Star Wars again, ...I know what I said about the fish

Okay, I'm not quite done with Star Wars.

In my informal polling of co-workers and friends alike, "The Empire
Strikes Back" comes in at No.1 when ranking Star Wars films...

I always say, I know you may disagree with me, but...

I have always liked the original Star Wars (and it ain't "a new hope"
no matter how much Lucas tries to ram that crap down our throats, it's
"Star Wars"), yes, Star Wars, the best.

Here, in no particular logical order, are my reasons.

Star wars was more "real" forgiving it's bad cantina aliens, and some
special effects gaffs (which are few in my opinion...I like the
effects in star wars, with a few exceptions, I think they're nice,
clean, simple effects, and believe it or not, that's what helped sell
the movie, clean, simple, real, effects)

It's been said before, but the "used universe" look. Recently I saw a
picture of Han and Chewie from the original star wars promotional
photos, and looked at it for the first time in years, and then studied
it. Han Solo's holster, is beat to shit, it's "real". Chewie's
crossbow thing is worn, the edges are shiny from use, the finish is
worn away, it's "real" There was a feel of credibility, of genuine
being that existed in that first film that was obliterated in the
second film. costumes were newer, cleaner, and seemed more like what
they were costumes. This may seem a stupid thing to fixate on, but
when something's off, you try to put your finger on it, you try to
define it, in other words, you're outside the movie already, it's
pulled you out for the simple reason that the costumes aren't real
enough. Not to get off on a tangent, but the second Matrix movie
suffered the same problems, watch the two side by side, and look at
the costumes, there's something wrong about them in the second movie.
Also in Empire, and Jedi, what's with Darth Vader's helmet? Did he get a new buffing machine, or a whole contingent of lackies to polish his helmet, no pun intended, is that really all he's got to worry about, his helmet being so shiny that the people he's killing can see themselves in it?

I think Empire suffers also from using a "trick", ie. "Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father"

Now some people can't imagine star wars as a mythos without this
facet, I can, and think it weakens what could have been a very
compelling "revenge" story, sorry Lucas hates that word when applied
to good guys, but y'know, we as an audience have always cheered a good
revenge tale.

(Please see Braveheart, while not strictly a revenge tale, it does
have an all time great moment of revenge in it.) We love seeing the
bad guys picked off one by one as they try to converge on the helpless
siren, the hero cocking the winchester, pressing it to his cheek, and
drawing a bead on the next bad guy, think of it in whatever terms you
like. (Another example go watch "Last of the Mohicans" revenge
aplenty!)

It was a stunt plain and simple, loud and clear, "Darth Vader is not
Luke Skywalker's father", he's the guy who
KILLED his father! Light sabers out, and go
get 'em! Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war! Don't worry Han's
got yer back.

Next up: Return of the Jedi, and cheap trick number two: Luke and Leia
are NOT brother and sister, they want to get it
on, monkey style after escaping the stormtroopers, but then Ben dies,
and puts a damper on the whole thing. Han, Luke, Leia, love triangle!
Simple as that, there's yelling, screaming, fist fight, and Han wins,
why 'cause he's cool, and can beat the crap out of Luke as long as
it's a fair fight without the force being invoked.

So think of the Star Wars sequels without the stunts, the cheap
tricks, if Lucas had tried to resolve the
ACTUAL conflict created in the original film.

Think of that, an old fashioned cliffhanger brought up to date with
adult drama.

Lucas has said that " hey as it turns out these movies have been about
Darth Vader the whole time" BULLSHIT! No, no, no, no, no! The films
would have been about good versus evil, and interpersonal conflict,
but Lucas didn't have the stones for it. he sold out, he had the
merchandising rights, and by God, there were going to be Ewoks,
whether you liked them or not! Darth Vader, getting back to that, is
a bad guy, two dimensional, tough as nails, hard to kill "Jason with a
breathing mask" BAD GUY!

So, I'm sure there's something in all this I'm forgetting, but, Lucas
blew it, he had the money, he had us as an audience, and he sold us
down the river. We would have bought the figures, posters, and
t-shirts, all of it. But he blew it. He's filthy rich and couldn't
give a shit what I think, but he blew it.