It's Time To Forgive George Lucas

[Fappy]

I have far too many friends guilty of this. Honestly I never really resented him for what he's done wrong. As you said, he's done so much good its hard to condemn him. I do think, however, its time for him to relinquish the reins on Star Wars and allow the new generation of writers and creators to play with his toys like how comic book universes have always worked. People have been playing with Stan Lee's toys for 40 years now.

 

[SniperWolf427]

I saw the first Star Wars movies when I was five, them being the remastered VHS "Gold Box" thingy of the Original Trilogy, and I thought they were the shit (not a direct quote, of course). A year or two later, Phantom Menace was released and I loved that too. Star Wars has always been my favorite film series growing up and I've had absolutely no problem with any of them (Jar-Jar Binks' existence notwithstanding).

Honestly, my favorite is Return of the Jedi, which many people say is the worst of the Original trilogy. I've enjoyed every single Star Wars movie and will continue to do so, regardless of the Lucas hate.

The man is a genius and a prominent figure in my childhood. I've just never been able to understand the reason behind all the hate. Sure, the prequels weren't perfect, but he had massive expectations to live up to. It's all pointless fanboy rage. I may get my own fanboy card revoked for this, but I even thought the faster lightsaber duels were a needed change (especially considering the evolution of film making techniques as well as technology) given the large time period between the last of the Original Trilogy and The Phantom Menace.

Star Wars is the shit. No matter which movie you're talking about.
[sub]Darth Maul. 'Nuff said.[/sub]

 

[Skreeee]

Does this mean I can't enjoy that South Park episode with him and Spielberg anymore?

Eh, perhaps I'm too far outside the fandom of Star Wars in the first place to understand the hate or where exactly it comes from. To me they've always been okay movies (the originals anyway--what I saw of the prequels was just terrible), and nothing more. Basically, I nothing George Lucas...don't know if that's better than hating on him or not.

 

[AngelOfBlueRoses]

There's nothing too forgive. I liked the prequels for what they were and I'm a devoted Star Wars fan. While he could have made Anakin less of an emo, it's not bad. Move on, people.

Plus, did you notice that the guy in RedLetterMedia can't properly say "Protagonist"? Seriously? You can't say protagonist? It's like a 9th grade word. I didn't trust his review at all after that.

 

[xDHxD148L0]

I will always drink the Starwars koolaid. It does not matter what "it" is that is released I will be a fan. I have no idea why but I simply love it all.

Mainly this, the only thing that he has actually helped make that disappointed me was Indiana Jones IV.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

George Lucas can be forgiven but the sycophants he surrounded himself with can't. As soon as GL mused idly about prequals his handlers should have said "You know which was the best Star Wars movie? Empire Strikes Back...probably because you had the least to do with it." Then gotten him to hire some young, hotshot writers and directors. He could do the producing because he has the money, supervise the effects since he is a geek at heart, but leave the moviemaking to the professionals.

He really needed someone to tell him AGAIN "You can write this shit George, but you sure as hell can't say it!"

Even the fan recut of phantom menace made it suck less.

 

[Falseprophet]

George Lucas? I'm still bitching about how Brannon and Braga killed Star Trek.

Kidding aside, I liked the original trilogy at the time, and had some toys and books and other merch (but not any of the Kenner figures--I was a G.I. Joe kid). But I was never a hardcore fanboy. I disliked the prequels immensely, but because they were crappy movies overall, not because they'd betrayed a beloved franchise. Half the stuff we loved about Star Wars were the things fleshed out in the Expanded Universe (without Lucas' direct input) anyway--eg, Boba "Wilhelm Scream in the Sarlacc pit" Fett.

 

[slowpoke999]

C.S. Lewis, in describing his gradual personal transition from staunch atheist to Christian philosopher (and author of the Narnia books) described his period of unbelief as a state of being "angry with God for not existing."

Ow Ow Ow, I don't know who that guy is but that comment made my brain owie, I'll have to read Page 2 some other time

I think the theory there is that you can't be angry with God and not believe in Him at the same time. Or is it just the strangeness of the sentence that vortexed your brain?

OT: Sure I'll forgive the little scamp! But only if I get to tug on his magic beard for luck.

The amount of stupidity from his comment hurt my brain, if he was angry with God, he failed at being an Athiest

 

[aegios187]

I am not sure what inspired this article, probably a lot of this "hate" is Internet Bandwagon Syndrome and faux outrage, subtle mocking?

While not the awe inspiring events of the original three, it was nice to see some backstory on how the Emperor came to power etc etc. Not only that, but there was what, a 16 year gap between Episode VI and the 1st prequel? It's hard to say the prequels would of had the same effect given that our collective childhood innocence and fascinations had long since changed...

There's a hell of a lot more things to be outraged over, some people's priorties need a reality check.

 

[IckleMissMayhem]

Never hated Lucas so much, but damn, I'd like to wring the neck of the casting people for the prequels. Cause UGH.

 

[Dectilon]

I don't really hate Lucas. He can't help being a hack. I have a stronger dislike for the people around him who keep licking his balls and telling him he's a genius writer when he clearly isn't. Watch the preview material to Force Unleashed for an example of that.

No, like the article writer points out his greatest achievement is in pushing technology forward and that's not a bad thing.

 

[Scde2]

Hasn't anyone even seen the Star Wars Holiday Special?

 

[Fappy]

Honestly I never really resented him for what he's done wrong. As you said, he's done so much good its hard to condemn him.

and this is how MJ got away with having sex with children.

He is royalty after all.

 

[seidlet]

no way in hell. do i hate george lucas more than i hate other talentless, capitalist directors? i don't know. maybe - but then again, i fucking hate wasted potential, and THX 1138 & a new hope were total gold. it was so disappointing to learn that they were also a total fluke.

 

[qbanknight]

time to get over it dorks, film evolves. there were plenty of gems back then and the star wars franchise was a legendary piece of filmmaking. but there have been so many, many GREAT films: Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight, District 9, The Hangover, Toy Story, Spider-man, X-Men, Kick-Ass. All are making an impact on film history without Lucas, film has evolved without him.

 

[Xocrates]

Dont have a problem with the Star Wars prequels, but Indiana Jones IV... Way to rape a franchise mr. Lucas... Aliens? really?

To be fair, this reaction is very typical because most people missed the fact that Crystal Skull is supposed to be based on the 50's sci fi B movies, in the same way that the originals were based on 30's adventure movies. Quite frankly I thought this change was the most interesting thing about the movie.

That said, I won't be claiming it to be a good movie. But I will note that, nostalgia goggles aside, it wasn't worse (or at least significantly so) than Temple of Doom.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

While I do agree that picking on Lucas has gone on for quite long enough, he is (and has always been, IMO) a representative of a much greater problem with the way we treat media. Without the enfranchisement that came with the Star Wars and Indiana Jones, we wouldn't have anywhere near the sheer amount of shitty work that we (nerds / fanboys / whatever) seem to incessantly crave. Not exactly Lucas's fault, but he didn't exactly become a silent partner in his "empire," either.

In essence, Lucas is very much a gateway drug for nerds. It can, sometimes, lead to Michael Bay shoving his balls in your face just to score a quick peek at Soundwave. Not always, but often enough for the internet equivalent of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) to get really damn loud about it.