I've seen those movies and those movies have really bold socialpolitical themes and all have Spike's signature style, even more than the movies he didn't write. But they just don't hold up well in a technical sense.

Even Do the Right Thing, which was so impressive for its time, doesn't hold up all that well to me.

I like Spike but his style is too heavy handed and suffocating for my tastes. I prefer his movies that he doesn't write because the style is more subtle but still has his signature edge and perspective.

I don't think that makes Spike a bad filmmaker. He's a legend, if only for getting his movies made in Hollywood, especially in the 80's and 90's where he and his collaboratives made up all of Black Hollywood of that time.

He's just a bit too close to his source material when he writes his movies and so his work comes off heavy handed and limited in scope. Tarantino is cut from the same cloth. His movies have a very distinct and clear style. But my favorite movie of his, Jackie Brown, was a story he didn't create from scratch.

Maybe Spike gets spread too thin during pre-production and can't dedicate enough time to honing his voice during production? Maybe he gets defensive about his writing and doesn't become open to other points of view?

The reason for the difference is worth studying tho.

<--- Me when my head hits the pillow