Views on prequels and star wars films in general

[PadsterPwns]

I personally like all of them but I often hear hate on both sides of the saga, so really I just want to see what everyone else thinks. Two rules: Keep it civil and don't just say 'watch redlettermedia' I want your views and reasons not being told to watch a two hour long review

[Nalathemaster]

The ONLY 3 things I don't like about the Prequels are 1: Anakin's actors acting(can't remember the name)

2. The love story

3.FREAKING MIDICHLORIANS

[psandak]

Here is the top of list answers you will get (in no particular order):

 

• Jar Jar
  
• midichlorians
  
• bad acting
  
• bad directing
  
• bad screenplay
  

 

I can rationalize midichlorians: they are organisms attracted to the Force, and Force sensitive beings channel the Force and therefore midichlorians are attracted to those beings, the Jedi and Sith then measure midichlorian count to determine Force sensitivity. I KNOW that's not what is said in TPM, but it is a way to keep midichlorians and make the Force mystical again.

 

I can rationalize Jar Jar. ALL the OT movies have "cute"/funny characters: ANH had the Jawas, ESB had Yoda, RotJ had the Ewoks. Lucas made an effort to put a "child friendly" character into the PT. However, unlike the OT "child friendly" characters Jar Jar was not well received by adults. All that being said, Jar Jar did play a crucial role in the rise of the Emperor - remember he was the one duped into suggesting granting Palpatine more power. And let's be honest, he's the only significant senatorial character that Palpatine could pull the wool over.

 

The bad acting, directing, and screenplay fall squarely on the lap of GL. in the OT he gave directorial jobs to other people and he accepted input from other participants in production. in the PT, GL has supreme control and did not listen to anyone. He did not want "his vision" disrupted by anyone.

[t-darko]

The short answer, this pretty much sums it up Edited August 13, 2014 by t-darko

[PadsterPwns]

Here is the top of list answers you will get (in no particular order):

 

• Jar Jar
  
• midichlorians
  
• bad acting
  
• bad directing
  
• bad screenplay
  

 

I can rationalize midichlorians: they are organisms attracted to the Force, and Force sensitive beings channel the Force and therefore midichlorians are attracted to those beings, the Jedi and Sith then measure midichlorian count to determine Force sensitivity. I KNOW that's not what is said in TPM, but it is a way to keep midichlorians and make the Force mystical again.

 

I can rationalize Jar Jar. ALL the OT movies have "cute"/funny characters: ANH had the Jawas, ESB had Yoda, RotJ had the Ewoks. Lucas made an effort to put a "child friendly" character into the PT. However, unlike the OT "child friendly" characters Jar Jar was not well received by adults. All that being said, Jar Jar did play a crucial role in the rise of the Emperor - remember he was the one duped into suggesting granting Palpatine more power. And let's be honest, he's the only significant senatorial character that Palpatine could pull the wool over.

 

The bad acting, directing, and screenplay fall squarely on the lap of GL. in the OT he gave directorial jobs to other people and he accepted input from other participants in production. in the PT, GL has supreme control and did not listen to anyone. He did not want "his vision" disrupted by anyone.

 

The only thing I thought was horrifically bad (beside the love story) was the fact that George had free rule of what was produced and because of this not much (if any) outside input went, basically I agree. The other two points are great especially the midi-chlorians as, like you said, it is rational and if it had been explained better I don't think many people would hate it.

[PadsterPwns]

The ONLY 3 things I don't like about the Prequels are 1: Anakin's actors acting(can't remember the name)

 

Hayden Christensen

Edited August 13, 2014 by PadsterPwns

[PadsterPwns]

The short answer, this pretty much sums it up

 

Nice vid with some good points particularly the part about Yoda having a lightsaber, I never really understood why people disliked it I mean its a weapon all jedi have and Yoda is the grand master and has lived for 900 years so he probably should be a master duelist

[Slecnaztemnot]

I actually like the prequels. Not more than original trilogy, but I still think they are worth watching. Sure, some parts are terrible, particulary Jar Jar, writings of some dialogues (especially romantic one and especially in episode II) and those horrible padawan hairdos, but otherwise... I like them. When I do the Star Wars rewatch, I watch all the films.

 

I think that they have amazing saber duels, Obi-Wan is perfect character (Ewan McGregor did a great job) and Hayden Christensen really improved in episode III. I think that his horrible acting in episode II was more result of two things - that hairdo and George's horrible romantic dialogues... No actor could have done a good job with such things as "I hate sand". And of course, Padmé is also played marvelously and she is interesting character, especially in episode I.

 

And I am really looking forward to episode VII. Let's say I am optimist.

[PadsterPwns]

I actually like the prequels. Not more than original trilogy, but I still think they are worth watching. Sure, some parts are terrible, particulary Jar Jar, writings of some dialogues (especially romantic one and especially in episode II) and those horrible padawan hairdos, but otherwise... I like them. When I do the Star Wars rewatch, I watch all the films.

 

I think that they have amazing saber duels, Obi-Wan is perfect character (Ewan McGregor did a great job) and Hayden Christensen really improved in episode III. I think that his horrible acting in episode II was more result of two things - that hairdo and George's horrible romantic dialogues... No actor could have done a good job with such things as "I hate sand". And of course, Padmé is also played marvelously and she is interesting character, especially in episode I.

 

And I am really looking forward to episode VII. Let's say I am optimist.

 

Ha ha I actually forgot about the padawan mullets and I agree with pretty much all you said but for some reason I hold both trilogies in the same tier and to be honest I've only got a few reasons e.g lightsaber fights, more jedi, darker story etc. Another thing I forgot was Padmé who I actually think is stronger and more reasonable than Leia but anyway I'm cautious about being optimistic about Episide 7 mainly because I don't know if the story will follow any of the EU or if they'll create a new story

[PadsterPwns]

Great answers so far, you're making me optimistic that not all star wars fans hate either side of the franchise Edited August 13, 2014 by PadsterPwns

[ZakRoks]

i completely agree about Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan. IMO that was the best casting choice in the Prequels

[DarknessInLight]

The ONLY 3 things I don't like about the Prequels are 1: Anakin's actors acting(can't remember the name)

 

Hayden Christensen

 

You really can't blame Hayden Christensen for bad script writing and directing by George Lucas.

[DarknessInLight]

i completely agree about Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan. IMO that was the best casting choice in the Prequels

 

Um, Im sorry, but Ewan McGregor doesn't have anything on Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious.

To my mind he was the only actor in the film that rose above the horrible scripts and turned in a masterful performance in Revenge of the Sith.

Edited August 15, 2014 by DarknessInLight

[nell_chan]

I enjoy both trilogies, though I am partial to the old ones as those are the ones I grew up with.

 

That said, the most painful part of the prequels was the writing, it definitely showcases how incredibly important good writing is to an actor's performance. I've seen Hayden Christensen in other films and - most notably in Shattered Glass - he has given very good performances. Natalie Portman - now with a well deserved Oscar win - is also a very fine actor. It was very frustrating to watch two people I know can perform greatly be so limited by the writing and directing.

[PadsterPwns]

 

You really can't blame Hayden Christensen for bad script writing and directing by George Lucas.

 

Yeah it seems he's been a scapegoat for the bad writing really

[PadsterPwns]

Um, Im sorry, but Ewan McGregor doesn't have anything on Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious.

To my mind he was the only actor in the film that rose above the horrible scripts and turned in a masterful performance in Revenge of the Sith.

 

I don't know while I thought he was great, there was just a few things that bothered me e.g random moments of derpiness after the Mace fight, random laughing at random moments

[PadsterPwns]

I enjoy both trilogies, though I am partial to the old ones as those are the ones I grew up with.

 

That said, the most painful part of the prequels was the writing, it definitely showcases how incredibly important good writing is to an actor's performance. I've seen Hayden Christensen in other films and - most notably in Shattered Glass - he has given very good performances. Natalie Portman - now with a well deserved Oscar win - is also a very fine actor. It was very frustrating to watch two people I know can perform greatly be so limited by the writing and directing.

 

I've never actually seen Hayden in anything else so I can't really tell how good his acting usually is but from what you said it seems quite likely that he was screwed by George and the script like most of the other characters, likewise for Natalie Portman.

[Mathemagica]

Starting with opinions (then speaking of things I've heard).

 

Negative opinions on the prequels:

 

- The pacing of the trilogy is bad. Episode I spends a lot of time on very few events that are important to the story and those few events could have been told through short mentions in the other movies (the specific events are Anakins origin and discovery on Tatooine (+ mention of his mother) and Palpatine becoming the chancellor).

In my opinion, it would have helped, if the PT had focussed on the critical years of Anakins fall (the clone wars). This would have allowed to present that development more detailed and it could have allowed to present a better romance between Anakin and Padmé.

 

- The romance between Anakin and Padmé. There are several things I don't like about Episode II (and I've mentioned them on these forums before). This is the one that gets most time on screen. I dislike how Padmé opposes to the idea of a senator having a relationship. I think that the two characters don't work well together (their talks on Naboo in Episode II and on Coruscant in Episode III show this quite well).

 

- Understandability of Episode II: The political story of Episode II is badly told. Count Dookus name shows up at the very beginning and disappears to show up again very late in the movie. The early scenes on Geonosis don't make sense unless you read a booklet about the story prior to watching the movie. Those booklets and spoilers have become such a heavy part of cinema-culture that they were just assumed for Episode II which makes the movie very unenjoyable.

 

- Writing and acting. The two points above have criticized the writing already, but weak lines and dialogues can be found in places not mentioned above as well.

In contrast to many people I've heard talking, I don't have much to criticize about the acting. The only ones that have moments where they don't perform well in my opinion, are Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan) and Natalie Portmann (Padmé) and they don't have so many of them.

I also want to create a breach for Haydn Christensen. I think he hit his character spot-on. It's not what many people expected when the PT was announced, but the characterization of Anakin is one of the things in the PT that I think is made outstandingly well, both from a writing and acting point of view. His characterization is what makes his fall to the dark side believable to me.

 

- Explosive action is trendy. I know, children nowadays like big spectastic explosions and the attention span of the average audience isn't longer than a big red/orange flashing screen, but it's just no comparison to the tension within the silence in the throne room of Episode VI. Watching the lightsaber fights in the PT made me realize what a boring weapon the lightsaber is. The action of the PT is mostly self-serving without enough meaning behind it to make it interesting.

 

 

Having finished with the opinions, I want to write down two opinions I've heard (and disagree with, but the OP was talking about both trilogies and I do understand where these two opinions come from)

 

Negative opinions about the Original Trilogy:

 

- It looks bad. The quality of the Original Trilogy (especially its special effects) is outdated.

 

- Anakin looks better than Luke. It's possible that this has to do with shifting beauty standards.

 

Now I don't think that either of those really matters, but apparently there are people for whom this is important, which is why they dislike the OT.

 

Side Remark: Adults that disliked Jar Jar might underestimate how much shenanigans their children could come up with by imitating him. He isn't optimal (compared to R2 and 3PO who do his part in the OT), but I don't see him as a glaring weakness of the PT.

[PadsterPwns]

Interesting things about the OT, I've actually never heard those complaints as the effects for the time were revolutionary and the thing about the looks of Anakin and Luke seem a weird complaint to me (unless they meant who physically fits the role better (body language that sort of thing). Another bit I found intriguing is the point about the influence of Jar Jar on kids, anyway thanks for replying

[Mathemagica]

It's about Anakin being more attractive than Luke. It's something that I've heard from several women, most of them too young to have seen the OT at the time it was released.

[JeffrenBrek]

They just didn't have the same appeal,.

 

Compare the villains of the OT with the PT. Vader is better than any of the "Show up for 40 mins then die" villains of the PT.

Likewise, the Empire just looks a thousand times more awesome than the Separatists, who really only had any visual coolness in the first 20 minutes of ROTS.

 

An don't get me started on the hilarious love scenes in Episode 2. They were so bad, that they were funny.

[Jrr_hypernova]

what i dont get is why they didn't bring in r-2 in E1 when nutt gunray said you have no proof of an invasion its established he can record video and i think the trade federation fleet blasting at them would make a good case. Or the holo of the guy talking about the catastropic death tolls in the trade federation camps. or the two jedi who were almost kill, or the fact on of the republics ships never came back from the meating with the trade federation ship. I'd say there was a lot of proof.

[Pathlight-]

I personally like all of them but I often hear hate on both sides of the saga, so really I just want to see what everyone else thinks. Two rules: Keep it civil and don't just say 'watch redlettermedia' I want your views and reasons not being told to watch a two hour long review

 

SW films from most to least favorite (even though I like them all a lot):

 

V

IV

III

I

VI

II

 

The only criticisms I would have for VI is ewoks and for II is the corny love story. I like both the OT and the prequels as most SW fans do. Prequel haters are just a small but very vocal internet lynch mob.

Edited August 17, 2014 by Pathlight-

[PadsterPwns]

prequel haters are just a small but very vocal internet lynch mob.

 

Yeah I'm starting to realize this as the thread goes on which I'm glad about as it seems like its almost illegal to like the the prequels in many parts of the internet. Good order of the films btw. Mine would be:

 

III

V

VI

I

II

IV

[Darth_Krushya]

I enjoyed the prequels a lot. It made the Original Trilogy complete. I finally saw how Anakin becomes Vader. The light saber battles were awesome. Seeing Yoda fight for the first time was at first funny and then amazing. Growing up with science and wanting to explain the universe in scientific terms, I appreciate a more scientific explanation of the Force being generated by midichlorians. I can also see how a scientific view can detract from the mystical, magical feel. I can relate to the love story. I was obsessed with a girl once. We grew up and I got over her lol. The conversation wasn't that awkward. I understood how Anakin felt. Jar Jar was a little high strung and needed Ritalin. I simply explain him away as being a member of a race of aliens that were very new to the galactic scene and their language difficulties was the result of that. Like Jar Jar, I am clumsy and shy around people. The original trilogy is more dated but at least the stories connect "fairly" well. I enjoyed the acting of Ewan Macgregor, Liam Neeson, and Ian McDiarmid.