This is an entertaining documentary about the love/hate relationship fans have with George Lucas. Like many geeks, I was a pretty big Star Wars fan growing up. Not as big as the people in the documentary, but I watched all the movies several times and read Timothy Zahn’s sequel novels, and debated the Special Edition changes endlessly.
I was so excited by Star Wars Episode 1 that I scanned my advance ticket (no waiting in line for me!) to the midnight showing:
I was disillusioned by the result – but it made me re-evaluate the original trilogy and come to the realization that those movies aren’t very good, either. The glow of childhood makes them seem good, but they are really quite cheesy. This comes through in the documentary when they interview kids about their favorite Star Wars movies. They almost universally like the new ones, and think Jar Jar is funny.
There’s some interesting stuff in this documentary. For instance, I did not know that George Lucas testified to Congress that colorization of black and white films should be forbidden because it changed a cultural work that should be experienced as it was created.