It’s the trilogy which forever changed cinema. Three epic movies, one story, millions of fans spreading across three generations, the original Star Wars trilogy. A trilogy which interestingly enough I didn’t grow up with, in fact I first watched it back in 2015 to prepare for The Force Awakens. I have rewatched it for the first time to close out The Skywalker Saga with The Rise of Skywalker and my opinions on all three movies have changed. Whether it’s because I love one more than the other or I think one is better paced than the other I definitely looked at the trilogy differently this time.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
This was the first Star Wars movie I watched. I watched them in order of release so I started with this one and while I was entertained I knew everything that was going to happen because it has so, so many iconic scenes and lines and when watching it the first time I watched it purely for story so it didn’t wow me the first time. Now I am watching the saga in chronological order and I am looking at the movie with a critical lens and I really enjoyed it this time. It boggled my mind to understand how thought out this movie was, from the world-building, the ico nic characters to the force. It’s really amazing to see so much attention to detail and lorein just the first movie. It’s an incredibly rich movie in that matter. It also has a lot of likable characters whom we root for very easily. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford all have great chemistry together. Even when it comes down to story and structure, Star Wars did it differently, it kept things going, there was rarely a dull moment in this movie. The only way I can describe this movie is by saying that it miraculously works. It just does and I so happy that it did in 1977 otherwise we wouldn’t have this great franchise.
RATING: 9.3 / 10
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
Hailed as an ideal sequel in cinema, The Empire Strikes Back was an intimidating movie to watch, I was afraid I would think it’s overrated or that I wouldn’t like it or something but I watched it and loved it. I loved everything about this movie. Now rewatching it, I was expecting it to be a breeze to sit through but honestly I couldn’t finish it in one sitting and not because it’s bad in any way but because it’s such a draining movie. I noticed this a lot about Star Wars movies, after finishing one you feel like you need a break, with this one especially. It’s a movie which I can’t imagine myself rewatching many times. That being said, I recognize the brilliance of The Empire Strikes Back and I think that in terms of visual effects, sets, costume designing and overall look, the movie is perfect. So much rich world-building with new places like Hoth and Cloud City. The writing is also very smart as it introduces a new element to the hero vs villain aspect with that iconic reveal. Not only that but to have the heroes lose so tragically in the sequel, it’s great because it puts it into the audiences’ head that they won’t win everytime and that the Empire is a genuine threat. Even things like Han and Leia’s romance which introduced a new side to Star Wars or Yoda! My god, Yoda, such an iconic character! I don’t know if I’d put it higher than A New Hope but I would rank them as equally impactful on cinema. They are both masterpieces in their own right.
RATING: 9.4 / 10
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
Honestly I did not fall in love with this movie like I did with the other two. I never really liked this movie and so when it came for a rewatch I was worried that it would take me long to finish but surprisingly Return of the Jedi is in my opinion a better paced movie than The Empire Strikes Back. It kept me entertained and hooked the entire time despite being the weakest of the trilogy. The plot focuses a lot on family this time which makes perfect sense considering how the last movie ended and it brought some interesting moral conflict for Luke and the audience on whether or not Darth Vader is worth saving or not. I really liked that aspect, the familial aspect I did not love was the Leia reveal or worse, her reaction. I know right now we can’t imagine them not being related but it was such a weird move, it didn’t really alter the story and considering they kissed, it was kinda weird. Another thing which I wasn’t so crazy about were the Ewoks. I think they’re sort of cute but really unnecessary. I am grateful that they don’t get introudced until the halfway point. However all of this being said, my biggest gripe with this movie is the finale. It’s so bizarre to think that Star Wars ended with an Ewok party. It’s not necessarily bad but it is odd and out of place but then again how would you end it? (looking at you JJ)
RATING: 8.4 / 10
Overall I love this trilogy and I wouldn’t mind revisiting it in the future to make full, detailed reviews. I think the amount of creativity and imagination that went into this trilogy is inspiring that no matter how ‘out there’ your ideas are, if they have a great story and characters, audiences will connect to it. They all look visually stunning whether it’s the special effects or the amazing sets, Star Wars is a feast for the eyes. Not to mention having some of the best pieces of music in all of cinema thanks to the brilliance of John Williams. I am really happy that I covered the prequels and the original trilogy. I’ll see you next in my full reviews for The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker!
owen is a filmaholic 