What do you dislike most about the Star Wars prequels?
JohnMasterson
MinnesotaPosts: 326MI6 Agent
I really dislike the fact that there was/is a lot of bullshit in the Star Wars prequels that George Lucas had tried to pass-off as "story" but it wasn't "story" at all it was bullshit. You had to sit through a lot of bullshit to get to the good parts. And they would intercut the good parts with the bullshit **** parts. Also there was no natural evolution from Anakin in Episode One to Anakin in Episode III, and I got tired of hearing people call Anakin, "Ani" because I just hate that name for some reason.
I think Anakin Skywalker should have been a 14 year-old boy, in Star Wars Episode One and then you could've had a natural evolution of the character between the three prequels. But I don't know how you're supposed to cut down or cut out the bullshit parts and still have a cohesive movie trilogy.
I think Anakin Skywalker should have been a 14 year-old boy, in Star Wars Episode One and then you could've had a natural evolution of the character between the three prequels. But I don't know how you're supposed to cut down or cut out the bullshit parts and still have a cohesive movie trilogy.
"Goodbye, my son. Our hopes and dreams travel with you." Jor-El ~ Man of Steel (2013)
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In the end, I think George Lucas made the prequel trilogy that he wanted to make, and he knew he couldn't brainwash the Star Wars fans of old, so he made an attempt to brainwash a whole new generation potential of Star Wars fans and he succeeded!
But I also think that some part of George Lucas had listened to the old Star Wars fans complaining about the Star Wars prequels and he waited until 2012 (last year) to sell the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises...to Walt Disney Pictures, who are incidentally trying to make an impression on little boys rather than little girls.
The lack of Western flavour harmed it, but they were going for something different, the Rome before the fall thing, like those boring old Roman epics of the 1950s. It also had the CGI thing in your face, history will view that unkindly.
Don't see how they could have Han Solo, but you do need a cynical, grounded type figure in these films to balance things out. Mark Hamill said this, and confessed he thought Samuel L Jackson would be the one to be this character, but no, he's another one converted before we start, it sort of takes our reverence for the force for granted a bit.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Star Wars for me is Darth Vader hence
1) He should have been in the film earlier, I would say introduce him in the second film half way thru, or at least have him ready for the entire third film. Just when the new trilogy was ending we finally get to the exciting bit - but its too late and its over. We never see him wreaking havoc as Vader
2) CGI - im sorry but the puppets in the original was far more better, CGI was not very good in my opinion. I mean Gollum in LOTRs impressed me when I first ever saw it however the Star Wars CGI was meh and cartoonish
3) Anakin - both actors were terrible and some of the lines they were given were worse then Mark Hamills.
4) Jar Jar Binks (enough said and his stupid race)
5) Trade Blockade etc - crap story considering the first film was very kiddie, its like GL couldnt make up his mind if he was making a kids film or for more mature people, my nephew (young) didnt have a clue what the blockade crap was all about but he loved the whole Jar Jar crap.
6) Should have had tie fighters and storm troopers early on in the film - seeing the old things made it exciting, not the new looking stuff which should not be as advanced anyhow.
Prob could go on for ages here..... (all the usual stuff)
Yes, but Natalie Portman doesn't appear to look any older than Hayden Christensen and yet we were expected to believe that Padme Amidala is much older than Anakin Skywalker. I mean, I know that if you don't drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes in real-life, you're able to maintain your physical youth for much longer periods of time, but we, the audience, are never told what the cinematic equivalents are for alcohol and cigarettes in the Star Wars Universe, and we're never told if Padme drinks or smokes but she probably doesn't.
Also Obi-Wan Kenobi told Luke Skywalker the story of his father, Anakin Skywalker, being "seduced" by the darkside of the force, and yet that doesn't happen in the Star Wars prequels. Anakin was already kind of an asshole in the Star Wars prequels so he didn't need to be "seduced" by the darkside, he was already there. Palpatine was simply egging him on.
It was the same for the Stephen King movie "adaptation" (and I use that word loosely) of The Shining (1980) Jack Nicholson played Jack Torrance as a guy who was already crazy, (he dislocated his son's shoulder once in a fit of rage for seemingly no reason) and the ghosts of the hotel don't torment Jack to drive him nuts (like they do in the novel) because he's already off his rocker, they simply egg him on. The ghosts say that Jack's son is "naughty" and needs to be "corrected" and that basically means, "Go frickening kill him."
If you count the CGI Star Wars The Clone Wars show, Darth Maul is in it.
Hehe nah don't really count or watch cartoons!!!
I despise people like you, who dismiss animation outright because animation is a means of telling a story and the Japanese take animation more seriously than anybody else in the world does.
jeez!!.. your an angry man.. !!
and as for you welchy.. tut tut !! come on,, cartoons are.. erm... just that,, cartoons lol..
I don't care what you say, you have your childish dismissive views on animation and I have the philosophy that animation should be taken more seriously as a visual storytelling medium than most people are willing to give it credit for. I mean, yeah sure, CGI animation looks fake. It's the reason why real people (actors and actresses) look so God damn out of place, whenever they're talking to a CGI creation but traditional 2D animation has it's place and it can be utilized properly whenever it's not TV and is a part of the Direct-To-Video marketplace.
Wow - sorry you have issues. I simply said I dont watch cartoons, no need for personal attacks.
I have no issues with animation and dont mind watching some but no I dont watch Star Wars cartoons
Mel Blanc was a genius
Anyways, back on topic, the only Star Wars prequel I like is that one with vader at the end.
Seems to me like all this prequel crap is more about $ and less about good film making.
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If we can keep it civil - please...when people start to call others names, it seems they have lost the debate...
Episode 2 - Flawed by too many lovey-dovey scenes
Episode 3 - Decent...Mostly...
Really though, this is with a pinch of salt... I enjoy the prequels quite a bit (albeit not nearly as much as the original trilogy).
Some people fear it will get far worse with episodes 7-9, and by that point, the prequels will probably be better received.
I guess we'll see...
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
Lucas should've given the scripts to friends to fix up and doctor, then given to other friends to direct. The films made no sense, has stupid ethics (bad ethics in some cases), hokey BS, and overwrought production design. What made SW and TESB good was that production design was kept in check in favor of characters and drama.
I bought II: AOTC, thought it was at least fun in my home theater, but finally one night watching it and fast forwarding through half the scenes, I realised I would've had more fun cleaning the bathroom. I gave it to the library. I still want the universe to give me back the two hours of my life I slaughtered in a theater dry heaving at III: ROTS. Rots, is right.
Best take on them all is the Red Letter Media Plinkett reviews.
“It reads better than it lives.” T. Case
That said, after seeing some reviews full of retrospective story suggestions, the story irks me the most.
One suggestion that I think would have been brilliant is the survival of Darth Maul throughout the prequel trilogy. It would have given the seemingly purpose-free Obi-Wan a personal calling and a truly necessary enemy in the Sith to fight for himself while Anakin sought his objectives.
Obi-Wan just seemed to have almost nothing to do and it would have been fixed by the survival of Darth Maul.
As for animation... there's a reason it gets picked on for being a lesser medium. Firstly, it is used most frequently in dialogue-driven TV, and secondly, it can't do what films like The English Patient, Casino Royale, or Titanic do as well, if ever in those depths.
I'm gonna say one thing to you, and then we have to get off this animation kick, and move on because we're veering off the thread topic here, you never watched any Direct-To-Video DVDs from either Marvel Comics or DC Comics have you? You never saw Batman: Year One or The Dark Knight Returns translated into animation. Also, I'm of the opinion that Toy Story 3 was the best way for Pixar to end the entire trilogy, I wasn't disappointed with the ending to the Toy Story Trilogy like I was with the ending to The Dark Knight Trilogy and the ending to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Trilogy. Yeah, that's right. I believe the endings to Raimi's Spider-Man and Nolan's Batman sucked because I'm of the opinion that they sucked!
Star Wars 3D release postponed
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21243143
In Ep 4. It's Luke. The audience are introduced to him in the first act and emotional invest in him. They follow his journey.
Think about about who the clear protagonist is in Ep 1?
This is an excersise I set in the film lessons I teach.
Been awhile since I've seen Episode 1. If I were to guess it would be Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon.
I believe it would be Qui-Gon or Anakin, but most would argue Qui-Gon.
I would say Anakin really, but it could be argued that it's Obi Wan
1 - Moore, 2 - Dalton, 3 - Craig, 4 - Connery, 5 - Brosnan, 6 - Lazenby
For Episode I alone, it is Qui Gon, because he is the one who discovers Annikan and sets events in motion - taking Annikan to Corruscant, highlighting the return of the Sith, convincing Obi-Wan to train the boy. These are the key plot dynamics that carry the bigger story through the other two films. Also both Annikan and Obi Wan follow the guidance and teaching of Qui Gon till his demise. Even The Queen, who is seen as a key character in her own right, makes decisions based on Qui Gons advice and influence. (Fleeing Naboo in the first place, convincing Padme what to do on Tatooine, Padme asking Qui Gon his opinion of the strategy of The Battle of Naboo.
I enjoyed Episode I. It has its flaws don;t get me wrong, but its the only film that shows the Republic at its height, and we get to see The Jedi Order at its apex before everything goes sour.* I also like the fact some aspects are reflective of the original films - a lot of use of miniatures, an impressive menacing bad guy in Darth Maul, and a great fight sequence between the two Jedi and the Sith with no overblown or distracting pieces to spoil it.
Episode II is too soapy and disjointed, the battle sequences are choppy, and the whole thing feels like its running on autopilot with no real grand scale. Yoda's lightsabre fighting style is great, but overall the pace is slow and you feel the interesting aspects are happening offscreen after the film ends!
Episode III goes to the other extreme. This is a film that knows time is running out for the main narrative, and there is no room left to properly establish the sorely missing pieces, so the action sequences are a frenzy of blurred motion and the character pieces feel like a join the dots game of exposition before time runs out. - The aim, to desperately tie everything together with a neat bow to link to the original film, which of course it doesn't. The arrival of the twins and the construction of the Death Star - (more critical elements for the original films ) are handled in a rushed and clumsy way.
Here are my No no list entires.
1) Too much Jar Jar in Epi I. The Gungans could have been an interesting warrior people if they had not been written for banial jokes and to sell toys. The Ewoks got treated better than this.
2) Alderan should have been introduced much earlier. - Its the one world we know the Death Star will eventually destroy, killing its people and leaving survivors (Like Princess Leia) as refugees. Some investment in its people would have been poignant, knowing their planet's eventual fate.
3) Drop all the Midi Chlorian / "this is what the force scientifically is" stuff. It ruins the mystery of the Jedi, and bogged down the pace of the Jedi chosen one sequences.
4) Prune back the awkward Annikan / Padme romance. (Esp in Epi II) Either keep it subtle and effective like Han and Leia, or keep it off screen. Chewed up far to much screen time that could have been devoted to other "bigger picture" things.
5) Establish the divide in the Republic much earlier, say towards the end of Epi I. The beginnings of the Rebel Alliance (THE critical political / military aspect of the original films) is left to one small scene is Episode III - and that was deleted!
6) Severly constrict CGI heavy stuff. I recently watched the original films again (the original Pre CGI versons) and it seemed so fresh, knowing the non human aliens were physical puppets, the ships were physical miniatures, and things blew up real good using real explosion sequences. The prequels Esp II and III feel artificial and false, because the environments and tech are all inside the computer. The Lord Of The Rings uses a lot of CGI too, but it feels far more natural. The SW prequels seriously lack subtlety in this respect.
* I am speaking from watching the films alone, - I have only seen a couple of episodes of The Clone Wars and Graphic Novels. I liked them and the comp games too, but as I have seen only a small amout of that material I have too limited a perspective from the Expanded Universe angle.
I would have made Anakin the same age as Luke, about 19, 20 during the whole trilogy, so its easier to compare him to Luke. Of course I would cast a better actor to play him as well.
Obi Wan would be the main character, like Luke in the orignal trilogy. The events would play out from his P.O.V, so you cheer for him more during the legendary fight at the end.
Darth Maul is a great character, I wouldn'tof killed him off in the 1st one, but kept him in as the main Sith, and the main villian. He would of killed Qui Gon, making Anakin angry and wanting revenge. In the second one, he would be seduced to the dark side, by Papaltine so he could kill Maul, he became a sith intially so he could get the powers to kill him. So the ending of it would be Luke and Leia being born during Anakin being knighted etc and turning into Vader, as a cliff hanger leading on into the 3rd one. So the 3rd one would be epic, but not rushed. Vader would fight Maul, and after beating him, would take his place, and unable to turn back, he'd be a Sith forever, (almost addicted by it.)
Vader would then chase after Padme, wanting the children, and after he thought he'd killed the kids and his wife, he'd have the battle with Obi Wan.
What do you think?
-Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
This is the kinda of thing I had in mind and thought would of happened.
As mentioned in my post previously we needed to see Vader for minimum of a whole film, Maul was a badass villain and should have been the Vader of the prequels, he was indeed killed off too soon.
However things that come to mind.
1. I am the type that is near impossible to offend, Jar-Jar Is both annoying AND offensive.
2. The 2nd movie is a romance story, that is not very good.
3. The CGI is too heavy,
4. Some of the stuff added made the series worse off (the medracardians or whatever, been a few years since i saw the prequals)
5. Last but not least, the movies can't decide if Obi-wan or the annoying one is the "hero". Also, it is as subtle as a sledgehammer. I mean, the first movies have Han and Leia, but there is some craft in how they get together. Nothing shows craft here, except for CGI.
It does not help that I had the worse date EVER taking a girl to see the first prequel. Girl from High school who I always liked, we had gone for dinner and talked on the phone a bit, and I talk her into a movie. She dressed to the nines, and she giving all the indications for a A+ date, get to the movie, she wants to sit in the back, and insists as we sit that we get to 2nd base right off.
Then one min before the movie starts, she stiffens, and gets my hand off her. Guy sits down, looks back, and asks her where "Mike" is. Turns out she had a BF and with his buddy their. the home run derby had to be canceled by rain.
I hated the movie since. It is personal.