What's wrong with the prequels?

[Bielduwyn]

I suppose they could've used Captain Panaka or his successor for that kind of character, but instead they get to stay behind and do nothing instead of going on the adventure, and make him boring, like every other character.

 

I guess Qui-Gon simply had an addled mind, or had been drinking too much Gin, hence his surname. If he didn't want to draw attention on Tatooine he should've taken Panaka and/or Obi-Wan along rather than a slow astromech, a clumsy amphibian alien (on a desert planet) who can't keep out of trouble for longer than two minutes and an attractive young woman.

[PellonSW]

Or just many of the plot inconsistencies like how the Uncle apparently has owned C3P0 for a long time and knew R2 according to the prequels but in a New Hope he seemingly forgets about them.

[Daederik]

Redlettermedia pretty much lays it out about as perfectly as anyone can.

 

Take Ep 1 for example.

 

Pretend you're trying to describe a character in Ep1 to someone who doesn't watch Star Wars but without saying anything about their profession, or the clothes that they wear. Go for it.

Edited December 23, 2011 by Daederik

[meancraig]

The short answer = everything.

 

In order from worst to not as bad:

 

1. Jar Jar Binks - racist caricature

2. Queen Amidale - dying of a broken heart...please. She can run a country, organized universal peace, but having her creepy boyfriend become creepier was too much for her that not even the birth of her twins could make her have the will to live? Not to mention, not a medical problem...she dies...of a BROKEN HEART.

3. Anakin Skywalker - creepy stalker

4. The acting/direction - managed to make Natalie Portman (Oscar winner) a cardboard cutout with no emotion.

5. The dialogue - stilted and trite, much better on mute (lines like, 'your skin is soft, not rough, like sand')

6. Implausible relationships - no way in heck a former Queen would possibly date a spoiled rotten, little blighter like Anakin.

7. Implausible timing - Anakin arriving exactly in time to have his mother die in his arms. Amidala has exactly enough time to name her twins before she dies of a broken heart.

8. Awkward storyline - is C3P0 the real one? Then why doesn't he know who Vader is? Why doesn't R2? Why doesn't anyone have any kind of memory from the prequels to the originals? At the very least Leia should have some inkling as she never left the political sphere that was familiar with her mother etc.

9. Anakin Skywalker - prodigy of pod racing, prodigy of robotics, prodigy of the force

10. (many will disagree with me here, but) The Yoda fight. I have issues with people just being physical fighters with no explanation. For example, Sarah Michelle Gellar playing Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I liked her, but in some of the punching scenes, they way she held her fists would have broken her wrists if she connected, and she never really ever developed any significant muscle tone. The argument here is of course that she was the Vampire Slayer (yoda was the force user), so she didn't need to develop any muscle, it was just her power (and yoda used the force to physically fight). Why? Wouldn't it have been much simpler to make him primarily a force wave, or lift, or stun user instead, or something to that effect?

 

What was done right:

 

1. Absolutely beautiful cinematography. George Lucas is phenomenal in this respect. He just shouldn't write the script, or direct the filming. EVER.

2. The wonderful ad campaign for the first one. It was subtle yet brillian. A child Anakin Skywalker in the foreground with the shadow of Darth Vader behind him. It gave nothing away like more trailers and ads do, but sure made you want to see more.

[EmbraceDarkSide]

IV, V, & VI were made in an era that still respected a good story. Your special effects were limited by what you could do with Claymation, Puppeteering, and blowing stuff up in a studio (anyone else notice that they never fixed the destruction of the Executor - the explosion still mushrooms out at the edge of the screen because it hit the roof of the studio - in space it would just keep going).

 

I, II, & III focused too much on the CG. All 3 movies felt more like an advertisement for ILM & Lucasart than a star wars film.

 

Now with Lucas mucking about with re-editing, I'd almost prefer a remake of the originals. It would actually make the new ones better to just start over with IV - VI. You'd even have the continuity of having MacGregor as Ben.

[Manxus]

I don't find anything wrong with the new trilogy. What an awesome spectacle of cutting edge effects, action and a soundtrack by John Williams. Which as it turns out was all I really signed up for and maybe that's why I shrug at any negative energy geared toward it.

But then I didn't find deep, compelling storytelling in the original 3 either. But they DID all serve as excellent templates for an ever-expansive universe (like this) and there is where I find the compelling stories and characters.

Edited December 23, 2011 by Manxus

[Coldkilla]

WTB Star-Wars VII, VIII, IX! Death Star 3.0!

 

Prequels were alright, Episode 3 is probably the only one I actually enjoyed however.

Edited December 23, 2011 by Coldkilla

[TheSeventhJedi]

I grew up with the OT, but I found the PT just as enjoyable.

 

The problem is there's a ton of stuff wrong with the prequels. The dialogue is horrible. The acting is downright cheesy at times. The story can be somewhat of a stretch. There's an undue emphasis on special effects.

 

The thing is, ALL of those things were present in the OT, but people have all kinds of nostalgia and don't notice. In fact, I know I'm gonna get flamed for it, but thank the maker for the special editions. There were some glaring problems with the OT that the SEs fixed. Empire, which is widely regarded as the best Star Wars movie, has just as much wrong with it as TPM, which is widely regarded as the worst - but nobody notices because they don't want to tarnish their childhood memories.

 

In brief, people hate the prequels because they're mad that they didn't magically turn back the clock to make you 10 years old watching Han and Chewie flying around in the Falcon again. Anyone who says differently is lying.

[Finnion]

• The acting is simply wooden. Even some of my favourite actors (Ewan MacGregor being a perfect example) had no screen prescence whatsoever.
  
• The story was badly written, lots of inconsistancies with the original trilogy, the romance took far too much screen time and Anakin's fall was started far too late in the series.
  
• Countless villains were introduced as one-hit wonders with no character development or backstory. Both Maul and Greivous could have been brilliant villains in their own right, but should have spanned all three movies (two at least).
  
• An over-reliance on special effects to do the story telling.
  
• Bad direction, not enough time to establish plot, no real depth to the story or sub-plots to explore.
  

 

I think that's everything, I'll come back if I think of anything else

 

 

 

The inconsistencies were what killed it for me. This is done way to often in movies in general. Remember the two horrible Alien vs Predator movies?

[bunglermoose]

I didn't hate them -- they were gorgeous to look at and there were some really great moments. For example, I waited over 20 years to see Obi-Wan and Anakin fight it out, and that battle did not disappoint (with the exception of that lame bit about "the high ground").

 

There was some bad writing. There was some bad acting. Honestly, though, has anyone seen the original trilogy? There was bad writing and acting in that, too. I probably would have done a lot of things differently. Anakin's fall to the Dark Side was too quick. There wasn't enough pathos going on in that movie to justify the speed.

 

So while I don't think they were perfect, they also don't deserve the complete trashing they get sometimes. But that's just my opinion.

[Daederik]

http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/star-wars-episode-1-the-phantom-menace/ Start here, and go about the other ones...this explains it about as well as anything can.

[TheSeventhJedi]

http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/star-wars-episode-1-the-phantom-menace/ Start here, and go about the other ones...this explains it about as well as anything can.

 

Yes, we've all seen it by now. That guy's voice is worse than Episode I by a long shot.

[Bielduwyn]

You do realise that's not his regular talking voice yes? He's playing a character.

 

That said, he could sound like professor Hawking, it doesn't take away that his words ring very true indeed.

[BuddyLight]

+1 for the Plinkett reviews. I'd also suggest watching the new Star Trek review, it explains a bit more where the prequels went wrong.

[REiiGN]

I love the 3rd's beginning space battle. Absolutely stunning.

 

Things I liked(about the prequels):

 

1) Podracing(despite the crappy kid playing Anakin)

2) Double-bladed lightsaber and stunts of Ray Park(Maul)

3) Seeing Jango Fett fight Obi-Wan. I pretended it was Boba Fett.

4) Massive Jedi pouring into the Arena with Jango(who killed a lot of Mandalorians in his time) gets his head chopped off and Boba Fett watches.

5) Yoda fighting for the first time...as weird as it looked.

6) Epic space battle in RotS.

7) R2-D2 kicking ***.

8) Dooku getting the guillotine.

9) Epic fight between Vader and Kenobi.

 

I can't remember where I heard it but Lucas had to make up the first 2 episodes because all he could think about was the 3rd episode. God only knows the marketing department telling him to commercialize these things with retarded characters and situations. George Lucas of 1970s did not give a damn about these.

[catherder]

I know everyone hates them

 

Only a Sith deals in absolutes... I liked the prequels but then I am an eternal 10 year old at heart. The 'grown ups' have forgotten that the movies were not made for them. They were directed at the Star Wars audience which just so happens to be small children.

 

Folks who don't understand this fact about the Star Wars universe typically don't like the prequels because the movies were not directed towards them and their more 'Adult' concerns. They claim the movies did not have the right writing or the right acting but they are not able to put themselves in the perspective of a child. They lack this capability and so the prequels did not hold that magical something special that the first 3 movies did for them when they too were 10.

 

Hey SW Haters! You grew up! Congradulations! Now go away and let the kids have some fun please.

Edited December 24, 2011 by catherder

[catherder]

IV, V, & VI were made in an era that still respected a good story.

 

QED

 

/5char

[Swordy]

http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/star-wars-episode-1-the-phantom-menace/ Start here, and go about the other ones...this explains it about as well as anything can.

 

 

RLM is the worst thing that ever happened to Star Wars Prequel debate.

 

Now, every idiot who can post a link or regurgitate a video thinks that they are somehow helping.

 

We've all seen it. Many of us completely disagree with his over-simplified review that as done purely for comedic purposes. Somebody has written a several thousand word document on exactly what is wrong with his reviews. RLM has a massive misunderstanding of the plot, or he wasn't paying attention, or more likely, he was playing it for laughs.

 

EDIT: You can find the 108 page rebuttal here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IFA1O2BI

Edited December 24, 2011 by Swordy

[WerniesSturm]

I grew up with the OT, TESB is still on top for me, however I'm a huge fan of the PT.

 

Sure, the dialogs are poor, I like the story. And .....

 

I even like Jar Jar /equip flamesuit.

[Bielduwyn]

RLM is the worst thing that ever happened to Star Wars Prequel debate.

 

Now, every idiot who can post a link or regurgitate a video thinks that they are somehow helping.

 

We've all seen it. Many of us completely disagree with his over-simplified review that as done purely for comedic purposes. Somebody has written a several thousand word document on exactly what is wrong with his reviews. RLM has a massive misunderstanding of the plot, or he wasn't paying attention, or more likely, he was playing it for laughs.

 

EDIT: You can find the 108 page rebuttal here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IFA1O2BI

 

A 108 page rebuttal? That's... kinda sad. And I think it is a class example of just how much the human mind can delude and trick itself if people think that the prequels actually are solid stories when you've got plot holes big enough to fly a Star Destroyer though.

[-kobie-]

The prequels are horribly written, the pacing is terrible and GL went to utterly absurd lengths to shoehorn OT characters into them. 9-year-old Anakin Skywalker built C3PO? That's one of the stupidest things ever put onto celluloid.

[Captain_Failure]

A 108 page rebuttal? That's... kinda sad. And I think it is a class example of just how much the human mind can delude and trick itself if people think that the prequels actually are solid stories when you've got plot holes big enough to fly a Star Destroyer though.

 

Yes, thank you for pointing out how stupid I was to be fooled into thinking I was entertained. Now that I have seen the error of my ways I shall pray for redemption.

 

Seriously though, those who wish to dictate what people can and cannot be entertained by are everything wrong with film criticism today. Sure you didn't like the films and that's totally ok, but now you're telling others it's not ok to have their own likes and dislikes.

[Jak-Jak]

Too much in too few movies.

Too many visual effects, too many characters, too many political bluh-bluh, too many plot lines.

 

George Lucas as a director and screenwriter had no direction when he created the prequels. It's as if he completely abandoned his inspiration of short-form Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers movies and decided he had to outdo himself.

[Jak-Jak]

Yes, thank you for pointing out how stupid I was to be fooled into thinking I was entertained. Now that I have seen the error of my ways I shall pray for redemption.

 

Seriously though, those who wish to dictate what people can and cannot be entertained by are everything wrong with film criticism today. Sure you didn't like the films and that's totally ok, but now you're telling others it's not ok to have their own likes and dislikes.

 

That's the argument Too Fast Too Furious fans make too.

[Captain_Failure]

That's the argument Too Fast Too Furious fans make too.

 

So you're saying people who liked the prequels have no right to have enjoyed them and are wrong for doing so?

 

I didn't like them, personally. However it's not my place to tell them they're wrong. It's not your place either.