We all know George Lucas has had a tough last couple decades in the Star Wars world. It’s almost universally known that the prequels are not well liked and unfortunately it is Lucas who catches the heat.
Because this is a Star Wars blog, I’m going to strictly stick to Lucas’ involvement in Star Wars as opposed to his other projects.
Now then…on to George Lucas and his negative reputation.
But why? Does Lucas really deserve all of the criticism?
Honestly, he absolutely does not.
For starters, he is the maker of it all for us Star Wars fans which in itself should make him untouchable.
I think the problem for many fans is the lack of appreciation for George Lucas.
It’s puzzling to me that people hate Episodes I through III so intensely.
I’ve heard some theories about why and I can protest every single one.
A popular theme amongst the prequel-haters seems to be “Hayden Christensen was terrible.”
Now I know I’m here to defend George Lucas here but I think Mr. Christensen deserves someone in his corner as well.
His portrayal of Anakin Skywalker was so impressive that he really should have received more recognition, in my opinion at least.
What people seem to say about Christensen’s performance is that he was “too whiny and emotional”.
Well here’s a news flash to all of you who think along those lines…
The character of Anakin Skywalker is supposed to be painted in that light. Throughout his young life, he’s crushed under the immense pressure his name carries plus the fact that the entire galaxy is under fire and he is supposed to be the savior for the Jedi.
With that being said, somehow people fail to see the character’s personality and blame it on the actor.
Anakin is an emotional figure and goes off on tangents once in awhile because well, he’s fighting a battle in the real world and within his soul.
I think it’s just irresponsible to blame the actor for the unstable mental state of the character’s personality.
What’s more, all the backlash over Hayden Christensen seems to find its way back to George Lucas.
Of course, that’s a little bit more responsible since Lucas did create every character in the movie after all.
But forget the prequels for a moment. The original trilogy was so prolific that you would think that his reputation would be solidified for life but I guess not.
It just pains me to see a figure like George Lucas be mocked and ridiculed for three of the six iconic Star Wars movies that are essential to the entire story.
Even if you don’t like the movies (I don’t understand how), their importance to the plot is absolutely crucial.
Lucas deserves so much more credit than he receives for the original trilogy alone but for the prequels?
To have the vision back in 1977 of creating the original trilogy and then the three movies before them 16 years later is just out of this world!
Legacy
As the years go on and George Lucas is more and more out of the picture, I hope we honor him better.
The man is now in his 70’s and let’s face it, he won’t be around forever.
Let’s give George Lucas the credit he deserves.
Whether you liked the prequels or not, we all love Star Wars and George Lucas is the creator.
Although I believe that Star Wars is in good hands with Disney, it is and always will be bittersweet that Lucasfilm is no longer bound to its maker.
-Sith Pacify out
sithpacify 