Star Wars: IV A New Hope

A long long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, there was a movie. This movie changed the sci fi genre forever and even inspired two more movies (what prequels? I heard rumors but, too bad they don't exist). That movie was Star Wars.  Man, even after all these years, Star Wars holds up pretty well, despite the fact that it's budget wasn't huge. It's got great action sequences and memorable lines. So, each month until December, I'll review each of the Star Wars movies (The good ones, obviously.) So, grab your lightsaber and hop into your space ship, and May the Force be with you!

The Plot:
During a galactic civil war between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire, a farm boy named Luke Skywalker dreams of a life with excitement and adventure. When two droids from said Rebel Alliance show up, his dreams become a reality. With the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo and Chewbacca, Luke saves a kidnapped Princess Leia from the Empire's Death Star. However, their fight isn't over yet when the Empire decides to use their ultimate weapon. Intent on destroying the planet that the Rebels reside on, our heroes gear up and launch an attack. The clock is ticking as Luke and the Rebel fighters take on the Death Star and attempt to destroy it.

The Good:
Pretty much this whole movie. The pacing is done right. The characters are easy to like and easy to get behind. You hate the Empire from the get go, but you're still impressed with them. And the lines that are so memorable; "I have a bad feeling about this." "I find your lack of faith disturbing." And always, "That's no moon, that's a space station." The action's amazing to watch too. From the dogfights in space, to the turrets in the Millennium Falcon. Which, were inspired by actual footage of WW II dogfights. Darth Vader is inspired by samurai culture and the Jedi are loosely based off of samurai as well.  I mean, this movie is awesome.

The Bad:
It was pretty hard to find some bad in all that good, but I did manage to find some. It should be noted I watched one of the many "Special edition" Star Wars, so yeah. There's the scene where Greedo shoots first for one. (Han shot first) Second, there's the deleted scene where Jabba is at Han's ship and they strike a deal. This should have remained deleted. At the end, Han says "Jabba. You're a wonderful human being." Which, makes no sense since Jabba is a space slug. Leia's dialect keeps switching from British and American during the film. There are a few plot holes, but they're not glaringly obvious.  However, the Empire is pretty stingy when it comes to lasers and "malfunctioning" escape pods. Of course, the movie would have been over a lot faster.

Overall:
Star Wars is a classic. It's also a great movie, despite it's flaws. Maybe that's why everyone likes it so much. It'll remain one of my all time favorite movies for years to come.

Rating:
4.5 lightsabers out of 5.