Rather Good...

Rating: 7/10 (12 March 2009)

Star Wars begins as a really dull, flat, and boring film. 25 minutes into the film, and I still couldn't care less about the main characters. To be perfectly honest, I considered turning off the movie at that point, ranking it a 1 on IMDb, and writing a harsh review. But about 5 minutes later, the film really picks up, coinciding with the first appearance of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness). That's when the film becomes "watchable". It becomes entertaining as soon as Han Solo (Harrison Ford) appears.
What's wrong with the first 25 minutes? It's just plain boring. Perhaps the biggest error is having the majority of the first 15 minutes spoken in an incomprehensible alien language. It is just so flat, that the appearance of Luke Skywalker does almost nothing to balance it out. But as soon as the plot picks up, it doesn't slow down.
I also hate George Lucas' direction. His eternally wooden camera does little other than panning throughout this movie, and in fact, his career.
James Earl Jones delivers an amazing performance as Darth Vader (O.K., I know he does only his voice, but still, that guy's voice is AMAZING!). Vader is the perfect choice for a movie villain: that mask is creepier than any deformed or disfigured face could be: always expressionless, constantly breathing heavily He's just plain, old-fashioned scary! This movie certainly has some fantastic acting, particularly from Harrison Ford, Alec Guinness, James Earl Jones (of course), and Mark Hamill (who would later voice the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series).
Of course, the movie has its faults, especially when it comes to characters. Chewbacca and R2-D2 are quite possibly more annoying than watching Ace Ventura: The Animated Series.
So overall, Star Wars begins very boring, but is very entertaining by the end.