[DBrennan3333]

Okay, so maybe this "award" isn't quite up there with the Nobel and the Pullitzer, but I hope you'll like it anyway:

www.StarWarsEssay.Blogspot.com

[Lord Aquaman]

The Award Winning essay is right.

[HK 47]

Nice one Brennan! Some very insightful and interesting reading there.

The downward spiral is undeniable. A couple more of these and they’ll be in Gigli territory.

They already are....

[Jordan]

That essay is a load of shit. It's blaming the audience for not accepting the movie instead of just admitting that it's the movies fault.

Lucas tosses the blame on the critics aswell. He says that people have too high expectations when watching these films. Therefore, if the movies fail it's more due to your outlook than the movie's quality. He's being spineless, he will not even admit Jar Jar was a problem.

This post has been edited by Jordan: 14 February 2005 - 11:22 AM

[Michel Orla]

Great read. I agree with alot of what the writer said

The first two Star Wars movies (even Return to a degree) were something we hadn't seen much of, especially if we were young when they came out. Star Wars hit us on so many levels. Special effects with a story that capivated you and characters you cared about. It was the first real fantasy movie everyone could enjoy. Empire raised the bar by actually making these character's interesting and the storyline (to me) is one of the best ever written for a movie. Return did a good job with the Luke and Vader storyline but of course we had the crappy ewoks and the muppets in Jabba's palace. The diffrence between then and now, when the prequel trilogies were released, was the fact people actually wanted to see good movies back then. Now, as the article points out, the average fan boy wants to see glitzy special effects and larger than life, two dimensional characters (even if they are creepy like Anakin is) and in that respect the PT deliver.

For everyone fantasy fan who loved the LOTR trilogy for it's all around depth in character and storyline, there are five fanboys who love the PT because "it's just cool to see all those special effects and action"

This post has been edited by Michel Orla: 14 February 2005 - 01:17 PM

[Private Zod]

One point I strongly disagree with is the contention that it was only during the late 90's Star Wars renaissance that Lucas whored out merchandise. This guy must not have been near a mall, Burger King or TV between 1978 and 1985. Cripes, Lucas would have put Ewoks on condom sheaths if he could back then. He actually touched off the action figure craze of the 1980's (He-Man, GI Joe, Transformers, Go-Bots, Every action movie thereafter///). Otherwise anyone could tell you that the quality of teh films drastically decreased after Empire.

[Helena]

That essay is a load of shit.  It's blaming the audience for not accepting the movie instead of just admitting that it's the movies fault.

No, I think the point he was trying to make is that the OT was aimed at a general audience, whereas the PT is aimed at hardcore SW fanboys who don't give a stuff about plot or characterisation as long as there's plenty of CGI and Boba Fett. I quote:

And so, when the first of this new trilogy was released in 1999, it was Fanboy, not common man, who was calling the shots. Watching The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, you can almost hear Fanboy telling George Lucas what to do. “Gimme another big slimy creature here….yeah, that’s right.” George Lucas nods accommodatingly. “I want Boba Fett. What, he’s dead? Call ’im Jango Fett then, I don’t care.”

So he's saying that it is the fault of the movies. I don't think you can have read the article very carefully, Jordan, as the last few paragraphs make this quite clear.

[The Scornful Roman]

Those quotes from George Lucas at the article's end are just... sad. Very sad.

[Jordan]

Oh, you're right.

[Paladin]

Well, I was an adolescant (16 years old) when TPM came out in 1999, and now I guess that's maybe the reason why I enjoyed it. I remember watching TPM for about 15 minutes several months back and I couldn't stand it anymore.

Of course, I'm 21 right now, and I was only 18 when AOTC came out and I thought it was complete bullshit right then and there.

[Lord Aquaman]

Well, I was an adolescant (16 years old) when TPM came out in 1999, and now I guess that's maybe the reason why I enjoyed it. I remember watching TPM for about 15 minutes several months back and I couldn't stand it anymore.

Of course, I'm 21 right now, and I was only 18 when AOTC came out and I thought it was complete bullshit right then and there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm know how you feel, Paladin.

[jariten]

I only had time to skim read it, so forgive me if I misunderstood, but the claim that Lucas was pandering to some niche fanbase just does not compute (as the battledroid said to the jedi). All the evidence points to Lucas just following his own story using his own methods and just doing whatever the hell he wants (with both good and bad results).

[Garth Vader]

Okay, so maybe this "award" isn't quite up there with the Nobel and the Pullitzer, but I hope you'll like it anyway:

www.StarWarsEssay.Blogspot.com

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It must be noted that the guy's favouite film is titanic.

I don't like the prequels one bit, but I think that guy has got it totally wrong. for me, the prequels resemble crappy blockbusters like jurassic park and et, films that the originals were nothing like.

[Just another wretched fan]

It must be noted that the guy's favouite film is titanic.

I don't like the prequels one bit, but I think that guy has got it totally wrong. for me, the prequels resemble crappy blockbusters like jurassic park and et, films that the originals were nothing like.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

um....Jurassic Park and ET were crappy?

I'll admit that when i read Jurassic Park after I watched it, I thought the novel was better....but the movie was fun as hell.

And what do you have against ET? I love that movie!

[Just your average movie goer]

E.T. is a lot like an empty cardboard box...

empty.


Its popularity is something that I will never understand.