There’s a reason Star Wars is still so ingrained into the zeitgeist, nearly fifty years later. It’s where it all began, and by ‘it’ we mean the adventure, the scale, and the tragedy that has reverberated over decades and will continue to for generations to come, cultivated by George Lucas’ ambitious epic space opera.
You’d struggle to find a human alive who hasn’t at least heard of Star Wars or one of its many, many quotable lines that permeate language. Whether it’s “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for,” “May the Force be with you,” or Darth Vader’s most iconic line, that went on to form the basis of thousands of dad jokes.
That’s not to mention the equally exceptional trilogy the original 1977 entry spawned, followed by a not-so-legendary prequel trilogy, and however many other TV shows, videogames, books, comics, and even sequel films that came after. Star Wars is a Force to be reckoned with. So what better time than to turn back the clock and dive back into where the Skywalker Saga began this Star Wars day (May the Fourth be with you)?
The story picks up in a galaxy far, far away, on an epic title crawl that’s since become synonymous with the franchise, and cinema as a whole. “It is a period of civil war,” the crawl reads, setting up a battle on an intergalactic scale that’s still being fought to this very day.
Viewers are thrown into the midst, where they’re quickly introduced to the villainous (in every sense of the word) Darth Vader, whose robotic heavy breathing and intense voice – played by the wonderful James Earl Jones – quickly made its impact felt. In search of plans that could ultimately be the undoing of the Empire, we meet Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), who entrusts these plans to a pair of droids and sends them hurtling through space, kicking off the saga we’re still celebrating.
It’s not until we clap eyes on a young orphan boy by the name of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), however, that the real adventure begins. Through no fault of his own, Luke is left an even bigger orphan and in the care of old Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), a space wizard with the ability to move the world around him with his mind.
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That should be enough to entice new viewers (and rekindle an old flame for old Star Wars fans) to the story that eventually involves space pirates, spaceships, laser swords, and more explosions than even George Lucas knew what to do with. Seriously, check out Star Wars this weekend, even if only to finally understand the memes.
Star Wars revels in the simplicity of it all. At its core, it’s a tale of good versus evil, even in the face of adversity (and exceptionally overwhelming odds) and proves that good will always triumph, even when all seems lost. Sure, it’s got ‘the hero’s journey’ written all over it, but it’s this tale as old as time that means the viewer can’t help but empathise with Luke Skywalker, the epitome of goodness, against the big bad Empire.
It’s not so much Star Wars‘ stunning dialogue and deep characters that made it the staple it is today, but rather the fantastical presentation of it all. The whole ‘Galaxy far, far away’ bit lends itself tremendously to a sci-fi story (of which George Lucas practically drew the blueprint) that’s brimming with worlds to explore, and even more bizarre and fabulous creatures to go with them. To use Lucas’ words, it’s a “used future” that does away with the cheesy effects of previous sci-fi entries, and turns it into a dark and gritty world that needed saving.
This is usually the bit when we’d praise the acting of the lead and surrounding cast, whose movie had made it into the coveted What2Watch, but Star Wars is special. Mark Hamill‘s mediocre portrayal of the central Luke Skywalker stands out among a sea of better actors (Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Alec Guinness) that eventually lead to Hamill picking up the slack in subsequent films – and later, his superb and storied career.
Ironically, where Star Wars shines brightest is in its orchestral and instantly recognisable soundtrack. How could it not be, with John Williams sitting in the driver’s seat? It somehow manages to capture the grand feeling of adventure that Star Wars dishes out in spades, and encapsulates this lived-in world that Lucas has built.
