SW Prequel Duology Opinions: I or II?

[Jeff O'Connor]

Well, with Episode III: Revenge of the Sith fast approaching its theatrical release I've decided to form a thread regarding its two forerunners in George Lucas' prequel trilogy of exciting adventures.

Now, while most tend to agree this new series doesn't exactly live up to the original films, not too terribly many absolutely abhor them or the box office would demonstrate such conditions. I know a lot of us are quite passionately against them for numerous reasons here and on other higher-end online communities but nonetheless, even those who dislike both I and II surely dislike one more than the other, even if by only a bit? And then there are those who, like myself, actually enjoy them, though perhaps not as much as IV through VI.

With III, the movie early reviewers, for the most part, have analyzed as one of the best in the series -- this from some who completely bashed the other prequels, I believe -- slated to find its way into our hearts, or at least, many of our hearts, quite soon, I'd just like to know what some of the vocal folks here think about the previous two installments and specifically, which one they found, overall, a 'better' piece than the other.

Personally, I found myself enjoying II more than its own prequel, though I know quite a few people who disagree with me. They say that Anakin's young adult form is the most annoying male of around that infamous age since Wesley Crusher and the love story was incredibly simplistic and yet just contrived enough to give us all major headaches. I happen to think II was executed modestly well and that I enjoy its more mature setting over the other -- not to say it was particularly mature but moreso than the other for me. Nine-year-old Anakin gave me plenty more migraines, but that's just me and granted I was twelve when Episode I came out.

[Vala]

I like 5 best.... wait that wasn't the question.

[Melyanna]

I've generally found the prequels to be suffering from lack of storytelling. The story of The Phantom Menace could have been really magnificent, with all the political intrigue and the pure heartbreak of the chance encounter with a little slave boy, but instead it was bogged down in special effects. Sure, the original films were action stories, but the action fit the stories. The plot of TPM could have almost fit a parlor drama.

AotC had even more problems, and for a middle movement that's supposed to carry us from TPM to RotS, it did a terrible job of developing characters. I wanted to throw something at the television when I watched the cut scenes on the DVD because some really beautiful scenes with Anakin, Padmé and Padmé's family were cut because they didn't do much more than develop the characters. I'm not even going to get into the dialogue or acting. Sure, the action was cool, but argh, I wanted to care about the characters before getting to the explosions. The first two movies were so frustrating to me, because I wanted to really enjoy them without seeing so many places that bothered me.

And, well, I can't say I trust much of the hype. There was a review of the movie at IGN a few days ago in which the reviewer basically said that of course it's good, when you use the first two prequels as your standard. The expectations are so low that of course it's going to wow people. And at the same time, there are apparently glaring inconsistencies that make no sense, and amount to sloppy storytelling.

[Jeff O'Connor]

I found that the scenes they cut from AoTC really offended me as well; I definitely agree with you on that! Argh.

But I will say this -- I've also found that lots of the alleged glaring inconsistencies fans of a particular franchise find oftentimes signal not wayward movements away from canon but rather the fanon that devoted diehards developed, themselves, and over time introduced on a higher level to become mainstream acceptance. Of course, I haven't seen RotS yet but I'm hoping that's all that's really the problem with it.

[Melyanna]

Well, I won't give specifics, since you seem to be spoiler-free, but apparently the inconsistencies are pretty bad, and not really fandom-influenced. (I understand your point, and I've seen that lots of times in other fandoms, but I really don't think that's the case here.) Plus there are things that go by with no explanation whatsoever, when they could have been opportunities to heighten the terror of the time without actually showing violence.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Ahh, that's terribly unfortunate, then. I... well, hopefully I won't find it too bad, then! Heh. Guess I shouldn't have expected anything more; hopefully it'll live up to the hype on some levels, at least.

As for the spoiler-free analysis, actually I can be quite the spoiler slut. :D

[grendelsbayne]

I recall liking the second one better. But then I only saw it the one time, compared to several with the first.

I would point out, though, that even if every Star Wars fan in the world utterly despised the films, it still wouldn't show at the box office. Every one of them's still guaranteed to see it once. And that alone could float a film.

[Melyanna]

Ahh, that's terribly unfortunate, then. I... well, hopefully I won't find it too bad, then! Heh. Guess I shouldn't have expected anything more; hopefully it'll live up to the hype on some levels, at least.

As for the spoiler-free analysis, actually I can be quite the spoiler slut. :D
In that case, read the second page of this review at your own discretion (http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/612/612085p1.html).

[DownFallAngel]

What really helped carry the entire second(or 5th) movie was the cartoon series released by CN. Totally brought about the entire second movie and was a great and much needed addition.

Also, the second movie is the thickest of the entire series. It deals with an entire galaxy going to war, you can't really cram that into 2 hours.

[yaaayoubetcha]

What really helped carry the entire second(or 5th) movie was the cartoon series released by CN. Totally brought about the entire second movie and was a great and much needed addition.

Also, the second movie is the thickest of the entire series. It deals with an entire galaxy going to war, you can't really cram that into 2 hours.

I actually liked the CN minis more than I liked either of EP1 or two. the voice acting, action and stories were superior to either movie, i thought.


As far as either movie, I spose I prefered Ep2 mainly on the strength the the Dooku/Yoda scene. Both I thought were fairly crap.

The latest excuse I've heard Lucas circulating for the general crappiness of the first 2 movies is that when he wrote eps 4-6, he wrote them as individual stories. Supposedly he wrote Ep3, as 1 story and took a bit of it and spun it out for Eps 1 and 2. He says that's why Eps 1 and 2 seems like so much filler but not much else, but the remainder of the story has been crammed into Ep3 and it will be all meat, no filler.

I'll believe it when I see it, which should be next Friday.

[MartoufMarty]

Episode one wasn't too bad. Anakin annoyed me and I wanted to MURDER Jar Jar.

Episode two... When I first watched it, I fell asleep. Second time I watched it, I was bored, and really annoyed by those scene transitions. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Episode three looks pretty good. Me and my sister might go see it on the 27th.

But, I'd have to say that episode six is my favorite of them all :)

[Dahak]

I really did not like TPM. Anakin is a slave but owns a robot? His mom is a virgin? Come on Lucas we know that Anakin turns into Vader but you went way to overboard to make that annoying kid likeable. Then the offensive in so many ways Jar Jar and the WAY too long and very boring pod race makes for a bad movie.
AOTC was not as bad plot wise but Hayden Chritiansen was terrible. Why were the scenes between Anakin and Padme so bad? They were dating in real life so you would think that some type of chemistry between them on screen. Instead we get lines like "I like you Padme you aren't like sand you are soft."
Plus Lucas really shouldn't have tried so hard to keep the movies PG. None of the first trilogy would have qualified as PG. Also kids should not have been his target audience. No more Ewoks or Jar Jars.

[Jeff O'Connor]

In that case, read the second page of this review at your own discretion (http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/612/612085p1.html).

Ah, yes. I had heard things along these lines. Sounds pretty bad. Not atrocious but far from completely excusable as well.

[GhostPoet]

Well, with Episode III: Revenge of the Sith fast approaching its theatrical release I've decided to form a thread regarding its two forerunners in George Lucas' prequel trilogy of exciting adventures.

Now, while most tend to agree this new series doesn't exactly live up to the original films, not too terribly many absolutely abhor them or the box office would demonstrate such conditions. I know a lot of us are quite passionately against them for numerous reasons here and on other higher-end online communities but nonetheless, even those who dislike both I and II surely dislike one more than the other, even if by only a bit? And then there are those who, like myself, actually enjoy them, though perhaps not as much as IV through VI.

With III, the movie early reviewers, for the most part, have analyzed as one of the best in the series -- this from some who completely bashed the other prequels, I believe -- slated to find its way into our hearts, or at least, many of our hearts, quite soon, I'd just like to know what some of the vocal folks here think about the previous two installments and specifically, which one they found, overall, a 'better' piece than the other.

Personally, I found myself enjoying II more than its own prequel, though I know quite a few people who disagree with me. They say that Anakin's young adult form is the most annoying male of around that infamous age since Wesley Crusher and the love story was incredibly simplistic and yet just contrived enough to give us all major headaches. I happen to think II was executed modestly well and that I enjoy its more mature setting over the other -- not to say it was particularly mature but moreso than the other for me. Nine-year-old Anakin gave me plenty more migraines, but that's just me and granted I was twelve when Episode I came out.

I'm not sure why some people say the original trilogy was the best. I thought Attack of the Clones was BY FAR the best movie in the entire saga...it does everything bigger AND better. Bigger and better action and exploration of alien worlds. I thought the acting was equal to that of my old favorite (empire). It does everything the classic movies did only on a larger, better scale.

[Lexx]

Out of the two prequels, I prefer AotC. When watching it on DVD all I need to do is skip the "Anakin & Padme in love on Naboo" chapters. Everything else is enjoyable. TPM though is tedious all the way through. Especially the Tatooine scenes. The only time I really like TPM is from the Jedi/Naboo Resistance infiltration of Theed Palace until the end.

[Jeff O'Connor]

I'm not sure why some people say the original trilogy was the best. I thought Attack of the Clones was BY FAR the best movie in the entire saga...it does everything bigger AND better. Bigger and better action and exploration of alien worlds. I thought the acting was equal to that of my old favorite (empire). It does everything the classic movies did only on a larger, better scale.

To a point, I actually agree with you. Though I prefer the old trilogy over the two prequels we've seen thus far, if Revenge is really, really good, I'll have a difficult time assessing which side of the spectrum I like more.

Better action doesn't mean better plot, though, of course. But... I don't dislike the new movies at all, myself.

[Ugly Pig]

I really did not like TPM. Anakin is a slave but owns a robot? His mom is a virgin?Nowhere was it stated that Shmi was a virgin.
They were dating in real life so you would think that some type of chemistry between them on screen.They were not dating in real life. That was tabloid BS.
Instead we get lines like "I like you Padme you aren't like sand you are soft."This is the line most often quoted as an example of the poor dialogue in Episode 2. Even though the line is actually "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything is soft and smooth." While not great, it's not as bad as the commonly mis-quoted version.
Plus Lucas really shouldn't have tried so hard to keep the movies PG. None of the first trilogy would have qualified as PG.Then how come they all were rated PG? :p
Also kids should not have been his target audience.Because?

[Dahak]

Nowhere was it stated that Shmi was a virgin.They were not dating in real life. That was tabloid BS.This is the line most often quoted as an example of the poor dialogue in Episode 2. Even though the line is actually "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything is soft and smooth." While not great, it's not as bad as the commonly mis-quoted version.Then how come they all were rated PG? :pBecause?

Wow where to begin. Anakin's mom while she probably wasn't a virgin didn't know who Anakin's father was because she hadn't been with a man. What would you call that? Also funny how you ignore the whole slaves with property issue.
Maybe you are right about not dating. I read they were but it could be tabloid BS and the dialouge still sucked.
The reason that the first 3 movies were PG is simply there was no PG13. The first PG 13 movie came out after ROTJ came out. There is no way the ESB would qualify today as PG and I doubt that SW or ROTJ would either.
The mistake for making movies for kids is that kids don't have money. If the parents dislike the movie it won't do as good. LOTR, Harry Potter, and Spiderman all appealed to families not kids. If you have a kid you quickly learn the difference between family movies and kids movies. If you don't check out Spy Kids 3D for the worst example of a kid movie gone terribly wrong.

[Ugly Pig]

Wow where to begin. Anakin's mom while she probably wasn't a virgin didn't know who Anakin's father was because she hadn't been with a man. What would you call that?I know, I'm just saying nobody said she was a virigin. :p
Also funny how you ignore the whole slaves with property issue.I just didn't have anything to comment on regarding that particular point. Why is that funny? And yeah, you're probably right.
Maybe you are right about not dating. I read they were but it could be tabloid BS and the dialouge still sucked.Yes. The dialogue did suck in the "love story" parts of the film.
The reason that the first 3 movies were PG is simply there was no PG13. The first PG 13 movie came out after ROTJ came out. There is no way the ESB would qualify today as PG and I doubt that SW or ROTJ would either.All three films were re-submitted to the MPAA in both 1997 and 2004, well after the PG-13 rating came into existance. Both times, they all kept their PG ratings.
The mistake for making movies for kids is that kids don't have money.Somehow, I don't think George Lucas really needs to worry about that. :D

[Hatcheter]

In that case, read the second page of this review at your own discretion (http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/612/612085p1.html).

Having seen the new film, I'd like to say that that list is horribly nit-picky, and shows the IGN author's own depths of dorkhood. :p

Now, for the first two films, I liked Attack of the Clones better than The Phantom Menace, though I certainly didn't hate the first.