Undoubtedly so, the Star Wars saga of films remains as one of the most powerful, appealing and popular of all sci-fi epics. They are all the brain child of George Lucas, who tells the story of the Skywalker family set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. All three films can be considered technical achievements.
Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope: ****
A New Hope deserves to take it's place among the great sci-fi epics. When people think of Star Wars, a New Hope should be the picture that comes to mind. In another sense, a New Hope is the classic, definitive Star Wars movie. Considering it is the fourth installment in the saga though still the first completed, a New Hope has the task of introducing all of the characters, and putting the plot into position. It so masterfully does it, the characters are all likeable and the plot is original and influenced many other films and stories since. Sci-fi entertainment couldn't really get any better. There's vast array of space ships and aliens to please anybody. A New Hope is also a technical achievement, groundbreaking for it's time, which adds to the fact that it's a great movie, spawning a worldwide phenomenon.
Star Wars Episode V, the Empire Strikes Back: ****
The Empire Strikes Back easily goes down as one of the greatest sequels ever made. On a list of greatest sequels, you will always find the Godfather Part II, Toy Story 2 and the Empire Strikes Back on that list. Which one is the greatest sequel is hard to tell, and ultimately, it comes down to a matter of opinion, one of the biggest components of film criticism. When we compare the film to a New Hope, the Empire Strikes Back is equal to, if not greater than, it's immediate predecessor. It so effortlessly expands upon what a New Hope so effortlessly established, and the characters are at their most developed. Darth Vader appears as the dominating villain even though we know in the back of our minds that the Emperor, shown only in one scene, is the real bad guy. Yoda himself is a central icon of the Star Wars saga; he's at his best during the scenes when he's training Luke to become a Jedi. Of all the Star Wars movies, the Empire Strikes Back is by far the most thought provoking, and very arguably the msot technically achieved. It pokes at our minds, making us actually, really think about what all is going on here. It's dark, mind-tingling, very entertaining--simply groundbreaking. All in all, the Empire Strikes Back just may be the definitive sci-fi movie.
Star Wars Episode VI, Return of the Jedi: *** ½
The Return of the Jedi is a lesser achievement then either predecessor, though it still should rank superior to all three films in the prequel trilogy. The acting is strong, the entertainment value is still impressive and it's a technical achievement by far. But Vader is such a weakling compared to the Emperor. Look at how dominating and threatening he was in the Empire Strikes Back. He's now reduced to nothing more then the Emperor's humble servant who gets to do all of the dirty work. Nevertheless, the sequences involving Jabba the Hutt and the Ewoks are very memorable highlights and are thus strong points in the film's plotline. In essence, Return of the Jedi is the conclusion to the sci-fi adventure of our time, and for a conclusion it succeeds: the good guys win, the conflicts are resolved, etc. It's a powerful ending to a powerful trilogy when the forces of freedom victoriously triumph over the forces of tyranny.
Star Wars Episode I, the Phantom Menace: ***
Lucas returned to directing the prequel trilogy, and the Phantom Menace was released in 1999. It's entertaining, the special effects are cool, the pod race and the climatic lightsaber duel are highlights. However, the biggest shift I notice between this new prequel and the originals, are that the Phantom Menace has it's highlights in the special effects, the costumes (which really are pretty cool) and the action scenes. Don't get me wrong: the end lightsaber duel is arguably the best choreographed out of the entire saga, and there are quite a few memorable and funny moments. But what made all three movies in the original trilogy was that they found strengths in their storylines and their characters. The Phantom Menace finds most of it's strength in the opposite arena. Despite those flaws, the Phantom Menace is still a good movie; very well does it introduce us into the characters and story arc even if it doesn't maintain control over them like where the previous installments succeeded, and to top it off; it's very, very entertaining. And because the prominent goal of movies is to entertain, well, that should make the Phantom Menace a credible film on it's own.
Star Wars Episode II, Attack of the Clones: ** ½
The Attack of the Clones is the weakest edition in the saga. In effect, it's a romantic opera set in a sci-fi world on the verge of war. It's the ending that ultimately saves this movie: the fight between the Jedi Knights and the droid army in the arena, the Battle of Geonosis and the climatic lightsaber duels are all absolutely spectacular to look at in the film's climatic moments, as well as some very nice scenery shots throughout the picture. But there's a much less interest in the characters and the plot then the first film, as the acting and the screenplay all feel wooden and stale. As for the characters themselves, they are thinly developed, at least for a Star Wars movie. But then again, this is a continuation of the Star Wars franchise, it leads up to the climatic third installment, and was therefore a very neccessary entry.
Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith *** ½
The Revenge of the Sith is the film that completes the saga, and brings all of the points together, which would make it the most whole film in the saga. Even though the Revenge of the Sith can get action oriented at times, the characters are more developed then in the last two predecessors, even though Lucas still has yet to prove his talent as a screenplay writer. The film is dark, sad and hauntingly realistic, but the best of the trilogy. At this point, it is perfectly safe to compare the original trilogy with that the prequels. By way and large, the originals are superior in every way, but that doesn't mean that the prequel trilogy is horrible. I like to think of it this way: the three films comprising the Star Wars prequel trilogy are good movies, just a downgrade from the older films. But even if Revenge of the Sith is a downgrade from the original trilogy, it is still a serious upgrade to either prequel.
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