Census Now that it's over which do you like better, the Sequel Trilogy or the Prequel Trilogy? (read: hell)

Prequel Trilogy. The dialogue was cheesy, everyone except Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid looked bored out of their minds, and altogether they were unfulfilling.

That being said....it was a better overall story. Last Jedi was essentially a character assassination of Luke Skywalker, and Rise of Skywalker was "oh **** we have to clean up the bed Rian **** in".

More than just "bad", it's positively stupefying. The biggest spoiler is not actually a spoiler thanks to the TV spots: Palpatine is back, and, just like the prequels and Return of the Jedi "everything is proceeding according to my design!"

Cinematic Star Wars is dead, and JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson have murdered it and raped the corpse.

 

Palps found a Druish Princess.

They're often attracted to money and power, and he had both, and she knew it.

 

About the same, honestly. I prefer the CT and R1 and the television shows over both the PT and ST. That said, I like TFA and TPM about equally, ROTS and TROS about equally, and TLJ I hate the most. Therefore, I like the PT somewhat better.

 

I'm actually pretty close to your views....I'd just have the ST a bit higher and PT a bit lower... but they can fluctuate depending on what I'm in the mood to forgive on any given day lol.

 

Probably uses the Force, and that probably feels like when someone uses their other hand.

 

Force Tug. Under the old West End Games RPG D6 rules that'd be a Control Power and probably gets one a Darkside Point.

 

The Prequel Trilogy was geared towards kids my age so I didn't hate some of the same things others did until much later- except Jar Jar, just never a fan. And I can watch the final battle over and over again without getting bored.

Attack of the Clones is fine if you ignore all the Anakin and Padme. Then it becomes a great adventure for Obi-Wan ending in the start of the Clone Wars. That's how I watch it anyway. And Dooku is a compelling villain despite his relatively limited on screen time- it helps that comics and tv expanded his role significantly.

Revenge of the Sith is the best of the bunch, some of the best action sequences (my favorite opening of the films right down to the score as we have the tracking shot of the two fighters entering the battle), great duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan and just a satisfying ending.


The Sequels - The Force Awakens has some great action shots but nothing as memorable as the Classics or as daring as the Prequels. The duels we get are pretty boring to be honest. The Last Jedi did a nice final battle but because Luke was not there, we never saw the sabers clash which is an iconic part of any duel we've seen to that point. And the slow chase of Leia's ship just didn't work for me based on everything we've seen before. Rules were re-written in the Sequel trilogy that basically don't work based on what we know of the Prequels and the classics.

TROS minor spoiler

Spoiler

The healing probably being one of the bigger issues. Force Heal has been a video game power for years as has the role of healers with Cilghal and Barriss Offee for expanded universe examples. But the idea of this 'essence exchange' was a bit much.

I also have to question what was gained from the sequels. The answer is not much. The prequels show us the rise of Palpatine, the fall of the jedi and the tragic story of Anakin Skywalker. We watch a friendship fall apart between Obi-Wan and Anakin, we see democracy die with thunderous applause. And we see the toll war takes on the galaxy after centuries of relative peace. But with the sequels, we basically get nothing new. War continues. Our heroes didn't succeed like they thought. Their entire lives were nothing but struggle and they die without experiencing true peace.

Overall, I just enjoy watching the prequels more. I do think however that part of that was that it took characters we knew and expanded their story while introducing new ones. For the Sequel, they focused on closing the arcs of the characters we knew but didn't properly expand the stories of the main characters beyond a few lines here and there. We never really explore much of Finn's origin for example. And we barely get much about Poe until Zori makes her appearance. And the central focus on Rey's backstory is a bit of a letdown when it finally happens. Add to that the whole Jannah/Lando mess and there just wasn't enough strong focus on making me invest in these characters. The Last Jedi was full of missed opportunities, but perhaps the biggest was Finn's entire adventure. Wouldn't it have had much more of an impact if it tied somehow into his backstory? Instead, it's mostly a side adventure that in other films would have been cut almost entirely.

I think however now that these films are done, hopefully Disney loosens their grip on tie in material. The biggest thing hurting our investment in these characters was how little we knew about them. From Ben's fall to Snoke's rise, to Finn's origin and Poe's history. Now hopefully we'll get some interesting stories. A shame some of them could not have been included in the films themselves.

 

A thousand times this. The fan service was pretty much non-stop and - admittedly - even reasonably effective much of the time. It was nice to see the surviving cast members come back for one last encore, but still... Disney probably spent twice as much on the ST as Lucas did on the PT, to rather diminishing returns.
I don't hate the ST but clearly it is the weakest and most poorly-planned of the 3 trilogies.

 

Be my guest.

 

The thing is: if you start to discuss Star Wars, you get the usual dreamy PT zealots like Tina and Minch, but worse is the whiners in their wake.

Boo ****ing hoo. This post alone makes the ST worth it. Suck it up.

 

I was referring to Maul vs Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon.

Also, I would not consider myself a PT zealot. I simply grew up with it. The Classic Trilogy was not an option. The poll asked which I preferred between the PT and ST. I chose the PT overall. The ST has things to love about it too- Han for sure, but taken as a whole, I picked the PT.

I will be curious years from now when those who grew up with the ST vote and see where they fall.

 

The PT is more effective if you look at everything from Obi-Wan's point of view (which is generally how I view it). It really is a tragedy. Obi-wan is surrounded by morons and fools who end up wrecking everything. The only other non-clueless Jedi dies in the first movie and in the process sticks Obi-Wan with taking care of the biggest idiot of them all. I actually feel really bad for Obi-Wan....in ROTS he takes off for awhile and everyone else totally ***** everything up while he's gone. It's like "FFS, I can't leave for a few weeks without everything going to ****?"

 

I'm not a zealot, either. But I have been a film buff ever since I can remember - in no small part because things like SW and Indiana Jones turned me on to classical cinema.
And there's nothing I love mor than movies that dare to take chances, that go in somewhat unexpected directions.... and there's nothing I respect Lucas more for than for not playing it safe & boring with the PT. And just because of that, it remains by far my favourite SW trilogy.

 

In the AOTC novelisation, when he finds out about the clone army, his question to himself is "How could any Jedi have fallen so far as to create a clone army" - especially once he sees how callous the Kaminoans are.

The fact that Yoda's leading the clone army a day or two later might have troubled him a bit.

 

No, it was boring. The first hour of TPM and the first hour of AOTC were just snoozefests. People in rooms talking to each other. And that wouldn't be so bad without the lack of direction. The actors didn't know why they were saying stuff. It wasn't explained to them. I'm sure you've heard the Mark Hamill quote: "When you asked about motivation, George would say: it's only a movie. Just say the lines."

Saying that's beautiful is either apologist or just lack of understanding. You decide.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the ideas and the intention. And there was some good stuff. But George Lucas just wasn't good at directing anymore, and there was nobody around to tell him. No Martha or Gary. Just him and his empire. So he could go right ahead, filming your head and attaching it to a body from a previous take.

It's a shame, it could have been good. The sequels could have been better. The OT could be better... if only we can make Greedo say "Maclunky".

 

I just can't, in good conscience, say that the PT is better than the ST when you have the fact that Lucas cannot write decent dialogue and gigantic plot holes. Who the **** is Syfo Dyas? If you tell me it's all explained in an EU novel, I'm blocking you.

 

"Some Jedi Master" is what the movie on its own tells us - with Obi-Wan saying things like "they say he ordered the army 10 years ago - I was under the impression he was killed before that".

 

Oh good god Sifo Dyas. Mods please lock.

 

I love the PT, but I did grow up with it, so I have to account for that. There is something to be said for it for that reason alone I think.

But I'm not going to go into the ridiculous defences for it's faults that I see around though.

 

I think there were potentially great ideas in the prequels, mostly stuff that veered away from nonsense fan service (e.g., Boba Fett's dad being the clone template) and could have moved the franchise forward. The Jedi being a bunch of out-of-touch, conservative, stuffy warrior monks who kidnap babies and were too cozy with the Republic leadership; they didn't get wiped out for no reason. Anakin growing up a slave, leaving his mother too early, suffering from rage issues, and committing monstrous acts before he officially became Darth Vader. The Clone War being a big sham all in the service of a fascist secret evil sorcerer consolidating his political power. The Republic's own inefficiency, corruption, and infighting allowing internal factions to arm themselves and act with impunity and paving the way for an authoritarian leader like Palps. If only Lucas hadn't surrounded himself with yes-men and instead employed people who could flesh out such ideas better. And allowed others to direct.

I feel similarly about the things TLJ tried to do, except I don't think the execution was nearly as botched. I know Rian Johnson recognized that Star Wars needs to evolve, if only a little, and maybe Lucas on some level recognized that too.

The Sifo-Dyas thing was explained in an EU tie-in novel and it still didn't make much ****ing sense.