The Prequel Trilogy General Discussion and Appreciation Thread

[GoldGoblin]

how tall is vader supposed to be in the suit?

^
6'7

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

I'm re-watching Star Wars (Just finished episode III). Before the prequels were written, was there much background given to Anakin and how he became Vader? I don't remember the original flicks giving a detailed explanation, just small bits of information.

 

[gohei_]

I'm re-watching Star Wars (Just finished episode III). Before the prequels were written, was there much background given to Anakin and how he became Vader? I don't remember the original flicks giving a detailed explanation, just small bits of information.

During the 90s I was once told that Anakin did fall into some kind of volcano (which turned out true) so I'm guessing something like that must have been in the EU.

But when I think about it I wonder if Lucas didn't have a rough outline for the prequels even before he made the original trilogy?

 

[Bim]

But when I think about it I wonder if Lucas didn't have a rough outline for the prequels even before he made the original trilogy?

I believe he did, but dont quote me on that one. I've read so many "Making of" books that i wouldnt even know where i read it lol.

 

[Lord]

He had a general idea, i remember seeing that he once had the idea that A New Hope would be Episode 6, with Episode 1 being a prelude, The Clone Wars period getting a trilogy, and Episode 5 Being an epilogue for that story. In a way, we have gotten something similar to that, with Episode I having been a prelude for what was to come and the TCW show filling in the details of the clone wars.

I also think there was a time when Lucas planned one of the prequels to deal with the beginnings of the Jedi.

 

[Brother Jack]

Lucas had a fairly in depth outline of a huge story spanning many movies prior to the actual making of Star Wars but it changed dramatically before, during, and after production. It's clear Luke wasn't related to Vader or Leia when that first film was being made, for instance. The changes came about by heavy collaboration and were mostly huge improvements. Lucas was never a great writer even back then, but he was one of the best idea guys in film history.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

I just got done watching the prequel movies. Episodes 1 &2 aren't that good but Episode 3 is pretty good I must say. Its flawed but its a huge improvement over the previous movies.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

Its also said that Lucas was making up the prequel movies as he went along. Which explains the quality of the first two movies.

 

[Lord]

I just got done watching the prequel movies. Episodes 1 &2 aren't that good but Episode 3 is pretty good I must say. Its flawed but its a huge improvement over the previous movies.

Episode III was what made me a fan of SW when i watched it 10 years ago, but now i can't realy agree with that notion. I mean, the emperor just got even goofier than before, Dooku's character wasn't more explored and he's now all he has going for him in these movies is Christopher Lee playing him, as he's pretty much one-note, Obi-Wan's cover mission to assassinate Grievous was a terrible undercover job, as he had the terrible decision of calling Grievous's attention. Anakin's turn to the dark side also had plenty of problems, as when we see him turning against the Jedi, what he does is killing children, then he says plenty of nonsensical things to Obi-Wan before their fight.

The Emperor's rise to power was also kind of ridiculous, i mean, you have this guy who now looks very evil saying that the Jedi, who had been protecting the galaxy for more than 1000 years alongside the republic, had tried to kill him and that as retaliation he had ordered their immediate execution. Yeah, the evil looking guy who had slowly been rising through the ranks announces he's killing a thousand of people, children included, and nobody minds.

Its also said that Lucas was making up the prequel movies as he went along. Which explains the quality of the first two movies.

I think that's true for every star wars film, the original plan has been in constant change since the very inception of the saga.

 

[Brem]

^ One of my favorite aspects of AOTC is Jango, and detective Obi-Wan, and how it all came together. The asteriod chase is also so cool imo t:.

Hey, at least Jango was decapitated by a jedi master. Boba was hit in the back by a blind man and swallowed by the sarlaac lol.

That is exactly why Episode II is my favourite. I have love for all the films for various reasons, but I love the slow pace of Obi-Wan's investigation, leading him across Coruscant, to Kamino and then to Geonosis. It was very enjoyable to watch, and it was somethingI missed in Episode III. I had hoped by then we'd still more of the Clone Wars, and how it had impacted peoples lives, but.

And that chase was amazing in the cinema. Those bombs shook our cinema here, which was wonderful. Funny enough, I just built the Lego UCS Slave 1 yesterday, but - I'll have to admit - it's Boba's version, not Jango's. It would be nice to have one of each.

 

[Bim]

Yeah, detective Obi-Wan was a cool aspect of AOTC, which is why i always say it's weird that AOTC is suposed to be my least favorite out of all six, and yet there's so much that i love in it t:

The asteroid chase is awesome, and yeah, i remember enjoying it so much on the big screen and loud speakers. I love how the sound goes from total silence to total chaos lol

 

[Brem]

Yeah, detective Obi-Wan was a cool aspect of AOTC, which is why i always say it's weird that AOTC is suposed to be my least favorite out of all six, and yet there's so much that i love in it t:

The asteroid chase is awesome, and yeah, i remember enjoying it so much on the big screen and loud speakers. I love how the sound goes from total silence to total chaos lol

It has its moments - like any film - where it drags a bit. Moments I want to skip or wish were not in the film altogether, but I agree I love the way the film starts, already setting up its mystery. I love the attempted assassination on Padme - and the prior introduction to Obi-Wan and Anakin - and the chase. I especially love the bar, and the brief shot of Jango flying away, and the echo of his jet pack. After all these years, I never cared how anyone else felt about the film - or films - you know? It has so much I enjoyed, I just love going back to it. I love its pace, and for me, it caps off incredibly well with this amazing action sequence at the end of the film. Now I just want to watch it again haha.

t: But I'm weird. I really do love them all. I have zero issues with Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith. Love Attack of the Clones, and the original trilogy. I even upset someone once because I admitted that Jar Jar doesn't bother me.

 

[Lord]

Regarding Jar Jar, is the situation still that bad? Fans of Star Wars around my age (19) seem to either not mind Jar Jar to even liking him (all admit the fondness may come from nostalgia).

Regarding Attack of the Clone, i think it may be the weakest of the prequels, but Obi-Wan playing detective was kinda cool. While the CGi is showing its age, i remember liking the world were the clones were created, Not a big fan of the final battle, expecialy the fights against Dooku, the editing itself felt a little odd and seeing force users relying so much on lightsabers (Yoda) isn't something i like much.

 

[Brem]

Regarding Jar Jar, is the situation still that bad? Fans of Star Wars around my age (19) seem to either not mind Jar Jar to even liking him (all admit the fondness may come from nostalgia).

Regarding Attack of the Clone, i think it may be the weakest of the prequels, but Obi-Wan playing detective was kinda cool. While the CGi is showing its age, i remember liking the world were the clones were created, Not a big fan of the final battle, expecialy the fights against Dooku, the editing itself felt a little odd and seeing force users relying so much on lightsabers (Yoda) isn't something i like much.

I don't even know anymore, to be honest with you. Hell, I'm 26 and I just never minded him. He never bothered me at all. I know my parents are fond of him, actually. He certainly is not enough to ruin the film for me, and I really, really enjoy The Phantom Menace. All in all, when I see people still arguing about the films - which is rare because I try my hardest to avoid it - I just think man, it has been 16 years. It's time to move on, you know? Especially when it comes to Jar Jar. Or Ewoks. People were arguing about Ewoks a bit back. Crazy stuff.

I can understand that. I agree with you that the editing if a bit off. I felt that way in Episode III as well. There were moments when Yoda was fighting Palpatine and the cuts felt off, and some of the effects on the sabers just didn't feel - to me - to match up with the hilt. But man, I don't know about you, but seeing the Jedi reveal themselves in the arena still sends shivers down my spine. Even when Dooku is talking with Mace, I love seeing the lightsabers continue to activate until the battle begins.

 

[VM1138]

Lucas had a fairly in depth outline of a huge story spanning many movies prior to the actual making of Star Wars but it changed dramatically before, during, and after production. It's clear Luke wasn't related to Vader or Leia when that first film was being made, for instance. The changes came about by heavy collaboration and were mostly huge improvements. Lucas was never a great writer even back then, but he was one of the best idea guys in film history.

He had binders with outlines for twelve movies. Four trilogies. A lot of details changed, large and small, of course, but there was a general outline that he followed. Before the prequels, for example, we knew that Anakin's fate would have to do with lava. We knew the Clone Wars would be the focus, etc. The details were where things changed.

I'd love to read his outlines for the two sequel trilogies, though. I know Abrams changed a lot about The Force Awakens but I wonder how far he deviated from the overall outline Lucas laid out.

 

[VM1138]

Its also said that Lucas was making up the prequel movies as he went along. Which explains the quality of the first two movies.

The backlash against TPM forced him to change. He got someone to help him write the script for AOTC because of criticisms that TPM's dialogue was too dull, but I think he ended up scrapping the work that guy did in the end so he went back to square one.

Jar-Jar was also intended to be the Chewbacca of the trilogy, but the backlash against him was so bad he cut his role down to one or two scenes in AOTC and ROTS.

 

[Brother Jack]

The backlash against TPM forced him to change. He got someone to help him write the script for AOTC because of criticisms that TPM's dialogue was too dull, but I think he ended up scrapping the work that guy did in the end so he went back to square one.

Didn't do much good unfortunately.

 

[Bim]

It has its moments - like any film - where it drags a bit. Moments I want to skip or wish were not in the film altogether, but I agree I love the way the film starts, already setting up its mystery. I love the attempted assassination on Padme - and the prior introduction to Obi-Wan and Anakin - and the chase. I especially love the bar, and the brief shot of Jango flying away, and the echo of his jet pack. After all these years, I never cared how anyone else felt about the film - or films - you know? It has so much I enjoyed, I just love going back to it. I love its pace, and for me, it caps off incredibly well with this amazing action sequence at the end of the film. Now I just want to watch it again haha.

t: But I'm weird. I really do love them all. I have zero issues with Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith. Love Attack of the Clones, and the original trilogy. I even upset someone once because I admitted that Jar Jar doesn't bother me.

I hear ya. While i have issues with certain scenes in the PT that bug me (like with the OT, which arent perfection either imo), overall i enjoy what we got quite a lot. One or two lines delivered weirdly dont take away from my enjoyment of the movies as a whole.

 

[TheDreamMaster]

I'm hiding in here for a bit, because I love love love the new trailer for The Force Awakens, but I'm so tired of seeing "This is more Star Wars than the prequels!" etc. etc.

 

[Brem]

I hear ya. While i have issues with certain scenes in the PT that bug me (like with the OT, which arent perfection either imo), overall i enjoy what we got quite a lot. One or two lines delivered weirdly dont take away from my enjoyment of the movies as a whole.

Yeah. I mean, I remember as a kid, I loved A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, but I found Empire a long slog of boredom. I enjoy it more now, but I was never overly keen - then. All three of those films have their own problems. After all these years though, I just figure - if someone brands me a fake Star Wars fan for liking three Star Wars films they didn't like, so be it. I'll be happy with the Plo Koon figure I bought today while they complain. D : <

I'm hiding in here for a bit, because I love love love the new trailer for The Force Awakens, but I'm so tired of seeing "This is more Star Wars than the prequels!" etc. etc.

Haha, I was thinking the same. Somehow went from "man, this trailer is great!" to "lets discuss the prequels and how much we don't like 'em!".

 

[TheDreamMaster]

Yeah. I mean, I remember as a kid, I loved A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, but I found Empire a long slog of boredom. I enjoy it more now, but I was never overly keen - then. All three of those films have their own problems. After all these years though, I just figure - if someone brands me a fake Star Wars fan for liking three Star Wars films they didn't like, so be it. I'll be happy with the Plo Koon figure I bought today while they complain. D : <



Haha, I was thinking the same. Somehow went from "man, this trailer is great!" to "lets discuss the prequels and how much we don't like 'em!".

To this first part, I used to be the same. Empire was long and I only liked the lightsaber fight at the end. That's changed of course, but I remember I used to also not like it because when I was 5 its the only Star Wars film where the action doesn't take up much time in space, even though I'd wader the Falcon escaping bits have more time in space than the other to OT films.

On the second part, yeah, not very happy to see the prequel bashing once again, and I fear if TFA blows us away, and I hope it does, the prequel hate will get all the worse.

 

[Brem]

To this first part, I used to be the same. Empire was long and I only liked the lightsaber fight at the end. That's changed of course, but I remember I used to also not like it because when I was 5 its the only Star Wars film where the action doesn't take up much time in space, even though I'd wader the Falcon escaping bits have more time in space than the other to OT films.

On the second part, yeah, not very happy to see the prequel bashing once again, and I fear if TFA blows us away, and I hope it does, the prequel hate will get all the worse.

Yeah. It did feel long, and oddly as a kid I never could get into the Hoth battle, and Bespin wasn't as enjoyable to me aesthetically as other locations in the films. But today it's fine - and certainly one I go to when I build a Star Wars Lego set haha. I'm curious now how much time they do spend in space in Empire compared to the other films now, though. It'd be interest to see a comparison and see which films spends more time with space battles/flight overall.

Tell you what, I'd love to live in Yoda's little house. It looks so cozy.

t: Yeah. Cannot wait to see it in December! But yeah, it will probably happen. I've already seen some reaction videos mention the prequels, with a couple tossing the DVDs out. It's just not necessary. The more it happens, to, the more that "hatred" feels artificial because it's drilled into people now.

Edit: And I have to add - your avatar was definitely my favourite part of the trailer. Amazing scene, cannot wait to see it in the film.

 

[TheDreamMaster]

Yeah. It did feel long, and oddly as a kid I never could get into the Hoth battle, and Bespin wasn't as enjoyable to me aesthetically as other locations in the films. But today it's fine - and certainly one I go to when I build a Star Wars Lego set haha. I'm curious now how much time they do spend in space in Empire compared to the other films now, though. It'd be interest to see a comparison and see which films spends more time with space battles/flight overall.

Tell you what, I'd love to live in Yoda's little house. It looks so cozy.

t: Yeah. Cannot wait to see it in December! But yeah, it will probably happen. I've already seen some reaction videos mention the prequels, with a couple tossing the DVDs out. It's just not necessary. The more it happens, to, the more that "hatred" feels artificial because it's drilled into people now.

Edit: And I have to add - your avatar was definitely my favourite part of the trailer. Amazing scene, cannot wait to see it in the film.

Yoda's hut is pretty great. As for the space stuff, I'm not 100% sure on that but it seems like the Falcon stays in space for half the film, but you can kinda fudge that since I wouldn't count time spent on the death Stars as in space, so you can debate on inside the Space Worm as in space or not.

Thankfully I haevnt seen those reactions yet, but I'm already tired of seeing it other places across the net. Oh well, can't stop it.

And Kane made the avatars in the TFA Avatar thread, but I waited and grabbed it as soon as he put them up, because I loved that scene too.

 

[Brem]

Yoda's hut is pretty great. As for the space stuff, I'm not 100% sure on that but it seems like the Falcon stays in space for half the film, but you can kinda fudge that since I wouldn't count time spent on the death Stars as in space, so you can debate on inside the Space Worm as in space or not.

Thankfully I haevnt seen those reactions yet, but I'm already tired of seeing it other places across the net. Oh well, can't stop it.

And Kane made the avatars in the TFA Avatar thread, but I waited and grabbed it as soon as he put them up, because I loved that scene too.

That's a tough one. I wouldn't count the Death Star as a space sequence either. In the worm, they have a surface to walk on and seem to be able to walk around with no issues concerning gravity - or lack thereof. But you're not wrong, they do spent a lot of time in space. I forgot how much they do spend fixing the ship and evading the Empire.

Yeah. I think I said in an earlier post I stopped acknowledging it all years ago. It's not worth the effort to argue, you know? They'll always try and find something to come back at you with. I especially hate it when people post links to YouTube videos, telling me I need to watch them to understand why the prequels apparently such to them.. But, I am more than capable of forming my own opinion of a film, you know? I don't need to see videos of other people who didn't enjoy them. Anyway. Lets enjoy what we want to enjoy, man! t:

t: Think this trailer calls for a marathon soon. Prequels followed by originals. Good times ahead, I say!

Yeah. I can't wait to find out what's going on there, and who the chaps are in the background.

 

[TheDreamMaster]

Yeah, the prequel hate, I just try to let it pass. I've gotten so many damn links to RedLetterMedia videos, and I'm like, can't I just enjoy my movies? Its like people that change their opinions over Youtube reviewers. If I liked it before, why should someone else's opinion suddenly make me think otherwise? I agree, lets just enjoy them!

I need a marathon a swell. Then I need some Clone Wars too. Not all of it, but there's plenty of good arcs to choose from. Once I get done watching this teaser for the 50th time.