Thank God for IMDB Guidelines!!!!

Rating: Null/10 (17 June 2000)

At a rather crusty 39 years of age I can say I grew up on Star Wars. From those heady days of 1977/78 I remember going to my local movie house and watching Star Wars IV in Widescreen Dolby. God...that first five minutes will live with me for ever....those battle cruisers slowly crawling into the screen from above almost made me wet myself. I knew then I was hooked by the Star Wars franchise.
The Empire Strikes Back is my personal favourite since there's a lot more time to develop the characters and their particular mannerisms, coupled with a rip-roaring sfx-supported adventure. (I'm sure my jaw dropped between my knees when old Darth announced to Luke that he was his old man!)
Return of the Jedi is my least favourite even though the sfx were more defined & flexible back then. But the film stank of corporatism & product-placement, especially those irritating Ewoks.
But after a 17 year wait I was convinced Lucas would turn it around again and emphasise the drama in PM rather than any external commercial forces.
The hype swept us along until finally the film arrived on UK shores. I was one of the first to queue up, hoping against hope that the hype was no mirage of wishful thinking!
Oh dear! With the exception of the first dazzling 10 minutes this film stunk to high heaven. I guess those people too young to have grown up with the original SW trio loved this; but for me, and perhaps many others, PM was dreadful.
I left the cinema cursing LucasArts and the way he had allegedly sold out to the money men. No Ewoks to speak of but that was quickly substituted by Jar Jar Binks.
Fortunately the IMDB guidelines prevent me from truly venting my feelings for the film in general and Binks in particular. I hate this film and judging by the older audience I shared the movie with they did too.
17 years of waiting & hoping for something special but nothing has changed and Lucas has finally lost the plot.
It's a slim hope that he will take on board some of the genuine negativity from his fans and prove us all wrong by producing an awesome Star Wars 2
"The Force is (no longer) strong in this one!" */*****