Generational perspectives and Star Wars

[MithrandirOlorin]

The OT has flaws to, frankly I can't watch the Leia/Tarkin exchange without cringing.

See to me they are good because they are differn't, to me the OT was far form perfect, they kind of embody everything about why I don't like 70s and 80s SciFi besides the Gundam Trilogy, Gundam is all the appeal the Star Wars OT has but far better.

[Darth Wedgius]

When A New Hope came out, it was an unprecedented spectacle. The special effects were great, supported by an exciting story line, good acting, and really, really good music. Theaters changed the terms for how they show movies because people kept coming back to see A New Hope.

Those are some serious nostalgia goggles to compete with. I think some original fans were hoping to experience that same feeling again, and that Phantom Menace could have only met those expectations if it'd been done on an actual holodeck.

Someone who didn't see A New Hope when it first came out and seeing it now will see a movie with special effects that were OK for its time, but probably not very impressive compared to what's been in film for the last couple decades. There are, IMHO, episodes of DS9 with better effects. For those viewers, A New Hope is a lot easier to compete with.

But I think the prequels don't stand above the crowd they dealt with in the same way that the original trilogy stood above their crowd. I think the prequels' plots are better, but, maybe a victim of nostalgia goggles myself, I like the acting from the original trilogy better. And the original films' music struck a chord (sorry) with many (I jokingly told my then-fiancé I wanted the Imperial March played at our wedding). For my part, I can't remember any of the prequels' music.

[PerrySimm]

Nostalgia offers the chance to remain comfortable in a familiar sameness - but it comes with baggage like typecasting actors and churning endless follow-on tales, each new story constrained by the ones before it (lest nostalgia be broken). Sure, nostalgia can be fun for a while, but eventually, it gets old.

[ChiggyvonRichthofen]

Nostalgia does come with its downsides, and Hollywood certainly has been cashing in on that for a long time. This week is a Blade Runner sequel, last week was Flatliners, a reboot that I wouldn't have thought anyone would be looking for. Some of it is fun (like, say, Stranger Things), but a new idea here or there would be nice.

I was actually at a pretty good age to accept TPM and AOTC without many reservations, and I did like them a whole lot more as a kid. Old school stuff was still my first love,but even so I feel like I gave them more than their fair shake.

[The Romulan Republic]

I'm in what seems to be a somewhat atypical position- I'm an OT fan, I prefer the OT, I grew up with the OT (I'm too young to have seen it when it was originally released, but my parents introduced it to me on video).

And yet, I don't hate the newer films (well, I have a pretty low opinion of TPM and the Clone Wars animated movie, but that's it).

I'd rate them probably as follows (divided into groups of films that I consider roughly on the same tier, to the point that which one I like best tends to be somewhat fluid):

Really good:

Empire Strikes Back.
Return of the Jedi.
A New Hope.

High-end of average/slightly above average:

The Force Awakens.
Attack of the Clones.
Rogue One.

Mediocre:

Revenge of the Sith.

Slightly below-average:

Phantom Menace.

Dull and stupid but not actually horrible:

The Clone Wars.