"Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!" (Score 1)

Right on! I, too, wish you weren't posting anonymously. Well-said. I'm sure some of the whiners will pick your post apart and invent all sorts of excuses for believing you're wrong. But you're dead-on! There's something I call a "pleasure capacity." A lot of people who once enjoyed the orginal Star Wars have grown up and, unfortunately, lost their "pleasure capacity." They're too concerned with "being adult", and "being adult" includes picking apart the Star Wars films, whining and complaining, and basically blaming Lucas for their own inability to just let go of their desire to criticize, insult, and pick things apart. And if somebody (like us) is still capable of locking away our jaded, snobby "smarter-than-thou" inner critic and just enjoying the films, then the people who aren't enjoying them feel they have to attack us. Shame on us for enjoying Episodes I and II, right? The only part of your post I question is where you said

no other science fiction, space based film had made a profit

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought 2001: A Space Odyssey turned a decent profit.