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Thoughts on the Star Wars Prequels


Merlin

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6 hours ago, Ookla the Prolific said:

Many very hard core star wars fans find prequel based memes irritating for various reasons.  There is a significant minority who agrees with you.  I was expressing aggression at them.

*appears* 

Hey maybe don’t ‘express aggression’ at anyone, because if people want to enjoy memes that aren’t directly insulting (I mean stuff that attacks certain people or groups), then that is 100% fine. Who cares if they’re a minority; they’re not hurting anyone by laughing at an image with words on it. Let them be happy without being looked down on, for storms’ sake. 

*disappears again* 

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I haven’t watched the prequels in a long time, but from I remember (plus the Lego games, of course) I liked fine, just as much as the originals. Not to mention, I recently got disney plus, so that means a Star Wars marathon, and the Clone Wars, which I’ve heard has some really good plot! My opinion will definitely be subject to change in the next couple of weeks:P

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8 hours ago, Ookla the Prolific said:

Many very hard core star wars fans find prequel based memes irritating for various reasons.  There is a significant minority who agrees with you.  I was expressing aggression at them.

Uh... what?  Prequel memes are just memes.  There's tons of OT and ST memes too.  They're just jokes.  If anything, the minority is people who get offended for no reason based on a joke.

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3 hours ago, Ookla the Imperial said:

the Clone Wars, which I’ve heard has some really good plot!

Yesss. Join us my brother!

1 hour ago, NottTheBrave said:

Uh... what?  Prequel memes are just memes.  There's tons of OT and ST memes too.  They're just jokes.  If anything, the minority is people who get offended for no reason based on a joke.

To quote Joseph Joestar: "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! YES!" 

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On 11/28/2019 at 10:55 AM, Ixthos said:

Flawed but fun. They aren't as good as the original trilogy but they are entertaining, and while they missed a few steps, retroactively changed certain other elements, and had a few poor elements, they had several amazing high points, painted a clear picture of the nature of the Jedi order and its flaws - indeed, why its fall was inevitable - and expanded on the details of the nature of the republic and what caused it to fall. They could have made some changes, but I enjoyed them for what they were, and showing a different era of Star Wars than that shown in the original trilogy. They are fun, worthy prequels, and I'm glad they were made. I think some things should have been done in other ways, but they are enjoyable films.

AMEN TO THIS!

 

My own feelings: The PT isn't as bad as people remember it being, and I really like them. In TPM Jar Jar isn't as annoying as people remember him being, and the action, set pieces, and costumes are phenomenal. AOTC is the weakest of the three due to CGI not being at the level it needed to be for the movie, but still being used for EVERYWHERE and the love story. But the Obi-Wan's adventure and everything one Geonosis are amazing. ROTS is genuinely one of my favorite Star Wars movies. It's operatic, expansive, lore building, tragic, and fun at times. 

The PT has the best cartoons as well (Clone Wars & The Clone Wars are both great), both of which do a good job of fixing Anakin and adding new lore to the series (Asajj, the Mandalorians, Ahsoka, etc). And the games! The prequels have gotten the best games! Republic Commando, KOTOR (which IS prequel), Jedi Fallen Order (YMMV on this one).

Does it live up to the OT? No, but nothing really will (I mean, maybe The Mandalorian and TCW, but even then...). So comparing them on that level isn't going to do anyone any good. 

 

On 11/29/2019 at 9:02 AM, Ookla the Prolific said:

Only if you are not a star wars fan.

I would consider myself a hard core Star Wars fan and I LOVE prequel memes. They're hilarious (if occasionally low-blow striking). They're jokes, and a fun way to turn something that was culturally criticized into something loved. Who cares if people start to love the PT because of the memes and the jokes - THEY'RE STARTING TO LOVE THE PT. That's a GREAT thing!

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Ok, I’m back! I’ve watched TPM and AOTC, and here are just some of my thoughts:

Cut and dry, they’re a bit rough. Bad acting, underdeveloped characters/villians, sometimes so-so plots, some very cringy romance, not to mention some kinda confusing relationships (looking at you Anakin and Obi-Wan) are my biggest complaints.

On the other hand, I couldn’t love it more. I was raised on these three movies, and the nostalgia wave is hitting me hard. That aside, the plot and subplot were very well written, worldbuilding is incredible, lightsaber duels are absolutely fantastic. I was seriously let down by the OT lightsaber fights, but man, the prequels blew me away. It really showed the weapon that a Jedi can be, bit to mention all the force used in battle. And heck, this is Star Wars. It’s hard to dislike in the first place. 

Overall, I’ve enjoyed it very much. They’re good movies, and though they definitely don’t deserve all the hate they get, there are some points of criticism.

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The prequels are definitely bad movies, yet they can still be very enjoyable if you are willing to look past their flaws. The Phantom Menace isn't that bad. Mostly, I think it was just a huge disappointment for star wars fans more than anything. Revenge of the Sith is actually pretty good, at least until Anakin went from "I'll never join the dark side" to "Ima murder some children" in about thirty seconds. Attack of the Clones however... Oh scud! The Obi-wan plot-line is actually really good, but it gets overshadowed by the atrocity that is the Anakin/Padme plot-line. First of all, Hayden Christensen is not a good actor in this movie, secondly, the script is about as terrible as is physically possible. The romance is one of the hardest things to watch in all of cinema. I mean, Anakin just seems like such a creep! And don't even get me started on Anakin's relationship with sand!!

Watching The Clone Wars definitely helps make the prequel trilogy become more enjoyable. Honestly, that show is everything that the movies should have been.

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I don't feel like The Phantom Menace is worth re-watching.... ever. The conflict is based in a political battle no one understands or cares about, the acting is monotone, the scenes are tedious, and the dialogue is dull. Overall it's a boring, dry film that adds nothing to any of the trilogies (Dry, get it? Cause... Tatooine? Ha ha?) If I'm ever marathoning Star Wars, I'd start right of with Attack of the Clones, and go forward from there.

A part of the movies I really do enjoy is Ewan McGregor's performance as Obi-Won. He and Anakin's relationship as sort of master-student but also as sibling rivals since they're closer in age than they should be makes for a nice break from sand, water, and Padme's ridiculous hairstyles. 

 

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11 hours ago, WannabeWorldhopper said:

I don't feel like The Phantom Menace is worth re-watching.... ever. The conflict is based in a political battle no one understands or cares about, the acting is monotone, the scenes are tedious, and the dialogue is dull. Overall it's a boring, dry film that adds nothing to any of the trilogies (Dry, get it? Cause... Tatooine? Ha ha?) If I'm ever marathoning Star Wars, I'd start right of with Attack of the Clones, and go forward from there.

A part of the movies I really do enjoy is Ewan McGregor's performance as Obi-Won. He and Anakin's relationship as sort of master-student but also as sibling rivals since they're closer in age than they should be makes for a nice break from sand, water, and Padme's ridiculous hairstyles. 

 

And that's fair! Maul is always amazing though. 

I forgot to add that the PT adds balance to the world of Star Wars via worldbuilding. The OT is very mythic in nature and that's by intent. The PT is also (Virgin Birth, Chosen One, etc), but it relies far more on politics. It's not the best for the movies, but it does wonders for the franchise. The OT and PT balance each other pretty well. 

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13 hours ago, WannabeWorldhopper said:

I don't feel like The Phantom Menace is worth re-watching.... ever. The conflict is based in a political battle no one understands or cares about, the acting is monotone, the scenes are tedious, and the dialogue is dull. Overall it's a boring, dry film that adds nothing to any of the trilogies (Dry, get it? Cause... Tatooine? Ha ha?) If I'm ever marathoning Star Wars, I'd start right of with Attack of the Clones, and go forward from there.

 

Let me put it this way, here is the opening crawl for A New Hope:

And Here is the opening crawl for The Phantom Menace:

 I don't think the movie itself is as bad as Attack of the Clones is, but it's also a lot more dull and has a lot less going for it. Star Wars is supposed to be epic, and The Phantom Menace just ends up falling short in almost every regard.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
On 12/25/2019 at 3:33 PM, IcaroRibeiro said:

One week ago I used to think it was the weakest trilogy

They have very different problems.  IE episode 1 is actually just a strait up bad movie.  The effects are decent and maul is awesome but other that it feels like you are watching someone play an OK video game.  In fact just turning that whole movie into a video game would make it way more enjoyable.  Episode two actually has a lot more going for it as a movie.  It has elements recognizable as plot and theme but god o god the dialog and direction are absolutely appalling.  I would have trouble making them worse(that is an exaggeration but only slightly).  Episode three is actually fine as a movie but it is a star wars movie so grading on a curve it is kind of bad but not terrible.  It has actual moments of subtlety where things are conveyed through emotion rather then very heavy speeches to the audience.  Also if you have a soft spot for melodrama and many of us do it excels at that.

New trilogy on the other hand.  This one has some problems. Let us start with 7.  Seven is actually fine.  It pays proper homage to the first trilogy and essentially takes us through all the original movies at once with inverted story arcs.  Rey instead of staying wants to leave.  Fin instead of wanting to help others is serving himself.  Han is not an idealist he is just doing the best he can and Poe is willing to die for what he believes in.  This are interesting contrasts to Luke, Leia, Obi-Wan, and Han respectively.  However it is admittedly unoriginal and it does drop into pandering sometimes(or a lot depending on who you ask).  Now lets turn to 8.  Eight has some problems.  The pacing feels very off and it tries way to hard to surprise the audience.  It feels like they were told that they were not original enough and overcompensated.  The humor also fell flat and I do not think that Fin or really Rey was used effectively.  It also did not seem consistent with the last film.  If you watch them back to back you are in for some big shocks and not in a good way.  However it did attempt some risky business Luke's final scene was perfect at least on his end and I think Kylo got some good character development although I am not happy it came at the expense of Luke.   Then their was episode 9.  Episode nine is fine but it is not good.  It lets you enjoy yourself if you just turn your brain off and kind of go with everything but the pacing is massively off and I don't see how anything really works.  Still you can have fun if you try.

Which you like better is up too you but they both have major problems. 

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