Comments on: 11 Reasons Why I Didn’t Completely Hate the ‘Star Wars’ Prequels

By: Lord Severian

Lord Severian — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:34:53 +0000

Just stumbled across this site, & I will say that I, too, like the prequels, and am sick and tired of all the whining and bitching from the pathetic “WAAAH!!! LUCAS RAPED MY CHILDHOOD!!!” crowd. These people act like just because they watched Star Wars as a kid, Lucas personally OWES it to them to make his movies EXACTLY the way they wanted them made, and scream & throw tantrums whenever he doesn’t follow their “advice”. Most of these know-it-alls would have complained NO MATTER WHAT Lucas did, even if he had done what they say he “should’ve done” — you can’t win with these people. I also find it funny when people log onto sites like this and try to act “hard”, calling everyone who likes the movies “nerds”, “dorks”, and so on; in real life, people like this tend to be even bigger nerds themselves, who wouldn’t have the balls to say that stuff to anyone’s face.

For my part, I mainly liked Eps.II and III; though Ep.I was mostly an unfocused jumble of story ideas (some good, some not so good) that seemed to show that Lucas wasn’t sure where or how to begin to PT, even it had its moments. And it bears repeating that Eps.I-III pulled in a total of over $1 billion in domestic box office alone, and while I and II got mixed reviews from critics, III got praised by many respected critics who had hated the previous 2 entries, so it’s just possible that the prequels are NOT as universally despised as many people claim. If you don’t like them, just don’t watch them.

Just my $.02

By: Dude5150

Dude5150 — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:06:21 +0000

I don’t hate the prequels at all. I hate all the “Living-in-their-parents’-basement” dorks that think they have some kind of ownership or say-so over something that is solely George’s to do with as he pleases. If you don’t like them, don’t watch them and shut your pie-holes. Go watch Twilight or Buffy or whatever half-assed sci-fi you dorks are into these days. Stay true to yourself, George!!

By: KAY JAY

KAY JAY — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:49:19 +0000

Are we forgetting somebody………MACE WINDU aka Samuel L Jackson!!!!! He was the one who made Sidious (Emperor Palpatine) look stupid!!! Even later in the film, Yoda struggled against Sidious (could be the fact that he is 800??? years old),,,but never the less……..Mace Windu is probably the most powerful fighter we see in the whole Star Wars series!!!!!

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 02:25:40 +0000

I have been an on-again-off-again fan of STAR WARS for the past thirty years. I saw EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, RETURN OF THE JEDI, ATTACK OF THE CLONES, and REVENGE OF THE SITH on opening day. And, to completely clinch my STAR WARS geek credentials, I actually wrote a letter to the local newspaper defending ROTJ against a negative review from our town’s movie critic when I was no more than 16 years old.

I recently became a step-father to a very bright eight-year-old, and have enjoyed experiencing the STAR WARS universe with her and her mother. We’ve kept her away from ATTACK OF THE CLONES and REVENGE OF THE SITH for now, but she already knows what’s coming and understands the broader narrative arc. She even knows about Mara Jade and Jaina and Jacen Solo. She adores the original trilogy, and is equally pleased with PHANTOM MENACE.

Having watched all of the movies countless times during the past year, I have to confess that the prequel trilogy really holds up under repeat viewings. I know that many people hated Jar Jar Binks, and I personally objected to the ways that his character seemed to tap into African American caricatures from early 20th century film. But my stepdaughter is oblivious to this celluloid history, and she loves Jar Jar. She also enjoys the much-maligned battle droids and — of course — the comic banter between C3PO and R2D2.

The animated CLONE WARS series has done a great job of blending the spirit of the original films with the characters/locales of the prequel trilogy.

I will go further out on a limb and argue that the very best STAR WARS movie is the sixth film: REVENGE OF THE SITH. Anakin’s transition into Darth Vader, the fight between Mace Windu and Palpatine, the beheading of Count Dooku (sp?), and especially the implementation of Order 66 are simply wonderful scenes. The previous five films were just a build-up for what Lucas pulls off in the sixth film.

The dust has settled, and I’ve been following STAR WARS for more than three decades. First as a kid, then as a teenager, and now as a parent. I’ve read some of the comic books, and close to a dozen of the novels in the extended universe. My verdict is this:

The original trilogy was great. The prequel is even better.

So there!

By: The Path of Zath

The Path of Zath — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:05:31 +0000

[...] 11 Reasons Not to Hate the Star Wars Prequels – A lot of people always like to go on about all the bad points of the Star Wars Prequel trilogy, I thought to hear the positives of such a major series of films was really quite eye-opening and brought back some good memories of watching Star Wars: Episodes 1, 2 and 3. [...]

By: DarthWaster.com

DarthWaster.com — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:40:37 +0000

The true test of the prequels’ popularity – will anyone EVER dress up as Jar Jar Binks? And would they (like me) post an embarrassing picture of themselves in such an ill fitting suit of a character from the one of the prequels? A fat Darth maybe, but Jar Jar? Come off it…

By: co

co — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:34:14 +0000

I am no defender of the Prequels, but I knew the day they were announced they wouldn’t be as good as the Originals. First off, the Originals were groundbreaking, struck the right chord with a certain audience from that time, and Star Wars & Empire are as great as a movie can be from this genre, as you just can’t ask a movie series to keep that quality up. Jedi took a dip, and then the Prequels dipped even more, as it is natural in a movie series that the more you make, the more the quality and magic will dissapate.

The biggest reason the Prequels wouldn’t have that magic was it was missing those great characters from the Originals. You just can’t beat Luke, Leia, and Han, every kid could relate to them in some way, and you cared about them as to what happened next. The Prequel characters are just there to tell the backstory, as the story override any creativity Lucas could have went with them. He had to tell a story about the Jedi vs Sith, and in that process you lose key regular guys like Han Solo and Lando Calrissean. Just think of doing a backstory on Doc Brown and Back to the Future, and not having Marty McFly, you would lose that chemistry.

The final reason the Prequels would never be as great as the Originals is that Lucas was past his prime when he made them. When he made Star Wars, he was a struggling director without any kids. By the time he made Jedi, he was a CEO and just adopted a baby, and I believe he never had that fire to make a great movie ever again, as it is very rare that directors keep churning out great movie after great movie. Spielberg is a rarity these days as he seems to be the only one who has stayed on top since his younger years.

I don’t hate to the Prequels, nor will I ever love them for the reasons stated above, but for anyone to think they were ever going to match the originals, that just never happens in movies, you can’t strike lightning twice. They have their moments, and they are part of the story now, but Star Wars will always be remembered for the first two movies that are utter classics: Star Wars & Empire Strikes Back.

By: monsterofmud

monsterofmud — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:09:55 +0000

CThomas,

What you just wrote is beautiful! I cannot agree more…

You’re not the only one that sees them all as one interconnected thread. Turn off expectation and receive what is given indeed!

By: Desert Scorpion

Desert Scorpion — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:11:09 +0000

I think the real question is: What would the Whole starwars series (because the poop train started to appear in ROTJ) have been like if it was written and directed by someone with a mindset like Peter Jackson. Someone who abandons themself to the making of the movie. I find myself watching LOTR thinking, “Man, I wish Lucas had been this sold out to making a piece of absolute art with the prequels.”

By: C.Thomas

C.Thomas — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:02:47 +0000

Josh,
I have to disagree with you. I was 11 years old when I saw SW on opening weekend, and I was in love. I waited for the prequels with great anticipation and when they were through, I was in love again. I think the problem with most so called “Fans” is that their expectation surpassed their love, and they were ultimatley let down. I cant say that happened to me, I entered the theater to be told a story by a man that I trusted, and he (Lucas) has never let me down with anything pertaining to SW, because I don’t feed my head with expectation but instead sit back, turn down the lights, and turn off that critical/negative part of my ‘adult’ brain for a few hours, and just let the magic of the story take me away. Sorry to dissappoint you, but I am a true fan and have always been. The mistake you make is that you EXPECT what you WANT, instead of ACCEPTING what is GIVEN. We have too many years to speculate but I never remember leaving the theater after that first time in 1977 and thinking anything but, “I WANT MORE”.
I love the prequels because they are part of the whole. That is the story, That is what happened to those characters. It’s too bad most of the “FANS” out there, I see these message boards all over the place filled with hate, and rage, and unintelligent babble and it just makes me sad. I don’t nitpick when it comes to SW, Jar-Jar was not my favorite character, but there was a little boy, about 9 years old, who was sitting just a few seats away from me, and he just marveled at the clumsy innocents on the screen, It made me smile, because I knew that a long time ago, I could have beent that boy.
STAR WARS forever.

peace
-CThomas.

By: Sly

Sly — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:12:22 +0000

I disagree with alot of this, The planets were two CGI, CGI is nessecary at times but for corusant they could have easily made sections from model kits and backdropped with bluescreen.

the humor of the droids (and others) were terrible, the humor didn’t flow with the story like the originals… whole chunks of screen time lost for poor slapstick comedy or pointless gags. Humor, do or do not… there is no try… and these movies tried way to much to be funny…

Also a lack of solid villians, with the Emperor being the elusive bad guy we needed a big side villian… Christopher Lee, great actor and his character could have done much much more (he’s an ex jedi, he’s god a past, write it)… General Grevious, hyped as a powerful enemy was basically a waste of time… Maul, he was very good, he worked but really he was a little to silent for my liking.

By: nia

nia — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:35:41 +0000

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Love Qui Gon Jinn, he was killed too soon though
Hate Jar Jar Binks and the annoying Anakin
Overall was okay, saw it few times.

Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Hate the whole thing, saw it once.

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
I was impressed with the opening scene.
I didn’t expected the young lings scene.
Hate the nooooooooooooooooooooo scene.
I see more chemistry between Qui Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan compared to Amidala and Anakin.
I left the theater feeling numb. I can’t decided whether to hate or love it. One thing for sure I’ve come to a conclusion… Qui Gon has to die in order for Obi-Wan to fail.

By: joey

joey — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:55:54 +0000

the star wars prequel trilogy had its crummy moments for sure. but i still enjoyed them a lot. mainly cause all in all Star Wars is just fun. action, comedy, new worlds and just things we’ve never seen before.

we can all sit around is argue about the death of star wars but at the end of the day it was George Lucas who gave this world to us to enjoy and it is him that can do whatever he wants with it. it kills me that people say things like “george lucas killed star wars” cause at the end of the day he has every right to do wahtever he wants with it.

what a world it would be without star wars, cause i definately know it has influenced my life greatly and i’ll stick by it and its creator. ty GL for some fun entertainment.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:39:03 +0000

I agree with bits and pieces of some of these reasons. But can I point out that 11 good things in 3 movies……..that is sad. The Prequels suck terribly. Of course little kids like ‘em. I did when I was little. I also liked the Originals when I was little. Now that I am older I realize that the Originals (not the Special Crap Edition) are really amazing films, and ground breaking at the time they were made. The prequels were clearly just crapped out for the money. Maybe some say they are ground breaking visually but I say all the CGI made them worse. Now I can go enjoy a movie that is just for fun and not meant to be ground breaking or whatever but if it has Star Wars in the title it needs to live up to Star Wars as we all know it. It didn’t. At one point I thought if Lucas would just hand over Star Wars to someone else….like a fan or one of the authors of the expanded universe that there might be some future left for the Star Wars franchise but with the new Clone Wars movie and the series….(wasn’t there already one?) and this live action show I keep hearing about…..I eagerly await the day Star Wars is put to rest.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:49:52 +0000

My biggest disappointment is the way the whole “living force” and Qui-Gon thing was handled. We have to wait until the end of Sith to find out why (some) Jedi disappear when they die, arguably the biggest mystery in the original trilogy, and it is just a few lines of dialogue at the end. Almost an afterthought.

So, geeks, check me on this. Qui-Gon was into the whole here-and-now aspect of the Force, the so-called Living Force. It was the Jedi’s reliance on other aspects of the light side, the meditating, the visions, etc., that blinded them to the Sith. That’s why Yoda’s tune is different in Empire when it comes to seeing the future. The Living Force allows Jedi to become one with the Force at death (at will?), right? Anyone? (OK, that and we never really revealed where Anakin came from, I’m thinking he was created as a tool by the Pre-Sidious Darth Whatsits.)

The prequels didn’t ruin Star Wars for me, although I was honestly disappointed by the first two. (Really, why did things have to bog down so much when they get to Tatooine in Phantom?). Aside from Jar-jar and the Tatooine lull, Phantom wasn’t as horrible as you’d think. The romance in Attack of the Clones overshadowed a pretty cool little Obi-Wan detective story. )

What’s worse about Star Wars is the EU. Wasn’t the destruction of the sith the point of Star Wars? Why do they keep coming back?

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:13:11 +0000

I’m sick of these arguments, I’ve been a massive Star Wars fan for as long as I remember, and although anyone with a brain knows the PT doesn’t touch the OT-I still love them. Darth Maul, Anakin, the Clones-and the toylines and VGs circulating around it are just too cool to hate-so I see no reason for it (still) and to call people who like both, “idiots,” or “,not true fans-” is one hell of a stupid generilzation.

Geez, am I the only person in the world who likes, y’know, everything?

By: Star Wars Prequel Appreciation Society

Star Wars Prequel Appreciation Society — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:41:04 +0000

[...] saw this linked through TFN [...]

By: PetraKenobi

PetraKenobi — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:47:16 +0000

I so agree with reason number one. That’s my main reason for watching the prequels but all the others are really good too. :)

By: max_jaybo

max_jaybo — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:42:43 +0000

So, to re-iterate this entire page: Dude doesn’t hate prequels, cliche geek ranting ensues.

By: Gavin Bollard

Gavin Bollard — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:24:19 +0000

Am I the only one who thought that the politicking in the prequels was fascinating – “So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause. “.

The way Palpatine manipulated things to become a win-win situation for himself was amazing.

I also like the fact that EP1-3 catered more for adults in parts while EP4-6 were kids movies with less subtext.

I’m sick of people bagging the new trilogy.