Nerds That Geek Movie Review - 'Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Time often changes everything when it comes to our favorite films. As we grow older we begin to see their flaws, see how dated they have become and as the years pass they become nothing more than a slice of nostalgia and a collection of good memories when we pop them into our Blu Ray Player or stream them on our television or computer screens.

But some of the films we grew up with, will always withstand the test of time. These are the movies that we watch and find ourselves once again lost in the adventure. It doesn't matter when it was made or how many years it has been since we have seen it, it's instantly magical and whisks us away to a special place and one of those films is the fourth entry in the Star Wars saga...A New Hope.

After all, this is where everything began. This is the adventure that blew all of us away with its special effects and unique story and to this day each and every one of us find this film magical. It's managed to transcend generations, with parents making this motion picture now part of their family traditions and if you don't believe me...just check out a convention near you and see pairs of father and son Jedi running around the con.  

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​But what gives this movie that kind of staying power? How on earth does it continue to blow us away every single time we watch it after all these years? Well plenty of folks have done their best to break it down and analyze it and I would venture to say it's a motion picture that has had every aspect of its story dissected. But I think it goes beyond the groundbreaking special effects and fun little story, this film's magic comes from one particular aspect we never really think about in filmmaking...it's genuine. 

After all, this is a movie that came about at the dawn of the blockbuster, and some even cite that it was responsible for the creation of the big-time summer blockbuster and while that may be true, one has to remember a few things. This is a movie that was free of executive influence and a marketing scheme. This came out before the era of tent-poles and remakes and sequels that we live in now and being free of all of that allowed for something special to happen on the screen, it became a story that grew on its own. I'm sure there were rewrites and all the things that happen in the business regardless but it's obvious that George Lucas simply went for broke, threw caution to the wind and told a tale that he wanted to tell. After all, he had nothing to lose and the end result was nothing short of magnificent.

I mean really, this movie has it all. Action, adventure, a grand villain and a wonderful cause for you to root for and you really can't ask for anything more. But at the same time, the scope of it, the power of the universe surrounding these characters took hold in our imagination and captivated us. That comes from the care that went into making this film, the honest performances from the cast on the screen and the fact that fresh new ideas were injected into the science fiction genre. This is one of those rare films that managed to give us something new and exciting and who knew that forty years later we would be sitting here, still celebrating this story and preparing to enjoy another incredible chapter in this magnificent saga.

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