Like many people in my age bracket, the Star Wars prequels were a profound disappointment. Episode I had the annoyance of Jar Jar wasting screen time, the back story on Anakin and how his “chosen one†status was a more than a little underwhelming. The pod racing was like a video game where you have to sit and watch someone else play, and the battle sequences seemed sterile and predictable.
Episode II suffered from bad acting, a stupid love story, and a title that didn’t really relate to the overall thrust of the film. I mean the clones did attack, but only at the end and, well, really, BFD.
Episode III suffered from even worse acting, a plodding storyline that “got good†in the final act in that it nicely bridged the gap between the two series. In a way, I was glad when the prequels ended because I thought George Lucas could now concentrate on films that had nothing to do with Star Wars. Only time will tell if he can rise the challenge of doing a non-Star Wars film – and doing it well! It can be easily forgotten that he did make American Graffiti and TXH -1138. And while the latter film wasn’t all that great, it did have the distinction of being more of a thought piece on the dangers of conformity in a dystopian future.
But back to Star Wars for a moment…
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Maya and I were talking about Star Wars when we were having dinner, and we decided to watch Episode IV: A New Hope for fun. Back in 1995, I bought the trilogy on VHS (with the remastered sound). I still have it, but I couldn’t find it, so Maya and I made an impulse run to Best Buy and bought the DVDs – which, by the way, cost less than the VHS copies I bought back in ‘95.
Anyway, we watched Episode IV and then Maya went on to watch Empire and Jedi on Thanksgiving. After that, I broke down and bought the prequels on DVD and Maya and I watched all three. The DVDs come with deleted scenes and interviews with Lucas and others who worked on the film as to why a particular scene was cut. To me, The deleted scenes provided quite a bit of information on the Republic, Padme’s family, and even Anakin’s back story, and if Lucas decided to include the scenes, the films would have been better. They wouldn’t have been great, mind you, but there would have been a depth to the stories that wasn’t there in the theatrical release.
Okay, so after viewing the prequels again, my opinion of them has changed from what I wrote above. They still don’t shine like Episodes IV and V, but the story is compelling in that characters like Obi Wan are much more interesting because it shows him in action and that he had a life before becoming “the old hermit†who lived beyond the dune sea in episode IV. The Republic – after being built up in Episode IV – was a bit of a let down because the political structure, while democratic, wasn’t really explained.
I was trying to figure out what the missing ingredient was in the prequels and it was this: a non-believing smart-ass like Han Solo. Solo’s presence was a very good counterbalance to the mysticism of The Force and Luke’s journey to become a Jedi master. Also, the prequels were missing the “magic three†of the Luke, Leia, Han triangle. They were friends who were very devoted to one another. In the prequels, the triangle of Anakin, Padme, and Obi Wan was not based on friendship, but rather on a master-disciple relationship (Anakin and Obi Wan) and an obsessive kind of love (Anakin’s love for Padme). For me, it was hard to warm up to characters because they were so rigid, but these characters weren’t supposed to be balanced (in terms of their relationships with one another) to begin with, so maybe I just didn’t get that the first time around.
So, if you’re thinking of re-watching the prequels, you might be surprised that they aren’t as disappointing as you remember the first time around.
Thanks for indulging my inner-geek for a few moments.
–PK
14 thoughts on “Star Wars Prequels Reassessed”
Comments are closed.
Wow, being a huge Star Wars fan, I was also disappointed with the prequels. After reading your post, maybe I’ll give it another try.
Away from the hype and excitment, the prequels aren’t as bad. 🙂
You know, I never did see the prequels. I only saw the original three that came out in the 70’s and early 80’s. I like those ones….I guess I just never got around to seeing the prequels. I think D. saw them though. He’s more of a Star Wars fan than I am.
I saw the prequels and enjoyed them. They weren’t as good as the original three movies. I thought George had three movies that were “postquel.” I recalled an interview or word of mouth that indicated that there were episodes 7-9. Maybe it was just a wish on my part.
Not so big a fan of the prequels either, with a special hatred for Jar Jar Binks.
And a bloggy friend of mine recently wrote that she thought the story line of Padme dying of grief and leaving her two babies behind sucked the big one. I mean, she was supposedly this strong woman, a queen no less, and she dies of grief? Puh-leeze.
I just tried this last weekend.
I’m a huge fan of the original trilogy but and I wanted to make a marathon weekend out of it and watch all 6 in row….
I kept stopping Episode 1 for the most banal houshold shit. Like answering email. Checking email. Making lunch. Making phone calls. Playing the piano. Searching the net for music tabs…..anything I could do.
It took me three days to get through the prequels.
I was sooooo sad.
Have you ever read ChefElf’s reasons to hate episodes 1,2 3? It was featured in Entertainment Weekly and, I gotta say, it is a great and funny take.
http://www.chefelf.com/starwars/index.php
check it out.
Allen
http://www.lizzielulu.com
I liked the idea of the prequels…I think they were better in my head than in actuality. I’m afraid I’ve left my rebel friends behind for a Fellowship of some Rings I can’t seem to let go. haha
Nerd here, signing out.
Lalapunci, I also remember that at one point, Lucas was planning on making the prequels, and then going on and making episodes 7-9, but that idea seems to have died. Maya thinks that now would be the perfect time, if they wanted to go ahead 30 years, because they could use Carrie Fisher, Mark Hammel, and Harrison Ford as the elder characters, and have the main thrust be the next generation following them…they’re the right age. 😉
My mom would surely agree with you, Py, that Harrison Ford is needed in these films…not just for the balance he provided to the mystical stuff, but also because she had a huge crush on him.
I think one of the problems with Episodes 7-9 is a compelling story. What’s going to happen 30 years after the Ewok “Yap Yap” dance? What’s the next big conflict?
I just don’t know if I can give the Star Wars prequels anymore of my time. I mean that’s a good 6-7 hours plus all the time to watch the extras and commentary. I just don’t know if they can be bettered in my eyes.
But perhaps someday I will listen to your advice and give them a try again. Wise one, yes you are.
Inner geek…that was some pretty in-depth insight of the newer Star Wars series. I don\’t really know if I can bring myself to watching them again.
Me? I kinda want to read the epic ballad of one Jar Jar Binks, a man so clumsy that he tripped and broke the republic…
Jar Jar…what a tragic character. Did you ever see the version someone cut that excluded all of Jar Jar’s scenes? Some said the movie was very good when that happened.
Sorry to dash the hopes, but Lucas declared shortly after III that 7-9 wouldn’t get made. His reasons were along the lines of “Too difficult to do exactly the way I want” but the whispers were that he got really hurt by all the reviews of the prequels, so he took his ball and went home.