Best. Movie. Ever.

Rating: 10/10 (5 June 2003)

Whatever else George Lucas does in his career, and no matter how Episode III turns out, what no one can take away from him is that in Star Wars he created, IMHO, the greatest two hours of film in cinema history. And that's ignoring the fact that it's the first part in what is, again IMHO, the greatest movie trilogy of all time. There's probably nothing I can say about this movie that hasn't been said before, but who cares, I'll say it anyway. My thoughts on what makes this film so good are difficult to list in only a 1000 words, but here goes.
It's the most exciting two hours of film you'll ever see, featuring beautiful princesses, scary baddies, likeable rogues, daring-do and success against impossible odds. It has a masterfully crafted script, one that any student of screenwriting or film history should study, utilising a template of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey theory and Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress. It's the perfect standalone adventure film, with a classic good against evil battle, yet at the same time hints at the existence of a much grander story that lends it a feeling of incredible depth. It's a film which can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike, and shows that the best kids movies, the ones that really stand the test of time, are the ones that don't set out to be kids movies in the first place, but just to be really good movies that will appeal to kids. It has the greatest opening sequence in film history, featuring the best special effect of all time. It has John Williams fantastic score, featuring the best title theme ever. And of course it has Darth Vader, quite simply the best villain in movie history (I still remember absolutely cacking myself as a kid when he breaks that Rebel troopers neck!).
I could go on, but there's really no point. It's been said before but I'll say it again, if you don't like Star Wars, do you really like movies at all? Yes, the dialogue is extremely ropey in places and some of the effects are starting to show their age, even allowing for the changes in the Special Edition. But like the ridiculous 70's hairdo's everyone sports and the fact that C-3P0 is so obviously gay, this just adds to the films charm. And so what if the fact that Star Wars still commands such affection is based on nostalgia? Even stripping all of that away it remains a tremendously exciting, brilliantly conceived film. The fact is that if I could only watch one more film in my life, then it would have to be Star Wars.
(Note - while I'm rating the film as 10/10, I have to subtract one point from the Special Edition, just for the fact that Greedo shooting first really detracts from Han Solo's hero's journey, and Han as a character, not to mention looking stupid.)
Rating - Original Edition - 10/10 Special Edition - 9/10