So after watching Indiana Jones, you think we would get a little bit of a lull in the grand adventure Harrison Ford department. Ya, that was not going to happen. Not to mention it is another romp around George Lucas' imagination
If you are alive breathing right now, or have been some time in the last 30 years, you know what Star Wars is. Now some of you, somehow, still have not seen the original trilogy. I will let that slide, for now, because I am feeling nice. But, for those who have not seen it, and those who portend to show the movies to your children, please start with episode 4, "A New Hope", also known as the first one. Really you do not really need to watch the most recent movies, episodes 1,2, and 3, because they do not hold the same feel as the originals, and in some eyes overdo the special effects and make it feel less emersive.
It is hard for me to review the Star Wars movies. For me, and many others, there is something about these movies that never get old. The sarcastic main cast of good guys, Luke Han and Leia. You have the Droids who have emotions and are true characters in their own right, even though R2D2 talks in beeps. You have the Jim Henson, of Muppet fame, creation in Yoda that even in its crude form, transforms into a full character. Not to mention the most iconic bad guy to ever be put on film, Darth Vader.
Its not just the Characters either. In the film hour of the film, you see a swamp planet(Degobah), desert planet(Tatooine), manufactured planet(Death Star), and a forest moon(Endor). Each one looks and feels like you are in a completely different universe. Also unlike a lot of Sci-Fi franchises, there are countless other species shown in Star Wars. Not handfuls, hundreds. Big, small, quadrupeds, giants slug, you name it, its probably in one of the movies. Even the sets when they are on ships are convincing enough to not look fake.
The version I watched was the original theatrical release of the film. That is without the added "Special Edition" content that you will hear many Star Wars purists express their displeasure over. The biggest change that most people hear of is "Han shot first". It refers to a seen in the first movie where he shots a bounty hunter that has come to kill him. In the remake they had Han react to being shot at, not preemptively killing the bounty hunter. It was surprising to me that watching this movie today, with all the advances in computer graphics and special effects, that something like this could have been made without it, and 30 years ago at that. It truly makes you understand why it started such a following, and why it still draws people in today.
The Star Wars theme is again one known to many many people, and none other than John Williams composed the score for these films. Sound effects, special effects, cinematography, all of them were revolutionized by Lucas and his work with Star Wars. My only real qualm? His use of spin fades and gradient fades between scenes. They were cheesy then, still are now, but he is George fricken Lucas, and I dare you to tell him he is wrong.
Overall I will admit it is not my favorite of the three original films, but I still enjoy it every time through. This film draws the biggest movie franchise of all time to a close, we can only wish that the newest trilogy was 20% of what these movies were.
Score: 8.6 You must see the original trilogy. Probably the must see movies of the list, bar none.
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