The start of a saga

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2019)

Back in the 60s, it was mesmerizing to see Stanley Kubrick create an out of this world (literally!) film known as 2001: A Space Odyssey but what George Lucas made in 1977 started a huge trend in culture known as Star Wars.
Star Wars: A New Hope follows Luke Skywalker as he teams up Han Solo, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO and R2-D2 to destroy the Empire's most destructive station and save Princess Leia from the evil mastermind named Darth Vader.
Just imagine watching a movie like this in the late 70s. It would have been nothing like anything else shown in the theatres before. The film had a reported budget of $11 million and the effects even today still hold up. It's astounding to see something so original and unique be made for it to become one of the biggest pop culture phenomenons. The film looks gorgeous. A lot of creatures shown and fight sequences look real making the realism stay throughout.
The characters are really well written. Mark Hamill portrays Luke perfectly. His transformation from a whiny kid to a mature leader was great to see and this arc added so much depth to him. Carrie Fisher fit right in the role of Princess Leia. She's not the standard damsel in distress you would see normally because Lucas fleshed out her character completely accompanied with Fisher's mannerisms and dialogues. Then we have the almighty Harrison Ford playing one of the best characters to ever exist. Ford lives and breathes as Han Solo as he is so entertaining to watch and has great chemistry with Hamill and Fisher. We also have Alec Guinness who played Obi-Wan Kenobi perfectly. Finally we have one of the most iconic villains, Darth Vader. Lucas made Darth Vader also interesting to watch by showing off his power and leadership to audiences to really show how evil he may be.
A New Hope has so many great scenes (the bar scene) and character interactions that keep the flow going without a second of boredom. The concluding battle is something so intense and fascinating to watch. You being to wonder how they created it in the 70s. It must have been spellbinding and hypnotic to see something as cool and fun as Star Wars at the time of its release. It's filled with many memorable characters, awesome VFX and action sequences that'll make you root for each and every one of the protagonists. This was the start of a legacy that kept millions of fans eager and excited to see the rest of the series.