PT Hollywood Reporter: It's time to stop pretending that the SW prequels are important (?)

But some films & series are so admired they have "near universal acclaim". TDK, TLOTR, the first Matrix etc. The OT also definitely falls into that category. You can find critics for all of those but they're a very small minority. With a bit of luck TFA will get there too. It'll need to be damned good though.

 

Aside from the merits of the PT, the discussion is complicated by GL's uncompromising attitude towards his vision. Unlike most directors who release a director's cut, he openly rejected the OOT and it's historical significance. He had a right to do this, but there's no denying it further divided the fanbase. The PT is GL's most personal set of films in a sense, and those that rejected GL for his attitude (right or wrong) probably also have more of a tendency to reject GL's vision for Star Wars.

 

If he released all versions, the hate would go down a lot.

 

I grew up watching the Original Trilogy. But if you mention Star Wars to me my mind immediately goes to The Clone Wars and Episode III.

 

And yet a similar sort of thought policing permeates admiration for even the most esteemed works of art - particularly those embraced by especially vociferous factions of geekdom. I recall when some film critics - including Stephen Holt of The Washington Post - received death and rape threats for disliking The Dark Knight (and his review wasn't even that negative - he praised Ledger but picked at the rest of the film). It's a pretty sad commentary when people are "wrong" for having an opinion because someone has determined that a film is "objectively good or bad" and that any deviation from the "general consensus" is tantamount to treason.