BlueCardinal said:

I often have found myself asking, "Empire is so good. How is it possible the PT turned out so bad?!" Either Collative Learning is right in that Kirshner is a genius, assisted by a team with impeccable attention to detail (i.e. the details of the hand-chopping scene in Pt 2 of his review above), or it was just dumb luck how all the elements came together the way they did. Either way, I enjoy reading Ady's explanations on his decisions and the team's efforts to preserve the integrity of the narrative. Keep up the fine work on making this great film even better!

I think credit should be given to Gary Kurtz. As soon as Lucas kicked him out of the family for (essentially) taking over EMPIRE, you can see what Lucas' weaknesses are in JEDI and the PREQUELS, especially when you compare them together.

JEDI (much like the prequels) is a lot more childish in nature, regardless of the deeper and more adult thematic elements. It is like comparing early Disney animated films up to the 1950's to the later year animated films such as 101 DALMATIONS and THE SWORD AND THE STONE (which has a LOT of "derp-de-derp" scenes with kid Arthur tripping over things or falling down just to serve the purpose of making the kids laugh... you know, like Jar Jar).

It is because of how Kirshner and Kurtz worked behind Lucas to make sure Lucas didn't sabotage EMPIRE that, combined with Lucas' divorce, no doubt led Lucas to become so authoritative and controlling. I also feel that all of the "special editions" are just attempts to stay relevant, as well as constantly show everyone that yes, HE controls STAR WARS and he can do whatever he wants... despite betraying everything he said he believed for the past 2 decades.