nine hundred years old like Master Yoda, you can always enjoy the wondrous space spectacular and the colorful characters who lead us through it.

Speaking of characters--which I think, besides the story, is the most important aspect of a film--I loved all of them! Especially Princess Leia and Darth Vader (the sound of heavy breathing will never be the same! ). And I thought the casting was perfect too. There are also lots of weird and wonderful creatures who are not only interesting to look at, they all possess some distinctive quirkiness which makes them, well, alien, while C-3PO and R2-D2 made the funniest pair of robots I've seen! Returning to our kind, Mr. Vader was *the* perfect villain in black; Leia is super-cool for a princess, and Han the "stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerve-herder" gave some extra edge to the movie. And last but definitely not least, Luke Skywalker. Luke is not the conventional hero, but I don't care that some people think he's just a whiny kid, come on, he's only human! And he gets my sympathy. Most people should be able to find something in what Luke goes through to related to. This and the religious undertone of the Force should be reason enough to put 'Star Wars' under the definition of 'universal appeal' in your dictionary.
And of course there's the legendary lightsaber...who doesn't know about the lightsaber? It's so famous that I knew about it even before I heard about the movie itself. The lightsabers, along with the X-wing fighters, the AT-AT walkers (in "Empire") and the Death Star are involved in some of the most visually stunning sequences in the trilogy. The floating sandspeeder and the little lightsaber training ball still bring a smile to my face and I'm sure that they will do that for my children as well, just as they did to the children twenty years ago.
To be honest, this is a pretty mediocre film, and I agree that it has been praised and worshiped to some ridiculous degree, but it does have so much more than your other 'average' movies. It's a classic Good vs. Evil story wrapped in modern special effect, it has hi-tech inventions and interesting characters who are surprisingly believable, but most of all it was that extraordinary sense of fun that has swept me to that galaxy far, far away. Every time it feels like a new adventure, and I cannot recall many movies which has done that for me. It's like...magic. If you have already seen it, there's no harm in seeing it again. If you haven't, you know you have the guarantee of millions of fans worldwide, but you need to experience it to decide for yourself. All I have to say before you do is: it won't disappoint you.
May the Force be with Star Wars forever!