Kim Gentes

Visionary & Brilliant; Lucas' sci-fi hero perfect

Creating a masterpiece is something few people ever truly do. Rarely does one's work become known as the pinnacle achievement of a genre, and almost never does that happen in the creators lifetime. But this is the enduring legacy of Star Wars and its creator, George Lucas.

"Star Wars: A New Hope" is our "first step into a larger world". In it we see into the realm of Jedi Knights, the mythical worlds of Tatooine and the vast Empire of evil led by Darth Vader and his powerful master, Emperor Palpatine.

The story of Star Wars was first introduced to the world through this movie, which is somewhat strange since this begins the story precisely in the middle of the narrative. But if Lucas was going to create a platform for telling more of the story, the only way to do that is to present the best foot forward. Star Wars: A New Hope is certainly that. It provides the clearest character contrast, most crucial plot conflicts, and introduced (in its time) the most significant visual effects advancements to enter film since the addition of color movies.

While the greater Star Wars saga actually revolves around the Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker character, who presides across all 6 major commercial movie releases (played by 3 different actors of different ages), Episode 4 is centered around the "son of Skywalker", Luke Skywalker. Introduced as a teenage farm boy on the planet of Tatooine in a galactic expanse in a far away universe, Luke plays the perfect hero for the millions of young people who saw this movie in 1977. Impatient, skilful, adventuresome and somewhat rebellious, he was an archetype for the generation the film spoke to in 1977, and frankly for most post-WWII generations of North Americans.

Lucas knows how to look into a generation and speak directly to it (having mastered that by his 60's time set piece, "American Graffiti"). He takes the elements of cowboy, Romeo & Juliet, evil empire vs. democratic rebel forces, and sci-fi and rolls them together in perfect synchronicity. And while he spins these archetypes into oblivion later on, through plot twists (his infatuation with the princess Lea turns out to be so wrong), this movie stands on its own as a brilliant model for so many that followed.

Not only did Lucas make this film into a building block for a legacy of his own, but hundreds of sci-fi films since then have been trying to catch up by writing actually thoughtful plots, using real characters (not just super heroes), and employing ever amazing levels of the computer enhanced visuals pioneered by this one film. So powerful and successful was the visual and audio works that created the imagery and sound in this movie that several companies were spun off as the result of the technology developed to make this film (this includes Industrial Light and Magic, Skywalker Sound, Lucasfilm, and later Lucasarts, Lucas Digital and more).

The young farm boy, Luke Skywalker, has his world torn apart when his surrogate uncle and aunt (and their entire farm) are vaporized by a regimen of Imperial Storm Troopers. The troopers are looking for secret plans, which were hidden in a droid that was sent, lost, stolen and eventually sold to Luke's uncle. The droid makes its way, however, to the destination of its requester (Princess Leia Organa). An old hermit, who is really a Jedi Knight in seclusion, Ben Kenobi is the intended recipient of the message contained in the droid. Kenobi and Luke meet up and thus begins Luke's tutelage under the old Jedi Master. With his home destroyed, Luke goes with Kenobi on a quest to deliver important plans to a rebel force. The plans are meant to help decipher (and hopefully attack and destroy) the components and weaknesses of a new Imperial super weapon known as the "Death Star".

As the plot moves on, the characters added are excellent in supporting this fascinating story. Most notable, Harrison Ford plays the rogue smuggler Han Solo. This witty and earthy character makes the Star Wars saga wonderfully enjoyable. Without Ford's intensely engaging dialog style and sarcastic wit, the Star Wars we know today would not exist. Every character falls in line after that. And each one plays well in this galactic soup of alien races and far away planets.

I will let you watch the film for the plot depth and conclusions, but it is a great ride. The only lacking thing here is that in later films the Luke character never develops as a human being, let alone as a Jedi. While this doesn't hinder Episode 4: A New Hope, it does harm the continuity of the Star Wars story, which requires that we eventually end up with a well-trained, mature Luke Skywalker to pass on the Jedi legacy and create an entire academy to develop Jedi for the following generations. Neither here, nor in Episodes 5 or 6 is Mark Hamil (Luke Skywalker) able to develop maturity into the Skywalker character, even though he clearly develops skill. I don't think this was a plot error, as you do see him in increased responsibility and situations, but its clear that his childish responses and acting don't create the nuance for all of us thinking Luke Skywalker could lead anyone else, let alone train a generation of Jedi.

Barring that one problem, Mark Hamil is, however, perfect for the impatient, suppressed teenager needed for this introductory story of Luke. He and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) play their parts effectively and with wit themselves.

Lucas direction is epic, and through it, he gave sci-fi notable honor as "real film".

If you have never seen this classic, it is one you absolutely must see. I would encourage you to see the films in the order they were released, as well, rather than the chronology they espouse. This is because I think the story moves more consistently when viewed this way, and you also see Lucas development of thought in a linear way.

Overall, the best sci-fi picture you will ever see.

Amazon DVD Link : http://amzn.to/YlWSiL

Review by Kim Gentes