A trilogy later, how do you feel about the Prequels?

[henzINNIT]

Thought this might be interesting, or disastrous.

Now that the dust has settled on the Sequel Trilogy, I've seen a lot of people's opinions on Star Wars evolve. It has been wild watching the fan base try to murder each other in new and familiar arguments. In the wake of Disney's takeover, the PT has had somewhat of a redemption among fans. My question is, has the arrival of Disney 'Star Wars' affected your opinion of the Lucas PT, and if so, how? Poll included cause polls are fun.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I now appreciate how meme friendly and iconic the prequels are.

But they're still kind of lame.

RotS isn't bad, i guess.

 

[Drizzle]

Since I was between the ages of 10 and 16 when the prequel trilogy was released, I consider myself as part of the generation that grew up with it, so I never really disliked them. Quite the opposite, in fact, especially for Revenge of the Sith. I never really thought they were better than the original trilogy, which was my first exposure to the franchise in the years leading up to the prequels, but I never quite understood the hatred for them at the time. I was aware that they were far from perfect the older I got but I was at least happy that the prequel trilogy ended on a good note with ROTS.

I've noticed that a lot of the fandom that hated the prequels when they came out but have since come around to them since the sequel trilogy has come and gone are the older fans who grew up with the original trilogy when they first came out. They collectively realized that yes, although the acting in the sequel trilogy may be better and the overall aesthetic is closer to the original trilogy than the prequels, the prequel trilogy did have a more coherent over-arching storyline which is something that the sequel trilogy royally fumbled in The Rise of Skywalker especially. Sure, there were loose ends that never really went anywhere in the prequels such as the hint that Anakin may have been created through the Force by Darth Plagueis or Sidious, and the eye-rolling coincidences like Anakin building C-3PO but those were nothing compared to some of the creative choices in TROS like Palpatine returning or copying from Avengers: Endgame twice within a ten minute span in the third act.

The prequels to me are still the same as they were before Disney even purchased Lucasfilm. There's a lot of room for improvement and they're not on the same level as the OT in any aspect save for John Williams's score and the performances of Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid, but they're still serviceable.

 

[henzINNIT]

although the acting in the sequel trilogy may be better and the overall aesthetic is closer to the original trilogy than the prequels, the prequel trilogy did have a more coherent over-arching storyline

Yeah I think this is a key factor. For all of the flaws the PT had, Lucas had a story he wanted to tell. I think fans in general are more accepting of the bumps if they feel it is still contributing to the larger piece. By contrast, the Disney films are often more presentable but don't feel like they're adding to the story. Or worse, feel like they're undermining the story.

In the end I'm not sure I appreciate the PT any more than I did. But I do look back more fondly on the era and Lucas. For better or worse I think it was more fun when Star Wars had a weird creator in charge. I certainly under-estimated just how completely rudderless and careless Disney would be at the helm.

 

[Drizzle]

Yeah I think this is a key factor. For all of the flaws the PT had, Lucas had a story he wanted to tell. I think fans in general are more accepting of the bumps if they feel it is still contributing to the larger piece. By contrast, the Disney films are often more presentable but don't feel like they're adding to the story. Or worse, feel like they're undermining the story.

In the end I'm not sure I appreciate the PT any more than I did. But I do look back more fondly on the era and Lucas. For better or worse I think it was more fun when Star Wars had a weird creator in charge. I certainly under-estimated just how completely rudderless and careless Disney would be at the helm.

I wouldn't say completely. Say what you will about the sequel trilogy as a whole, but I thought The Force Awakens, even though it borrowed way too many beats from ANH, started off the trilogy on the right foot and there are some redeeming aspects to The Last Jedi. Then you have Rogue One and especially The Mandalorian which have proved that there can be some quality projects under the Disney banner with the right people at the helm. Even Solo, which I'm not the biggest fan of but I can recognize its potential with the upcoming Lando spinoff series.

 

[henzINNIT]

I wouldn't say completely. Say what you will about the sequel trilogy as a whole, but I thought The Force Awakens, even though it borrowed way too many beats from ANH, started off the trilogy on the right foot and there are some redeeming aspects to The Last Jedi. Then you have Rogue One and especially The Mandalorian which have proved that there can be some quality projects under the Disney banner with the right people at the helm. Even Solo, which I'm not the biggest fan of but I can recognize its potential with the upcoming Lando spinoff series.

I was honestly pretty sold on the Disney approach at first, although I always felt a film every year was excessive. I liked that Lucasfilm hired a bunch of people and gave them a Star Wars film. I still can't get my head around what was going on over there though, they seemed to be both asleep at the wheel and aggressively micro-managing projects at times.

I think there's good Star Wars things to come, but I don't trust anyone involved particularly. Not a fan of 'Mando' so I'm missing out on some good vibes there. Curious about 'The Acolyte', and hoping for some good new games in future.

 

[Brother Jack]

They're still not good movies in many fundamental ways. There's nothing that can change that, regardless of memes or millennial reappraisals or the good adjacent content that's come out from Dave Filoni. But post-ST I will say that I've come to appreciate the authorial intent behind them much more. They are 100% Lucas' vision, for better and (mostly) for worse. What he was able to do in terms of world-building is still very impressive, and the skeletal frame of the story is truly great even if the execution was bad. There are brilliant ideas that he wasn't able to convey properly. The inverse seems to be true of the sequels; some bad ideas with better execution, and apart from TLJ a compromised and reactionary creative force behind them. TROS is like the apex of this, where it feels less like it was made by a human and more an algorithm. This collection of horrendous story ideas that nonetheless has some good performances and cinematography. That's why I'm more inclined to rewatch any of the prequels over it these days, even if they are technically worse films.

 

[Frodo]

Well my overall view of the PT hasn't changed. Overall, they're aren't great films, though of them , ROTS is the best imo.

ROTS is certainly the film I will tend to watch if I catch a part of it on cable.

For me the greatest creative success of the Disney era so far is The Mandalorian. That was the closest to have the freshness, adventure, and emotion of the OT imo.

Then again, unlike the Prequels and the ST, it wasn't as bound buy having to account for the Skywalker saga and family as a major driving narrative.

It took place in the same familiar world, and obviously, the events of the PT and OT shape the universe Mando lives and operates in , but its not a story about Anakin, Luke, Kylo , or any other Skywalker relation and or friend.

It's the emotional core of Mando and Baby Yoda which drives that series in the midsts of the former empire, star ships, bounty hunters, monsters etc.

That's what's grabbed people about the series I think, and ironically, that's what was lacking certainly in the PT, and to a lesser extent the ST in my view.

PT felt to me , in hindsight at least, like dry exposition of the events before ANH.

The ST 7 and 9 felt like homages to the OT, while TLJ felt like a meta commentary on what SW was to pop culture in the past, and what it SW could be as a series in the future.

 

[Green Goblin]

I'm Generation Z so I actually watched the prequel trilogy as a kid, and I think I can speak for most Millenials/Gen Z when I say that I unironically enjoy them. Sure by and large they are not good movies, but there are aspects of enjoyment to them and those aspects are superior to what we got in the sequels. Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan, the aesthetics, Palpatine's rise to power etc. Plus the Prequel trilogy era has been expanded and improved upon by the Clone Wars TV series.

And yes, although it's totally divorced from the film's quality but I really love all the memes from the prequels.

The way I look at it, whenever there is another Star Wars Battlefront game years down the road, who will people most want to play as, Darth Maul or Kylo Ren? I think the prequel era will always provide enjoyment to fans in the years ahead and TV, Games etc will continue to revisit it.

Logically, you could ask then if people growing up with the sequels will look at them like my generation views the prequels? I don't think so because they already had their "Star Wars", that was the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

 

[Bobber]

They're still poorly written, poorly acted, poorly directed garbage. I find almost no redeeming qualities in any of them.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I'd rank them like this.

Classic:

OT

Great:

Solo
Rogue One

Good:

TFA
ROTS

Okay:

TLJ

Bad:

ATOC
TPM

Horrible:

TROS

So overall I like Disney's output better than the prequels but my goodness was TROS was bad. One of the worst blockbusters I've ever seen.

It doesn't make the prequels better though. I would still rate those mostly below average. I dislike the fake look of those films and much of the characterizations like Jar Jar and "Annie".

 

[henzINNIT]

They're still poorly written, poorly acted, poorly directed garbage. I find almost no redeeming qualities in any of them.

I think we can all agree on the MVP John Williams. I think he really delivered for the PT. Many beautiful themes.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I'm Generation Z so I actually watched the prequel trilogy as a kid, and I think I can speak for most Millenials/Gen Z when I say that I unironically enjoy them. Sure by and large they are not good movies, but there are aspects of enjoyment to them and those aspects are superior to what we got in the sequels. Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan, the aesthetics, Palpatine's rise to power etc. Plus the Prequel trilogy era has been expanded and improved upon by the Clone Wars TV series.

And yes, although it's totally divorced from the film's quality but I really love all the memes from the prequels.

The way I look at it, whenever there is another Star Wars Battlefront game years down the road, who will people most want to play as, Darth Maul or Kylo Ren? I think the prequel era will always provide enjoyment to fans in the years ahead and TV, Games etc will continue to revisit it.

Logically, you could ask then if people growing up with the sequels will look at them like my generation views the prequels? I don't think so because they already had their "Star Wars", that was the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

It's the deconstruction of the hero's journey with the fall of a hero and the rise of a dictatorship. That's the vision. Now was it bungled by poor direction and execution and Lucas's inability of directing actors, and writing scripts, yeah. Was it rocky getting to that message? Yeah. But Lucas had something to say and that was the thing that guided it. There is a consistency to them in that it is always leading to Anakin's downfall, whether you personally agree this should have been the focus of the PT or not. The first is a political thriller and adventure story (though very muddled), the second a conspiracy film and romance and the third is the tragedy. I hope no matter what, people can at least appreciate that there is substance to those movies and something it is trying to say. His attempts at them and the ideas themselves I believe there to be a lot of merit. Not to mention the creativity and Lucas always pushing things.

In a perfect world, he should have let other directors make them. But I can appreciate a crazy guy with a vision who wants to do everything himself. I'll take it over the factory model of today. You don't get good movies, but at the very least you get fascinating movies. For better or for worse they stick with you.

 

[Bobber]

I think we can all agree on the MVP John Williams. I think he really delivered for the PT. Many beautiful themes.

Yes, of course. I would've loved to see that music in proper films. And Ewan McGregor is a great choice for Obi Wan. Those are the positives.