PT [Videos] Are the Star Wars Prequels Actually that Bad?

Four friends discuss why the much reviled Star Wars prequel trilogy isn't actually that bad, drawing on their own personal nostalgia towards them, and the unfair treatment of the cast and crew.

 

Haven't watched the video yet, but to answer the title question, NO, the prequels are NOT bad but great, especially Episodes II and III. But this has been discussed countless times already.

 

I dont think the was PT was bad and think they get a lot of unfair treatment generally

 

It's funny how many fans seem to be changing their opinion about the PT in general, now that they have something else to bash (they Disney ST).

It was predictable, and I guess it's a good thing. However, it does make me think about how these trends work, and how easily people seem to change their opinion based on what's popular to bash or love.
I mean, many of those who now say "hey, the prequels are not that bad... they're actually awesome!" were trashing the prequels just a few years ago. And while there's nothing wrong in changing your opinion about something, I'm sure many of those who have changed their (very vocal) opinion haven't even watched the prequels again in a long time....

 

I tend to agree I take those fans with a grain of salt. If it took a mediocre trilogy for them to find beauty in the PT, ok, fine, but don't act like all of a sudden you respect the PT or Lucas when you were the main reason TFA (and the other two) ended up the way it did.

 

The Star Wars prequel films were terrible adaptions of three non-existent masterpieces.

 

I think the whole trilogy is just a masterpiece on its own class, and totally underappreciated by many so-called "fans". Obviously the Disney films make the difference even more jarring.

 

Just my opinion, but I think the prequels are bad movies, with some good aspects here and there. ROTS is okay. I really wish I could consider them great, but I just can’t. There’s too much bad acting, cringey dialogue, and way too much green screen.

 

I really, really like the prequels and they're my favorite era of Star Wars.

I've never been sure about what objective metric people measure film to say that the OT is great and the PT is bad. I've always had a roughly equal view of the trilogies. Not to mention I don't think that most of the problems that the PT supposedly has can't also be found in the OT.

 

I sort of agree here. Im an OT fan of course since those are the ones I grew up with and started this whole thing. But, when I watch the entire saga I have just as much fun and get just as much enjoyment out of the PT as I do the OT. Yeah, I just said it and I mean it. The prequels gel beautifully. The world building is second to none. Some of the scenes & situations are just awesome. Are they perfect? 'Course not but they are cherished SW films for me.

I find them considerably better than the ST which just doesnt quite cut it despite some good parts.

 

I have never held the OT as some masterpiece. i feel like because i did not watch the OT growing up until much later after The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones that when i look at the OT i don't suddenly think wow this is some award-winning dialogue and a masterpiece of storytelling.

I think i enjoy Revenge of the sith the most out of all of them.

But yeah the change in how the prequels are perceived is quite surprising. they were bashed to no end before TFA was released. loads of talk about how Disney will reboot the prequels ect ect. but now its no longer cool to hate the prequels.

 

I agree.

 

They still say the prequels are bad movies but good Star Wars movies. There must be some rule written somewhere that saying anything good about I and II especially means you don't know anything about cinema.

You know what, I was raised in a cinephile family and somehow managed to watch Tarkovsky and Fellini and even silent movies like Battleship Potemkin, before the original trilogy. And to me, the prequels are like family-friendly versions of those movies, more than any typical blockbuster of the past 30 years.

 

I found I loved the prequels more than the OT since their release. Love the OT, but the Prequels were something special for me.

 

@tylewowa it doesn't matter if they're good or bad, if you like them, that's all that matters. It doesn't matter what other think of them either, or if others like them or not. It's nobody's place to tell you what to like or dislike.

 

Ive heard that same saying about good movies and good star wars movies. Hmmmm. Ironically, I have heard the opposite about the sequels in that they are well-made films and everything is "there" but they fail to be truly good star wars movies. Something like that. Not sure hos accurate either sentiment is. Alls I know is that I love the prequels and the originals. Sequels? Not so much but thats OK.

 

People would say the sequels were better executed but admit they don't seem to have a story of their own to tell. Well, they how can you say they're well executed when there's no story? Isn't it the foundation of everything, from script to the visuals? Even things George gets blasted for like acting or dialogue aren't any better.

 

I’m also a fan of early cinema and love how steeped the Prequel Trilogy is in the language of silent films.

Like a year ago I saw “They Live By Night” from 1949 for the first time. It’s a film noir about a young convict on the run who falls in love with a woman and tries to to start a life with her on the lamb. I was shocked what an influence the film has on Attack of the Clones. It’s inspires Padme and Anakin’s romance in ways you’d never expect. And the young convict’s performance is inspiration for Anakin’s character and Hayden Christians casting the role.

 

@Jedi_Sith_Smuggler_Droid Interesting, I didn't know about this film. The Searchers, Sound of Music and Rebel without a Cause, along with Metropolis and old-school monster movies obviously inspired AOTC but I'm sure there's a lot more to it, as always the case with George.

 

Nicolas Ray directed both ‘They Live By Night’ and ‘Rebel without a Cause’. I’d say Padme is a bit more ‘Rebel’ and Anakin more ‘They Live By Night’. But the dynamic of Padme and Anakin traveling alone together to multiple locations finding home like environments in disguise to escape danger is basically the plot of ‘They Live By Night’.

I’d seen two of Ray’s films ‘Johnny Guitar’ and ‘In A Lonely Place’. ‘They Live By Night’ was recommended to me not knowing Ray directed ‘Rebel’ or the Star Wars connection. And when you see it, it’s soooo apparent Attack of the Clone is directly inspired by it.

If you check it out please, would you let me know what you think?

 

I found TFA better executed than TPM because I found the acting, dialogue and directing to be better. I was engaged with the characters unlike TPM, where I was just passively watching the film.
It did have flaws but they did not bother me as much when I saw the film. Some stood out afterwards.
Then TLJ made a mess of things but I can not really fault the acting. Mark does a good job, it isn't really Luke Skywalker, but he does a good job with what he has.
With the PT I sometimes did not see the characters, I saw an actor reciting lines.
I did not have that problem with the ST.
I had a bunch of other problems with both TLJ and RoS and how they make little sense and don't work together or with TFA or the OT/PT.

To make an analogy concerning "execution"
A person has an idea about a house, he then makes an overall design of the house and it is great.
Then you have to make blueprints, schematics all that. Here small stuff begins to creep in.
Then comes the building of the house and here the people doing the work at times are cheap or lazy.
They use substandard materials, take short cuts and so the house is built. It is like the idea but a number of flaws are present. Enough to be noticeable.

The ST on the other hand would be more like, they have no clear idea but they want to build a house.
So they start working on the foundation and parts of the first floor. They do their job mostly well but there are mistakes and they don't really know what the house would look like in the end. Then they quit and another team takes over and decides that the house should not be a square but round however they don't alter the foundation and instead just builds like the foundation is for a round house when it is not. And even though there is supposed to be a third floor, the second team don't care. Then they quit and third team comes in that is in part made up of people from the first team. They look at the mess of a house they have to work with and try to patch over some stuff, tear down some stuff but not a total overhaul.
And what we have is a kind of Frankenstein House. Parts of it are built well enough but the whole don't work together and it looks weird.

Here is the problem I have with the argument that the PT is like "Silent films". They are very talky and wordy. The dialogue is formal or very ornate and flowery, like with the romance. And it takes a long time to say not as much. To me the OT is snappier and quicker with its dialogue.

I know it is the OT but take ESB old and new and Vader's dialogue, "Bring my shuttle." Short and to the point. Tells us a lot with very little.
In the SE we have instead; "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival." Longer and is redundant, we know Vader is going to the SSD, he does not have to say that. And then the film compounds that by having the shuttle fly up and land on the "SSD", really the DS2.
What is this?
Didn't Lucas think that people could not work out how Vader got from Cloud City to his SSD? He has to hold us by the hand and show every last bit?

And also I think the PT does the "Tell, don't show" bit a little too often.
Anakin tells us that Obi-Wan is his friend but he does not show it all that often.
People say that Anakin is really exceptional but we don't see it very often.

As to the OP and the overall perception of the PT.
I think part of this has to do with the polarization of the fanbase that started soon after TPM.
Where you got two sides that had declared war on the other and confused everyone in the middle for being the enemy.
It was difficult to have a dialogue like "I like these aspects of TPM and her is why." with someone countering "I don't much care for these things and here is why."
Instead it was "TPM is awful and if you like it then there is something wrong with you!"
And the other side, "TPM is the greatest film ever and if you don't like it then there is something wrong with you!"
With not much room for in-between.

Lastly that those that watched the PT as kids and are now older and their voice is heard more.
That I can see and have no issue with. I don't hate the PT or ST, both just have a number of flaws that drag them down.

Bye for now.
Blackboard Monitor

 

Best thing about the PT was that it heightened my immersion. Comparatively, the Disney stuff is like watching the greatest set of fan films ever made. There’s value there, but try as I might the experience just can’t flow as a continuation of I-VI.

 

It depends on the country of origin for the silent film and the genre. I’m talking about more about the visuals than dialogue. But I’ve seen silent films that read like “The Phantom Menace”

 

I happen to think some of the best Star Wars moments don't feature any dialogue:
The famous binary sunset in ANH
Most of the Duel of the Fates
The closing montage of AOTC
Padme's ruminations in ROTS
Order 66