(or just ‘Star Wars’)
Where do I start? This is the movie that shook a generation and beyond! It was so unlike anything in its time! The cinema world of the 70's was used to westerns, crime/action flicks, and the occasional Science Fiction serial. The Star Trek original series had come and gone as a mainstream space adventure and there was a strange gap that needed to be filled. In enters George Lucas, who formed an idea that would propel him into the halls of filmmaking history. It was a simple story with plotline elements almost Shakespearian. A young man who dreams of bigger things is pushed into a journey that reveals his true destiny. A small faction of resistance fighting a tyrannic government.
Star Wars, later renamed Star Wars: A New Hope, is about a young man named Luke Skywalker. Born on the desert planet Tatooine, which sits on the edge of the galaxy, he was raised by his aunt and uncle. His life is mundane and routine; working on his uncle's moisture farm, dreaming of joining the Rebel Alliance to battle the oppressive Galactic Empire. That is, until the day he left with a master of the ancient order of the Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke meets Obi-Wan (or old Ben) by way of the old man saving Luke's life from vicious Sand People. Master Kenobi reveals his identity to Luke and tells him of the Force (the celestial energy that surrounds and moves everything in the universe), the Jedi, and of Luke's father, Anakin. Obi-Wan also entrusts Luke with Anakin's old lightsaber. The lightsaber is a long energy beam protruding from a metal hilt. Obi-Wan calls it "an elegant weapon for a more civilized age."
Star Wars IV
A New Hope
After this encounter, Luke determines to be a great Jedi like his father. So he departs from Tatooine with a new purpose.
Luke is greeted by many characters along is quest to become a Jedi Knight. One very significant man is Han Solo, a Corillien smuggler just trying to make ends meet. Alongside Han is Chewbacca, a massive Wookie and Han's copilot. Luke and Obi-Wan hitch a ride with these two smugglers off Tatooine. Han and Luke clash at first but develop a friendship throughout the film.
Another figure Luke gets a glimpse of is a master on the opposite end of the Force, Darth Vader. Vader is a Sith Lord. The Sith are the bane of the Jedi. The nemesis. And Vader is one of the baddest. His power and dark presence strike fear into the imperial soldiers under his command.
This film has it all. A compelling story, witty dialogue, memorable characters, swordplay, space battles, good verses evil. I highly recommend this film and its sequels.
Review By: Kris Smith