PT What is the stupidest argument against the Prequels that you ever heard?

Why the OT comparison? There are always some negative opinions you can find about anything. Some critics thought the Godfather was as boring as hell. Fact is ESB is always listed among the top 2 or 3 greatest sequels ever made. Within a year of its release it was nominated for 4 Oscars & won 2. That's 2 more than the entire PT if we're making comparisons. Not that the Oscars are the be all & end all but it is the most famous movie accolade. The OT was nominated for 20 & won 10. The PT was nominated for 5 & won 0. Not even visual effects!
A few years ago ESB was selected to be preserved by the Library of Congress as part of its National Film Registry. In the 2014 Empire magazine poll, "The 300 Greatest Movies of All Time" voted by fans, it was named the greatest film ever made.

Overall it has an amazing legacy & reputation. Nothing against the PT but if comparisons are going to be made someone should represent the other side

 

And you think that was justified? It was justified that none of the PT won for best original score? That Trisha Biggar didn't win for the costumes? That the conceptual design team didn't win anything? Anyone with an ounce of film knowledge should sense there's something amiss there. You can be the best in your specific field/category by a country mile, but unfortunately, if the movie you worked on wasn't well received, you're rarely going to get the recognition you deserve. And it works the other way too. The guy that did the costumes on ANH won an oscar. For what?! It's ridiculous.

Awards are not and never will be the barometer of quality. Look at 'The Wire'... quite rightly often cited the greatest tv show of all time. Total number of Emmys... none. Not one. That's a crime.

 

No point in saying that unless you point out the films that did win & establish that the PT was clearly superior in those categories. Are you saying the winners were undeserving? It's not about having good costumes, it's about having the best costumes. That's something you could spend all day arguing with people about. However I wasn't commenting on which awards are or aren't "justified". Just stating some facts about the reception of the OT movies including the Oscars they won.

 

You gave me a good laugh there!

But seriously, these awards (especially for things such as costumes) are so unnecessary in my opinion. But I respect the Oscars and most movies do deserve their accolades, it's just that most of the categories are so ambiguous. Oscars basically give you a bragging right for getting the most votes in a particular category. Nothing wrong with that, but I think that most movies that win don't really stand out from the rest of the nominees (Forrest Gump vs Pulp Fiction vs The Shawshank Redemption in 1995 being the prime example).

Talking about special effects, I'd say that every prequel film could have won it, but I ain't saying that other films didn't deserve their win. It's just hard to pick out a winner with these things. TPM was going against The Matrix and AotC was unfortunate to go against The Two Towers. King Kong would have won it in 2005 either way, because the effects were absolutely astounding and nothing could compete with those 3 hours of CGI extravaganza. I still maintain that only Avatar can rival it. But for RotS to not even be nominated is laughable in my opinion.

 

I think that at the very least more people should have taken notice of the technology used to create Jar Jar (Have stand in actor perform the movement that the CGI figure) I mean look at how much attention Peter Jackson got for doing the exact same thing three years later.

 

Yeah, that's true. Jar Jar is an amazing achievement, I genuinely believe so, even while putting aside my love for the films. And while Gollum is a more complex character, he wasn't that much of a step up in technical terms.

 

Even then, large parts of the CGI in King Kong were beyond amateur. The stampede scene looked as though they spent about 45 minutes on it:



The nomination should have been considered void for that scene alone.

Personally I can't understand all the fuss made about Weta. Didn't they also win for Return of the King? A movie containing this scene:

 

"From a certain point of view..."

 

Gollum was a huge step up in terms of emotion conveyed & range of facial expression. There were hundreds of subtle details in his expressions that we'd never seen in a digital character before. Since he was a completely CGI character all of those major advancements were "technical".

 

I think the stupidest argument is being told "you're not a true fan" and should be ashamed if you like these movies.

 

I agree. That argument is ridiculous because it implies that everyone should have the same opinion and also that there are no positive aspects to the PT. The positive elements of the PT outweigh any negative ones, imo. I initially assumed, incorrectly, that most true, die hard SW fans would appreciate the positive aspects of the PT. That maybe they could bring balance to the force. (sorry)
I never expected those fans to loathe the PT and write it off so harshly. I've met several fans who feel that way, in any case. I don't understand that point of view.

 

Most 'die-hard' Star Wars fans DO appreciate the PT; the percentage of the fandom who doesn't like the trilogy is very much a minority, albeit a very loud one... hence why their numbers seem larger than they actually are.

 

Yes. That makes sense to me. Thanks for helping me keep it in perspective. A small percentage with loud voices.

 

I'll always remember my experience watching TPM 3D in 2012.

I usually go to my local theater in the early afternoon to avoid the evening crowds. At that time, there's usually only a handful of people in the theater besides me. However, TPM was relatively packed with dozens, maybe close to a hundred people. I paid attention to who was in there with me.

Most of the audience was families with thirtysomething parents and young kids. There was one grandpa with his two teenage granddaughters. I saw just two lone twentysomething males who could fit the stereotypical internet geek profile (both were fit and looked well adjusted).

The movie experience was OK. I stick up for TPM but it's not my favorite Star Wars movie, and I've seen it many times before. I remembered exactly when everything would happen, and what each character would say. What interested me more was how the crowd would react. The parents sat silently and the kids were noisy and sometimes distracted.

But when the credits rolled, the audience got up and cheered with a standing ovation. Adults and kids alike. That's a reaction I've only seen in person for three movies: Return of the King, The Dark Knight, and The Avengers. I was stunned.

That's the real fandom and mainstream audience, and I doubt any of them post on message boards or care about "practical effects."

 

"From my point of view the Jedi are evil." What's wrong with the Jedi being evil from Vader's point of view?

 

I really don't know. Also, it continues to baffle me how "only a Sith deals in absolutes" is continually being misinterpreted. Either that or people just want to go with the whole meme that surrounds it, I don't know.

 

u dont need to defend the originals. when prequel lovers cite critiques of the originals to show that the originals were disliked just as much as the prequels were, its just sad. its a false equivalency and they are grasping at straws. the originals are beloved, the prequels arent.

 

I, for one, love the PT, the OT, and (naturally) the saga as a whole. But I acknowledge that none of it is perfect... well except maybe the Death Star's final few moments in ANH . As a result, people such as myself (in defending the saga as a whole) might point out perceived criticisms of the PT that are also found in (or directly comparable to) ones in the OT. To do such a thing is not "sad", nor is it trying to paint the PT as being better or even as good as the OT. It's about understanding certain prejudices people have, i.e. that one particular flaw is okay if it exists in the OT, but not if it's found in the PT. It's a little disrespectful and somewhat baffling to suggest doing this is "grasping at straws". It's about determining and understanding what is and isn't a legitimate criticism by certain individuals or groups.

 

It just goes to show that most of the criticisms levied at the PT are biased, as most of the same faults are found in the OT and are commonly ignored.

 

Sadly, all too true and widespread. It is called selective perception or nostalgia goggles.

 

The stupidest argument of people hating the prequels while either never watching them and pretending that they don't exist.

 

I really don't know. Also, it continues to baffle me how "only a Sith deals in absolutes" is continually being misinterpreted.
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oh? then what is the correct interpretation then? genuinely curious.

 

on another forum someone just started a thread asking where to start in watching them. immediately 5 people post only watch the OT, the pt is no good. one guy says he saw ep 4 on lsd in the 70s which kind of tells you the age of these people

 

I saw that question more than once. I think most of it is trolling, because people (fans) know what the answers will be . But every time I see that question I just tell them to watch them all and make their own judgement.