One of my favorite all-time films.

Rating: 9/10 (12 August 1999)

What's to say that hasn't already been said? I love this film. I love practically everything about it. Of course, I grew up with this movie, so it represents a lot of my childhood and the fun that I had with it. The characters are like old friends to me, and the story has always been one of my favorites.
What I like most about the movie are the characters. A lot of people have criticized some of the actor's abilities, but looking back on it, I don't think the movie would have been as memorable without the character dynamic that it had. No one else could have been Luke Skywalker. No one else could have been Han Solo or Princess Leia or C-3PO. The music is both gorgeous and rousing at the times that it needs to be. John Williams is by far one of the best cinema composers, and this remains one of his finest works.
The sets are great, giving a sense of the alien worlds that Lucas wanted to convey, and this film has its share of moments that work so well. My favorite scene of this movie features Luke watching at the twin suns of Tatooine set, frustrated that he's not going anywhere or doing anything with his life after yet another argument with his Uncle. This small, quiet scene, accompanied only by Williams' score speaks worlds in those few moments than most movies do. It's testament that special effects and CG can't replace the powerful simplicity of human emotion.
All of the elements of Star Wars work so well together that it's hard to point out just one positive thing about this movie. It's a film that if you haven't seen (if so, how has living on that deserted island been), you need to. This is one of Lucas' finest achievements without compare.
I have to rate this movie twice. The 1977 version is easily a 9. The 1997 re-release loses points because I think the new CG effects actually take away from the story. I absolutely loathe the revised Han Solo/Greedo shoot-out scene. It looks cheap and unrealistic, and Greedo must be pathetic if he can't kill someone from across a small table. This version gets a 7 based on overall blasphemy of a movie that had nothing wrong with it in the first place. It should have been cleaned up and nothing more.
Well, at least Jar Jar Binks wasn't added to this one.