"May the Force be with you" - Star Wars movie review

While attending a training on Storytelling recently, the coach mentioned that the best story ever told till date is that of Star Wars. Frankly, space sci-fi has never captivated me, so even though the first trilogy of these movies had been extremely popular during my growing up years, I had never followed them. However, the above comment triggered my curiosity! That is how kiddo and I ended up binge-watching the double trilogy of Star Wars during her enforced days off at school on account of the ongoing monsoon rage. Both of us were left super-impressed. 

Interestingly enough, authored and directed by George Lucas, the second trilogy was shot and released before the first. It has more of the story (rather than SFX and drama), which garnered the requisite interest in the franchise. The first trilogy was released decades later, once Lucas had the finances to fund the appropriate special effects for inter-galactic wars. Hence, there is a lot of difference in the quality of film making, special effects, costumes and the actors themselves. Yet, it did not deter from the overall experience. There have been many spin-offs subsequent to the original two trilogies, that have been equally popular.

By roping in popular actors like Sir Alec Guinness, Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson, the director ensured footfall in the theatres, but the plot itself did the rest. Infact, the Star Wars franchise is the most successful in the world due to its great story, innovative marketing and clever targeting of multiple demographics. Not only did it revive the marketplace for the 'space sci-fi' as a genre, it also changed how licensed toys & memorabilia were created and marketed.

The reason behind its stupendous success is that it combined the themes of war & action, good vs evil, psychology (the Jedi  & Sith were both masters of the mind), relationships (teacher-student, brother-sister, friendship & romance), sci-fi and fantasy. The various species (even droids and robots), and how they co-exist with humans as an integrated civilization, on planets other than Earth, the various star vehicles and weapons (the famous light sabre!), were all superbly thought out and presented! A completely original story of its time, even though it is inspired by others in bits and pieces.The lessons in leadership and gender equality are truly inspirational : Yoda is a hands-on master, a wise & patient mentor, and undefeated till he decides to shed his body. Also, both the leading ladies were fearless, independent yet feminine. The Jedi code of love but no attachment, passionate but peaceful, never harming the unarmed, and always performing one's duty sincerely - are some messages from the movies.

Some of the dialogues went viral viz. 

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...", 

"May the Force be with you.", 

"Do or do not, there is no try.", 

"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you?", 

"I am your father." and 

"There is still good in him." 

Steven Spielberg (he and Lucas are considered to be two of the most famous directors of all time) anticipated that Star Wars was going to be a "big hit", which it was. But he followed that up with a prediction of Star Wars making 50-60 million dollars at the box office. Meanwhile, Lucas himself predicted 15-20 million dollars. In reality, the movie made a whopping $775.8 million - absolutely smashing both of their expectations!

Star Wars is indeed amazingly conceptualized & written, and directed with stunning visuals and cinematography. The action sequences are pretty good too, though a tad stretched at times. Its on par with the 'Harry Potter' or 'Lord of the Rings' franchises, even though it came decades ahead of them. Its fictional futuristic world gives a glimpse into our rapidly approaching future in the context of AI and climate change. What a visionary!