Quartile rating: 7/10 · 2 ratings
Princess Leia is captured and held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker and dashing captain Han Solo team together with the loveable robot duo R2-D2 and C-3PO to rescue the beautiful princess and restore peace and justice in the Empire.
Star Wars is a landmark of cinema that essentially invented the modern blockbuster. Its cinematography and production design were revolutionary — John Barry's sets, Gilbert Taylor's lens work, and the groundbreaking ILM visual effects set a new standard that earned a well-above-average score. Novelty is equally high: despite drawing on Joseph Campbell's hero's journey and classic serials, the specific synthesis of space opera, mythology, and spectacle was utterly singular and unmistakable in execution. The ending — the trench run climax and medal ceremony — is one of cinema's great crowd-pleasing finales, paced and scored to perfection. Plot and acting are solid but honestly more workmanlike; the story is a fairly straightforward rescue-and-rebellion arc, and while the performances are charming and iconic, they are not uniformly outstanding in a technical acting sense.