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Star Wars Prequel Trilogy Review

Savage Idealist

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Given that there is quite an amount of Star Wars threads active at the moment, I figured that it would be appropriate to post one of the best (if not very best) reviews of the first three films. Done by Red Letter Media, these reviews go above and beyond others as it explains from a analytical perspective why certain aspects of the film just don't work, in addition to questioning the logic of the plot and characters.

Enjoy.

Episode 1

 

highlander

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Empire Strikes back is better.

I do like Episode 2 the best of 1 - 3.
 

swordpath

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The prequels need no explanation, lol. The pain it afflicts in simply watching them speaks enough.
 

Hazashin

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What's with all the Prequel Trilogy hate? Obviously, even though it wasn't done very well (most likely because it was rushed since Lucas imposed a time constraint that his movies had to be only 2 hours long). The story (especially Anakin's transformation/tragedy) is obviously superior to the boring, cliche story of Luke, Han, and Leia saving the galaxy.
 

Savage Idealist

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Empire Strikes back is better.

Damn straight; it's easily the best film out of all six.

I do like Episode 2 the best of 1 - 3.

Are you talking about the reviews or the actual film?

The prequels need no explanation, lol. The pain it afflicts in simply watching them speaks enough.

True that.

What's with all the Prequel Trilogy hate? Obviously, even though it wasn't done very well (most likely because it was rushed since Lucas imposed a time constraint that his movies had to be only 2 hours long). The story (especially Anakin's transformation/tragedy) is obviously superior to the boring, cliche story of Luke, Han, and Leia saving the galaxy.

I suppose it may be a matter of opinion then; some find the prequels good in their own way, other think they're garbage; but really all that matter is that individual people enjoy what they enjoy, whether it be a film, or a mocking review of it.
 

kelric

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The story (especially Anakin's transformation/tragedy) is obviously superior to the boring, cliche story of Luke, Han, and Leia saving the galaxy.

While I liked the "saving the galaxy" storyline of the originals, I agree with you that the prequels had the meatier, more intriguing storyline. But the execution was *awful*. I mean, just terrible. There was more potential, but much less follow-through. Nonsensical plot holes/explanations, bad writing, ghastly dialog, deux-ex-machina explanations of stuff that didn't need explaining, "let's make an uneccesary character(s) to sell toys" -- all of that was in the prequels, in spades.

If you doubt me, go back and watch any of the "romance" scenes, especially in episode 2. If you can get through that without cringing, you're more forgiving than I am.
 

ZPowers

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These have been around for a while. For those who didn't bother watching, they're both really insightful in terms of showing you how filmmaking and narratives work, and very funny. They aren't just aimless or bitter ranting. They're fully worth watching
 

RaptorWizard

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These have been around for a while. For those who didn't bother watching, they're both really insightful in terms of showing you how filmmaking and narratives work, and very funny. They aren't just aimless or bitter ranting. They're fully worth watching

Random question: Who is that guy with the pink suit in your avatar?
 

Hazashin

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While I liked the "saving the galaxy" storyline of the originals, I agree with you that the prequels had the meatier, more intriguing storyline. But the execution was *awful*. I mean, just terrible. There was more potential, but much less follow-through. Nonsensical plot holes/explanations, bad writing, ghastly dialog, deux-ex-machina explanations of stuff that didn't need explaining, "let's make an uneccesary character(s) to sell toys" -- all of that was in the prequels, in spades.

If you doubt me, go back and watch any of the "romance" scenes, especially in episode 2. If you can get through that without cringing, you're more forgiving than I am.

Well, hmm, maybe it's just because I'm an Ne-user and not a T? I just see the whole picture for what it is rather than analyze it (except Anakin's character, which I was able to deduce through making connections with all the info I had).

But, as for the romance scene, I see what you mean, but I still understand what it's trying to convey. After all, I think most romance scenes in movies are sub-par.
 

UniqueMixture

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Empire Strikes back is better.

I do like Episode 2 the best of 1 - 3.

rule_34.jpg
 

Mad Hatter

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While I liked the "saving the galaxy" storyline of the originals, I agree with you that the prequels had the meatier, more intriguing storyline. But the execution was *awful*. I mean, just terrible. There was more potential, but much less follow-through. Nonsensical plot holes/explanations, bad writing, ghastly dialog, deux-ex-machina explanations of stuff that didn't need explaining, "let's make an uneccesary character(s) to sell toys" -- all of that was in the prequels, in spades.

If you doubt me, go back and watch any of the "romance" scenes, especially in episode 2. If you can get through that without cringing, you're more forgiving than I am.

I tend to agree story-wise, but yeah, the execution was awful beyond belief. They could have made so much out of this story (even there are still many holes and inconsistencies / stuff that's just plain unbelieveable to me, and I love Star Wars). Too much just seemed slapped together instead of fully developed. The worst part of it all is definitely the guy that plays Anakin Skywalker. My standard by which all bad acting is measured.

To anyone who doesn't like the prequel movies, I recommend reading the books. Especially the one to Episode 1 was surprisingly good (and yes, Jar Jar Binks is annoying as hell even in text form).

Still, the old ones are the best. They have the Empire - by far the coolest element in the entire Star Wars universe to me.
 

Mal12345

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I tend to agree story-wise, but yeah, the execution was awful beyond belief. They could have made so much out of this story (even there are still many holes and inconsistencies / stuff that's just plain unbelieveable to me, and I love Star Wars). Too much just seemed slapped together instead of fully developed. The worst part of it all is definitely the guy that plays Anakin Skywalker. My standard by which all bad acting is measured.

To anyone who doesn't like the prequel movies, I recommend reading the books. Especially the one to Episode 1 was surprisingly good (and yes, Jar Jar Binks is annoying as hell even in text form).

Still, the old ones are the best. They have the Empire - by far the coolest element in the entire Star Wars universe to me.

Oh my goodness, I hope "the Empire" is not your sole reason for preferring the first series. It had everything in it that the prequels lack. "The Empire" is just a thing, you might as well have said it had the Death Star, another cool thing.

What the original series has that the prequels lack is a heroic story arc that people can care about, along with likable characters who can act.
 

kelric

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The worst part of it all is definitely the guy that plays Anakin Skywalker. My standard by which all bad acting is measured.

You know what, though? I actually don't blame any of the actors. Lucas *wanted* those performances. Look at Natalie Portman -- an academy award winning actor -- and then go watch some of those scenes. Just awful. Lucas liked the old B-movie science fiction stories of his youth, and was always aiming for the same feel -- however bad it was. Most of the actors in the prequels, in anything else, are rather good (that goes for Hamill/Ford/Fisher, too -- although they didn't sink quite so low as the prequel actors did). So I don't fault Hayden Christiansen too much (even though I don't recall him in much else), and as for Jake Lloyd -- well, he was just a kid. They just weren't Harrison Ford -- who apparently simply changed dialog that he found *too* bad.
 

Mal12345

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You know what, though? I actually don't blame any of the actors. Lucas *wanted* those performances. Look at Natalie Portman -- an academy award winning actor -- and then go watch some of those scenes. Just awful. Lucas liked the old B-movie science fiction stories of his youth, and was always aiming for the same feel -- however bad it was. Most of the actors in the prequels, in anything else, are rather good (that goes for Hamill/Ford/Fisher, too -- although they didn't sink quite so low as the prequel actors did). So I don't fault Hayden Christiansen too much (even though I don't recall him in much else), and as for Jake Lloyd -- well, he was just a kid. They just weren't Harrison Ford -- who apparently simply changed dialog that he found *too* bad.

I know.
 

Mal12345

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Well, hmm, maybe it's just because I'm an Ne-user and not a T? I just see the whole picture for what it is rather than analyze it (except Anakin's character, which I was able to deduce through making connections with all the info I had).

Wow, you were able to deduce that Anakin was to become Darth Vader?
 

The Ü™

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The Phantom Menace was breathtaking in 1999. The production values, visual and sound effects were flawless, but Jake Lloyd was annoying as hell. As for Jar Jar, I don't see what the problem was outside of him being the second most annoying character in the movie (someone had to fill in for C-3PO's lack of screen time). But why was the character such a racist stereotype? He was voiced and mocapped by a black guy imitating his grandmother!!!

For the boring first half, Attack of the Clones transformed into a work of genius during the last hour. (And even in the first half, there's an unintentionally funny love story that in and of itself is a genius in its stupidity.) Say what you want about George Lucas's inability to write character dialogue, but the guy can sure design and create some of the most memorable action sequences on either film or digital video.

I had no major complaints about Revenge of the Sith, outside of Hayden Christensen's tired performance, and the false pretense of this being the darkest of all of the movies. Just because it's the only movie of the six to get a PG-13 rating doesn't mean it's the darkest, George. The Empire Strikes Back was darker, I think. But depending on my mood, Sith is either my second or third favorite film of the entire saga.

And none of the prequels are my least favorites of the saga -- that honor goes to Return of the Jedi. God damn Ewoks.
 
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