The original films were not high-brow by any means but I think what fans are griping about is the contrasts between the style of the 2 trilogies.
You could sense something exciting in A New Hope.
It had some real power- "The Force" was intrigingly mysterious, Darth Vader was fearsome (what a great movie villian), we knew instantly who the good guy was and why he had to "rise up".
The movie ends with a bang, justice reigns (at least until ESB) and everybody went home satisfied.
It's a human thing- we all understood the drama that was playing out in some "galaxy far away".
The new films seem to be a quasi-continuation of that drama.
The original films had actors in fur suits, rubber masks and models on wires. Now, if those things gave the movies such interesting qualities, then why are we getting CGI overload?
You know why. Because Lucas is ILM. He cannot have his toyshop be the vanguard of sfx and not incorporate it into his vision. Special effects were always lacking for George. He always wanted something like ILM to make the movies he wants.
But if these new Star Wars films are the movies he wants...
I hate to say it, but Lucas has kinda destroyed his own creation.
I know there are Star Wars fans out there who place so much meaning on those first 3 films that they could have come up with awesome ideas/characters for the first three episodes that would have enhanced the myth, placated fans and elevated Star Wars even further in movie lore/Sci-Fi history.
There are fans who've made little Star Wars films on the internet that are better (in spirit AND story) than the mega-dollar recent ones.
How is this possible? Easy. "It's my Canterbury Tales".
"Set the controls for the heart of the Sun" - Pink Floyd
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