brandonh83
Banned
People like them because it must feel like some kind of vindication or something. But in reality...
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
The Greatness of the Star Wars Prequels
- Thread starter Garlador
- Start date
- Status
People like them because it must feel like some kind of vindication or something. But in reality...
CadetMahoney
Member
Is one eye going places or is it just a subtle shop.
brandonh83
Banned
Angle.
LegendofLex
Member
It has nothing to do with "the last Sith" (or "evening out the balance between Sith and Jedi," for that matter) and everything to do with Palpatine in particular being extraordinarily adept at screwing everything up to the point that the Jedi even mused that "our ability to use the Force has diminished."
UnforgivenTwin
Member
"I sense a plot to destroy the jedi"
BFIB
Member
The whole idea of "The chosen one!" is just absurd anyway. Vader killed the Emperor for the love of this son over the dark side of the Force, not because there's some mystical prophecy that one person, will bring "balance" to the Force.
Just one of the many problems Lucas had w/ the prequels.
Just one of the many problems Lucas had w/ the prequels.
brandonh83
Banned
yeah... I think that was the entire point.
LookAtMeGo
Member
I think I'm going to take notes from Anakin when I write my vows.
Haloid1177
Banned
TPM>ROTS>AOTC.
Phantom Menace has Jar-Jar, but it's got the best set pieces, the best Jedi not played by Ewan, and the best Sith of the prequels. Plus Anakin was annoying but not ungodly dumb like he was in AOTC and ROTS. It also was the least flashy of the bunch, which I felt worked in its favor.
AOTC is a clusterfuck that I'll never understand. Anakin is awful, Padme is awful, the whole Jango/Boba idea is awful, and the set pieces got too nuts (looking at the arena and factory sequences). Plus the ending was weak and Yoda had a lightsaber. No thank you.
ROTS is a mixed bag, and while it was my favorite for a while it grows weaker each time I watch it. All the Jedi are killed in a dumb way, Anakin's fall is completely unbelievable, Padme's death qualifies as one of the worst deaths in cinema history, and there was no single villain that stood out (at least for good reasons). I feel like the spectacle was there at release (Mustafar duel looked amazing at release), but it has aged horribly. ROTS' opening had such promise, with a great space battle, a cool rescue, and the second best duel in the prequels, and it did nothing but falter after that.
So, basically, the prequels suck as Star Wars movies and are at best mediocre sci-fi films.
Phantom Menace has Jar-Jar, but it's got the best set pieces, the best Jedi not played by Ewan, and the best Sith of the prequels. Plus Anakin was annoying but not ungodly dumb like he was in AOTC and ROTS. It also was the least flashy of the bunch, which I felt worked in its favor.
AOTC is a clusterfuck that I'll never understand. Anakin is awful, Padme is awful, the whole Jango/Boba idea is awful, and the set pieces got too nuts (looking at the arena and factory sequences). Plus the ending was weak and Yoda had a lightsaber. No thank you.
ROTS is a mixed bag, and while it was my favorite for a while it grows weaker each time I watch it. All the Jedi are killed in a dumb way, Anakin's fall is completely unbelievable, Padme's death qualifies as one of the worst deaths in cinema history, and there was no single villain that stood out (at least for good reasons). I feel like the spectacle was there at release (Mustafar duel looked amazing at release), but it has aged horribly. ROTS' opening had such promise, with a great space battle, a cool rescue, and the second best duel in the prequels, and it did nothing but falter after that.
So, basically, the prequels suck as Star Wars movies and are at best mediocre sci-fi films.
LegendofLex
Member
Exactly. Palpatine himself was a huge imbalance in the order of the universe.
The "chosen one prophecy" existed (as a plot element) as a means of Anakin's potential being something the Jedi would be actively tempted to exploit despite him being dangerously old. It also made him easy for Palpatine to identify and target. One might wonder whether the prophecy was itself a Sith machination.
donkey show
Member
Sectorseven
Member
You are in my very soul tormenting me.
UnforgivenTwin
Member
I actually wrote that as a joke. Sam Jackson says that line twice in the same exact way and it always made me laugh. Thanks for the response though lol.
talk about sand.
Love this. But Ian McDiarmid has always owned all his Emperor scenes. Has done since RotJ. That haunting music when his presence is felt, its iconic.
Sapiens
Member
Christ, it makes you wonder. But with the excitement of JJ Abrahms directing the first new entry of Star Wars, Star Wars The Force Awakens, in ten years, people are sure to be exited for the movie event of the decade. Tickets are available online now. With Star Wars The Force Awakens coming this Christmas, you just can't miss!
Jawmuncher
Member
One thing I know is Grievous is awesome. I thank the prequels every day for making that character a reality.
UnforgivenTwin
Member
Compared to the cartoons,he sucks Yaddle's little green tits.
Shame Clone Wars isn't cannon.
BFIB
Member
But why did it have to be? Not everything needs an explanation, we all know the love for Luke is the Emperor's undoing.
brandonh83
Banned
It was basically the reason why Anakin was allowed to join the order. I don't feel like it really explains much or whatever. Lucas' way of telling a story is that things are set up mechanically but work out in a manner of soul, as in, it wasn't really the prophecy that saved them but rather down to earth human feelings or whatever.
CMojicaAce
Member
For all of its faults, I quite enjoyed episode 3.
1 & 2 were pretty bad though.
1 & 2 were pretty bad though.
Soulscribe
Member
What do we stand to lose or gain by saying we enjoyed aspects of the prequels anyway. I think the scripts in all three films were lackluster but whatever. I never thought the writing in the originals were God's gift to film either.
The prequels may generally lack the spirit and polish of the original films but the biggest leg up the originals have on the prequels is historicity, and the fact that they're authentic and were made first. We should know this by now. So let's drop the antagonism, coz the prequels are just as "STAR WARS" as the originals are. Maybe insisting that they never existed is what's stopping you from appreciating them, as opposed to what the films objectively offered.
Here's a short list of things I enjoyed:
- Following Anakin's story from when he was young
- Focusing on Obi Wan as the protagonist driving the story
- Lightsaber fights were off the chain
- A lot of Yoda air time. We love Yoda.
- Patching up the events to the beginning of Episode IV, quite literal an approach but the originals would have gone there too
- Well done action sequences
- General Grievous was cool
- Pod racing, was super jealous of that as a kid
- Grown Anakin was pretty hot
I'm cool with them. I'm not the biggest fan of the series because out of the six films I only really loved two, but as a whole package it's still iconic.
The prequels may generally lack the spirit and polish of the original films but the biggest leg up the originals have on the prequels is historicity, and the fact that they're authentic and were made first. We should know this by now. So let's drop the antagonism, coz the prequels are just as "STAR WARS" as the originals are. Maybe insisting that they never existed is what's stopping you from appreciating them, as opposed to what the films objectively offered.
Here's a short list of things I enjoyed:
- Following Anakin's story from when he was young
- Focusing on Obi Wan as the protagonist driving the story
- Lightsaber fights were off the chain
- A lot of Yoda air time. We love Yoda.
- Patching up the events to the beginning of Episode IV, quite literal an approach but the originals would have gone there too
- Well done action sequences
- General Grievous was cool
- Pod racing, was super jealous of that as a kid
- Grown Anakin was pretty hot
I'm cool with them. I'm not the biggest fan of the series because out of the six films I only really loved two, but as a whole package it's still iconic.
General_JGW
Banned
I like the prequels, and here is why:
1.) the worlds actually have life going on aka their not baron undeveloped sand worlds like every other planet in the originals
2.) the jedi are actually powerful... the OG starwars they could be defeated by humans pretty easily, not that it would ever show that but the jedi powers we're so underwheliming
in the prequels the jedi could leap from flying cars, take a good hit, had awesome light saber fighting abilities
3.) there was more going on than some cheap 30 person rebel alliance with no skills and crappy ships
1.) the worlds actually have life going on aka their not baron undeveloped sand worlds like every other planet in the originals
2.) the jedi are actually powerful... the OG starwars they could be defeated by humans pretty easily, not that it would ever show that but the jedi powers we're so underwheliming
in the prequels the jedi could leap from flying cars, take a good hit, had awesome light saber fighting abilities
3.) there was more going on than some cheap 30 person rebel alliance with no skills and crappy ships
DoctorFling
Member
Is Grievous/Yaddle shipping part of the new canon?
PanicFreak
Member
Erm, there were some good lightsaber battles. Yoda fights.
It was cool to see Palpatine play everyone like a fiddle.
Darth Maul was awesome. Too bad Lucas decided to kill him off in the first movie. Such a Lucas move.
It was cool to see Palpatine play everyone like a fiddle.
It gave us this guy. He's pretty cool.
Darth Maul was awesome. Too bad Lucas decided to kill him off in the first movie. Such a Lucas move.
UnforgivenTwin
Member
Soon to be introduced.
I'll bite
Dooku was cool, that character was wasted. Should have been in Episode 1 and given a real role through to Episode 3. Seeing a Jedi turn to the dark side before Anakin would have been interesting. It was criminal that Lee only appeared towards the last third of AOTC and the first sequence of ROTS. Instead they invented the CGI action figure General Grievous to take his role.
I watched Episode 3 then 6 (following the order 4,5,1,2,3,6). They meld well, Yoda on his deathbed speaking to Luke about his father before passing, made the scene quite emotional, with the added layer of the prequels giving Anakin some history, making Yoda's concern about Luke understandable, and his failure with Anakin even more tragic.
MilkyJoe
Member
Ha ha well spotted, no idea.
enigmatic_alex44
Whenever a game uses "middleware," I expect mediocrity. Just see how poor TLOU looks.
Episode 1 was a mess, but Episode 3 is the best Star Wars film, love it.
Revenge of the Sith > Empire Strikes Back
Revenge of the Sith > Empire Strikes Back
Freeza Under The Shower
Member
ITT, I learned that the emperor has been one actor (well, two actually, but fuck it) all this time.
No wonder fans were so hyped for these movies. :\
As for actual great aspects of the Star Wars prequels, the sound design. It's fucking incredible how many great sounds were created for these movies. Even Attack of the Clones, the worst of the prequels, has that amazing seismic charge sound in the asteroid field.
It's complete bullshit that not a single prequel won the oscar for best sound; The Phantom Menace was nominated, but lost to the Matrix, which seems like a decision more based on the quality of the movie than the quality of the sound.
It's complete bullshit that not a single prequel won the oscar for best sound; The Phantom Menace was nominated, but lost to the Matrix, which seems like a decision more based on the quality of the movie than the quality of the sound.
Great Anakin Skywalker that fits what I thought he would be: Whiny, arrogant, egocentric and a huge crybaby.
Great Obi Wan Kenobi. Way better than the boring, half-assed performance by Sir Alec Guinness.
Great music and sound design.
Great lightsaber battles with lots of swoom zoom and shwing, and jumps and backflips.
Great settings and environments.
The FREAKING EMPEROR/PALPATINE.
Amazing miniatures.
Freakin' Count Dooku.
Yoda fighting like a badass.
Darth Maul and his double lightsaber.
Anakin marching towards the Jedi Temple. Holy shit at those visuals.
Battle between Vader and Obi Wan at the end of Episode III.
And much more.
PanicFreak
Member
That's George Lucas for you.
Why does Anakin need to be extra special? Why does the story require the Jedi to exploit him? He should be relatable above all else, he is the main character and it would make his fall seem tragic. He doesn't need prophecies to be special or important, he just needs the audience to care what happens to him. This was lacking in the prequels. Too much other nonsense took priority.
And much more.
How 'bout this:
Probably the only time you see a competent army in Star Wars
How 'bout this:
Probably the only time you see a competent army in Star Wars
Oh, of course!
The Stormtroopers in the OT were fucking dumb as a rock. They look like a bunch of people without any kind of training wearing armor, shooting blankly into space and hitting nothing. They looked so goofy and clumsy, it was impossible for me to take them seriously.
The clones in the PT however, they actually looked and acted like an army. They were efficient. They were badass. They were threatening.
EDIT: By the way, that ending was just so fucking amazing. It had me hyped beyond belief, it actually gave me goosebumps. Seeing the clone army take off, with the Imperial March playing on the background. Holy shit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8buh5A70loA
LookAtMeGo
Member
Im pretty sure clone wars is cannon but its not part of the prequel trilogy which sucks and he has basically no part in it.Is Clone Wars still canon?
I thought I read it was... but I could've been mistaken.
DrGonzo615
Banned
John Williams music is pretty damn on point, but other than that, they are pretty much shit.
- Status