Many adults went into it as "adults" and not the "kids" they were who saw it first. As a kid, you don't notice that the acting isn't that great and that the story is not exactly original. And the 50's generation grew up on low budget stuff at the matinee, so Star Wars seemed to be a grand version of it.

I think I went in as an adult and came out as a kid. I saw it for the first time about 25 years ago. It was new then. I liked the old westerns that inspired Star Wars and got a kick out of comparing them. Some scenes like the gun fight between the Millenium Falcon and the Ti fighters (Tie? Ty? Tye? I forget.) were lifted from WWII epics like Twelve O'Clock High, circa 1949. I think he did a good job of it and quality of the acting was exactly right for what he set out to do.

After I logged off last night, I went upstairs and watched the original M*A*S*H* movie. Another classic!
How"40's generation"ard