The Fundamental Problem

Rating: 1/10 (16 May 2002)

I have heard the critics savage this film. I have heard people with great expectations for this film express their disappointment. I have figured it out for the benefit of all mankind. It is like this.
STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE was NOT a good movie. Although it was innovative for its time, it also had a basic fairytale plot, wooden acting (no wonder Hamill, Fisher etc. couldn't get a job afterwards), pretty good FX, a great score, but a classic it was not. But those of us who remember it from our childhood have fond memories associated with it. And for those of us who were older during the Star Wars craze have a nostalgic view of this film and its sequels but it was NOT A GOOD MOVIE! It was AGGRESSIVELY MARKETED but it was NOT A GOOD MOVIE! If it were made today, even with souped up CGI effects, it would be sitting on the straight-to-video shelf alongside BATTLEFIELD EARTH.
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK was a GOOD movie and it stands alone as a sci-fi classic. I shall comment on it no further as it detracts from the point I am making.
RETURN OF THE JEDI was not a GOOD MOVIE! Although the end of the trilogy needed loose ends tied and a satisfying conclusion it did not need EWOKS! And the love interest between Han and Leia, wonderfully built up during the last film, was absolutely savaged here. All the elements of high drama are present in the Vader/Luke scenario but Hamill ruins everything with BAD ACTING! But once again, those of us who were 'there' have inflated opinions of this film. We remember how immpressed we were when we first saw the blocky stop-motion animation of the two-legged AT-AT's, etc.
And along comes EPISODE I and we all had inflated expectations of it and lo and behold, it has impressive visuals up the wazoo but it feels like a Disney children's movie. The acting is shallow, the plot is weak, the characters are weak...you get the point. It is like spending $350 on an authentic Asteroids cabinet and realizing that the game just doesn't provide the hours of amusement it used to.
And the same goes for Episode II. Folks, it has everything you would expect from a Star Wars film. Lucas went out of his way to please both the fanboys and the people who want to know what all this hysteria is about. But it just so happens that the 'magic' that was there, wasn't really there to begin with. So just enjoy the visuals and don't expect Lucas to come up with the Greatest Movie Ever.