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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Saga Why do people hate the prequels?

Discussion in 'Star Wars Saga In-Depth' started by QuiWanKenJin, Aug 5, 2010.

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  1. HanSolo29

    HanSolo29 RPF/SWC/Fan Art Manager & Bill Pullman Connoisseur star 7 Staff Member Manager

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    Apr 13, 2001
    Don't be ridiculous. I'm not asking anyone to explain love.

    You said there are other reasons for them ending up together other than continuity, suggesting that their story has more depth. I...don't see it. In fact, the reason I bring it up is because I view their relationship as forced and coming together for the very same reasons you said that don't matter. I'm just curious as to why you think their relationship works because I find it very contrived and unbelievable. In fact, I view it as the most demeaning factor of the Prequels. For me, the love story just doesn't work.
     
  2. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Oct 18, 2012
    What's is your point?
     
  3. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Oct 18, 2012
    Why would I ask anybody to explain what love is? Love is just an emotional attachment/care for somebody....

    It's as simple as that....

    I never said I thought their relationship works.. Misunderstand, I sense in you. Quite the obvious. I noticed no reason they fell in love other than Anakin Skywalker and Padme both being very pretty, and continuity reasons. Also, a question I had was- if Anakin and Padme never met each other on Tattoine, would they have fallen in love and gotten married?
     
  4. WIERD_GREEN_MAN

    WIERD_GREEN_MAN Jedi Knight star 4

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    Dec 16, 2010
    Well, it's been canonically established that Anakin and Padme actually loved each other - they were not together just because they looked good together.
     
  5. HanSolo29

    HanSolo29 RPF/SWC/Fan Art Manager & Bill Pullman Connoisseur star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2001
    Just to clarify - that comment was not directed at you. I was addressing the post after yours.

    No, no misunderstanding. This is your quote, correct?

    "There were reasons they fell in love, other than for continuity purposes to create Luke and Leia, and other than because anakin skywalker was an Adonis and padme was more beatiful than Athena.... Not just looks......"

    I'm not going to sit here and go around in circles about whether you said something or not, but in that quote, you imply that there are additional reasons for their relationship working in the context of the story. What are those reasons you mention? As I said, I don't think the love story works and I'm curious to hear what you think. If you can provide a little more insight into that and back up your claim, I'll be happy to listen and discuss. :)
     
    Hitchhiking-Ghost likes this.
  6. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Oct 18, 2012
    I said that Anakin Skywalker and Padme were very good looking people. Angelic, godlike, beauty. Other than that, I meant a lot of things. Anakin, in AOTC Episode 2, was very excited about meeting Padme and so was she, because they met each other 10 years yrs before as children. So, their metting on Tattoine in Episode 1, I felt, was the main driving force behind their relationship that led to their eventual marriage. Well, technically, they weren't legally married, they just had a religious ceremony on Naboo, but, whatever. Anyway, I meant that the main reason they had a connection to each other, the connection that started their relationship, was meeting when they were children.

    Ok, their relationship wasn't based on, "oh, I remembered you when I was younger, I thought you were really nice to me". That wasn't the driving force behind their relationship later on. But it was what got them interested in each other in the first place, in Episode 2, childhood memories.
     
  7. WIERD_GREEN_MAN

    WIERD_GREEN_MAN Jedi Knight star 4

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    Dec 16, 2010
    We don't know if they were legally married or just had some ceremony of a sort. It was not religious. I'm assuming that it was legal because Skywalker became Padme's last name.
     
  8. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

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    Oct 18, 2012
    You're are correct. It wasn't religious.

    Marriage, by definition, involves a legal marriage. Without that, it isn't a marriage. Anyone can say words/vows to each other in fancy clothing. That doesn't make it a marriage, or government benefits. Most people marry in a fancy ceremony with verbal words spoken in it, but that, in of itself, doesn't make it a marriage.

    Skywalker wasn't Padme's last name. Where are you getting that from?
     
  9. Jarren_Lee-Saber

    Jarren_Lee-Saber Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Apr 16, 2008
    Guys, we all know WHY these people fell in love. Unfortunately, all the relationships in Star Wars ARE portrayed quite awkward and most have little chemistry.
    In fact, I feel the most clear portrayal of love was when young Anakin first meats Padme on tatooine.
     
  10. -NaTaLie-

    -NaTaLie- Force Ghost star 4

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    Nov 5, 2001
    That's kind of how I feel about it. The concept of Padme/Anakin's relationship is actually really interesting: we have two socially awkward young adults trying to play courtly love. They have a few good scenes together interspersed with more stiff ones (sometimes Hayden pulls of being awkward naturally, sometimes it falls flat). In the end, the relationship is rather disfunctional: they marry each other for the ideals rather who they really were. It might be one of the reasons some of the audience reject the love story: nothing in the prequels is what at seems and the same is true about this seemingly romantic young love.
     
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  11. EUdiscoverer1136

    EUdiscoverer1136 Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Sep 18, 2012
    I haven't had the time to file through the entire thread, and I'm sure this was at least mentioned, so at the risk of belaboring, and forgive me if I am.. this is my opinion...
    As well as, what I'm sure are very valid opinions, I think the most valid overriding reason is , from first generation fans.. the passage of time between Ep 3 and 1.
    During that time, 16 years, fans had a lot of time envisioning THEIR ideas on how the prequels would play out.. more specifically, Anakin's transformation and the duel with Obi-Wan. Wether you were an EU fan, who read all the stories that came out in the meantime or not, that's a lot of time to play out speculations and form your own scenarios, and such speculation would be demonstrated by the love SW fans had/have for the story. But by that aspect alone, I think it was impossible for Lucas to meet, let alone exceed expectations.
    Undoubtedly, the excessive use of CGI plays a factor. Style over substance... which I think was already evident in Jedi, back in 83.
    I say, excessive, in that Lucas get's so carried away with what he CAN do NOW, as apposed to the vast amount he couldnt do in 77, that he overcompensates. He did this with creatures in Jedi, and in my opinion, took me way out of the story, and got me too involved with.. Ooh, don't that look cool? How'd he do that???" ... as opposed to SW in 77, when, as awesome as the FX were back then, I don't remember EVER being taken out of the story.
    But I think it's more a matter of what he uses effects FOR, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy has twice as many CGI elements in ONE movie as does the entire SW Trilogy, but they don't jump out at you, or take you out of the story.
    Lucas, as much as we love him, get's way too involved with... "Look what I can do", instead of letting the effect support the specific story element. It looks great, but ... is it REALLY neccesary at the time??
    That, to me creates a rift right there. As a first generation fan, I remember the charm of the first film being how great it was despite what they couldn't do at the time. They did what they could, but hey... we had never seen THAT before, so it was cool.
    But I think, too much of a good thing makes you kinda numb.
    Anyway, I'm babbling. Having said all this, I DO like the prequals, but more as the beggining of the saga than as individual films.
    But after listening to all the fans over the years, I really think it's more a combination of pre-conceptions and expectations during the time when there was NO Star Wars, and the extreme difference in style, and therefore.. FEEL between the two trilogies.
    But I really think they work best if you watch them as Episode 1 through 6 as one long saga, so that's how I think of them now.
     
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  12. DarthRuss

    DarthRuss Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Sep 26, 2004
    because they sucked.
     
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  13. Jarren_Lee-Saber

    Jarren_Lee-Saber Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Apr 16, 2008
    Because the people who hate them sucked.
     
  14. The Supreme Chancellor

    The Supreme Chancellor Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 4, 2012
    Why don't you go troll somewhere else man.
     
  15. only one kenobi

    only one kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Nov 18, 2012
    Define "religious". The definition you give here is a very modern concept, and one that ignores the basis of marriage, and indeed of what constitutes "legal". If it were purely a legal contract then we would simply have two persons signing the registry of marriages and agreeing to the conditions of that contract. There is a reason that marriage is best portrayed in the form we see in AOTC (we can see it is a marriage) because of the ceremony involved. Marriage is still seen as a form of 'sacred' contract, a hangover from when what was legal and what was right in the eyes of (the) god(s) were the same thing.
     
  16. only one kenobi

    only one kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Nov 18, 2012
    In terms of the question of Anakin and Padmé's love, I think the AOTC novel does the best job of explaining it but....it raises more questions. Basically Padmé has never really had a chance to have a childhood, or let her hair down and be a teenager. Same could be said for Anakin. Padmé is portrayed looking at her sister's children and considering her own life. Anakin, of course, has held Padmé close in his heart from their first meeting on Tatooine, her care for him on the way to Coruscant etc.

    Whoever said it earlier has pretty much got it nailed. Their relationship is fatally flawed, as it is based upon each loving an idealised version of the other, rather than a warts'n'all understanding. It also brings into question the wisdom of having 14 year olds elected Queen (and what does that say about the wisdom of womanhood more generally upon Naboo?) or involved in diplomatic work from such a young age (an age which would be considered illegal to work at in most modern democracies, I might add) - denying them their childhood.
     
  17. Corran1138

    Corran1138 Jedi Knight star 1

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    Nov 7, 2012
    People hate the prequels because they expected a rehash of the OT. They wanted a fast paced space opera rather than the intelligent political drama that we got. I think both trilogies are brilliant.
     
  18. DarthRuss

    DarthRuss Jedi Youngling

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    Sep 26, 2004
    One mans troll is another mans truth speaker. Can you honestly say that Episode 1 and 2 kind of sucked compared to Empire?
     
  19. Jarren_Lee-Saber

    Jarren_Lee-Saber Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Apr 16, 2008
    From a certain point of view (aka RedLetterMedia's point of view). Sure as hell not mine!
     
  20. Darth Balls

    Darth Balls Jedi Youngling

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    Jan 26, 2013
    The prequels are great... for me to poop on!

    Seriously, though, the prequels are like an uncomfortable psychedelic trip. Lots of cool stuff to look at and think about, but everything seems ... off.
     
  21. Corran1138

    Corran1138 Jedi Knight star 1

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    Nov 7, 2012
    Episode 1 has its issues (though there are still great things about the film), but I certainly would not say that Episode 2 sucked compared to Empire. At all.
     
  22. Alexrd

    Alexrd Chosen One star 6

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    Jul 7, 2009
    I wouldn't reduce the prequels to "intelligent political drama".
     
  23. Corran1138

    Corran1138 Jedi Knight star 1

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    Nov 7, 2012
    No that isn't all they are, but that tends to be the aspect of these films that people most often complain about.
     
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  24. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

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    Mar 4, 2011
    That, and Anakin being emotional and temperamental.
     
  25. Jarren_Lee-Saber

    Jarren_Lee-Saber Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Apr 16, 2008
    Troll Alert! Check out his joined date! He clearly just jumped on the forum to troll. I bet its Stoklasa upset that we don't worship him here :D
     
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