Overall Rating
  Awesome: 69.68%
Worth A Look: 14.8%
Average: 5.42%
Pretty Bad: 3.97%
Total Crap: 6.14%
6 reviews, 241 user ratings
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| Star Wars |
by Tyler Sciortino
"In a Galaxy...not far, far away at all...back when Lucas could direct."

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This movie, like The Empire Strikes Back, is cooler than you or me. Return of the Jedi was also cooler than you and me. The prequels...ugh...don't get me started.The original trilogy of Star Wars is just cooler than you or me, let's put it that way. While A New Hope wasn't as ultra-cool as Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi was just a tad inferior to the previous two, it is still cooler than you or me.
Eh...enough of this "cooler than you or me" shite. You know it kicks ass. Yes, the writing is cheesy, but that was intentional, and it isn't as wooden or boring as the prequels. Yes, George Lucas these days is a money-starved hack who has completely lost the magic touch of his film and thinks he can run 70% of a would-be live-action flick with cold, rubbery special effects, but that doesn't mean his pre-90s flicks suck. Look at Coppola: he's a has-been, but that doesn't mean The Godfather, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now automatically suck because his career declined.
The acting in the movie is generally good, although Hamill is a tad wooden, and a few of the actors are mediocre. But Ford, Fisher, Guiness (especially) all turn in great performances.
The directing, well everyone knows one thing: Lucas was only great at directing in the 60s-70s, likely because Lucas only directed in those periods excluding the prequels. Here his directing is fine, and the film has heart and energy. Too bad he no longer displays this in his movies anymore.
The writing, as mentioned, is intentionally cheesy. A lot like the prequels, but the problem with the prequels is that the writing is forced and boring and not even slightly cheesy, just plain awful. Here it is cheesy, and far from original, but that's the point. Luckily, it is not plain bad, it is not boring, and it is not forced.
Characters: Obi-Wan, Princess Leia, Han Solo...do I need to say more?
The sets and costumes: all excellent. None of them look silly at all, they really look like believable alternative worlds, and the wardrobe is perfect for the material.
Sound: this got a Special Acheivement Award at the Oscars. Yes, the Oscars are a joke, but the movie definitely deserved it. The sound effects from the laser blasts, robots, creatures, etc. are all great, and the mixing is excellent.
Score: One of the Top 5 of all time. The score freaking rules, and John Williams will be remembered because of it.
FX: CGI can never look better than standard FX of this caliber.
Action: Pure, unadulterated fun.Writing this review is a bit pointless. It rules and you know it. 10.5/10.
del.icio.us
link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=207&reviewer=328 originally posted: 02/24/03 08:50:03
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Trilogy Starters: For more in the Trilogy Starters series, click here.
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USA 25-May-1977 (PG) DVD: 12-Sep-2006
UK N/A
Australia 08-Dec-1977 (PG)
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