Say something nice about the Star Wars Prequel. If you can.

[IamLEAM1983]

Something good about the prequels?

*insert the sounds of a hard drive spinning and churning for a good, long while*

Erm... It's got Sam Jackson as Mace Windu? The one Jedi who probably has a leather-lined lightsaber grip with "Bad Ass Motherf*cker" stitched on it?

 

[LilithSlave]

stuff

Well y'all, that's exactly the sort of thing I was asking to hear. How approachable it is.

It sounds like, despite being 4,000 or at least 3,700 years before everyone you know in the franchise was born, they do a lot to make it very approachable. Thanks, I'm considering the new Star Wars games more than before. I don't know how they'd manage to make it not feel like a completely alien culture to Star Wars fans like me, but apparently they've tried.

 

[Deathmageddon]

While we're at it, what's so great about the original trilogy? Harrison Ford? Lightsaber fights that look like old men fighting with their canes? Leia's slave outfit from epi-yeah, gotta be that. Episode 1 wasn't fantastic, but other than that, Star Wars is Star Wars (except for the cartoon which I hate) (hate hate hate hate HAAATE).

 

[Dorian6]

the fight choreography was pretty cool, even if they didn't have a fraction of the tension and suspense as in the originals

Sam Jackson, Liam Neeson, Ewen McGregor, Christopher Lee.

They're fun to riff.

Darth Maul was cool, but would have been better if he didn't go out like a *****

 

[Neverhoodian]

I actually like The Phantom Menace despite its flaws. Liam Neeson was awesome as Qui-Gon, the podrace was exhilarating, and the lightsaber duel had impressive choreography (though it still comes across as a bit too clean). I also think Jar Jar gets too much flak. He simply provided the comic relief role that C-3PO filled for the classic trilogy.

It's when you get to Episodes II and III that I started to have my falling out with Star Wars. The more I watched them the more my dislike grew. Still, they have a few good moments.

Episode II had Jango Fett, who was awesome. He's certainly more entertaining than his son, who spent 95% of the classic trilogy just standing around doing absolutely nothing. It was neat to see a non-Force user hold his own against the Jedi using his wits and gadgets. The diner scene with Obi-Wan and Dax was also pretty neat. I liked the camaraderie between the two and how they maintained a level of respect for one another despite their radically different professions. Oh yeah, and there was also this:

Spoiler: Hubba hubba

Episode III had Emperor Palpatine hamming it up, which was entertaining in its own right. You can tell Ian McDiarmid had a lot of fun reprising the role. I also thought the "Order 66" scene was very powerful (though John Williams' score may have played a large role in that).

 

[Doinstuffman38]

1 and 2 had cool saber fights (2 had little else), podrace was awesome, and ROTS is the best of them. Aside from the poor portrayal of Anakin until the end, I have no major problems with 3. It also had the best saber duel in the prequel trilogy.

 

[theskadudeguy]

Ewan McGregor was a great choice for a Jedi, and some of the visuals were really cool

Am I the only one who didn't like this casting choice?

 

[Gabriel O'Brien]

I just want to make one thread shattering comment... You do realize that if they were made in proper order (1-6) that the first 3 would be the ones you nostalgia driven maniacs love so much... It is simply because back then the film industry didnt have the tech to capture what a "real" lightsabre fight was supposed to look like in George Lucas' eyes. If you cant capture your vision as a director then you havent done your job... he just wanted to portray how awesome jedi and sith were at combat and to do that alot of fancy stuff needed to be done.

 

[Tar Palantir]

I just want to make one thread shattering comment... You do realize that if they were made in proper order (1-6) that the first 3 would be the ones you nostalgia driven maniacs love so much... It is simply because back then the film industry didnt have the tech to capture what a "real" lightsabre fight was supposed to look like in George Lucas' eyes. If you cant capture your vision as a director then you havent done your job... he just wanted to portray how awesome jedi and sith were at combat and to do that alot of fancy stuff needed to be done.

Or maybe he just gave the fanboys what he tought they wanted (even if it was stupid and meaningless), and forgot about his "true vision" (that he keeps changing with every dvd release). He's a businessman first and a movie maker second. He decided to make 3 movies about Darth Vader because he's a pop culture icon and he's important to us, not because that was his plan since the beginning...Vader was just a guy in a robot suit, not space jesus! Virginal birth by the Force? C'mon...

 

[remnant_phoenix]

John Williams doing what he does best.

Took the words out of my mouth in the original post.

When I first saw them as a teen, I thought that the prequels' saber battles were amazing. After years of wisdom and re-watching the original trilogy, I realized that the slower, more deliberate saber duels in the original films were actually more intense. You get the impression that most of the battle is occurring in the duelists minds, as they try to read their opponent and quietly listen to the Force as it guides their blows.

 

[CleverNickname]

Jar Jar was just misunderstood and is quite pitiable.

And Grievous was "foreshadowed" in Episode 1: "Maybe I killed a Jedi and took [this lightsaber] from him". Whoa.

Also, the prequels brought us the Sonic Charge. B-DRÄÄÄÄÄÄÄNG.

 

[Troublesome Lagomorph]

Cool ships, cool fights, Christopher Lee, Darht Maul, Liam Neeson, Jango Fett...
Oh, and the music. Music was great.

 

[Lem0nade Inlay]

I actually really like the third one, and the battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin is one of my favourite scenes throughout the whole series.

The second one, there's not too much to love.

First one...Liam Neeson is brilliant, as is Darth Maul.

 

[LHZA]

I didn't find Jar Jar Binks racist, just really really really annoying.

 

[StorytellingIsAMust]

Let me start by saying this: I was first introduced to Star Wars via Phantom Menace when I was 7 years old. I didn't know anything other than space samurais battling evil robots and aliens with magic powers and seeing a cool version of car racing. I was a kid and I LOVED it. I immediately went home and watched all three videos of the original trilogy that my parents had and, well, didn't like them that much because they went over my head and, while I'm being perfectly honest, the fight scenes weren't as well done as the Darth Maul duel.

Now that I'm older and have a better understanding of story and characters, I sort of regret having watched the prequels, but I never thought of them as bad movies. They just weren't as good as the other Star Wars movies and if they had just taken out Jar Jar Binks and didn't make them under the name of Star Wars, maybe people wouldn't hate them so much and just realize that they're popcorn movies that have some above-average moments and a slightly interesting, though formulaic, political intrigue spin on an old space opera style.

Oh, and I would be ashamed if I didn't mention how awesome John Williams's score is.

 

[RUINER ACTUAL]

The clone battles, specifically the third one. In fact, as a whole, Episode III really wasn't that bad stacked up next to I and II. If you hate Hayden Christensen that much at least you get to see him burn in a volcano.

 

[Spinozaad]

They weren't that bad.

Sure, clunky dialogue, poor acting, Jar Jar, overdosed on CGI... But take off the rose-tinted glasses and look at the OT again. Clunky dialogue, poor acting, Ewoks, awesome-but-now-outdated special effects.

Yes, I went there.