It's unfortunately become a cliche to cite Star Wars as an inspiration, regardless of its truth. Half-Life's universe is something to appreciate and admire, but it's been conceptualized for, and only for, a video game. I'm not even a Star Wars fanatic; I haven't watched the prequels since their theatrical runs, and haven't seen the original trilogy in years, but I'm able to acknowledge the blasphemy of equating Half-Life to Star Wars.
Whoa, man. These are some pretty predictable responses to my comment. I certainly TRIED to be unambiguously facetious when I claimed that Laidlaw's credibility was shot for disliking Star Wars. Don't combat such an obviously not-serious quip. I mean, darn. Dudes have differing opinions. But, like, the universally-accepted notion of Lucas inspiring a generation doesn't seem to have any bearing on the mentalities of people who utilize their sophomore English books to combat a claim.
No, really. Films like Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi epitomize fantasy/sci-fi. I'm suddenly inclined to not take Half-Life seriously anymore. I want to simply point and laugh instead of getting offended when I discover a writer who can't acknowledge the brilliance of Star Wars, which, by the way, is indisputably Joseph Campbell, Homer, Tolkien and Lewis -- all of whom, believe it or not, have more credibility than Marc Laidlaw. Seriously, a writer who doesn't like Star Wars. I'm wondering how I can wittily patronize someone like that. The man was much, uh, cuter before I found this out.
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