PT A Thread For Prequel Fans To Discuss New Star Wars Content (spoiler tags required)

I didn't bring up the PT here at all, so let's stick to the facts shall we. I think I have as much history of talking in depth about TFA content as anyone here.

 

Nope. Not the least bit.

 

If Star Wars ISN'T for kids, then why did so many adults complain about the "taxation of trade routes" plot point in TPM?

But anyway, about that AMA event, I enjoyed it but right when I started it, I knew there wasn't gonna be any PT material. That's how predictable it is at this point. Which is sad.

 

Regarding the new movie, and Prequel hate, I have to mention the most recent issue of SFX.

Now I like SFX, I subscribe, read it every month. I think it's a really good magazine.

But they hate the prequels. Like really.

This month's issue has a Star Wars main feature about TFA.

It starts, right off the bat, by comparing the lead up to TFA with that of TPM.

It describe the similar experiences of both films. Internet melting trailers, people buying tickets months in advance, the hype levels rising, etc.

It then goes on to immediately state that TPM is utterly terrible. It then rants about trade disputes, boring senate scenes, Jar-Jar, whiny Anakin.

It claims that, while the prequels are not completely terrible, they got a lot 'wrong' about Star Wars.

Apparently the prequels tarnished the love for the series, despite the fact that they revitalised the franchise and introduced a new generation to it.

Then they briefly entertain the possibility that TFA may have a similar fate in store... before roundly dismissing the idea ans saying "we don't think there's any danger of that."

The article goes on to state that JJ Abrams understands Star Wars better because (and this was the most annoying part of the article) he's a fan.

Apparently, he has the experiences of the OT in his DNA, so he definitely has a better grasp of it than the man who made it.

Then they mention the 'Practical Effects' marketing spiel, and how BB-8 is actually a real prop. Which I'm sure he is for some scenes. But so was R2 in both the Prequels and Originals. Why do they need to make this distinction.

Then they bring up the lived-in universe concept, which the prequels apparently lacked.

Then they talk about the 'fan buttons' that TFA is pushing. Han, Chewie, stormtroopers, R2 and C-3P0. Wait a minute, didn't those last 3 appear in the PT as well? Talk about hypocrisy.

It then says that the OT transported millions of people to a new galaxy of possibilities. And the prequels didn't?

Uh, the whole thing just frustrated me so much. It has all the worst aspects of Prequel bashing, and the marketing campaign for TFA.

Why couldn't they just talk about the new film? Or not trash the prequels with every other line?

 

The designs in TFA are pretty similar to the OT but I have a feeling that everything else will make it seem like a sequel to the OT. All of the little details about the characters and groups will make this movie different from ANH. Just need to learn what happened to the original Empire and Rebellion. Probably have to wait until the movie comes out.
I'm certain that by E9 we will be in a different place than we were in after ROTJ.

 

R2-KT is going to be in The Force Awakens!

From Albin Johnson: It's official, R2-KT is in The Force Awakens.

 

i assume you're talking about me? as i said before the article was being talked about in the jj thread in the tfa forum. the reception of that article here was vastly different and nonsensical which i pointed out. you think this is a conspiracy?

so i disagree with opinions here and the bashing of jj and tfa and now i'm not a "real" pt fan? wow. again maybe i've pretended to be a pt fan since 1999 to infiltrate your thread. the illuminati are real.

 

In Episode 9, a new Jedi Academy could likely be underway, then we'll get yet another trilogy focusing on the galaxy being full of Jedi again.

 

darskpine10: I feel you, but that's the kind of stuff we're gonna have to deal with. Just remember that you're not wrong for liking or preferring the prequels. Accept the opinion of others and they should do the same in return.

Cynda: Who is R2-KT and what is his significance? I don't know much about the animated series.

 

That is what the TFA forums truly are. An endless circle jerk.

 

http://io9.com/the-heartwarming-story-behind-r2-kt-and-how-she-joined-1744986951

 

There are plenty of negative things being said about the sequel trilogy in the TFA forums; people concerned about Finn's character arc and Rey's arc possibly clashing, the placement of fan service, possible dearth of creativity, Hell No!, the CGI, even the music, etc. There is a thread titled The Case For Lowered Expectations. And jeez, the Finn thread got locked again!

There are people concerned about the rehash/recapitulation elements and voicing those concerns, I just think there isn't an up in arms discussion about it because the movie isn't out yet and each person has a different tipping point on their scales for when the number of similar elements becomes too many. I was too young to remember the lead up to the prequel movies until Revenge of the Sith. When I heard that Grievous was a cyborg with a breathing problem I thought he would be like Vader, but when I watched the movie I didn't think about Vader at all, the character was nothing like him. Whereas during the Anakin, Obi Wan, and Dooku fight with Palpatine I remember consciously thinking about The Return of the Jedi, but it didn't really bother me.

Yeah, I agree with you a bit, if you want to come to a thread with the most voices of doubt about The Force Awakens its here. But the TFA forums are no echo chamber.

 

I actually helped with a recent refurb on her. Technically, she was imperial droid, but I'm guessing she will be a Resistance droid in this film?

There have in fact, been plenty of people voicing various concerns about TFA in that forum. But the idea that the PT forum is where TFA criticism is most voiced is, well, both amusing, and ironic.

I've speculated before that it's because fans who prefer the PT (as opposed to people like me who like the PT overall, but prefer the OT) really like the particular vision of Star Wars that the PT presents. Since the ST seems to them more in the spirit of the OT, it feels like a version of Star Wars they don't identify with as strongly. But there are other factors in play.

One, I think, is a certain defensiveness of Lucas. Many PT superfans have defended the PT as being Lucas' vision of Star Wars fully realized. Since Lucas is perceived to have been given the elbow in the ST, many are defensive of his supposed "genius" being sidelined.

And, of course, many just hold a resentment towards the OT-only PT haters who largely seem to be thrilled with what they see in TFA so far. I think there is a deep-seated feeling among some here that anything THAT group likes can't possibly be good.

I'll be interested in seeing what the self-described "saga fans" make of TFA when it comes out.

 

Yes, the intended audience for Star Wars has always been children. In 1977, Lucas said he was trying to create a new mythology for children who had none in the 70s, and he succeeded: virtually everyone here on these boards were exposed to Star Wars when we were children (the OT, PT, or both). That is when we became "hooked." Sure adults like Star Wars films, but very few of them get hooked the way children do. Of course, Star Wars has violence, but Grimm's fairy tales have far more gratuitous violence and cruelty. Lucas always feared ROTS would be the odd man out because of its tragic arc and greater violence and dark ending. This was a mostly unfounded fear. Most kids probably around 8 and older have no problems with it. Also most kids don't distinguish between the PT and OT. To them, it's one long story.

If we did a poll, I'm sure more than 90% of the people posting here were exposed to a Star Wars film before the age of 12, and I'm sure more than 95+% were exposed to a Star Wars film before the age of 18. The films people fall in love with as adults are typically Apocalypse Now, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, The Godfathers, Kubrick's best films, Woody Allen's best films, Sergio Leon films, Fellini's films, etc. (Sure, I'm sure a few kids or teenagers like these films, but people usually discover these films in their college or adult years.)

I totally agree with PiettsHat. Star Wars has a lot more meat on it than most blockbuster entertainment, but it's explored in a way that is accessible to children. I think the Matrix films or TDK trilogy are similarly "meaty," but have a different target audience -- older teenagers to adults. Unlike Star Wars, these films have people having sex, they have no kiddie elements, no real comic relief, they are more gritty and brutal, etc.

 

I'm excited for the new movie, no doubt about it. I honestly can't wait but I really do understand the criticism of TFA marketing and advertising, attached least for fans of the prequels. Personally, I hope for Episode 8 they give the prequels some love but I don't care that the prequels won't be "acknowledged" in this film, if that's the case. I love the prequels and if someone doesn't want to acknowledge them, I'm cool with it.........more for me.

 

darskpine10 - yeah sad. I stopped getting SFX after they gave a three page spread to 'that guy' to write about his phantom menace pain. Since then they have obviously decided they don't need PT fans.

That's totally childish for a fantasy umbrella magazine. I mean I don't like the new Dr Who series, for maybe similar reasons that certain Star Wars fans didn't like the prequels - but I have never popped into Who forums to vent my disgust and tell them they are wrong, or commented anywhere on social media about the younger miss guided fans, and would be disgusted if a Sci-Fi magazine decided as editorial policy to always bash them - they do have there detractors - even if I agreed with their critique. Every cult series has it's detractors.

So that's it really, I would love something to continue my decades old pre-release literature collection, but I'm not paying money for bashing !

I dont think I have checked Starburst yet - but if anyone finds a collectors mag written in the positive celebratory tones you would expect from Disney, free from the tones of bitter vendetta - let me know ! I know it's not Disney's fault entirely.

Sab Jo - very odd. Duel of fates is probably more recognizable than Yoda's theme, or 'Han and Leia ', certainly as familiar as Harry Potter, and not far behind the Imperial march. So there was a conscious decision to ignore half the films there.

 

I will say this. I hope after TFA comes out that the needless attacks on the PT abate considerably. As should be clear, I have significant criticisms of the PT. But enough. IMO, it's time to move on from that. WE have a whole new set of Star Wars movies coming, and those who really hated the PT can move onto them and either embrace them, or attack them as is their wont.

Except Jar-Jar. Bashing Jar-Jar is never wrong.

 

Honestly even if this film causes the prequels to be even more outcasted, at least we all have this forum to give the love these films deserve. Heck, I signed up mostly so I could talk about these films with others and share the experience of these underrated and imo classic films

 

I see little of that in the real world too. With the TPM re-release a couple of years back, nobody was walking out the threater I saw it in saying oh man was that bad, or Jar-Jar ruined it for me. Everybody enjoyed the film, smiling and happy. Nobody throwing fits of rage that Lucas had raped them. I saw TPM in 3D twice and both times the theaters were full and everybody enjoying the film. Most of the hate I see are in nerd culture circles.

Some of it may be that I am not really involved in nerd culture, what I have seen of it disgusts me. It is mainly an excuse to be manchildren as a majority of them act immature. I don't go to comic book shops, never liked superheros, etc.

 

I agree. People were looking at TFA with a much more critical eye the last few times I've gone in 7SA. Maybe I got the impression that 7SA was a gush-fest because I went in there around trailer releases, and the gushers were more likely to appear and rave about what they had just seen.

I still prefer the discussion here and not because I'm a PT-lover. I actually slightly prefer the OT, but really I enjoy the whole Saga.

First, in 7SA, there is a lot of PT-bashing or PT vs OT and TFA vs. PT comparisons that goes on. That's just gotten so old. I'm so tired of hearing PT-bashing, and TFA needs to stand on its own. It's not This vs. That. 2nd, while people are expressing critical opinions in 7SA, there is a group of mockers who make sarcastic jabs at any criticism of the film. There's a whole lot less of that here. (Only 2 people really.)

There's a lot of pro-TFA sentiments expressed here too and posters here respect that, so people can feel free to express positive things as well. So, I just find this forum a better place for being able to express negative or positive views without snarky push back.

Oh, this is a nice story, but female droids! Disney is really going to far with this diversification thing!!!!!!


(I'm just joking, of course. I like that they're including something from a real world meaningful experience.)

It did just as well as the Jurassic Park re-release (and Jurassic World grossed $650 million), so so much for PT fatigue.

 

I had the same experience and loved being able to take my son to a Star Wars theatrical release.

 

Also one of the reasons i joined this forum. Its the only place where i can discuss the PT positively without getting hate for it.

 

Strongbow It will get worse before it gets better - if it does.

The thing is TFA does not have to equal any of the original films, it only has to be better than the others, which if they are the worst films ever made, is a slam dunk. ANH and Empire wont be held up as the comparisons, it will paradoxically be the films that were shhh... never really made.

Already some factions are acting like someone else made the OT, the someone before he was 'consumed.'
Eventually although those other films won't ever be needed to be mentioned again, given enough new material, Lucas's role will soon be re-written as a character never redeemed. Look at your psychoanalytical remarks about people defending his supposed "genius". If it is supposed, why exactly is JJ going gaga over the films he made?

Just little subtle shifts to do with appropriation - this will continue.

 

The best thing they can do is allow people to make a choice. Releasing the OOT would be a great way to build some bridges. I know my extreme displeasure of the PT is in part to the PT stuff shoved into the movies I love and then having those versions be the only ones available in acceptable quality without resorting to what is technically piracy.

At least Lucasfilm is leaving the PT alone. So people don't have to worry about random ST elements being shoved into the PT to try and make them connect better. Even if the ST is super OT-friendly you also have over 100 episodes of the Clone Wars and Rebels is turning into a Filoni pet character-fest.