Having seen the movie, I believe that if you can stop complaining about the animation for one minute and just get into it, you'll find yourself pretty much digging it. American critics and fans, in particular, passed judgment on the animation first through the stills then through the commercials without seeing it on a big screen. It's pretty freakin' amazing if you ask me (which you didn't) and, in my view, bold of anyone to try something that's not mo-cap or Pixar "photo-real." No one said "101 Dalmatians" looked "cheap" when it came out, though that's exactly why the Xerography process was invented — they said it looked stylish and different. So does this. It's not … usual. That's for sure.

I really loved this movie. Honestly and genuinely. I loved Ahsoka being sassy like Leia (remember Leia calling Han "flyboy"? Can you imagine what fans would make of THAT today?). I loved little Stinky. I laughed out loud, often, at Zero the Hutt, who is so outrageously ridiculous it's frankly cool. The action was as good as any of the live-action movies, and I love the move that Anakin and Ahsoka make when the droids are advancing. The vertical battle is fantastic. There's a moment when Ventress does something to a droid, whose reaction is laugh-out-loud funny. I loved that it had a happy ending and that I got to see characters (like Jawas) that I missed in the prequels.

Yeah, I may be a sucker, but I went into it with low expectations, did about five minutes worth of work to get my head around the animation … and then sunk into my seat, ate some popcorn and watched a "Star Wars" flick I hadn't seen before.

And I'm planning on doing it again this weekend. If there's no one in the audience, all the better for me. Heh. But I think there may just be.

IrvThal said: Wait, wait, let me get this straight. You love "Star Wars," but you're not willing to give a chance to a movie that has achieved some genuinely strong reviews? You're not willing to give a shot to a movie that SFX said is "much closer to the prequels that existed in our heads than The Phantom Menace turned out to be"? Or that the Associated Press said "harks back to the fun, swashbuckling times of the original "Star Wars" trilogy"? Or that MSNBC said is "highly stylized and eye-popping"?

I mean, I'm with you on loving "Star Wars," but I'm also willing to try something different. It doesn't change what "Star Wars" is to me, even if it sucks — my love for "Star Wars" isn't that tenuous…

But if you see this with a kid, someone who's the age you were when "Star Wars" first came out, then I'll bet you one thing — you'll be seeing it with someone who really digs it. And if they dig it, maybe you can, too. But I'm not going to judge this movie, or any movie, solely on the trailer. If I did that, I would have missed some terrific films. (But the fact that you'd rather see "Tropic Thunder" again implies you're looking for hip and cool, not retro, nerdy and fun.)

First, way to go on quoting the blurbs on the TV commercials for the film. I prefer to stop by rottentomatoes, and right now the film is rocking a 44% approval. Although that's only 10 reviews. So who knows, I tend not to care what the majority of the critics think. But my guess is the final % won't change much from that.

I will give the movie a chance when I see it. I like nothing more than to be surprised. But right now I'm calling it like I see it. And the film looks like shit (which is different than saying it is shit), which is a feeling I've never had about a Star Wars film before (which was the point of the column). Never once did I say this film would change my opinion of Star Wars for me. If the film is shitty, I'll still love Star Wars…I'll probably still watch the animated show this fall. Nor am I bashing the film for being different. The hand-animated Clone Wars series was extremely different for the Star Wars universe, and if that was hitting the big screen I'd being camping out at my local theater at this point. My problem with this animation is that looks cheap and ugly and bland. Nothing that I've seen for this film has excited me in any way. I'm just not looking forward to it, and that saddens me some. Also who cares if I go with a kid. People say the same exact thing about the prequels. Guess, what? I never saw any of the prequels with kids, and I loved every one of them. I think you're somehow grouping me in with the pathetic "George Lucas Raped My Childhood" crowd, which just isn't true.

As for rather seeing Tropic Thunder again this week: That has nothing to do with being hip, cool or trendy. The film is the best comedy released this year. It's brilliant. And I want to see it again b/c of that…and to give it some money as an FU to the pointless controversy that has come up around it.

I mean, I'm with you on loving "Star Wars," but I'm also willing to try something different. It doesn't change what "Star Wars" is to me, even if it sucks — my love for "Star Wars" isn't that tenuous. (Did "Batman Forever" ruin "Batman" forever?) I'm also willing to trust that I might not be the audience for this — maybe I'm just too old and jaded and cynical now, too steeped in pop culture to be able to accept something new and unusual on its own terms. As much as I say I wish George Lucas would make his little independent films, you and I both know we all wish he would make a movie like Episode IV again, but that's not going to happen. He's different, we're different, and we wouldn't know Episode IV if it bit us in the rear anymore, because everything's changed.

But if you see this with a kid, someone who's the age you were when "Star Wars" first came out, then I'll bet you one thing — you'll be seeing it with someone who really digs it. And if they dig it, maybe you can, too. But I'm not going to judge this movie, or any movie, solely on the trailer. If I did that, I would have missed some terrific films. (But the fact that you'd rather see "Tropic Thunder" again implies you're looking for hip and cool, not retro, nerdy and fun.)