Aidan The Aspie Critic: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Hello and welcome to a classic story from a galaxy far far away! In honour of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens coming out, I will be reviewing all 7 (Yes, there are 7.) theatrical, canonical Star Wars movies without any nostalgia goggles, eventually. Unfortunately, this will mean that I will have to review the Special Editions of the original trilogy, but I will try not to let all the stupid changes and bad CG change my opinion on the movie as a whole. I will also be reviewing the movies in order of theatrical release. So, without further ado, let's take a look at Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, or it's original title, just Star Wars, was a science fiction action film released in 1977 by George Lucas. It is regarded as one of the greatest, most iconic, and influential movies in the history of cinema. How does it hold up? I'll get to that later. Let's start out with the story, but let's face it, you all already know this story! It is a time of civil war in the galaxy! The galactic rebellion is rising up against the evil galactic empire. However, the rebels aren't doing so well. They have managed to capture the plans for an ultimate terror weapon, called the Death Star, a moon-sized battle station with the power to destroy an entire planet. However, nobody knows where these plans are, and rebel leader Princess Leia Organa was captured by Darth Vader, dark lord of the empire. 2 robots escape their spaceship being captured by the empire and land on the desert planet Tatooine, where they meet farm boy Luke Skywalker, smuggling dynamic duo Han Solo and Chewbacca, and wise old Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi. Can the rebels save the princess and destroy the Death Star? I'd tell you to watch Star Wars to find out, but let's face it, you already have.

This movie is absolutely fantastic! However, it does have it's problems. The special effects hold up perfectly, for the most part. There are some lazily costumed creatures, some of the flying scenes aren't perfect, and the CG in the Special Edition, of course, is AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The direction and acting can also be pretty weird. The dialogue isn't great, and neither are some of the performances. Alec Guiness, James Earl Jones, Anthony Daniels, and Harrison Ford are all great, but Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.... not so much. Carrie has this weird fake slightly-British accent and Mark..... well, let's just say that I have no idea why people hate Hayden Christianson as Anakin so much when Mark Hamill wasn't much better as Luke. I don't necessarily blame the actors for this, it was just poor direction. There are also some parts of the story that don't make sense, but other than that, this is a nearly perfect movie! How could it be anything other than that? Yeah, it has problems, but if you don't like this movie, it kinda makes you a bad person. Not liking this movie is like not liking The Wizard Of Oz. The 2 movies are very similar, actually. Sure, they have some problems with the story, characters, and acting and special effects at times, but how can you not like something so simple, so innocent, and so iconic and influential and groundbreaking? So, yes. I love this movie, and everyone else does too! I give this movie a 5 out of 5 stars! Possibly the greatest movie ever made.

Have you seen Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope? What did you think of it? Tell me in the comments! 

Next up, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back! See you next time!