Star Wars (1977)

The critic presents Star Wars as a rewatchable classic whose appeal rests on its universal archetypes, characters, and performances (especially Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and James Earl Jones), alongside the rousing John Williams score and the mythic storytelling that made cheering at the screen acceptable again. It notes the film's self-contained 1977 pleasure and lasting impact despite later digital changes.

Champlin hails it as the year's most razzle-dazzling family movie and an exuberant, technically astonishing space adventure. He singles out the production design, special effects, and its roots in westerns and Flash Gordon serials.

Ebert praises the film as a magical experience that transports viewers to a galaxy far away with whimsy, fantasy, and sophisticated storytelling. He singles out the wealth of strange living creatures and special effects for making the universe feel alive and inventive.

The critic calls the film magnificent in scope with an effective human element from the script and performances, combining comedy and drama with exciting action and spectacular special effects that make it a potential classic. The adorable robot characters (C-3PO and R2-D2) are singled out for praise as two of the most endearing ever in a film.

The review finds the film exuberantly entertaining and dazzling in its mix of futurism and long-held faith. It singles out the robot couple as out of Beckett or vaudeville and the spacecraft battles for their fiery effect.

Canby calls it the most elaborate, most expensive, most beautiful movie serial ever made and an apotheosis of Flash Gordon serials. He singles out the fun and funny tone, the robots as the year's best new comedy team, and the special effects and design.

The critic calls it the best such film since 2001 and one of the most exciting ever made, praising its unpretentious story, impressive effects, and convincing realism in most respects.

The critic praises the film's restoration of brightly defined characters, a hurtling story, confident fantasy world with advanced effects, and genuine escapism that requires no connections to real worlds.

The critic describes the 20th-anniversary reissue of Lucas's spellbinding space opera as largely successful in its minor tweaks, with improved effects and sound that keep the film feeling modern, while praising the enduring innocence of its universe, the standout performances (especially Harrison Ford), and its status as a sea change in filmmaking.

The critic calls it a magnificent film and a brilliant success as an adventure fantasy drawn from serials and older epics. They single out the superb balance of technology and human drama, along with the rousing score and engaging space adventure story that affirms valor and hope.

The critic hails the 20th-anniversary Special Edition re-release as a welcome return of a technological and imaginative watershed, praising its timeless production design, archetypal characters, gripping plot, and overall power while noting that added effects and reinstated scenes are mixed—some improvements to sound and visuals are welcome, but others feel gratuitous or dated.

The critic finds the film gives two hours of joy and plays enough games to satisfy sophisticated viewers, while noting it is not an improvement on Lucas's previous work except in box-office terms and lacks originality.

The critic views the film as a phenomenon that has become difficult to assess objectively, describing it as monumentally empty and more an exercise in audience programming and nostalgia than a substantive work with ideas. It draws on various movie tropes and serials but lacks emotional resonance, philosophical depth or the transformative qualities of true science fiction.

The critic finds Star Wars totally inept and mindless, defeating serious consideration as a film. He singles out the film's failure to deliver on promised payoffs in its action sequences and its lack of depth or innovation in storytelling and characters.