I couldn't agree more with the original poster on this thread. When I first saw Star Wars in 1977 as a kid, it was my life. When ESB came out, I loved it too, maybe even more than the original. However, I didn't care for RotJ, even when it came out. But I loved the other two so much, I tried to convince myself it was ok. When the prequels came out, I tried to do the same; however, I thought TPM and Clones were so weak, I couldn't pull it off. As for Revenge of the Sith, I briefly convinced myself I liked it, but on further reflection realized it was more of the same. About 2 years ago, I finally realized that all of my rationalization of the other five films just came from my love of the original; still the greatest action adventure film of all time for me. ESB itself, even with its technical superiority and better direction, was where the "saga" began to fall apart--making Vader Luke's father was a great pay-off moment, but the death knell for the "saga" to me. I liked the Galactic Civil War story of Star Wars, not the family drama of redeeming a man as evil as Hitler of the Saga. I don't really care where Vader came from and don't want to see him "redeemed". The original film had it all, and it had its own beginning, middle and end; no need for the rest. And I refuse to call that film anything but its real name: Star Wars; the rest is revisionist history.
I couldn't agree more with the original poster on this thread. When I first saw Star Wars in 1977 as a kid, it was my life. When ESB came out, I loved it too, maybe even more than the original. However, I didn't care for RotJ, even when it came out. But I loved the other two so much, I tried to convince myself it was ok. When the prequels came out, I tried to do the same; however, I thought TPM and Clones were so weak, I couldn't pull it off. As for Revenge of the Sith, I briefly convinced myself I liked it, but on further reflection realized it was more of the same. About 2 years ago, I finally realized that all of my rationalization of the other five films just came from my love of the original; still the greatest action adventure film of all time for me. ESB itself, even with its technical superiority and better direction, was where the "saga" began to fall apart--making Vader Luke's father was a great pay-off moment, but the death knell for the "saga" to me. I liked the Galactic Civil War story of Star Wars, not the family drama of redeeming a man as evil as Hitler of the Saga. I don't really care where Vader came from and don't want to see him "redeemed". The original film had it all, and it had its own beginning, middle and end; no need for the rest. And I refuse to call that film anything but its real name: Star Wars; the rest is revisionist history.