The People VS George Lucas

[kennermike]

James Cameron Raped my childhood !

[MIB41]

The thing about Cameron is that he's selective...and his productions are very demanding (as Sandy would know more than anybody in here)...that's why he has directed a mere eight Hollywood movies.

Well said!

[MIB41]

James Cameron Raped my childhood !

Did he whisper in your ear..."Your terminated" ?

[kennermike]

Did he whisper in your ear..."Your terminated" ?

[Brazoo]

Consistency isn't a perfect way to appreciate an artist anyway - in my opinion. Some of my favorite films are made by people who take crazy chances or create other works that don't make sense to me.

[Brazoo]

I can't help but feel this is something relatively new; at least to the degree we see it now. I don't remember hordes of angry nerds protesting the Buck Rogers tv show.... how they sleazed it all up compared to the source material; or throngs railing against the Flash Gordon movie, and how it raped their childhood by turning the classic comic into a comedy. But I DO remember similar protests about the Lone Ranger film from the same time, so maybe it's the magnitude of the nerd rage that's changed?

Don C.

Wouldn't it be funny though if people in the 30s were like "The Great Dictator is a talky?! Chaplin is raping my childhood!"


I think it's the influence of the internet - it's just the fact that people can share opinions so freely now. More debating seems to be affecting the way people react to things too I think - to me it seems people discus things in extremes more than before. Everything is amazing or horrible - everyone is brilliant or moronic ---

Could be just the amount of stuff out there too now. It seems to me that my friends who were into sci-fi would pretty much enjoy anything sci-fi just because that's what they got at the time. Now there's so much stuff you have to be more selective.

[babycyclops]

This has been said before, but it's striking how much darker the first two films are compared to all that follow.
Luke sees his aunt and uncle's charred SKELETONS (an image that does seem to strike some primal, ancestral memory) and a whole planet gets destroyed.
The future films just have the THREAT of planetary destruction. Only the first 2 films really managed to balance the kiddy elements with more serious story elements.

I s'pose what it boils down to is that I don't really hate the Ewoks, there just was not anything really scarey or interesting to balance them with.

Nerd rage is a brilliant term!

No matter how crappy the new films are, I do think that fans and viewers are very spoiled these days. There are so many toys and films that folks are swamped and expect everything to be great.

I'm certainly not saying that people should not be discerning, more that it seems that people's first reactions seem to be negative (myself included at times)

[jimsmegos]

Personally my grip with the new stuff is that Lucas seemed to forget his original story far too often. When I was watching some of the special features it really urked me that they had to go and pick up the shot with Obi Wan grabbing the now disfigured and burnt Vader's saber so he could save it for 20 years to give it to Luke. Seriously, how do you 'forget' this key element? Without that exchange between Luke an Ben there really isn't much to the connection. Plus Ben aged horribly... in what was supposed to be 20 years he looked more like it was 40 year time frame. Took away the believability that there was a hidden secret between Luke's adoptive family, Ben, Luke and Vader especially considering Leia was thrown into the family tree.

Still it's George's baby so he can do whatever he wants with it.

Just my two cents.

[babycyclops]

Could be just the amount of stuff out there too now. It seems to me that my friends who were into sci-fi would pretty much enjoy anything sci-fi just because that's what they got at the time. Now there's so much stuff you have to be more selective.

I really should have read the last paragraph of your post!
I think this is true.

[Nostalgiabuff]

Plus Ben aged horribly... in what was supposed to be 20 years he looked more like it was 40 year time frame. Took away the believability that there was a hidden secret between Luke's adoptive family, Ben, Luke and Vader especially considering Leia was thrown into the family tree.

actually it is Sir Alec that aged poorly. Ewen Mcgregor was in his mid thirties when they made ROTS and Alec was 57 when they made A New hope so the actual ages do fit.
I have never understood the hate for ROTJ or for the prequels. Yes Jedi was not as good as Empire or ANH but I loved it as a kid and I love it still.
the prequels had a lot of issues, i admit, but they are still overall decent movies. I enjoy watching them and I even think Phantom Menace is the best of the trilogy (ducks as eggs are thrown). AOTC was borign to me, with a few exceptions where there were great sequences. Sith was really good, but some of the dialog was so bad as to be almost unwatchable. but even with all that I still like the movies. it would be impossible for Lucas to have lived up to the hype that the media built up for the prequels and then had a blast tearing him down with.

[Werewolf]

I have never understood the hate for ROTJ or for the prequels.

I'm fine with Jedi. It's silly, a pretty obvious toy commercial and not as good as the previous two. But it still works.

The problem with the prequels is Anakin.

Lucas changed the focus of the SW movies from the adventures of Luke Skywalker to the fall and redemption of Anakin. The problem with that is Anakin is a self absorbed jerk. There is no hero's tragic fall from grace. He goes from obnoxious kid to creepy teen to child killer to Darth Vader. There is nothing to redeem. Anakin is never heroic or likable.

You could overlook the bad acting, Jar Jar, overuse of CGI, etc if only Anakin worked as a character and he just doesn't.

[Nostalgiabuff]

you have a very good point. Anakin was an annoying character and there was nothing likable about the way he was written and portrayed. that big flaw aside, the movies themselves are still not warranting all this hate...IMHO. i though the Padme character was great, with the exception of the crappy dialog they gave her in Sith. i thought Obi Wan was also well done

[Werewolf]

you have a very good point. Anakin was an annoying character and there was nothing likable about the way he was written and portrayed.

Yeah, that's the whole problem. If your main character doesn't work your entire movie doesn't either. Anakin's fall and redemption was made the driving force and story of the movies. The prequels fail because Anakin fails.

But still I don't get some of the extreme bat spit nutter hate the prequels get either. I'm like yeah, the prequels sucked, life goes on.

[palitoy]

Yeah, that's the whole problem. If your main character doesn't work your entire movie doesn't either. Anakin's fall and redemption was made the driving force and story of the movies. The prequels fail because Anakin fails.

Whole heartily agree! When he falls, you should be in tears. Instead, you're like "duh", he's a creep.

[Mikey]

I liked Luke as the star

I hate Anakin as the star (evil aside he's just plain annoying)

That's why I like the classic movies and hate the new ones