A Movie a Day: Star Wars

I never properly watched Stars Wars so I decided now was a good time. Decided to watch from episode one through to six rather than in order of release, I suppose because I thought it would make the story arcs more enjoyable. My original plan was to watch six in six days, so I could write one post for them all at the end. In the end I watched other movies in between so I'm gonna come back and add to this post when I watch another episode.

Friday 8 January - EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)
A while ago I sat down to watch The Phantom Menace after school but fell asleep about halfway through. Watching it now, pretty much the whole film was vaguely familiar, either from that day after school, or from channel-surfing the TV, or from walking into the room while my brother was watching it.

My understanding of The Phantom Menace was that it was considered one the worser Star Wars movies, and while my enjoyment may have been hampered by the uncomfortably hot weather, I didn't like it very much. 6/10

Sunday 10 January - EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002)
This was more entertaining and interesting as the story developed and the special effects improved on episode one.

I thought Hayden Christensen acted very poorly as Anakin Skywalker, but overall I liked episode two better than episode one. 7/10

Tuesday 12 January - EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005)
Definitely my favourite Star Wars movie so far. I loved this movie, with even better special effects and a more engrossing story than its prequels. I was well entertained for almost the whole film. 8.5/10

Wednesday 13 January - EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE (1977)
I wasn't sure what to make of this film, because within the Star Wars canon this story fits the order I'd been watching, but of course this film itself was made almost 40 years ago, and was obviously an incredible film at the time but not by modern standards--that's the perennial challenge of watching 'classic' movies. Anyway, I did enjoy A New Hope but it was hard to get lost in the movie because the whole time I was looking for the element that made it so famous; the factor that sparked a cultural phenomenon. 7/10

Thursday 14 January - EPISODE 5: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)
Watching Episode V, I was more used to the older quality of the original trilogy, so I felt I could enjoy it a little more than Episode IV.

However, I wouldn't rate it any better. I try to ignore the hype around the classic films when I watch them, but I can't help think that this movie is not as good as A New Hope, the one that started it all. 7/10

Friday 22 January - EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983)
Finally watched the final installment of this epic saga. I liked this one more than the other two from the original trilogy--partly because I had seen more and was more into Star Wars than before, and partly, I think, because I didn't watch it so intently, having it on the computer while multi-tasking allowed me to watch it more lightly and enjoy it more. This really seemed like an epic movie, with several clear chapters in Luke's adventure--although it may not have stretched as far as I think, because often I went back and played scenes over to make sure I followed the story. Anyway, really enjoyed the sixth episode. 8/10

And there it is; finally, I have seen the Star Wars films. Overall I'm underwhelmed by the series, to be honest. I definitely enjoyed watching it but unfortunately I set my standards too high, expecting to be blown away--an idea developed by the fact that Star Wars has snowballed from an impressive movie to a cultural phenomenon. This notion hampered my enjoyment because, not only were my expectations too high, but I was too often searching for the element within the movies--especially the original trilogy and A New Hope--that sparked this phenomenon, as I mentioned earlier. Another thing that hampered my enjoyment was that I partly felt like it was a chore watching the movies, hearing people say 'you've GOT to watch that...' Overall, though, I'm definitely glad I watched Star Wars and I can see why so many people get so into it, but if you haven't seen it, don't worry, I don't think it's necessary to urge you to.