And not in an Ashton Kutcher way!
Confession time - I really like New Hope. I do. The story is archtypeal classic heroism. Joseph Campbell Power of Myth classic. Akira Kurosawa Hidden Fortress quality film-making classic. Flash Gordon serial sci-fi adventure classic. And Luke was the “from nothing a hero is born” classic. He has a mentor, makes some friends and influences them to help him in his fight, and gets the girl.
Unfortunately Empire starts things down the wrong path. Luke as Vader son (as awe-inspiring and twisty as that was) diminishes the magic of the previous story. Don’t get me wrong - I still appreciate Empire Strikes Back for what it is - a major downer of a movie - and still part of the “hero’s journey” - but New Hope is, and has been for awhile now, my favorite Star Wars movie and about the only one I feel like watching from time to time.
Poor Mark Hamill - it is sad that Harrison Ford was the one to emerge with the fame. Probably had something to do with a hat and a whip, though.
