# So I finally got around to watching Star Wars... I regret that decision. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 19, 2011, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292 "2011-08-19T06:54:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/61 "2011-08-19T19:04:44Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > I’m also wondering if Star Wars success at the time not only because of the special effects and Lucas’ directing style, but because SW was essentially all he did as a director. Before he did Star Wars he did American Graffiti which was seen by a few people. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/62 "2011-08-19T19:38:45Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > Before he did Star Wars he did American Graffiti which was seen by a few people. Bah, American Graffiti was nothing special. It only made $55 million in its initial release, giving it one of the highest cost-profit ratios ever and AFI only ranked it #77 in its Top 100 movies of All Time. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/63 "2011-08-19T20:04:35Z")
> [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](#): > > Bah, American Graffiti was nothing special. It only made $55 million in its initial release, giving it one of the highest cost-profit ratios ever and AFI only ranked it #77 in its Top 100 movies of All Time. 😛 It also was the third highest grossing film of 1973, behind two other “nothing specials”: _The Exorcist_ and _The Sting_. ---
**Author:** ![FoundWaldo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@FoundWaldo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoundWaldo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/64 "2011-08-19T20:06:28Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I’m curious, what did you think of _Alien_? I may be mistaken, but I don’t think I’ve seen Alien. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/65 "2011-08-19T20:08:25Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > Before he did Star Wars he did American Graffiti which was seen by a few people. Very true, but American Graffiti feels like a Robert Zemeckis or John Hughes film. American Graffiti and Star Wars are worlds apart (no pun intended). I would wager that a casual viewer of the two films, knowing nothing about George Lucas, would never guess they were directed by the same guy. The directing style in the two films, from what I remember of AG, is quite different. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/66 "2011-08-19T20:20:38Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > American Graffiti and Star Wars are worlds apart (no pun intended). I would wager that a casual viewer of the two films, knowing nothing about George Lucas, would never guess they were directed by the same guy. And then there’s _THX-1138_. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/67 "2011-08-19T20:23:50Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > And then there’s _THX-1138_. _Wookiee Godiva was a freedom rider. She didn’t care if the whole world rhhhaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwrrr._ ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/68 "2011-08-19T22:26:17Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > In my (albeit limited) experience, younguns these days are _not_ impressed by Star Wars. Round here they love it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/69 "2011-08-19T22:41:48Z")
**Lancia** , did you see _The Empire Strikes Back_? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/70 "2011-08-19T22:42:47Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > But if you don’t like sci-fi and you’re not even coming to it fresh anyway due to having been saturated with its themes and references and famous lines over the years, I think it’s highly unlikely you’ll enjoy it. Yup. I’m not a big fan of straightforward (as in not fantasy or SF) dramas and I didn’t really enjoy the Godfather when I finally watched it after 30 years of seeing it parodied. It doesn’t mean it;s not a great film, but that it’s not my type of film and it’s suffered from parody splashback. (My PhD was about the numerous extratextual uses of Hamlet and the way they affect the reception of the play itself). > [@Frylock](#): > > In my (albeit limited) experience, younguns these days are _not_ impressed by Star Wars. In my quite broad experience as a teacher and parent, Star Wars is extremely popular. Just the other day one in my 13-year-old daughter’s group of friends mentioned that she’d never seen Star Wars and the others were all shocked. Everyone they know, geeky or not, has seen it and mostly liked it. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/71 "2011-08-19T22:44:04Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Agreed. If you are uninterested in sci-fi to the point that you’ve never even seen a single episode of any _Star Trek_ incarnation, I’d be very surprised if you enjoyed _Star Wars_. Since when does _Star Wars_ have anything to do with science fiction? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/72 "2011-08-19T22:54:53Z")
I wonder what the OP thinks about the Enterprise vs ISD debates! Who would win, Darth Vader or Batman? Ginger or Maryann? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/73 "2011-08-19T23:01:11Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > Since when does _Star Wars_ have anything to do with science fiction? The robots, the lasers, the death star, the setting in space. It’s not hard SF, but it’s science fantasy or space opera. Still, I’d say that liking fantasy makes you more likely to enjoy Star Wars than liking science fiction. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/74 "2011-08-19T23:36:58Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I wonder what the OP thinks about the Enterprise vs ISD debates! > > Who would win, Darth Vader or Batman? > > Ginger or Maryann? Mary-Ann could totally whomp Ginger in a fight. (Or was that not what you were asking?) ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/75 "2011-08-20T00:19:33Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > **PSXer** makes a good point about the special editions. **lancia** , you should try to get ahold of the movies without the enhanced special effects and watch them again. Or at least Episode IV to start with. You guys are joking, right? ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/76 "2011-08-20T01:29:00Z")
**Star Wars** : saw it in the theatre back in 1977 as a kid. Went in with high expectations, and enjoyed it immensely. I can still watch it to this day and enjoy it, as (for reasons many others have noted in this thread) it’s a very well-crafted movie. **The Empire Strikes Back** : again, went into the theatre with high expectations, really enjoyed the film, and still watch it again from time to time. **Return of the Jedi** : for me, this is where Lucas started to drop the ball. Went in with the same high expectations, and was quite disappointed. “Why are they blowing up the Death Star again?! This is the exact same story as the first movie” was my major complaint at the time. That, and the Ewoks. I absolutely hated the Ewoks. Now I sort of take them for granted, but at the time I was really annoyed by them. I think that even as a kid, I unconsciously understood that I was being pandered to. **The Phantom Menance** : after sixteen years, it’s the return of Lucas’ Great Dropped Ball. Same high, and then dashed, expectations. The Internet has done a good enough job of cataloguing the complaints with this film, so I shall spare you from re-reading them for the thousandth time. It seemed that Jar-Jar didn’t annoy me as much as he annoyed other people though. I guess the Ewoks kind of inoculated me. **Attack of the Clones** : More like “Attack of the Incomprehensible Plotline” amiright?! Har har, I slay myself sometimes. Anyway, I went in with LOW expectations this time, turned off my brain, and enjoyed all the pretty CG and 'splosions. **Revenge of the Sith** : More LOW expectations, but I was able to enjoy the much darker aspects of the film. Plus the plot was much more straightforward, as all the Byzantine backstory was laid out in the last two clunkers. I’ll still watch this on DVD from time to time. I’m not a very violent person, but it’s worth it for the scene when whiny old Anakin gets his legs chopped off. Take that! **TL:DR VERSION** The first two movies were fantastic (probably by accident), the remaining four were not very good. Lucas, if you’re reading this, I want my money back. We’ll say $5 for the tickets for each of the four bad films, and we can make it an even $20. Paypal or cash, no cheques please. May the Force be with you. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/77 "2011-08-20T01:35:13Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Well, just one point on the small stuff: The special effects in the first couple movie are indeed amazing. Not for the light-sabers and force-levitation and glowy things on spaceships or (Ogg help us) muppet Jedi masters, but because everything --\* everything\* – you see in the first couple movies looks like it came from a real place. The vehicles, including spaceships, all have dings and dust and grime, like a real vehicle, not a model that just came out of the box; the buildings don’t look like architect’s drawings, but like places people actually live in and use (with garbage and everything)… It is worth noting “Star Wars” won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, so its genius in this regard was well recognized. “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” were nominated for the award as well. None of the prequels were nominated. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/78 "2011-08-20T02:31:33Z")
I was 25 when the movie came out, not exactly a pimply teenager. **Lancia** , here’s where I think it went wrong for you. 1. You heard about it first. I saw it the week it opened. We didn’t\* know \*what was going to happen. Sure it had been massively hyped, but it was all teasers and still photos. We were ready for the shock and awe. 2. You didn’t see it in a theater. There’s no substitute for hearing the deep rumbles, and watching the opening on a huge screen. 3. You watched it alone. Star Wars was meant to be seen with a crowd that was ready to believe from the first moment he was on the screen that Darth Vader was evil, a crowd that actually gasped when the Millenium Falcon went into hyperdrive, and cheered when the Death Star blowed up real good. 4. You didn’t look past the big cinnamon buns on her head to realize that Princess Leia was really yummy (and I presume women had the same reaction to Han Solo.) 5. In the version you saw, Greedo shot first. When Han shoots first, you get that he really is a badass. I can watch it now and realize that Harrison Ford was really stiff, that Alec Guiness couldn’t hide his contempt for the whole production, that the dialog was clunky and that we should have realized all along that Darth was Luke’s father. But I can watch any 25+ year old movie, from \*Animal House \*to _Last Tango in Paris_ and have it spoiled for me because either I’ve been overexposed, or the people who praise it ignored its shortcomings leading me to focus on them. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/79 "2011-08-20T02:32:50Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Of course, I’m not a sci-fi fan. Never seen an episode of Star Trek, either. Saw the first Aliens movie years ago and didn’t think much of it… Stay tuned for my **“So I finally got around to watching _The Notebook_…”** discussion. Where I dismiss it due to the lack of automatic weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292/80 "2011-08-20T02:44:34Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Ginger or Maryann? It’s a trick question. The correct answer is Ginger and Maryann. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finally-got-around-to-watching-star-wars-i-regret-that-decision/593292.md?page=5)