STAR WARS - EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE (1977)

Featuring: Mark Hamill; Carrie Fisher; Harrison Ford

Director: George Lucas

This, of course, is where it all started; the "original" Star Wars film. It was also the start of one of the biggest movie franchises ever - over $4 billion worth so far!

The story begins with the galaxy in turmoil. The old republic is no more and in its place an evil empire is in power. The only remnants of the peoples once loyal to the republic is a rebel force operating from a secret planet somewhere in the galaxy. In its attempts to quell the rebellion, the current rulers developed a space station/weapon, called the Death Star, able to destroy entire planets with only one blast of its death ray. And in charge of all this is none other than one lord Darth Vader. Then, just before being captured, princess Lea (Carrie Fisher) - by now a young woman as well one of the rebel leaders - manages to get a message off to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness) - who is hiding out on some other remote planet somewhere in the galaxy - to come to her and the rebels' aid. And it just so happens that her long lost twin brother, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) finds himself on this very same planet. 

When you watch this film in the sequence it is now intended, you realize just how far the film industry has come over the years. Compared to Episodes 1 to 3, the special effects in this movie look almost amateurish. But ignoring that you quickly realize what all the fuss was about when it was first released some forty years ago. And, while listening to that magnificent score by John Williams, you can really appreciate why it won seven Oscars way back in 1978. This is truly a masterpiece and one of the great classics of its era. 

I humbly rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ734NWnAHA

Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford

 Alec Guiness as the original Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker with 3CPO in the background

STAR WARS - EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005)

Featuring: Ewan McGregor; Hayden Christensen; Natalie Portman

Director: George Lucas

One of the main reasons George Lucas gives for creating the Star Wars prequel trilogy was to explain where Luke Skywalker, Princess Lea and especially Darth Vader come from. This, in turn, was inspired by the famous "Luke, I'm your father" scene from the original Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi (1983).

Anikin (Hayden Christensen) is delighted when Padmé (Natalie Portman) tells him she is pregnant with their baby. But then he starts having foreboding dreams of her dying whilst giving birth. And of course he would do anything in order to prevent that from happening. So when he learns the dark side of the Force can give him the power to restore life from death, nothing can stand in his way from acquiring just that.

Episode 3 therefore neatly sets the scene for the start of Episode 4 (the original Star Wars: A New Hope). In essence what we see in this movie is the birth of both Luke and Lea as well as that of Darth Vader.

Trailer link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UnjrG_N8hU

 

The very fiery end to Episode 3...

STAR WARS - EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002)

Featuring: Ewan McGregor; Natalie Portman; Hayden Christensen

Director: George Lucas

Did I mention last time that if you have never seen any of the Star War movies before, you should start watching by 'Episode' and not according to year of release? As much as every film in the series can be view independently (each with its own individual plot and intrigues) this way, everything just makes that much more sense.

Ten years after being discovered on the far-flung planet Tatooine, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen who replaces Jake Lloyd) has grown into a real headstrong young lad. Apprenticed by Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), he starts showing promising signs of becoming a great Jedi warrior. But he also begins to exhibit his 'darker' side. The question now bares which of these two sides of him will ultimately prevail.

In George Lucas' own words, this is as much a love story as it is the preamble to the inevitable interplanetary war that is brewing. On the one hand there is the budding love affair between the two young protagonists, Anakin and Padmé (Natalie Portman) while on the other hand there are all these political shenanigans taking place. In the end one cannot but wonder what will happen next...

Trailer link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYbW1F_c9eM

 The Jedi warriors in a very precarious position: surrounded and outnumbered!

STAR WARS - EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)

Featuring: Liam Neeson; Ewan McGregor; Jake Lloyd

Director: George Lucas

Best wishes for 2018 to you all - hope you had a happy festive season. During the holiday break I went to see Star Wars - The Last Jedi and that prompted me to start this year off with a look at this classic sci-fi series. As you no doubt know, the Star Wars franchise followed a somewhat unusual course of action. Usually a prospective franchise will start off with a movie or two and then, when it proves to be successful, build onto that. But after the original Star Wars trilogy ended in 1983, creator George Lucas felt he was left with so many unanswered questions that it justified another whole series, predating the original. And the rest, as they say, is history...

In the Phantom Menace we meet Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his protégé Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), two Jedi Warriors who were sent to negotiate a peace settlement between two seemingly warring factions on the planet Naboo. In the process they get stranded on a remote planet in the outer rim of the galaxy where they discover a young boy called Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd). However, it doesn't take long for them to realize that this is no ordinary boy. The 'force' is him so strongly that he just might be the 'chosen one' as for-told long ago by ancient Jedi masters.

By the time George Lucas came around doing this series of films, it is clear that he had learned a thing or two about special effects. It is a lot more sophisticated than it was in the originals. Still, it is not so overwhelming that it distracts one from the actual story which, unfortunately, is the case in so many films of this genre. And his use of comic relief is also impeccable. In my humble opinion and in all aspects, this movie is a worthy continuation of the phenomenon that is Star Wars.

Trailer link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD7bpG-zDJQ

    

 A highlight of this movie is of course the famous pod-race