Open Letter to George Lucas

Rating: 3/10 (2 June 2005)

Dear George, Thank you for all the time and effort you put into completing the cycle of Star Wars movies for your fans. I was raised on the original episodes, and they had a huge effect on my life.
Having said that, I have to tell you how disappointed I was to see you betray your own story for the sake of an emotional climax.
I remember pretty clearly, in the Return of the Jedi, a pivotal scene between Luke and Leia in the Ewok village. He was preparing to reveal to her their common parentage, and asked her about her memories of her mother. She said that she remembered her mom being kind, beautiful, and very sad. Luke replied that he had no memories of his mother, but goes on to tell her that she's his sister, Darth Vader is their dad, etc. I always understood that Leia was recalling her own mother, and the sorrow that woman had to live with when her husband turned into Darth Vader, and she had to give up her baby boy for his own protection. Am I remembering that part wrong? Did I misunderstand it?
Here comes the SPOILER: it is my opinion that Padme should NOT have died at the end of this movie. How would Leia have had childhood memories of a woman who died giving birth to her? I was so disappointed as I watched this scene play itself out; I felt, Mr. Lucas, that you betrayed the heart of your original trilogy, selling out instead to an ending that was emotionally manipulative and wildly illogical. (How often do women die in childbirth, for no other reason than losing the will to live?)
The last beef I have with your most recent trilogy, Mr. Lucas, is that it failed to give us any heroes. I remember falling in love with Han Solo, and dressing up like Princess Leia, and crying for Luke as he burned his father's body. They were good guys we could emulate and cheer for. They were Heroes! There were no heroes this time around; only tragic souls doomed to recite poor dialogue and die dramatic CG deaths. I'm sorry, but my little boy is NOT dressing up like Anakin Skywalker this Halloween - a deceived, arrogant man who (SPOILER AHEAD) slaughters children and nearly strangles his pregnant wife? No, thank you.
Overall, the movie was visually stunning and well-paced. But I'm too jaded, I suppose; I still think that well-written dialogue and a logical, intelligent plot make a movie great. This movie was good, but not great. Sincerely, an Original Fan, Tanya