PT Is it just me or do the prequels seem to be "cool" again by people? (see warnings on pgs. 9-12)

You haven’t seen TLJ yet?

 

No ... no time for the movie ... it upset me a little ... but I plan to see it soon =)

 

Good. I liked it quite a bit

 

I think the PT has benefitted from the ST, as many fans like me have gone back and given it another shot in a different context. I'll be honest, I have a greater appreciation for the PT after the ST, as the narrative and themes by Lucas jive with the OT and make a complete story, where the ST feels tacked on.

Now in fairness to the ST, I will have to wait til Episode 9 to really make an assertion as to whether it fits with the 1-6 story, but right now I'm worried it won't the way the PT did with the OT. TLJ really opened my eyes at how you can drop the ball narratively on a Trilogy and made me go back and appreciate the PT more in that respect.

 

Yes I loved the prequels. I love Star Wars. I watched the OT first and love the 6 film saga.

After seeing the ST, I feel disappointed. They are ok to watch, but personally the PT have a better story. I wish they would use Lucas' visionary story telling to do the ST. That would be an epic 9 film saga.

 

Its just you

 

So glad to have you with us.

 

I noticed that there was a better standing for the prequels before the sequel trilogy began to be released and I think it comes from the fact that people were just so starved for SW movies.

 

I wasn't online when the PT was released so I missed all the backlash at its highest peak but no matter where I go I see people bashing the PT regularly. Just this weekend in a conversation (not on this board) that had nothing to do with TPM, someone had to bring up how they personally refer to Jake Lloyd as "he who cannot be named." This kid was raked through the coals by a bunch of adults so horribly all those years ago. Why does he deserve to still be bashed this badly 19 years later? His mental struggles are not a joke.

 

They always were cool. I grew up on the originals and couldn't wait to see the prequels. I actually enjoyed them every bit as much of not more because as a kid I always wanted to see the backstory of Obi Wan, Anakin, what the republic was like and how the Empire arose . I never expected them to be just like the originals and I watched them with the same open mind and wide eye as I did the originals.

Some could not and their vocal disdain lead others to parrot the same, far more than they deserved. I know folks who haven't seen them because someone told them not to on the basis of being "bad".

People have relaxed mostly because a whole new generation considers them to be the best. I brought my kid up on Clone Wars and eps 1 to 3 with her seeing 4-6 in order. She likes parts of 7 and 8, but wooo! Does she have some things to say about those 2 films (a rerun being the often most repeated). I tell her to hold on and see them through first.

 

I always thought the prequels were very good. I think some of the lines could have been slightly adjusted. But it had a STORY. It had an arc. It had a purpose. And it tied together with the chapters that came after it. Episodes 1 to 6 work as one. I wish a certain different trilogy had been done as well. I think George Lucas wrote the story and plot very well. It simply needed some tweaking to bring it to ultimate glory.

I do feel though the prequels are very enjoyable and I feel like I'm watching Star Wars when I watch them. Everything is explained on screen. You don't need to read novels, comics or see the television series to understand anything. And it set up the OT very well, and blends well with it. You have one Saga of 6 films and to me that's a very good thing.

I actually re-watched them recently and must say I enjoyed them even more. I liked RO, but actually kinda prefer Episodes 1 to 3 than Episodes 7 and 8 if I'm honest. I feel like Lucas had intended a galaxy trying to re-estabish a better version of the galaxy we see in the PT, to be shown in the ST.

And has anyone ever heard of the Tragedy of Darth Plagues the Wise? Still love that scene.

I love the lines that you can quote from the prequels as well. And Portman was great for me. A great female character.

You're no match for him! He's a Sith Lord!
Chancellor Palpatine, Sith Lords...are our speciality.

Every single Jedi....is an Enemy of the Republic.

In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest Chancellor!
I am the Senate!

So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause!

 

There are still alot of people who talk about the prequels like its universal fact that they suck, but i think thats becoming a very outdated view as time goes on.

 

To be honest I think the spread of Prequel memes has helped.

 

Removed. /heels

 

Hello there! As some of you will know, I've been a staunch critic of the PT for years. I enjoyed them for the most part when they were released in the theatres, but as time went on I analyzed them to the point, that I couldn't get any enjoyment out of them. How strange it is, that in these modern times with new Star Wars movies coming out each year, your persective on what Lucas attempted to achieve, can change to the point, that I can now really appreciate the creativity and vision that went into creating a sprawling space saga, and building an expansive universe for all ages. For all the talk about weak dialogue, CGI, and what not, I've come to realize, that Lucas had some sort of secret ingredient, that he added to all six of his movies, that make them stand out from the rest. It's the underlying themes that drive these movies to great hights in Lucas' own campy, and unique way. Yup, I've come full circle, I really like the PT.

Anyone else here has had a similar experience?

 

I can't speak for myself, since I've always defended the PT, but I believe this has happened to a lot of people: even though it's become a global pratice to criticise the PT as a whole, the truth is that the movies were fairly well recieved when they were released. I still remember a ATOC review from a local magazine which thought the movie was fantastic… yet years later the same magazine wrote about the PT as a pile of utter rubbish.

And yes, the new movies are strangely helping people appreciate Lucas' vision, which you may like it more or less, but it's clearly original, unique and anything-but-conventional. It's a vision that was not coimpromised by trying to please studio executives or by trying to guess what the audience wanted.

So welcome to the wonderful world of enjoying the prequels! It's much more fun to watch films that you enjoy!

 

Yeah, I had a similar epiphany several years ago when I revisited the prequels for the first time in a long while. It definitely helps when you look at them in light of the Disney-era movies, (even though I've enjoyed some of them) because it does as you say allow you to better appreciate Lucas's own quirky and unique approach to his movies. I think for me part of it also was that my views had changed in the intervening years. I'd come to realize that I didn't enjoy most modern movies or video games because of how smoothed out and bland they had become. And that the presence of perceivable flaws doesn't necessarily impact my enjoyment or make something bad. Paradoxically, I think flaws actually tend to be most noticeable in something really great. And to some extent maybe that's just the way it is. You round off the edges too much and you lose the creative spark or whatever it is that makes something stand out.

I also agree about Lucas having a secret ingredient or two that seems to be missing in the post-Lucas era. One aspect I would point to is what we tend to call the world-building, although I think that term can be a bit reductive because it's really larger than just coming up with new cities and landscapes and spaceships. It's how the world is constructed in a naturalistic way so that the plot and characters seamlessly emerge from it. For example, I love the nuanced way the fall of the republic is set up and how it's derived from historical examples of this sort of thing, with the tax disputes and the dysfunctional senate and the apparent need for a "strong executive". But the political circumstance of the Republic isn't just a kind of bad thing that is happening off to the side independently from the actual plot. It's part and parcel to each of our characters and their personal flaws. Palpatine is the opportunist twisting the broken system to his own ends. Padme is trying to fix it. Anakin is naively looking for a quick and easy solution. Obi-Wan is cynical about it but at the same time complacent. It's all relevant to the larger story of these characters. The other secret ingredient might be Lucas's understanding of world religions and mystical practices, which I think is why in his movies the Force never starts to feel like a superpower or a cheap writer's trick. A lot of professional writers nowadays do draw on the Hero's Journey and similar things as inspiration for their work, but I don't think many of them have as much of a genuine interest in the source material as Lucas does, and it shows.

 

I've been on a sort of an apology tour here as my thoughts definitely reflect yours in reassessing the PT after the Disney SW films started to come out. What is sort of ironic (for me) is I always resisted that the Saga 1-6 was about Darth Vader and it overshadowed Luke's story. I grew up with the OT and Luke was the MAIN character of Star Wars,and nobody was going to overshadow him in that respect. Then Rian Johnson took our beloved Luke Skywalker and threw him down a sinkhole, and that is what made me go back and reevaluate the PT. It's really weird, but it finally clicked as to what Lucas was trying to do with the 1-6 and he wasn't diminshing Luke's story one bit because his attempt to redeem his father is THE part of the Saga that no other character could see. The ST seems so detached from the 1-6 story, you can't help but go back and evaluate the narrative and now it's clear as day that the Saga should have ended with ROTJ.

(removed)

You seem to be in the wrong place. Or you seem to have missed the five prior warnings on the last four pages explicitly telling you that this thread, much like this board, is not a safe space for you to bash any films, or any companies making said films. So you'll get some time to think about that. /heels

 

In Sports John Tavares has signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs and tweeted this:



That is prequels cool.

 

It took me a bit to understand what you were even saying since I did not notice the Naboo star fighter.

 

Yeah I was looking at him at first as well than I said "Wait, what is that above him?"

"It's Anakin and R2 from TPM!"

 

Edit: Completely wrong thread

 

I grew up with the Prequels and I didn't know that they were divisive until the newer ones were announced. I was also a kid when I saw all of them in theaters and I enjoyed them enough. To this day, I appreciate them on some level. There are a lot of ideas for worldbuilding and politics that are pretty genius. The action is pretty great, the score is glorious, the CGI (while dangerously overused) is creative and neat, and once again, the ideas for the story are genius.

That being said, I still don't think they have aged well. No matter how divisive the Disney-era films become, they are just overall more well-crafted than the Prequels. On a fundamental filmmaking level, almost everything is superior: the acting, the cinematography, the dialogue, the character work, the consistency, and the themes. In my opinion, the only argument you could make for the Prequels are the worldbuilding, the score, and the action. Which, to be fair, are all pretty important to many a Star Wars fan.

However, it also helps that they were made by the original creator, George Lucas, who (in the opinion of many people) has a much better understanding of the rules of the SW Universe in comparison to the "lesser" J.J Abrams and Rian Johnson.