More than I realized. As a kid, my favorite of the original trilogy was ROTJ. It had everything - an opening where the heroes got vengeance on a big slug, there was a dramatic-looking Death Star, speeder bikes, and force lightning.
My father told me (years later), how much some folks hated it for some of the same things. Rehashing the Death Star, Han accidentally killing Boba Fett (this hyped up bounty hunter that in the previous movie was clever and even mouthed off to Vader himself), Ewoks being cuddly teddy bears with janky traps, Leia being yet another Skywalker out of nowhere…basically, a lot of the same goofy shit people railed on George for in the prequels (myself included: since these conversations with my dad came up because I was a teenager complaining about Jar Jar, Yoda ping ponging around, etc.).
Later I saw that plenty of folks complained about ESB being moodier, the “No, I am your father” being a twist out of nowhere and dramatically undermining Obi-Wan’s character by his being dishonest. Some of the same “canon-breaking” retcons that we all complain about today.
Granted…I still love ROTJ despite its flaws, and while I never enjoyed the prequels as much as a lot of folks, I find them endearing in an odd kind of way. The Sequel Trilogy less so, but there’s a few bright spots.
Basically, I wonder what the reception of the movies would have been if we had the internet then, and especially if we had engagement-based algorithms driving things, which does such a great job of amplifying hate.
Yeah RotJ was Lucas made Star Wars into a franchise devoted to toy sales. Bringing in other writers and directors to take over was the smart move, it’s what he did for ESB and it resulted in a great movie. But because of his petty spat with the Director’s Guild, he decided to get a non-union directo for RotJ but basically directed it himself.
Then he announced the Prequel Trilogy on the day he got a good toy deal with Hasbro.
I feel like George Lucas felt like he compromised with the studios too much on the first one, didn’t think it would be a success. But it ended up being the most successful movie ever, and he didn’t understand why. So he didn’t really give a shit about it and just used it to make money, and didn’t make any real effort on the movies after the first one.
No movie ruined the themes of Star Wars as much as ESB. Every important person being a Skywalker or a Palpatine turns Luke into plot royalty, and takes away his specialness as an everyman hero.
Luke’s father in 4 wasn’t important to the plot. He wasn’t even named. If a character in a movie doesn’t get a name, they’re not important. Luke’s father had the kind of abstract importance that matters to characters but not to the audience.
I think you’re not all the familiar with the movie. The Light Saber Obi Wan gives Luke is stated to be his father’s. Obi Wan talks about Luke’s father. Luke mentions wanting to be like his Father in a pivotal moment.
In movies you don’t devote a scene to discussing a character’s father and you don’t mention the character’s father in a pivotal scene if the character’s father isn’t important. It’s also mentioned that Luke’s father was a great pilot and later we see Luke piloting a fighter.
More than I realized. As a kid, my favorite of the original trilogy was ROTJ. It had everything - an opening where the heroes got vengeance on a big slug, there was a dramatic-looking Death Star, speeder bikes, and force lightning.
My father told me (years later), how much some folks hated it for some of the same things. Rehashing the Death Star, Han accidentally killing Boba Fett (this hyped up bounty hunter that in the previous movie was clever and even mouthed off to Vader himself), Ewoks being cuddly teddy bears with janky traps, Leia being yet another Skywalker out of nowhere…basically, a lot of the same goofy shit people railed on George for in the prequels (myself included: since these conversations with my dad came up because I was a teenager complaining about Jar Jar, Yoda ping ponging around, etc.).
Later I saw that plenty of folks complained about ESB being moodier, the “No, I am your father” being a twist out of nowhere and dramatically undermining Obi-Wan’s character by his being dishonest. Some of the same “canon-breaking” retcons that we all complain about today.
Granted…I still love ROTJ despite its flaws, and while I never enjoyed the prequels as much as a lot of folks, I find them endearing in an odd kind of way. The Sequel Trilogy less so, but there’s a few bright spots.
Basically, I wonder what the reception of the movies would have been if we had the internet then, and especially if we had engagement-based algorithms driving things, which does such a great job of amplifying hate.
Yeah RotJ was Lucas made Star Wars into a franchise devoted to toy sales. Bringing in other writers and directors to take over was the smart move, it’s what he did for ESB and it resulted in a great movie. But because of his petty spat with the Director’s Guild, he decided to get a non-union directo for RotJ but basically directed it himself.
Then he announced the Prequel Trilogy on the day he got a good toy deal with Hasbro.
I feel like George Lucas felt like he compromised with the studios too much on the first one, didn’t think it would be a success. But it ended up being the most successful movie ever, and he didn’t understand why. So he didn’t really give a shit about it and just used it to make money, and didn’t make any real effort on the movies after the first one.
No movie ruined the themes of Star Wars as much as ESB. Every important person being a Skywalker or a Palpatine turns Luke into plot royalty, and takes away his specialness as an everyman hero.
“I want to learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi like my father”
It was established in the first one that Luke’s father was a powerful Jedi. I guess you didn’t pay attention.
And yeah all of those important characters like Obi Wan Skywalker, Yoda Skywalker, Han Palpatine, Finn Palpatine, Poe Skywalker, LOL.
Luke’s father in 4 wasn’t important to the plot. He wasn’t even named. If a character in a movie doesn’t get a name, they’re not important. Luke’s father had the kind of abstract importance that matters to characters but not to the audience.
I think you’re not all the familiar with the movie. The Light Saber Obi Wan gives Luke is stated to be his father’s. Obi Wan talks about Luke’s father. Luke mentions wanting to be like his Father in a pivotal moment.
In movies you don’t devote a scene to discussing a character’s father and you don’t mention the character’s father in a pivotal scene if the character’s father isn’t important. It’s also mentioned that Luke’s father was a great pilot and later we see Luke piloting a fighter.
Greedo gets more plot value than Luke’s father. He actually gets named.