Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

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8/10 ⭐

I actually have a very hard time knowing what to score this movie. I'm not really loyal to this franchise and didn't watch the originals until I was a teenager (the prequels are another story...). Still, it's impossible to just rate these movies on their own merit, pretending like they came out today. 

We started our rewatch on Star Wars day, and I actually really tried to imagine what it would be like watching this in '77, a new IP, a little-known director, before John Williams was super famous or Harrison Ford was really a household name. It was weird to think there was ever a time where you could see C3PO, or hear "Help us Obi-Wan!" and not think about the decades of significance. Honestly while watching, everything just felt timeless and like they'd always been famous. 

But as a movie, ya, this one is kinda weird. I think Luke, to begin, is so whiny and annoying, but also when looking into it - he was a literal child! That's pretty cool. Han Solo is also completely insufferable basically during this entire series. I don't think this kind of character works anymore. He's not some smooth talking debonair, he's mean and condescending and hard to stomach. "Look your worshipfulness, let's get one thing straight..." Bruh shut up. 

Still, I think there's simply too much to love, and there's a reason this movie has stood the test of time. Vader is the ultimate cool baddie, though I've always thought he's too chatty. Obi-Wan is great in the mentor role. I love the droids, and will always love the droids. The chosen one stuff is great, and while it's definitely a little cliche now, this movie made it cliche! 

Still, I wonder how this movie does without the John Williams score. I feel like it's so essential to this movie's success. Maybe the good movie has made the score a classic, and not vice versa, but seriously, what a perfect, wonderful two hours of music, from the opening crawl to the end credits. I think the binary sunset scene is one of the most powerful in cinema, and literally what is it without the music? That scene alone seriously elevates this movie a few notches. 

So yeah. Impossible to review this movie on it's own. It's beautiful, epic, exciting, and sometimes silly and annoying. But this movie is nearly FIFTY years old. That's wild. This movie is so much more engaging for the modern audience than almost anything that old. The visuals nearly hold up, and the puppets are super endearing (and the Lucas additions added are monstrous and terrible). There is absolutely no justice for Chewy and the final scene is obscenely racist. Good stuff. 

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