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It really bothers me to see people praising the Star Wars prequels lately

Schlorgan

Schlorgan

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MegaManTrigger said:
I mean I grew up with the PT, and yet I perceive them to be extremely garbage films.
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Same.

That's 6 hours of my life I'd rather spend doing almost anything else.

I find them boring and unengaging. I loved them growing up as they were coming out, but then I tried rewatching ROTS again and couldn't make it 10 minutes in.

And this happened to me before the Plinkett reviews were even a thing (or at least long before I'd even heard of them).

I don't care how much world building or imagination goes into a movie. If I don't care about anything that's happening, I don't want to watch the movie.
 
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Ushojax

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Oct 30, 2017
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The love story, the friendly rivalry between Anakin and Obi-Wan, the political intrigue, the fight scenes, none of it works. They are humourless, heartless films that feel like tech demos for ILM.

Darth Vader was supposed to be a noble Jedi who turned to darkness because he thought it would bring order to the galaxy. A stoic figure. Not a manchild who was so stupid that he got tricked into various murders by the most obviously evil man in the galaxy.
 
davepoobond

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i knew this was coming because people who grew up with the prequels rather than the original trilogy (previously there wasnt a choice) were going to grow up and have strong opinions.

it ain't right. the movies are shit. but they at least feel like Star Wars, unlike Force Awakens and after. but in another 10 years we'll have another generation praising how good those all are...
 

higgsboson1997

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Nov 13, 2017
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I dislike the prequels, but I certainly like their consistent campiness more than the uneven mess that is The Last Jedi.
 
Fj0823

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HotHamBoy

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It's looking like it will always be OT > Disney > Prequels

I find it hard to believe the Disney films will ever be as bad as the prequels but it's clear they'll just as likely never be as good as the original trilogy.

That's the difference between a young man/people with a dream and a mass-maket $400 Billion Dollar multimedia franchise with decades of baggage and expectation.
 
Hamchan

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Oct 25, 2017
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They suck but at least had good enough world building to allow quality material like the Clone Wars to come out of it.
 
Ogre

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I grew up with VHS copies of the OT, well before the special editions, and well before there was talk of actualizing a prequel trilogy. I enjoyed all three of the prequel films, although with increasingly diminished returns as I got older. By the time RotS came out, I was in undergrad, had begun exposure to critical appraisal, and while I enjoyed it, it didn't stay with me.

When I revisited the trilogy a few years back, it was honestly a slog. I don't consider any of them legitimately good films at this point. While there are some bits and pieces that I think are classic moments, watching the entirety of each of the PT films feels like trudging through a waist-deep bog in order to occasionally step foot onto the most glorious patch of grass. Of course, you must continue onward and sink back into the muck in order to make it to the next bit of memorable relief.
 
Dreams-Visions

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I've not seen any increase in praise for the prequels. But it makes sense that people who saw them as kids have a different perspective on them. There are lots of trash movies that I liked as a kid because I was a fuckin kid. The Wizard, for example.



I'd expect any teenager or adult seeing this in 2018 for the first time to laugh their asses off at what is functionally a glorified infomercial for Nintendo products and properties.

I can both enjoy those old movies and the warm memories they offer me while acknowledging that they were awful movies. So should prequel fans.
 
Robin

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As a kid / young teen I came out of all three having had a blast, but the plot was kind of incomprehensible for a kid and I remember being really confused about basic fundamental plot points of the PT until a bit after AOTC. I think they're total garbage, but people are going to like what they are going to like. Some people are nostalgic, some people might like them for some niche reason we can't understand or comprehend, and some people just have shitty taste. It's not a big deal. Let them.

Also never forget Dex's Diner. Never.
 
Stiler

Stiler

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Oct 29, 2017
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The only decent things in all the prequels (imo) were some of the fight scenes.

The Darth Maul fight in TPM and then the Anakin vs Obi fight scene in the last one.
 
HotHamBoy

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Rose is worse than Jar Jar. I would actually prefer to watch all of Jar Jar's scenes in one sitting than watch another scene with Rose.

Schlorgan said:
I find them boring and unengaging. I loved them growing up as they were coming out, but then I tried rewatching ROTS again and couldn't make it 10 minutes in.
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I can't actually comprehend anyone preferring ROTS over anything but TPM and AoTC and yet this board seems to have a lot of folks who do.

That some people can put ROTS over any film in the OT is mind-boggling, but even rating it above the Disney films shows a total lack of a respect for the art of filmmaking.
 
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Valkerion

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Oct 29, 2017
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I like certain parts of the prequels, then again I'm not a major star wars fan.

In general the set pieces were nice, I personally liked the Camino cloning planet visual, and a few others. General Grevious was cool but terribly implemented into the movie compared to his animation origin. Also all over the movies felt like they had wasted moments, especially the first. Almost all of the pod racing can be cut down. Like I said though, thought they were ok, and now seems like people are ok with standing up for them lol.
 
pochi

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Oct 25, 2017
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I enjoyed them when I watched at the cinema. But I can't deny they were terrible.
Just like the rest of the star wars films, OT,PT and ST they were just ok.
Nothing amazing.
 
uncelestial

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The Last Jedi was a prequel-quality movie that didn't even have the decency to be campy, which makes it even less enjoyable to watch than the prequels. Frankly I wouldn't care if I never saw it again; it killed most of my interest in seeing Episode 9, I already skipped Solo, and I damn sure am not showing up for RJ's trilogy. Sorry.

But, let's get one thing straight. The prequels were terrible, terrible movies. They had the "feel" of being canon only because we all knew Lucas was at the helm the whole time; they were silly nonsense.
 
Dreams-Visions

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Stiler said:
It's a great fight scene.


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Not watching it, but I'll take your word for it. I'm very happy with my success in erasing the memory of the prequels from my head over the last 15 years or so. Never saw them again after seeing them in the theater. Never watching a clip (outside of some RLM stuff some years ago) and never even acknowledging them outside of conversations like this. They will never be part of my SW collections.

But if you like em, don't let me stop ya. I just have no interest in reliving that degree of disappointment again.

uncelestial said:
The Last Jedi was a prequel-quality movie
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lmao

It's certainly polarizing. Many love it. Some hate it. The difference between it and the prequels is that many people actually love TLJ. Nobody loves the prequels. At best people accept them and "like" "parts" of them.
 
Stiler

Stiler

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Dreams-Visions said:
Not watching it, but I'll take your word for it. I'm very happy with my success in erasing the memory of the prequels from my head over the last 15 years or so. Never saw them again after seeing them in the theater. Never watching a clip (outside of some RLM stuff some years ago) and never even acknowledging them outside of conversations like this. They will never be part of my SW collections.

But if you like em, don't let me stop ya. I just have no interest in reliving that degree of disappointment again.


lmao

It's certainly polarizing. Many love it. Some hate it. The difference between it and the prequels is that many people actually love TLJ. Nobody loves the prequels. At best people accept them and "like" "parts" of them.
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lol, I don't like them, as I said in my original post the only good things to come from them were some of the fight scenes and that was about it.
 
okayfrog

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Oct 25, 2017
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I think it's not so much "praise" as it is that the prequels add more to the Star Wars universe than the sequel trilogy, and thus people have a lot more to talk about with those films.

I so very much enjoy talking about the prequels more than I do talking about the sequel trilogy (and the new side films), even though I have no problem admitting that TFA & TLJ > TPM & AOTC (haven't seen ROTS in a long time, so I can't really speak there).
 
UltraMagnus

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Reflecting on it, I realize Lucas was basically making three different genre movies.

The Phantom Menace is a "Star Wars for kiddies" movie.

Attack of the Clones as the title implies is a cheesy B-movie.

Revenge of the Sith is an operatic tragedy.

The only one that really worked was RoTS to some degree.

TPM is a kid/baby movie, but it also is trying to be a political saga at the same time and the two don't work or mix at al.

AOTC is trying to be a B-movie .... but then has to insert in a serious love story/romance and the two don't mix at all.

ROTS is the only tonally that "makes sense" and isn't a paradox of itself.

All three have poor dialogue and acting though.
 

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uncelestial said:
The Last Jedi was a prequel-quality movie that didn't even have the decency to be campy, which makes it even less enjoyable to watch than the prequels. Frankly I wouldn't care if I never saw it again; it killed most of my interest in seeing Episode 9, I already skipped Solo, and I damn sure am not showing up for RJ's trilogy. Sorry.

But, let's get one thing straight. The prequels were terrible, terrible movies. They had the "feel" of being canon only because we all knew Lucas was at the helm the whole time; they were silly nonsense.
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Campy has to be the worst excuse people can give to trash movies
I'll ignore the ignorance of calling TLJ prequel-quality. Get yourself checked.
 
Plasma

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The prequels have a few good moments and scenes but overall the storytelling is pretty weak and Anakin's turn felt a bit rushed. I'd consider the movies post Disney buyout to be vastly better, TFA for me is only just behind ESB as the best film in the franchise.
 
Pilgore

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Oct 29, 2017
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Ehhh, all Star Wars movies are about the same quality wise other than ESB. I grew up with the prequels in theatres and OT on vhs. As a kid, the visuals, music and action scenes of the prequels were far more exciting and inspiring to me than the OT (but nothing shook me more than watching the LOTR trilogy for the first time so SW will always cone second to me). Watching the duel of the fates and the podrace in theatres with my family, getting the Star Wars Racer N64 bundle as my first console. Playing KOTOR with a very obviously inspired Prequel visual style. The badass clones and Republic Commando. If you're bothered by people praising certain movies maybe reconsider and rethink your life.
 
Occam

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Yes, they are still trash movies. But at least they were creative compared to the new trilogy, which so far is just a weak remix of elements from the original trilogy.
 
Patrick S.

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The prequels were always good. There is some cringe here and there, but they are entertaining and they are Star Wars. Mission accomplished.
 
Infinity Times Two

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The prequels get worse the more you look for the details and nitpick them, but zooming out, I enjoyed them for what they were.

A part of that might be because I was younger and less cynical and they came out a couple of years between each other so you had time to take a break from Star Wars in a way you can't right now.

A part of it is that it was the one man's vision as opposed to "the commitee" it is now, and how it hooked into the original trilogy.
 
uncelestial

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Shugga said:
Campy has to be the worst excuse people can give to trash movies
I'll ignore the ignorance of calling TLJ prequel-quality. Get yourself checked.
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Camp is pretty much all the prequel trilogies have and either enjoying that for what it is or making fun of it (both valid options) is a joy. I'm sorry your life appears to be so miserable that you are prevented from experiencing that, but pity doesn't really compel me to take the bait on engaging in yet another TLJ debate. If you really think TLJ is better than prequel trilogy quality, I honestly don't care. I'm over the people defending it. I've heard it all with that shit and it's even more tiresome than the movie itself.
 

Deleted member 14518

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I quite enjoy watching the prequels. I was 25 when they were released. They weren't good films, but they were good fun and very Star Warsy. Something the new films are not.
 
Ushojax

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Patrick S. said:
The prequels were always good. There is some cringe here and there, but they are entertaining and they are Star Wars. Mission accomplished.
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I don't know how you could watch Anakin's turn and say "mission accomplished".

- Palpatine admits he is the Dark Lord whose underlings have repeatedly tried to kill both him and Padme
- after Anakin attacks Mace Windu, Palpatine admits his life-saving powers were all bullshit
- Anakin still agrees to murder every Jedi in the galaxy for some reason
- ???
- profit!!!

The sole purpose of the prequels was to show Anakin's turn to the dark side and it was fumbled completely.
 
Fj0823

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Those who grew up are with them remember them fondly and look past it's flaws, plus the sequels/spin offs being so divissive has helped due to nostalgia

It's as simple as that.

And I love it.
 
Alexandros

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Well, as a Star Trek guy I'm used to people talking in rooms and unconvincing effects so I could look past those. I thought the prequels did a good job at expanding the universe and showing the politics side of it. The new movies are just... there. They are better action movies than the prequels but that's it.
 
uncelestial

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Dreams-Visions said:
lmao

It's certainly polarizing. Many love it. Some hate it. The difference between it and the prequels is that many people actually love TLJ. Nobody loves the prequels. At best people accept them and "like" "parts" of them.
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I also see a sort of difference in how TLJ and the prequels are hated.

Prequel hate is kind of snobbish -- certainly, Star Wars fans who have any taste whatsoever have to lament the terrible writing, weird plots, and the bad actors who were playing Anakin, but then you'll see them turn around and talk about the worlds and characters and lore from those prequels with the same acceptance they show the original trilogy.

Sequel hate is sort of inverted; they are more competently made movies, but achieve very little in establishing the scale of the concerned conflict, expanding the lore, establishing exciting new settings, introducing new alien races, and other things that geeks like to geek about.

That's why there really isn't an ultimate difference in quality between TLJ and the prequels -- a decently-made movie about a thinly conceived universe with shitty characters really isn't any better than a poorly-made movie about an interesting universe.
 
Paul

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I grew up on OT and loved it, but when Phantom Menace came out I was 12 and loved it too and watched it (and every subsequent SW film until Solo) in a cinema. I will always say that prequels have lot of flaws, but they have heart and each has some standout amazing scenes that make them worth it. Duel of the Fates, the colliseum fight in Clones, Order 66 in Revenge...they are flawed, but great anyway.

Sequels...my problem with them is that they feel so unnecessary and tacked on, 7 is such a rehash, 8 has terrible characterization..I am curious how Abrams will wrap it up, but I don't consider the sequels to be canon (for me personally).
 
Dreams-Visions

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uncelestial said:
That's why there really isn't an ultimate difference in quality between TLJ and the prequels -- a decently-made movie about a thinly conceived universe with shitty characters really isn't any better than a poorly-made movie about an interesting universe.
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That's probably where we disagree.

Characters in TLJ were not thinly conceived and their actions and motivations had purpose and direction. CG was on point. Acting was pretty good to great depending on the character, and the action and choreography were top tier for any SW movie. Luke single-handedly saving the entire rebellion with his sleight of hand was the greatest moment in the franchise outside of the original torpedo shot in E4.

By comparison the prequels were poorly designed, acting roles poorly selected. Additions like Jar Jar hurt the film with his gratuitous and poorly placed comic relief efforts that generated their own race-based controversies. Acting performances were flat and uninspired up to and through the last prequel, and the sets and CG have decidedly NOT aged well. I still SMH at the memory of Yoda flipping around like an idiot in his light saber duel. Outside of John Williams scoring, and a few (very few) action sequences, there really is very little to go back to and appreciate in those.

But YMMV. If nothing else, you've encouraged me to watch TLJ again on my 150" projector right now. So there's that. xD

Paul said:
...they are flawed, but great anyway.
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Nah, they're just flawed. Deeply, disappointingly so.
 
Slaythe

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Creepy Woody said:
Loved Revenge of the Sith. Played through the game for the bonus scenes too.
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Now the galaxy belongs to ME.


I loved the prequels.

To me the sense of adventure is unrivaled. The fact the extra content of that era (clone wars, kotor, comics, games etc..) was so cool also greatly helped me have a positive mind about them, despite some dumb stuff.

I even enjoy attack of the clones. I wasn't too familiar with the OT (I mean I was, but I was very young so I just cared about Luke) so I had no expectations for Anakin and I got his story, I liked it.

I enjoyed The Force Awakens a lot but was a bit sad for Han. Thought Rogue One was the blandest movie I've ever seen. And The Last Jedi had everything to be so good (bar a few problematic Luke stuff) and wasted all of it in the last 15 minutes for no reason and it kinda killed my interest in the franchise currently. Waiting for disney to throw me a bone. (That bone is called Anakin Skywalker >_>) Doesn't help games have been shit tier too and I've had no plan to play any of them.
 
Fj0823

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uncelestial said:
I also see a sort of difference in how TLJ and the prequels are hated.

Prequel hate is kind of snobbish -- certainly, Star Wars fans who have any taste whatsoever have to lament the terrible writing, weird plots, and the bad actors who were playing Anakin, but then you'll see them turn around and talk about the worlds and characters and lore from those prequels with the same acceptance they show the original trilogy.

Sequel hate is sort of inverted; they are more competently made movies, but achieve very little in establishing the scale of the concerned conflict, expanding the lore, establishing exciting new settings, introducing new alien races, and other things that geeks like to geek about.

That's why there really isn't an ultimate difference in quality between TLJ and the prequels -- a decently-made movie about a thinly conceived universe with shitty characters really isn't any better than a poorly-made movie about an interesting universe.
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Great post! Absolutely Agree
 
Ushojax

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The decisive character moments in the new films have a weight and heart to them that simply isn't there in the prequels. Rey grabbing the lightsaber, Luke's projection being revealed, Han confronting Ben, Luke meeting R2 again, etc. They get your spine tingling. The only moment in the prequels that reaches that level is when Anakin is deciding whether to turn and he and Pamde stare at each other across Coruscant. Moments that should have delivered that spine-tingle like Anakin attacking Padme or him waking up in the suit are ruined by terrible dialogue and acting.
 
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