Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) Review

"That's no moon.  It's a space station."

-Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi

In possession of the technical readout of the evil Empire's super weapon, the Death Star, Princess Leia's (Carrie Fisher) ship is captured by the ruthless Darth Vader (James Earl Jones).  She gives the plans to a droid, R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), who escapes the ship with his companion, C-3PO (Anthony Daniels).  They land on the desert plant of Tatooine, where they end up in the possession of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil), a moisture farmer who dreams of something much greater.  With the Empire in hot pursuit of the droids, Luke has to leave his home and team up with former Jedi, Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness), and smugglers Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) to get the Death Star's plans into the hands of the Rebellion if they want any hope of stopping the Empire.

What Works:

A New Hope is a classic for a reason and even today it sill holds up wonderfully.  This movie does so many things right, it's tough to know where to begin.  I'll start with the story, which is fairly simple (unlike other Star Wars movies), but it's engaging.  We know right off the bat who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, and we see what the stormtroopers and Darth Vader are capable of pretty quickly.  The attack on Princess Leia's ship is a great and memorable way to set up the conflict of this movie.

Moving on to our protagonist, Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamil gives an excellent performances making it very easy for us to connect with Luke.  The details about what he actually wants are left vague, but the point is we know he yearns for something greater, something that we can all empathize with.  Luke is very likable throughout the movie.  He's a great protagonist, has a wonderful arc, and he's a great set of eyes for the audience to watch the action through.

This movie also has fantastic supporting characters.  Han Solo is a great foil for Luke and Ben.  He's a fantastic character and it's no wonder he has become one of the most popular characters in pop culture.  His devil-may-care attitude and fearlessness make him a lot of fun to watch.  Plus we have one of the greatest mentors in film history, with Ben Kenobi.  He has tons of memorable dialogue and many of his lines have carried with its audience long after we first saw the film.  Add in some great comic relief in the R2-D2 and C-3PO, and a badass Princess who is much more than just a love interest and you've got yourself a great set of heroes to root for.

On the flip side, the villains of this film are fantastic.  Darth Vader is instantly fearsome and a terrifying force throughout the film.  From torturing Princess Leia to force choking one of his own men, this guy leaves an impression and rightly so.  But we also have Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) who blows up an entire planet to prove a point.  This guy is as evil as they come and really makes the Empire something for the audience to despise.  As far as villains go, A New Hope's are top of the line.

On top of all that, A New Hope has some of the best pacing I have ever seen in a movie.  It's constantly exciting and really does a great job of reeling you into the action.  Because you like the characters, you are wholly engaged with the action on the screen and it doesn't let you go.  The film has a fantastic energy and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire runtime.  

Finally, the visual effects, which were revolutionary for its time, still hold up well today.  They aren't perfect, but they are impressive.  A lot of the practical effects left me wondering how they did it.  It really is fantastic work.

What Sucks:

I got nothing for ya.

Verdict:

A New Hope is one of the most influential movies ever made and it deserves its status as a classic and still holds up all these years later.  The story may be simple, but the characters are engaging and likable.  The energy of the movie hooks you in and doesn't let go.  The performances are great, the heroes are easy to root for, the villains are despicable, and the effects are awesome.  You couldn't ask for much more out of a movie.  And even all these years later, A New Hope still has got it going on.

 10/10: Amazing