Seriously, WHY Do People Consider The Star Wars Prequels to be Horrendous?
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It's not just a matter of subjective opinion.
I thought the original trilogy was good. Thought the third was the weakest but also had probably the best climax of the first three films.
The prequels just missed the point. There are no "common people" in them. The nearest thing they have to commoners is Jar Jar Binks, and he's a senator by the end of the first one. Nobody we care about is at stake. The characters are nonexistent. They're all beauty, no heart. And to this day, "lava surfing" remains my go-to example of a scene in a film where the need for spectacle just overtakes everything else, to the point where the film just disappears up its own backside.
As a non-fan I couldn't stand the prequels. Any of them. No heart, no soul, no likeable characters, forgettable villain with ridiculously convoluted scheme, unlikeable "heroes", no real protagonist, nobody I can root for or against. They're just... nothing. I mean, what am I supposed to take from them? Anything?
The problems these films have aren't just a matter of "subjectivity". I mean, you might enjoy the films in spite of their flaws - I've enjoyed plenty of objectively bad films in my time - but that doesn't magically mean the problems of character and structure just go away. If you enjoyed the prequels, I'm glad you got more from them than I did. That doesn't make them good films by any yardstick that I would use to measure the "goodness" of a film though.
I thought the original trilogy was good. Thought the third was the weakest but also had probably the best climax of the first three films.
The prequels just missed the point. There are no "common people" in them. The nearest thing they have to commoners is Jar Jar Binks, and he's a senator by the end of the first one. Nobody we care about is at stake. The characters are nonexistent. They're all beauty, no heart. And to this day, "lava surfing" remains my go-to example of a scene in a film where the need for spectacle just overtakes everything else, to the point where the film just disappears up its own backside.
As a non-fan I couldn't stand the prequels. Any of them. No heart, no soul, no likeable characters, forgettable villain with ridiculously convoluted scheme, unlikeable "heroes", no real protagonist, nobody I can root for or against. They're just... nothing. I mean, what am I supposed to take from them? Anything?
The problems these films have aren't just a matter of "subjectivity". I mean, you might enjoy the films in spite of their flaws - I've enjoyed plenty of objectively bad films in my time - but that doesn't magically mean the problems of character and structure just go away. If you enjoyed the prequels, I'm glad you got more from them than I did. That doesn't make them good films by any yardstick that I would use to measure the "goodness" of a film though.
Basically every single thing Qui Gon does or says is complete and utter nonsense -- his ridiculous decisions the whole way through ("lets stow away on separate droid ships and meet down on naboo", "lets take Jar Jar and some handmaiden girl instead of Obi Wan or the Captain guy who are actually a) sensible and b) capable in a fight", "let's not check any other shops besides Watto's in order to get the part we need, especially seeing as the shop owner presumably won't be immune to jedi mind tricks", "lets stake everything we have on the hunch that this child can win Death Race 2000 in the most confusing, convoluted bet ever placed") are just so ...ridiculous that it becomes unwatchable.
Besides that, the characters are all, without exception, completely two dimensional, the fight scenes are really visually impressive but at the same time just not as engaging as those from the original trilogy, especially all of the parts with the battle-droids, who are somehow even less menacing than the Stormtroopers, who were almost laughably incompetent at their jobs, don't fucking get me started on Jar Jar Binx, the child acting was horrendous, however so was that of Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman.
Besides that, the characters are all, without exception, completely two dimensional, the fight scenes are really visually impressive but at the same time just not as engaging as those from the original trilogy, especially all of the parts with the battle-droids, who are somehow even less menacing than the Stormtroopers, who were almost laughably incompetent at their jobs, don't fucking get me started on Jar Jar Binx, the child acting was horrendous, however so was that of Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman.
Hey. I'm totally with you concerning the very concept, the contagious mind-numbing wasting disease that is sequelitis idiotica.tippy2k2 said:I hate when people use that video as their argument (nothing personal Flamezdudes. I'm not about to watch a one hour video to get your opinion...just tell us why you don't like it: That's what I do!
But... here's my thoughts on Mr. Plinkett's epic Star Wars prequels reviews: They're awesome and way more entertaining (and enlightening) than the three sequels by themselves. I'd go so far as to say that they're the best thing that could possibly arise from the pus-covered clusterfuck that is the Star Wars prequels.
When I first got sent the links to an 'hour-long Phantom Menace review' I laughed hard, LOL style. Eventually, though, I'd watch it, and then I watched them all, never being bored or plain not entertained.
I could say the reason that the prequels sucked was because they give an outline of them in the original trilogy, and do NOTHING with that material. Here are a few pointers:
Leia knew her mother. Yep, she says she remembers her even though she died when she was young. Infants don't know their mothers, and don't consider themselves YOUNG. Whoever whatshisnames wife was, that was NOT leia's mother, and she probably wouldn't get all glassy-eyed about her step-mother.
Obi-wan really liked anakin skywalker. He was the best pilot in the galaxy and a good friend. The goofy shit in episode I where he 'accidentally' gets in a SOMF ship and shoots down a bunch of stuff is complete crap. Luke and Han, you can believe they were good friends. Obi-wan and anakin didn't even like each other. Their friendship was about as forced as his romance with Padme.
Droids: They are mass produced. C3P0 mentions other jobs he did before he was on Leia's ship. Making Anakin build him makes no sense. Having R2D2 in the series makes no sense. Invent some other kind of droid that would have been around 20 odd years before the original trilogy. If they had C3P0 in the Knights of the Old Republic series, you are sure as shit people would toss the bullshit flag.
Clones: The clone wars are mentioned in the original trilogy, but they NEVER say that storm-troopers are those clones, or any clones at all. On that note, Jango fett really doesn't deserve to be the 'father of the clones'. That essentially makes Boba fett a storm trooper in all but costume.
Like I said earlier, you could have taken a few sentences from the trilogy and made a movie with a fighter pilot befriending a jedi, having epic adventures and eventually falling to the dark side. Instead we get a nonsense plot where they find a KID who is TOO OLD to begin the training, so they saddle a freshly minted Jedi to train him in their stead. Then there is some nonsense where he falls in love with a queens maid(?)(seriously, why the makeup and all the look-a-likes. Then she is supposed to be some sort of ambassador or something.). The final movie was completely forced and makes no sense. It's just a bad movie. All three of them fail as movies individually, and combined they drag down the entire series.
Leia knew her mother. Yep, she says she remembers her even though she died when she was young. Infants don't know their mothers, and don't consider themselves YOUNG. Whoever whatshisnames wife was, that was NOT leia's mother, and she probably wouldn't get all glassy-eyed about her step-mother.
Obi-wan really liked anakin skywalker. He was the best pilot in the galaxy and a good friend. The goofy shit in episode I where he 'accidentally' gets in a SOMF ship and shoots down a bunch of stuff is complete crap. Luke and Han, you can believe they were good friends. Obi-wan and anakin didn't even like each other. Their friendship was about as forced as his romance with Padme.
Droids: They are mass produced. C3P0 mentions other jobs he did before he was on Leia's ship. Making Anakin build him makes no sense. Having R2D2 in the series makes no sense. Invent some other kind of droid that would have been around 20 odd years before the original trilogy. If they had C3P0 in the Knights of the Old Republic series, you are sure as shit people would toss the bullshit flag.
Clones: The clone wars are mentioned in the original trilogy, but they NEVER say that storm-troopers are those clones, or any clones at all. On that note, Jango fett really doesn't deserve to be the 'father of the clones'. That essentially makes Boba fett a storm trooper in all but costume.
Like I said earlier, you could have taken a few sentences from the trilogy and made a movie with a fighter pilot befriending a jedi, having epic adventures and eventually falling to the dark side. Instead we get a nonsense plot where they find a KID who is TOO OLD to begin the training, so they saddle a freshly minted Jedi to train him in their stead. Then there is some nonsense where he falls in love with a queens maid(?)(seriously, why the makeup and all the look-a-likes. Then she is supposed to be some sort of ambassador or something.). The final movie was completely forced and makes no sense. It's just a bad movie. All three of them fail as movies individually, and combined they drag down the entire series.
There are so many things that were wrong wtih the prequels, but in the interest of brevity, I'll sum it up by citing the primary failing across all three: they failed to accomplish their purpose.
What purpose was that you ask? The saga of Star Wars in its entirety was intended to be a story of one man: the rise, fall, and redemption of Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker). The last half of this was done in the first three movies, where we saw the great evil that was Darth Vader, a man willing to destroy entire worlds, and who in the end, gave his life to save his son and stop the greater evil in the galaxy.
Now the prequel trilogy was intended to set up the rise and lead into the fall; it was to show us the great hero Anakin once was; someone who fought for good and justice and had the admiration of the people (as well as the audience). When we saw what a great hero he was, it would make his fall all the more tragic to witness, making that ultimate fall a moving and evocative emotional experience.
But here is where it failed: in these movies, Anakin was never a hero; he never really ascended past the level of whiny brat (like father, like son I suppose, but at least Luke grew out of it by the end). He never demonstrated any heroic attributes or personality. His only redeeming qualities were a talent for the Force and skill with a lightsaber, and a shiny sword does not a hero make. The point is that he was never a character the audience could really care about, and as such, when the fall eventually came, it was less of a tradgedy and more of an inevitability. Whether this was the fault of the writing, the acting, the directing, or a combination of all three is up for debate, but ultimately what matters is that it failed miserably. It is said that good cinema moves the audience to emotion; the Star Wars prequesl simply moved people to apathy.
What purpose was that you ask? The saga of Star Wars in its entirety was intended to be a story of one man: the rise, fall, and redemption of Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker). The last half of this was done in the first three movies, where we saw the great evil that was Darth Vader, a man willing to destroy entire worlds, and who in the end, gave his life to save his son and stop the greater evil in the galaxy.
Now the prequel trilogy was intended to set up the rise and lead into the fall; it was to show us the great hero Anakin once was; someone who fought for good and justice and had the admiration of the people (as well as the audience). When we saw what a great hero he was, it would make his fall all the more tragic to witness, making that ultimate fall a moving and evocative emotional experience.
But here is where it failed: in these movies, Anakin was never a hero; he never really ascended past the level of whiny brat (like father, like son I suppose, but at least Luke grew out of it by the end). He never demonstrated any heroic attributes or personality. His only redeeming qualities were a talent for the Force and skill with a lightsaber, and a shiny sword does not a hero make. The point is that he was never a character the audience could really care about, and as such, when the fall eventually came, it was less of a tradgedy and more of an inevitability. Whether this was the fault of the writing, the acting, the directing, or a combination of all three is up for debate, but ultimately what matters is that it failed miserably. It is said that good cinema moves the audience to emotion; the Star Wars prequesl simply moved people to apathy.
If I had a dollar for every "why do people have X opinion?" thread I saw here I would be a rich man. Because we have different standards and values on what constitutes a good film?
The prequels are not "especially hated" by everyone. They get the same fair review as all films that I like or dislike. I hate Avatar and yet the general public gave that a free pass on the overuse of special effects and completely boring story.
The prequels are not "especially hated" by everyone. They get the same fair review as all films that I like or dislike. I hate Avatar and yet the general public gave that a free pass on the overuse of special effects and completely boring story.
Oh Lord that comic is priceless!LaughingAtlas said:
For me the prequels hold a tonne of missed opportunity. It was too kid-orientated, too full of characters and scenes designed to be fun for the younglings to watch, and no proper peril or actual dark themes in case that scared them. The original trilogy was really quite dark plot-wise, and had some deep characterisations and real exciting and memorable scenes because of it. The prequels were badly explained, full of plotholes, never more than the popcorn peril of "oh, how are they going to get out of this one?" and everything was just really shallow.
Ahh RedLetterMedia.
That series of videos is overused, and people treat it as a sort of "Bible" for criticizing the Star Wars prequels.
While it has several valid points, I don't agree with the main thesis that the problems stem from George Lucas being incompetent.
I maintain that he made those films with the SOLE PURPOSE of merchandising above all else, and every problem with those films is directly or indirectly related to that premise.
Apart from the CGI and merchandising, I find a great lack of effort on everything else:
-The script is utter nonsense when you stop and think about it (for ANY of the prequels)
-Erratic pacing and editing (transition shots are all over the place, or just missing entirely)
-Painful lack of character development
-Boring acting/Poor direction. (They have A-list actors giving C-list performances for D-list direction)
-Pointless sets/characters made to create fodder for more toys and games
(Kashyakk in Episode 3, Pod Racing in Episode 1, or anything involving the Gungans)
-A "disposable" attitude towards the main villains (this is a personal pet peeve of mine about the prequels)
I could list volumes of examples, but it's not really the topic at hand here.
If it wasn't obvious, I personally don't like the prequels.
Not because of "George Lucas Raped my Childhood", but because they're boring and stupid.
That series of videos is overused, and people treat it as a sort of "Bible" for criticizing the Star Wars prequels.
While it has several valid points, I don't agree with the main thesis that the problems stem from George Lucas being incompetent.
I maintain that he made those films with the SOLE PURPOSE of merchandising above all else, and every problem with those films is directly or indirectly related to that premise.
Apart from the CGI and merchandising, I find a great lack of effort on everything else:
-The script is utter nonsense when you stop and think about it (for ANY of the prequels)
-Erratic pacing and editing (transition shots are all over the place, or just missing entirely)
-Painful lack of character development
-Boring acting/Poor direction. (They have A-list actors giving C-list performances for D-list direction)
-Pointless sets/characters made to create fodder for more toys and games
(Kashyakk in Episode 3, Pod Racing in Episode 1, or anything involving the Gungans)
-A "disposable" attitude towards the main villains (this is a personal pet peeve of mine about the prequels)
I could list volumes of examples, but it's not really the topic at hand here.
If it wasn't obvious, I personally don't like the prequels.
Not because of "George Lucas Raped my Childhood", but because they're boring and stupid.
I would point out even more stupidity in the film, but this just about summed it up.Daystar Clarion said:
The continuity errors are numerous and let's be perfectly honest. It was sort of convincing that he'd give into the Darkside seeing his mom die a horrible death by sand people, but then his confession to Padme was so damn forced that I couldn't take him seriously.
Not to mention the entire romance of how it started between Anakin and Padme was so forced you could practically see how uncomfortable the actors were.
He's referencing Firefly. It's a geek joke, and not actually intended to offend anyone.kortin said:
Shepherd Book tells Mal that he's going to the special reserved for (See above), an absurd punishment for a crime Mal wasn't going to commit. It's like 10 years old, come on.
A warning for that is really really harsh.
I thought that Star Wars, episode one was okay really. My only two gripes tbh were the reducing of mystic force powers to nothing more than how many parasites were in your body and.. Jar Jar. I don't mind his character really, I just wish he had been a cool, witty outcast instead of a clumsy, mildly retarded gungan. To use a quote from the movie Tropic Thunder, "Never go full retard".
I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, I thought the originals were a bit meh to be perfectly honest. I liked Episode One the most out of all six. There were awesome fight scenes, and the podracing scene was really cool. Plus, you know, Liam Neeson. Also, Darth Maul was an awesome villain. The view that the prequels were abominations mined from the deepest bowels of hell is certainly not universal.
Well for me...
None of the characters are interesting, the script is convoluted and dull, the acting is weak, the script is silly, the visuals are bland (reliance on shiny things over visual aesthetics) and well... there is nothing remotely memorable. When taken on their own, they are forgettable sci-fi flicks, but as a Star Wars film, in the shadow of a classic trilogy, it's well... shit.
If you like it; good for you. However, for me the Star Wars prequels are truly mediocre.
None of the characters are interesting, the script is convoluted and dull, the acting is weak, the script is silly, the visuals are bland (reliance on shiny things over visual aesthetics) and well... there is nothing remotely memorable. When taken on their own, they are forgettable sci-fi flicks, but as a Star Wars film, in the shadow of a classic trilogy, it's well... shit.
If you like it; good for you. However, for me the Star Wars prequels are truly mediocre.
Jar Jar Binks.
"Your skin is like sand. I hate sand" (somehow this is romantic despite seeming to mean he hates her skin)
Anakin, as a kid, flying a ship 'by accident', blowing up enemy ships 'by accident', destroying massive space station an entire fleet of trained fighters couldn't destroy 'by accident'.
Lucas's attempt at romance.
Wooden acting (I blame filming entirely in front of a green screen and having no environment to interact with. Also, Lucas apparently doesn't give the actors much direction other than 'follow the script)
Jar Jar Binks.
The jedi went from 'mystic warriors' to 'BLAAAAARGH KILL IT WITH MAGIC'
The entire concept that Jedi cannot form attachments. If they had treated it so that some of the jedi disagreed with the rule and made it more of a grey area that could have been interesting, but from the start everybody is just like 'yup, I can't care about anything at all because I'm a Jedi. AND I'M OKAY WITH THAT!'
Shoe-horning in characters from the originals because.... uh, the originals.
Bad pacing all around.
Over-reliance on CGI (despite saying back in the 70's that the biggest mistake a director can make is relying too much on effects)
That animal with the four asses that farts in Jar Jar Binks' face.
The idea that we were not supposed to realize that Padme was actually the queen in disguise as a handmaiden. I was 12 when I saw this movie, and was only surprised when I found out that I was not supposed to have known that. Seriously. Look at the other characters faces. They had no freaking idea.
Jar Jar Binks.
Anakin Skywalker. First he's a whiny kid we all hate. Then he's a whiny adult we all hate. At least he's consistent, though.
Padme dies because she 'loses the will to live'. Despite just having had two children that she should feel some sort of responsibility for. And having technology WAYYYY more advanced than what we have now (and btw, being choked and thrown to the ground? Totally something we could keep you alive from, assuming you weren't killed instantly).
The bungled attempt at slapstick with 3P0. And for that matter, having 3P0 thrown into the movie for almost no reason.
Jar Jar Binks. But hey, he doomed the galaxy at the end, so at least he had a point to the story.
I will give credit where credit is due, though. At least the first movie FELT like Star Wars. I think it was because they actually used some sets, lending a more organic feel to the actors performances and interactions. But Clone Wars (possibly the worst one of the prequels) didn't feel at all like Star Wars, and the third one, while the best of the three, still seemed to be missing that little spark of life.
"Your skin is like sand. I hate sand" (somehow this is romantic despite seeming to mean he hates her skin)
Anakin, as a kid, flying a ship 'by accident', blowing up enemy ships 'by accident', destroying massive space station an entire fleet of trained fighters couldn't destroy 'by accident'.
Lucas's attempt at romance.
Wooden acting (I blame filming entirely in front of a green screen and having no environment to interact with. Also, Lucas apparently doesn't give the actors much direction other than 'follow the script)
Jar Jar Binks.
The jedi went from 'mystic warriors' to 'BLAAAAARGH KILL IT WITH MAGIC'
The entire concept that Jedi cannot form attachments. If they had treated it so that some of the jedi disagreed with the rule and made it more of a grey area that could have been interesting, but from the start everybody is just like 'yup, I can't care about anything at all because I'm a Jedi. AND I'M OKAY WITH THAT!'
Shoe-horning in characters from the originals because.... uh, the originals.
Bad pacing all around.
Over-reliance on CGI (despite saying back in the 70's that the biggest mistake a director can make is relying too much on effects)
That animal with the four asses that farts in Jar Jar Binks' face.
The idea that we were not supposed to realize that Padme was actually the queen in disguise as a handmaiden. I was 12 when I saw this movie, and was only surprised when I found out that I was not supposed to have known that. Seriously. Look at the other characters faces. They had no freaking idea.
Jar Jar Binks.
Anakin Skywalker. First he's a whiny kid we all hate. Then he's a whiny adult we all hate. At least he's consistent, though.
Padme dies because she 'loses the will to live'. Despite just having had two children that she should feel some sort of responsibility for. And having technology WAYYYY more advanced than what we have now (and btw, being choked and thrown to the ground? Totally something we could keep you alive from, assuming you weren't killed instantly).
The bungled attempt at slapstick with 3P0. And for that matter, having 3P0 thrown into the movie for almost no reason.
Jar Jar Binks. But hey, he doomed the galaxy at the end, so at least he had a point to the story.
I will give credit where credit is due, though. At least the first movie FELT like Star Wars. I think it was because they actually used some sets, lending a more organic feel to the actors performances and interactions. But Clone Wars (possibly the worst one of the prequels) didn't feel at all like Star Wars, and the third one, while the best of the three, still seemed to be missing that little spark of life.