Epic in every way

Rating: 10/10 (25 May 2005)

A classic story with a perfect cast, memorable score and dazzling special effects. Movies don't get any better than this. More space opera than true sci-fi, Star Wars takes you on a magical ride through a galaxy far, far away.
The first moment of genius comes right at the very start with a written crawl which gives a basic plot outline and without which all that immediately followed would be hard to place in context. After John Williams' now legendary opening theme we are thrust into the first of many thrilling space battles to come. Almost immediately we are introduced to one of the great movie villains of all time, Darth Vader who is voiced with true menace by James Earl Jones, and it becomes clear that this film is not quite like anything we have seen before.
Star Wars may seem to be your typical good versus evil swashbuckling adventure but there's a lot more going on here. The hero, Luke Skywalker, is your typical simple, clean-cut farm boy who will soon be thrust into the middle of a galactic war of as grand a scale as could be imagined. But he is not our only hero. Princess Leia, a leader of the rebellion against the evil Galactic Empire, is certainly not your typical helpless fairy-tale princess. She gives as good as she gets. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the older, wiser more seasoned hero and the mentor young Luke will desperately need. Han Solo is a space pirate in it only for the money, not for any revolution. Solo's first mate aboard his ship, the Milennium Falcon, is Chewbacca, a giant Wookiee who is remarkably adept at space flight for a creature which resembles a hairy two-legged dog. Also along for the ride to help our heroes are the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 who provide not only critical help for our heroes but some comic relief for the audience.
The performances in Star Wars are all first-rate. Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker plays the young, naive Skywalker very well and Hamill grows right along with the character throughout the film. Carrie Fisher brings the appropriate smarts, skills, sophistication and determination to Princess Leia. Without Fisher's quality performance it might be hard to believe that this young woman could play such a pivotal role in a rebellion of this magnitude. Alec Guinness is reliably brilliant as old Jedi master Kenobi. He is mysterious, quiet and reserved yet very strong indeed. Stealing the show is Harrison Ford as Han Solo. It seems Ford gets all the best lines and he makes the most of them. Luke Skywalker may be the nominal hero of the film but it is Ford as Solo from which Star Wars gets most of its personality.
George Lucas has crafted a true masterpiece here. The classic struggle of the underdog against the evil oppressor takes on many new twists here. The mysterious Force, the foreboding and menacing Darth Vader, alien creatures of all imaginable shapes and sizes, the epic nature of a battle which rages across an entire galaxy...in the end it all comes together to form something unique and truly wonderful. With action and adventure on a grand scale, fascinating characters on both sides of the fight, special effects that were revolutionary for the time and an ever-building sense of drama and excitement Star Wars is an absolute triumph.