A blueprint for the perfect narrative

Rating: 10/10 (21 January 2017)

Many people always see The Empire Strikes Back as the best movie in the Star Wars saga, but I will always see A New Hope (aka the original Star Wars) as the superior chapter.
This is so functional on every level. Every piece of dialogue has purpose and is at the same time interesting, funny or impressive to say the least.
It's filled with great character arcs, and good symbolism in the costumes of the characters. Han Solo, once a scoundrel non-believer, turns into a faithful man who has seen the power of the force. His black and white costume shows that he is neither a good guy, nor a bad guy. That's why he wears different clothes in the sequel, to show his growth as a person.
I get that some criticism of this film may be that it's too mainstream, and that we've grown tired of the countless tropes this movie has, but I try to look at it with a filmmakers perspective. I see Star Wars as a very original Kurosawa homage: it's got the symbolism, the action and the same type of characters.
Conclusion: This will always be one of my favorites. It's hard to beat a film with structure as good as Star Wars, and that's why I rate this film ten stars.