A Sense Of Something Epic

Rating: 10/10 (11 March 2017)

There was science fiction before Star Wars and science fiction afterwards. The amazing thing about this film, though, is that it presents such a simple narrative. It has drama, compelling characters, action, adventure, humor, and fantasy; every ingredient that an epic doth make.
The storyline is classic "good vs. evil" fare. The Empire forces, commanded by the mechanically- supported Darth Vader (voice of James Earl Jones), wreak havoc over the galaxy, but are opposed by a rebel force led by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and Han Solo (Harrison Ford).
While recently watching this movie again, I identified three reasons why this simple little film sparked such a phenomenon:
1. The storyline is just so compelling and dramatic. A sense of something epic prevails throughout the entire production.
2. Whereas it too preceding show Star Trek many episodes to establish a cadre of eclectic characters, Star Wars (with the likes of Chewbacca, C3PO, & R2D2) accomplishes the feat in roughly 30 minutes.
3. The overall genre-diversity of the experience. I recently screened the film with my 13-year old sister, and she enjoyed it as much as I did but for completely different (e.g. humorous, primarily) reasons. Much like "Back To The Future", for example, Star Wars attracts viewers from all "walks" of film genre.
Basically, this "first" (depending on your point of view...!) installment in the series does a great job of establishing the important characters, laying the basis for the epic plot, and just providing some basic entertainment. Very few people will be turned off by it, as it contains seemingly something for everyone.