Poll: Why all the hate on star wars prequels?

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verdant monkai

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Because of this slimey little fucker



Phantom mencae is in my top 50 ten boring-est films list. Kid Anakin couldn't act. Darth Maul looked cool but said nothing. And there was way too much emphasis on the Naboo crap, rather than Jedi stuff.

The second film is pretty bland but is saved by the awesome end battle. And I actually really liked the revenge of the Sith. I think its almost as good as the old ones.
 

Jamieson 90

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I'd rank them like this from best to worst.

1. Empire Strikes Back.
2. Return of the Jedi.
3. Revenge of the Sith.
4. A New Hope.
5. The Phantom Menace
6. Attack of the Clones.

So yeah the prequels weren't exactly great films but then they weren't terrible either, however I think people often forget that they most likely watched the originals as kids and loved them, yet they were adults for the prequels whereas that generations of kids most likely loved them too, and considering that I've found that if you look back at the originals that some of the scenes just don't hold up, hence why A New Hope was relegated to 4th on my list under Revenge of the Sith which in comparison had some amazing lightsaber battles whereas ANH was a bit boring on reflection to be honest, yes great when it came out but not so much these days.
 

Nomanslander

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Just go watch Red Letter Media's reviews of the prequels.

Never has there been a more well conceived lamentation and criticism of anything - ever created. Not only does he explain, point by point, in detail, everything that's wrong with them; he also does something most critics don't do and explains what could have been done to save them, and he's concepts are on point.

http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/
 

gamernerdtg2

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thewatergamer said:
Yes I know this is kind of a controversial topic amongst star wars fans but please keep it nice in here, this is all purely opinions and is meant to promote discussion

Anyway, Why all the hate on the Star Wars Prequels and other forms of star wars media? (specifically animated series)

Now before you rage at me here me out here

In regards to the animated series, I enjoyed them because of more focus on the clones vs. droids and jedi vs. sith mentality that I felt was kind of missing in the originals, don't get me wrong its still flawed (similar to prequels but I'll get to that) but I still enjoyed them, but whatever this is the internet.

Now in regards to the Star Wars Prequels:

What I Liked about them:

1. The Villians

-disagree with me all you want but to this day Count Dooku and General Grievous are my two favorite star wars villains (Darth Vader #3 mind you)

I like Count Dooku due to his sort of calm and collective nature as opposed to the other sith anger powered approach

and I liked General Grievous because he was a powerful warrior that didn't need the force, also he was evil as heck.

2. The Jedi Council

-The Idea of the Jedi Council Was pretty awesome to me anyway, with the apprentices and masters etc. even though not really much to go on here.

3.The Clones

-I personally really liked the idea of the clones vs. droids, more so than the rebels vs empire
once again my opinion but I've always admired the clones and I feel that in the originals the stormtroopers just weren't as cool

Now for the other part...

Things I HATE about the prequels

1. Jar Jar Binks...

Just...
What?

What were you thinking Lucas?
Most annoying character I have ever seen in any form of media...
I just can't go on about him...
*shudder*

2. Anakin Skywalker

Good Lord VADER WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU???

Seriously in the first movie (phantom menace) he was pretty much a whiny annoying kid who took too many risks... Just terrible character'

but in the last 2 prequels it only got worse, he went from being an annoying kid to being a really whiny teenager

I felt like the father son relation between Anakin and Obi-wan was kind of forced and dumb...
Mind you I liked Obi-Wans character in the prequels but good god I can't believe the whiny teenager from the prequels became the evil bad-*** we know and love
just terrible design of Anakin Overall

Other than these there are many other minor and major flaws but I can honestly say I am on the fence on this topic
I mean I don't think the prequels were evil or really terrible but I can't say they were good or worthy of the Star Wars License...

but thats just me what do you guys think?

Edit: Poll editing is not working for me for some reason... So I can't fix it maybe a moderator could do it? or is the website just updating?

The Poll Choices should be

"I Hated them"
"I am on the fence"
"I liked them"

THE SHORT ANSWER
4-6 are believable. They have a gritty realism. They appealed to children (I was like 8 or 9 years old) AND adults simultaneously, which is an art that is sorely lost in this current generation. They created the mythology, and cinematically they are untouchable. George Lucas decided that he wanted to make 1-3 appeal to 11 year olds, which completely negates the fan base from 4-6, which are people like me, and my parents who made Star Wars popular by seeing the movie, buying the toys, etc.
The decision to avoid the primary fan base is the underlying reason for all the "hate" as you say.

I saw Return of the Jedi in a drive in movie theater, with analogue stereo sound pumping all the sound effects and the legendary John Williams score into my parent's car. There's no comparison - even in today's digital age.

I believed that everything that I saw and heard was REAL. Palpatine, Vader, Jabba, The Rancor, the Millennium Falcon, that scary ass 2nd death star...I thought ALL of that was real even though I knew it was fantasy.

James Earl Jones'voice created the character of Darth Vader, period. That voice, and the breathing created the ultimate antagonist - who we all found out was supposed to be the main protagonist... These are things that we all know from watching episodes 4-6 over and over, but we're SO UPSET over 1-3 that we take the simple things for granted.

One really decent criticism that I agree with:
I don't believe that Anakin Skywalker is powerful. 1-3 Anakin is NOT the 4-6 Anakin. 1-3 didn't convince me at all.
In 4-6, you see Luke discovering this amazing dormant power from within himself, but 1-3 was written for an 11 year old. George Lucas even says this. THAT's why so many people are frustrated with it. On that note, Jar Jar binks was completely ridiculous.

Another criticism:
There should have been a deeper impact for Anakin's transition to the dark side. Ole Hayden C. didn't do it as good as we were expecting, and it was done too quickly. All the Jedi except one survived Palpatine's 666? That was done way too quickly with very little impact.

There were moments in 1-3 that made me feel like they were Star Wars movies. I really enjoyed the last 45 minutes of Episode 1, and ANY scene with Darth Maul. I enjoyed Yoda in Episode 2 - that was a welcome surprise. Episode 3 was the best of them all, but again, Lucas didn't want the movie to come off too heavy, with issues like the murdering of children and whatnot.

Episodes 4-6 created the Mythology. 1-3 are ok movies. They show a connection. They are in no way going to outdo 4-6. We can talk about any aspect of all six movies that you want to, but 4-6 are better in every way.

....you don't understand how scary that Rancor was. You don't get how friggin REAL we thought Jabba was, and how I thought that Luke and the gang were going to die. There are NO scenes in 1-3 that make you feel like you're gonna drop a load in your pants like 4-6 did. Needless to say, 1-3 ruined the whole "Luke I'm your father" thing for everyone else.

Hence the reason why this thread even exists. You really don't understand the "hate" because you unfortunately weren't there to experience these things. 4-6 are works of cinematic art on the highest level, and there's no disputing this.
1-3 are decent, but they fall short dramatically...because they were designed for an 11 year old, rather than a movie designed to hit everyone in the family.
 

gamernerdtg2

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Clowndoe said:
Almost everything covered in the Harry Plinkett reviews really. If you're from some other planet go look it up on Youtube, it's worth your time.

I think the biggest stand out for me was when I watched it in a marathon with some friends some months ago. If asked to think of a typical scene from the middle of the prequel movies, you're bound to see 2-3 bland characters from a slightly elevated camera in a big CG room, talking about plot development while walking slowly towards the camera, stopping halfway through the scene (presumably because they ran out of blue-screen) before finishing their discussion, next scene. Viewer is flacid.

If I do the same exercise in Empire Strikes Back for example, I find they make the most hum-drum scenes awesome. Like that time Admiral Piett reports to Darth Vader while he's changing his helmet. Vader is sitting in a scary meditation room thing with jaw-like doors, and you barely catch a glimpse of the dark lord in his "vulnerability" from a lower angle. Piett looks super nervous since he doesn't have much good news and he caught Vader at an awkward time, and in a scene that's essentially just plot advancement and exposition they managed to give you both tension and striking and tantalising visual evidence of what Vader really is beneath his armored suit. That gets me pumped.
Because you believed that Vader was powerful. The realistic impact was huge throughout 5 and 6. I was personally scared of the 2nd Death Star. Just the design itself was super scary for me when I was younger.
 

gamernerdtg2

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Jamieson 90 said:
I'd rank them like this from best to worst.

1. Empire Strikes Back.
2. Return of the Jedi.
3. Revenge of the Sith.
4. A New Hope.
5. The Phantom Menace
6. Attack of the Clones.

So yeah the prequels weren't exactly great films but then they weren't terrible either, however I think people often forget that they most likely watched the originals as kids and loved them, yet they were adults for the prequels whereas that generations of kids most likely loved them too, and considering that I've found that if you look back at the originals that some of the scenes just don't hold up, hence why A New Hope was relegated to 4th on my list under Revenge of the Sith which in comparison had some amazing lightsaber battles whereas ANH was a bit boring on reflection to be honest, yes great when it came out but not so much these days.
Yes, if you look at the technological advances of today, all three original movies fall short one way or another. But historically speaking, that perspective negates that fact that 4-6 created all the hype. In their original unedited state, 4-6 are works of art that were appreciated by kids and adults at the time.

Many people would put Empire as #1 as you did. I'm one of the few that prefer Jedi as #1. Jedi wouldn't be as good without Empire though.
 

Angie7F

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Nov 11, 2011
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I am not a big star wars fan so I found the prequels to be plain easier to watch than the original trilogy.
But I dont really love it and I dont really hate it.
 

Comocat

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I think the prequels did a lousy job, amongst other things, rationalizing the lore of the Star Wars universe. For example Vader is the ultimate villain in episodes 4 - 6, but is pretty much a whiny ***** in episodes 1 - 3. Maybe I would become evil if I was such a dink as well. A more concrete example is the final duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin. Ok so you have a fight with your bestie and then when you win by chopping off his limbs, you just leave him to die in a pool of lava- wtf man? The movies felt lazy and uninspiring- for something as amazing as the star wars universe, they are very disappointing.
 

IamQ

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The story doesn't match up with the originals. At the end of the third movie you see darth vader looking at the death star. At this point it's pretty far into construction, you can easily see what it is. Then in episode 4 when luke is, what, 18-20? They use it for the first time, without anyone noticing it somehow for like 20 years. Then it's destoryed, and somehow it's instantly rebuilt in time for the 6th film. The orignal films never show you the time it's taken to built it, so when the prequels do, it just ruins the originals.
 

someonehairy-ish

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What I hated about the prequels (well, the biggest thing) was the fact that absolutely nothing that happened felt like it had any weight or consequence whatsoever. You can have a galaxy wide clone war but business on Jedi capitol is same as usual? There are no damaged buildings, no conscription lines or injured vets or anything. The planet prospers and no-one seems to be any worse off. Some faceless mooks get mown down but who cares?

At no point does anybody seem to be upset or emotionally invested in anything at all, except Anakin, but he's such a whiny bellend that it doesn't win the films any points...

Not only that, the motivations of each character seems to just change randomly based on what the plot demands. Most of them don't actually have anything approaching a well defined personality.

The SW prequels are some of the few films I feel comfortable pointing at as being objectively bad. Particularly the second and third... Phantom Menace has a few redeeming features.
 

Pinkamena

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They were just bland and boring, but I don't hate them. Actually the third one was sort of cool.