Movie Reviews

There are a few different approaches I could take to evaluate George Lucas's first Star Wars film. I could consider how, in its day, it was a truly revolutionary piece of filmmaking -- the sort of revolution that we'll probably never experience again. I could also talk about how this film has spawned a bigger universe of branded fiction (books, TV shows, and of course more movies), computer games, toys, and various other connected offshoots than any other film in history.

If I considered only those things, than surely my rating of the film would be higher (and quite justifiably so). But while watching Episode IV again recently on the brand new DVD box set (on which the film looks incredible for its age, by the way), the only thing I could really think of was the film itself. And to be quite honest, I really don't think it's that great of a film.

Don't get me wrong: I did enjoy watching it, and the nostalgia factor and the unique place it holds in film history heightens that enjoyment even more. But come on, the whole thing's really rather silly, isn't it? Luke is a whiney baby, Han is obnoxiously macho, C3PO is about as close to a gay stereotype as a cyborg can get, Vader is a bit of a caricature, and Chewie is, well, a really tall guy dressed up in shag carpeting.

I'm being a little facetious here mainly just to prove a point. But come to think of it, maybe the silliness of the whole thing is another reason to enjoy it -- if only just on a different level. The 'new' Star Wars films (episodes one and two) have both lacked any amount of this fun goofiness, and maybe that's why they've sucked so badly.

Episode IV - A New Hope definitely has its fun moments. I like Star Wars; I really do. There's a lot of great nostalgia surrounding it, and during its time it was a truly momentous achievement in film. But nowadays it just seems a little underwhelming.