“They jumped the shark when they made Star Wars II in 1980.”
As much as I like the originals, the first was a fun B-movie in terms of quality at best, and is utterly absurd to say that ESB was a “jump the shark” moment.
Without ESB and ROTJ, ANH would have been a cult classic at best.
Ummmm...no.
"Star Wars was released in theatres in the United States on May 25, 1977. It earned $461 million in the U.S. and $314 million overseas, totaling $775 million. It surpassed Jaws (1975) to become the highest-grossing film of all time until the release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). When adjusted for inflation, Star Wars is the second-highest-grossing film in North America, and the third-highest-grossing film in the world. It received ten Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture), winning seven. It was among the first films to be selected as part of the U.S. Library of Congress' National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". At the time, it was the most recent film on the registry and the only one chosen from the 1970s. In 2005, the British Film Institute included it in their list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 14. Its soundtrack was added to the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2004. Today, it is regarded as one of the most important films in the history of motion pictures. It launched an industry of tie-in products, including TV series spinoffs, novels, comic books, video games, amusement park attractions, and merchandise including toys, games, and clothing."
I didn’t like Star Wars II, or ESB as some folks call it. It chronicled a series of defeats and then the ending left the viewer hanging, like one of those serials that they used to show during matinees at the movie theaters. I left the theater very disappointed.
And I’m not the only one. Commentary magazine also panned it in a scorching review.