George Lucas is Franchising my Childhood...

I am a child of the 80s. I was 3 years old in 1980 and 13 in 1990. My formative years were the 90s, but my sweetest childhood memories all lie in the 80s - the toys, the TV, the games, and the movies.

My memories are filled with the innocence and simplicity of the great world events of the 80s - Mexico 86 (the start of rampant commercialism in football?), Ghostbusters, Seb Coe/Steve Cram/Steve Ovett/Daley Thompson, the Fraggles, the Goonies and, most importantly, the great Indiana Jones/Star Wars combo. I remember seeing the 'Temple of Doom' and being amazed. I remember my mum's face and how happy she was seeing how happy I was. The Last Crusade was even better. Star Wars was a different level and I had all the toys - the AT-AT, the Millennium Falcon, the Scout Walker etc. Years were spent in awe of these productions and my memories were entirely positive. I remember when Star Wars was first on TV...and Empire...and Return.. Raiders of the Lost Arc was a must-see too, and still is!

What's my point? Well, the point is that I have just seen the latest Indiana Jones movie and it is truly dreadful. The script, story, acting, FX, photography and directing are truly appalling. How do people not understand that this kind of thing is always a mistake? I would have expected this from Lucas - his second Star Wars trilogy was a disaster - no memorable characters, no zip, no comedy, no acting. Leaving out a Han Solo type character didn't work, but that wouldn't have been enough anyway - Lucas blew millions on new technology that made the films look completely alien and separate from the originals. It looked like the films had been written by a marketing committee and they had decided that the biggest selling point of the originals was the FX and not the storyline or characterisation.

But how has Spielberg connected his name to the latest Indiana Jones picture? The Jurassic Park sequels were formulaic, but had better production values than this latest hunk of junk. I thought better of him and can only presume that Lucas got final say...on everything.

I didn't grow up with the Godfather movies and first watched them in the 90s. There was a mini-renaissance when Godfather pt3 came out, so I watched the first two movies and they were unlike anything else I had seen. Then I watched Godfather pt3... Now it's not necessarily a terrible movie - Al Pacino is now Al Pacino rather than Michael Corleone (SHOUTING!), the pace is slow and the storyline has been rushed, but as a stand-alone movie it probably still merits 3 out of 5. The problem is that it does not stand alone and it tarnishes the others. Coppola did the same thing when he released Apocalypse Now Redux - he had explained in the 'Hearts of Darkness' (making of) why he had left all of these scenes on the floor and now they're back in the movie! I may be cynical, but tell me that wasn't just about money.

Your last memory of Michael Corleone should be at the end of Godfather pt2, your last memory of Obi Wan should be 'as played by' Alec Guinness, Indiana Jones should be standing next to Sean Connery rather than Shia Thebeef, and the last you see of Duvall's Kilgore should be 'Someday this war's gonna end' right after the 'Napalm' speech, rather than flying around in a helicopter looking for his surf board.

It's a sacred thing is childhood and I know they're just movies, but did they not have enough money without having to tarnish my memories? They are film-makers and can pay for their own productions, so why don't they create something new?

Of the four greatest directors of the 70s - Scorcese, Coppola, Spielberg and .. ahem .. Lucas - only two seem to have any passion for film-making any more. I thought 'The Departed' was exactly what cinema needed and still needs. Spielberg's 'Munich' was also excellent and original.

I can only speculate that Lucas and Coppola lost the drive that made them great and original. The storylines and film-making they produced were pioneering and upliftingly special. Now, however, Lucas is cashing in on the past over and over again. He has smeared paint over my childhood memories and I wish he and everyone else would just stop.