Fun for Everyone

Rating: 10/10 (20 April 2020)

Whoever you are, this movie is a must-see. If you are not a fan of sci-fi, to each their own, but I highly suggest taking a chance by watching this movie. I do not care if you are nerdy or jocky, male or female, rich or poor, happy or sad, short or tall, or somewhere in the middle of all those, take a chance and watch this movie. If you are unaware, this movie beat the odds and changed the industry forever. However, before I tell you why, let us first talk about the story. I have never seen a film make use of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey more effectively and iconically than "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope". Other movies that follow the hero's journey are, for example, "The Matrix" (1999), "Spider-Man" (2002), and "The Lion King" (1994). All of which are superseded by "Star Wars: Episode IV". Within this story consists of great characters. There is the young farmer boy who will save the galaxy; a cocky pilot with a furry friend; two comical droid tag-alongs; a princess in distress who is a strong, influential female lead; an all-around menacing villain that is one of the coolest bad guys anyone would cheer on; appealing armies that duke it out in a now-or-never battle. You will fall in love and feel for these characters. Also, it takes more than engaging characters to make the movie. It takes great actors to bring the characters to life. To name just a few, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, David Prowse/James Earl Jones, Peter Cushing, Sir Alec Guinness all did outstanding jobs adding depth and emotions to their respective characters. Now, this movie faced substantial opposition from multiple areas. I will say the most resistance came from people who thought this movie would flop. Not only just thought it would, executives and viewers of early cuts expected it to bomb. Even George Lucas, who is the director and writer of the movie, was so sure it would crash and burn! (Note: Steven Spielberg predicted it to be successful) Another opposing force was the movie's funds. First of all, the movie had a low budget of $8 million (was then bumped up to $11 million). Second of all, over half of that was spent on never-before-done special effects. Not to mention, scenes that used those special effects were later scrapped. Third of all, on a more individual level, George Lucas agreed to receive a lower salary for 100% merchandising rights (this was seen as a fool's gamble, especially with "Doctor Dolittle" (1967) failing miserably at merchandising sales). But, by golly, the movie was a success. Not just any other successful movie, but a huge success! Despite screening in a mere 32 theatres on opening day, it raked in $1.554 million over the weekend and has since made over $700 million in the worldwide box office profit. Remember that unwise gamble George Lucas accepted? Lucas not only reaped millions of dollars in profit but also forever changed how movies merchandise! Hopefully, this helps in your decision to watch this movie because this is truly a remarkable movie from start to finish. Just within the first few seconds of the film, you will see the classic line "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." Then, the audience is hit by something like a figurative truck when the beautiful ensemble of musical genius flows like a river of chocolate into your ear canals, all while the audience is reading engaging backstory that is necessary to understand the beginning of the movie. Mix the music and the opening crawl to produce nearly uncontrollable excitement and anticipation for the gold the audience is going to find by watching the film. I have seen this movie countless times, and it never gets old. It is a solid film, and I cannot find any fault with it. Therefore, I give "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" a perfect rating.