Star Wars: A New Hope

Fox Video and LucasFilm

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas said: "I will create a cult classic". Well, I'm sure that's not exactly what this director had in mind when he was filming the much beloved film Star Wars: A New Hope. In fact, Star Wars had trouble getting showings in theaters.

Star Wars: A New Hope takes place in a galaxy far, far away, where an evil Empire has taken control of the planets. A small underground rebellion is looking to overthrow the Empire and restart the government. Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) puts technical readouts of a threatening Empire "Death Star" into a little robotic droid, R2-D2, before she is captured.

Through a turn of events, R2 and his counterpart, C-3PO end up with a young farmboy named Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Luke is then mentored under an ex-Jedi Knight named Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness). The two, along with the droids, enlist the help of self-centered pilot Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his partner Chewbacca. This unlikely band must come together to save Princess Leia from being terminated and the entire rebellion being struck down by the Empire.

There are a few scenes that are my favorite. My first favorite scenes are any with Luke in the beginning. He is a whiny little kid and since I've seen the rest of the series, it is cool to see him transform to whiny kid who wants "to go into Tashee station to pick up some power converters" to calm, cool, collected Jedi Knight.

One scene that kind of encompasses the feel of the film is when Han Solo is running after a horde of Stormtroopers in the hallway, yelling his head off. I don't know why I like this part so much. I think because that is what it feels like in most action movies, but in this instance, the filmmakers just overexaggerated everything, making it hilarious.

In fact, I like all the scenes with Han Solo in them. The character is so greedy, and yet so charismatic. I think it's because the audience can see the man underneath the exterior, who is capable of caring about a cause and people, although everything he does says the contrary.

The film is for kids, so why do adults like it so much? For one, they grew up with it. For two, it is a film that is light-hearted fare on the outside, but becomes something much deeper as the movies go on, eventually becoming an examination of the nature of good and evil and what makes someone one or the other.

This is in my Top 20 favorite movies, if only for nostalgic purposes.