Hmm, funny how the training mode was never mentioned in any of the books/novels/games before...
Crushed whites and blacks, and oversaturated colour have unfortunately become the current trend for Blockbusters. The general public likes the impression of extra 'punch' or 3D look that is gives the image. It also makes plasmas and LCDs that have poor shadow detail and elevated blacks not look so bad in comparison the movie. The overuse of colour to intone mood is also a current trend - it treats the cinema goer like an idiot. Instead of a slightly cold (blue) grade to help convey menace you get a blue tinted scene to force the idea down your throat. Love scenes have insanely red sunsets and colour grades to match.
So it looks like Lucas just wants to make Star Wars fit in with the current 'look'. It weirds me out because you have gritty realist 70s film styling with a current colourful/smooth/slick look washed over the top, it just doesn't sit right.
It is a shame because it is kind of like listening to music with the treble turned right up, for a few minutes you think wow I am hearing more detail, but after a while it grates on the ear and becomes unlistenable. Crushed movies feel that way to me when I watch them, it gives them a cartoony look which is kind of OK if that is part of the feel (like a superhero/comicbook movie), but I think detracts from the cinematic look of a film. 70s movies were perhaps a little too flat, but the realism of that look fit well with science fiction, it gave it a grounding which helped you suspend your disbelief. The gritty texture of the sets in movies like Alien, the text based industrial look to the computer screens and readouts in Star Wars, Alien, 2001 made all the crazy stuff easier to believe. The look of the 70s cinematography also helped in that it had that same 'every day' quality to it (it would be considered almost a 'documentary' look now).
The smooth slick look kind of feels hyper real (or fake) which when combined with a story that is unrealistic/futuristic just makes it harder to believe IMHO.