A New Hope: Legendary For a Reason

Every film critic and cinephile gets their start somewhere, and George Lucas's legendary Star Wars franchise was my first base—specifically, the original trilogy. I didn't try to defend the prequel trilogy for long, though I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy those movies to some extent, and I went through a long, tumultuous journey of legitimately liking The Last Jedi, wondering why everyone else seemed to hate it, being confused by how audiences and critics could come to two completely different conclusions on a movie, and then realizing that I wanted to think about movies like the professionals did. And so here we are, eleven movies and one ruined sense of childhood wonder later. I was curious how my new perspective on movies would affect rewatching A New Hope, and I'm glad to say that it increased my appreciation for what this movie accomplishes in almost every way. I once saw a comedy sketch from the 1970s where a high school boy and his girlfriend are trying to figure out where to go on a date; she tells him that if he says see Star Wars again, she'll leave. Of course, I'm not that old, and I found it so intriguing seeing the seeds of a much bigger and unfortunately far less innocent fanbase being planted and watered by a shockingly imaginative lineup of planets, spaceships, creatures, and robots (the latter called droids within the context of the franchise), and propped up by the classic trappings of an opera - only this time, it's in space, and for both better and worse, A New Hope is where it all began.

For being a story about monsters, aliens, and androids in outer space, A New Hope remains visually grounded in some surprising, refreshing ways. Gone are the colorful and obviously fake trappings of earlier science fiction films, replaced by a delightfully grounded and utilitarian vision of an intergalactic war. The weaponry on both sides has more in common with guns from World War II than it does with weapons from other science fiction movies of the time, and the uniforms of both Rebel Troopers and Imperial Stormtroopers are believable. The surprisingly extensive use of practical effects in A New Hope, though obviously dated at points, holds real weight. The production design, from dusty desert cantinas to technocratic planet-killing space station interiors to grimy pirate freighter bays, is practically a character in its own right, not to take away from what the actual characters in this movie accomplish. For decades, we've been dressing up for silly occasions and even some serious ones as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca if you're tall enough. The cast of this movie has spawned practically a million tropes, and for good reason. Every single character in this movie has a unique voice, from a menacing, black-clad dark lord to a swaggering pirate to a mouthy farm boy to an exceptionally hairy basketball player. No two are ever the same; they've all rightfully become legendary by today.

The imagination of A New Hope runs wild. As much as we love some of the other Star Wars movies, they were merely building off the original. The lineup of planets, spaceships, vehicles, creatures, and alien beings here is fascinatingly extensive. The attention to detail is a magnificent thing to see. Lucas wants to truly populate the worlds he dreamed of, to make them feel as though someone actually lives there, and they seem that much fuller because of it. Its variety of science fiction setpieces is remarkable, and you'll stay invested in this movie from beginning to end. Granted, its pace is a practical sugar rush compared to other dramas made both then and now, but one thing that really impressed me about A New Hope that I just picked up on during this latest viewing is its paradoxically methodical nature. It plays its hand one card at a time, one realization at a time, like some self-assured cinematic card shark. This movie can swipe through its individual scenes a hair too quickly, as lower-budget films are prone to do, but what stands out about A New Hope is that it gets methodically bigger as if it were made of building blocks, with Lucas building the tower. It never backtracks - takes blocks off, if you will - so every plot development matters, and it certainly never stagnates either, always the type to whip new blocks, new ideas out of its pocket at a moment's notice.

If I had to criticize this movie, some of A New Hope remains underbaked due to its breakneck pace, and this became more and more observable once its runtime started to wrap up, and as I took in the sheer number of ingredients it was cooking with and how quickly it was actually cooking them. I understand that its budget likely limited how thorough it could be or how long Lucas and his crew were able to make certain scenes, but this film could have used even an extra half-hour of runtime to avoid feeling as though it were rushing to its ending at the expense of some depth; not to say that it never regains its footing. The Rebel Alliance's final airborne attack on the Death Star is a masterpiece of suspenseful filmmaking. The child then was on the edge of his seat, and the filmmaker now was impressed by both its pacing and its situational design. The Death Star has only to orbit far enough to get the gas giant between itself and the moon harboring the Rebel base out of the line of fire, and then it's game over if the Rebel pilots can't exploit the station's one weakness. One by one, the Rebel fighters fall victim to the evil Imperial Enforcer Darth Vader and his ace piloting skills, and moment by moment, the moon inches closer and closer to destruction. The remaining question is, how will the Rebels solve the problem? Can they? It's truly an incredibly well-paced action sequence that's kept us on our toes for forty-eight years and counting.

Some might call this franchise silly escapism, and I'd say that those people are probably right, unless you count the grounded war film aesthetic of Rogue One or the dangerous and divisive subversiveness of The Last Jedi. I think that the most incredible aspect of the Star Wars franchise is just that - its escapism. This galaxy is an incredibly detailed one, and its blending of science fiction, visual utilitarianism, and mythology remains impressively engrossing all these years later. If you don't believe me, pick up one of those Visual Guide to Star Wars books one day and allow yourself to be amazed at the sheer exhaustiveness of this franchise's worldbuilding. And 1977 is where it all started, with an impossible dream in the mind of George Lucas. The dreamer in me was drawn to this franchise from the very start, and for as much as we've allowed cinema to become more of a method of social critique than anything else, I think we'd be wise to take a page from the past and allow ourselves to dream again, sometimes.

The history of cinema is one long series of terrible ideas, great ideas, and subversions of the great ones. I remember seeing Rogue One for the first time as a young, relatively wide-eyed middle schooler, and being shell-shocked by how grim it was. Of course, it’s only as grim as it is because the original trilogy of Star Wars was as wonderous as it was. The cult following of this franchise is almost unrivaled by any other pop culture movement, and that following isn’t without its reasons. A New Hope, which was merely called Star Wars until 1981, truly changed the world with its unrivaled imagination, vibrant characterization, and unflinching optimism. It remains an absolute blast to watch all these years later, even if interacting with a souring fanbase has unfortunately become a chore; perks of growing up and discovering the wider world around you. Nevertheless, I can confidently say that this is the first movie I ever truly loved, and for a movie critic, that’s as high an honor as I know how to give. I grew up on this franchise, and A New Hope is where it all started with a fabulous, wonderous bang that is still rippling through our culture today. No amount of Earth-dwelling, gate-keeping superfans can drag that intergalactic high down. It was true then, and as I discovered last night, it's just as true now.

Star Wars: A New Hope - 9/10

Isaiah 42:5-7