Instead of calling it a "kid's movie," they started calling it "schlock" or "sci-fi schlock." I really can't understand this obsessive need to run down one of the highest-grossing franchises in film history. Was this their idea of an olive branch? "Well, ok, maybe it's not just for kids but you have to agree it's schlock, right?"
Um, no. Look, I wouldn't say it's great cinema like The Godfather or Citizen Kane but "schlock" is stuff you'd see on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Schlock is Plan 9 From Outer Space. You can complain about a lot of things not being extremely great with the first movie but it was shot on a shoestring budget. Still the effects were mostly cutting-edge for the time, the film quality and editing were pretty much professional looking, plus there was the awesome John Williams score. So, yeah, not "schlock" by any stretch.
If haters want to see real "schlock" of that era, I'd recommend Starship Invasions which came out pretty much at the same time. Starring Christopher Lee and produced by the guy who made the Little Rascals, it features pie plate ships on strings, bad guys like Christopher Lee wearing body stockings with weird snake things screen painted on them, telephone cord splitters used as weapons, clunky robots made of junk, and a cheesy smooth jazz soundtrack. Watch that and then the first Star Wars and tell me which one is "sci-fi schlock." Mic drop!
I'm sure the haters will come up with more dismissive, derisive ways to describe Star Wars. The important thing to remember is Star Wars is not great cinema so it shouldn't be taken too seriously. It's family-friendly escapist fun and there's nothing wrong with that. The haters and people who take it too seriously should all just get a life.
