Do you ever get the feeling...?

that before the PT came about, when GL was spouting off about how he's always had the entire six episodes in his mind that he had only given the first three episodes the vaguest of thoughts?

i know he never fleshed tbe stories out until it came time to make the movies, but it seems to me the only thing he really knew about the PT at the time was that anakin betrayed obi-wan and became vader. i think the whole PT would have worked out better had he been developing it all along instead of writing the stories in between production of the movies. the only problem i can think of with that approach would have been that he wouldn't have had the foresight to write out jar jar binks.

the big picture of the PT just seems so poorly laid out to me, like he was just spitballing the thing as he went, constantly backing himself into a corner and having to make awkward adjustements to cover up inconsistencies in the storyline.

if he had written out the stories in full detail before hand i think he would have realized that the events in episode i needed less attention while those in ii-iii needed much more attention.

Strilo edit: We have threads for this already.

 

i never really thought about that but you do have a really good point.

 

The Prequels could of been so much better if the characters and dialogue were more defined. I not expecting anything on the level of Lord of the Rings but most of the relationships are cold and uncomfortable. I think the script was rushed. One might argue that a good storyteller always modifies their story, showing dedication and interest but that doesn't wash with me. The Prequels for me are mediocre at best and thats on a good day. George Lucas took the quick and easy path as Vader did. He became an agent of money.

 

yeah, it was like when it came time for episode i he was so excited about CG characters and green screens that he forgot about storytelling.

episode i is my least favorite of the PT, not that i hate it or anything but in the long run it barely advanced the story. the only things we get out of it are: anakin may be the chosen one and will become a jedi, the sith are back, and jar jar binks is an assclown. looking back at episode i, there's hardly anything you need to know about it to make sense of episodes ii and iii. when anakin turned i wasn't thinking back to boss nass and the 45 minutes of screentime he and the rest of the gungans took up.

it's 95% filler (regardless of how cool some scenes are), and it's frustrating how much better that time could've been used. hell, he could have started episode i with anakin as a padawan, the opening crawl could've explained any background needed and he could've used the extra time to set up a freakin' awesome turn to the darkside.

he just seemed so eager to have cool podrace scenes and all the other unecessary crap (i don't really mean crap) and then he got to episode iii and realized, "f'in a, i've got to develop the major plot point of this entire trilogy in half an hour". how the ef does the battle of naboo get more time than anakin's turn to the darkside?

 

My thoughts exactly, Darth M. While I acknowledge that Lucas was in an impossible situation because of the OT legacy, he still could've squeezed much more out of the PT. Heck, ESB alone is better than all of the PT put together. Although ROTS is a strong entry, it left me feeling very empty at the end.

 

No the prequel could not have been better, that would be impossible.

Obviously that was a sarcastic statement, but really, can't all movies be improved? Of course the PT could have been better, and maybe it was due to Lucas' lack of planning, but really, I think overall the saga, now that it's finished, is quite rewarding.

 

Hello.. looooong time reader... first time poster...

GL himself has stated that he never really planned to make the backstory. If you watch ANH and listen to the commentaries (during the scene where Han and Luke bring Chewie into the detention center, I believe) he says we were never really suppposed to know the exact backstory.. he wanted it to have that old saturday matinee serial feel to it and it be like you missed the first few episodes so you are just thrown into the action without knowing all the details.. then he says something on the line of "now I am actually going back and having to create this backstory...bla bla bla"

Of course, many times I have read or heard something Lucas has said and then read an interview from several years ago and they never quite mesh. I wish I could have a conversation one of one. I got some tough questions hehe.