Rating of
3/4
Fun, but overrated
Looneymanthegreat - wrote on 04/15/13
Star Wars and I have a past. When I was a young lad I absolutely loved Star Wars, not just the films but the phenomenon. I owned the Star Wars toys; I read the Star Wars books and, of course, saw all of the prequels in the theater.
I loved, and still love, Star Wars the world. It is a fun and all encompassing world filled with alien’s history and action, and it is always fun to totally immerse you in a world. That is part of the appeal of many of the most famous movie series (and video game series as well), they are more then just movies they are worlds all unto themselves.
Now that out of the way, here comes the punch; the part you aren’t going to like: the original Star Wars trilogy is not only one of the most overrated film series of all time, but one of the most overrated things of all time period.
Look I have a real nostalgia for Star Wars, but nostalgia value can only take a move so far, it certainly can’t take a film into “one of the best movies of all time” status all on its own.
The story was ripped-off from The Hidden Fortress; the style was stolen from Flash Gordon. Sure there are many reasons to enjoy the Star Wars films, but great screenwriting is not among them.
In fact you could argue that Star Wars is more enjoyable for its bad elements then it’s good ones. The hokey acting and cheesy lines are loved so much by fans, that it’s kind of surprising that everyone hates the acting in the prequels, which in all honesty aren’t that much worse.
The original Star Wars film is arguably the best Star Wars film ever made, but it is still only a Star Wars film. There was much better Sci-fi coming out at the time. Hell, there was better Sci-Fi coming out that same year.
I like Star Wars, it is nearly impossible to grow up in the U.S.A. without liking Star Wars, but we need to stop putting it up on a pedestal like we have. Do me a favor, go home and watch Star Wars again and try to eradicate your previous experience with the franchise and analyze it with a critical eye, you may be surprised by what you find.
