If you’re a sci-fi geek like me, you’ve probably heard this already, but for those who haven’t heard it: George Lucas retired. For those of you who feel good about this announcement, you’re probably saying to yourself “he used to be awesome but lately he’s been ruining his movies.” For those of you who feel bad about that announcement, you’re thinking about the fact you’ll never see another Star Wars or Indiana Jones movie again. But I look at these two groups and I think that there’s a flaw: George Lucas’ ideas were always more impressive than his actual work.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Star Wars and Indiana Jones, I never stopped loving them and actually think that the prequel trilogy and Crystal Skull are entertaining in their own rights. But when I think about George’s work and the perception that the quality has decreased I start to think about what exactly has changed for people besides the nostalgia factor. When I watched the original Star Wars trilogy as a kid I thought they were fun but I didn’t see them as perfect and the same went for Indiana Jones. Yet there are fans dedicated to the point that they devote a great deal of time out of their lives to that fandom.

Obviously, for a fandom this dedicated to be so off-put by the recent projects from this man, something had to have changed. But when I took a closer look, something I love to do, I realized there were some key changes between George Lucas of the 80s and George Lucas of the last decade. In the end, I came to a conclusion that would have some people up in arms.

Often, the worst thing to happen to George Lucas movies… was George Lucas.