The Star Wars Prequels are good movies. (spin-off from: A Thread For Bold Claims)

[Philosopher B.]

I know we seem to be talking about the prequels as a standalone trilogy, but I want to take a second here to address the biggest issues I have with how they connect to the origina trilogy.
1) Leia said she remembered their mother, yet she died during childbirth.
2) Obi Wan said Anakin was a fighter pilot when they met, but he was an eight year old.
3) IN ORDER TO HIDE ANAKIN'S CHILDREN FROM HIM, THEY HIDE ONE ON HIS HOME PLANET, WITH HIS UNCLE, AND A JEDI WHOM ANAKIN IS HUNTING DOWN, AND THE OTHER WITH ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT FIGURES IN THE NEW REBELLION, WHOM ANAKIN IS HUNTING DOWN.

My parents hid easter eggs better than that, fergodssake.

Lol! Sure makes Yoda look like an ass to go to the trouble of losing himself in the poop-swamps of Dagoba.

 

[ScytheRexx]

I mostly agree with Scythe above, except that the one thing I DID like about episode 2 was the way Darth Sidious (you might even describe it as... an insidious way...) manipulated the republic against itself. It's made even better in the Episode III novelization (In general I don't care much for Star Wars books, but Matthew Stover takes what might have been an average story and injects it with way more depth than I'd have felt possible), with the description of how the Clone Wars were the ultimate Jedi trap.

Well, I would not mind it if he still did that, but he needs to remain in the shadows about it. Remember how ominous he was in the early movies? You had Darth Vader but you only ever heard about the Emperor when someone spoke about his rule. Later on you see him for a few seconds with Darth Vader bowing and you are like "ohhhh shit" and then finally we see him in the final movie, sitting dark and evil on his throne.

The one thing I hated most about the prequels was throwing Palpatine all over the damn place. You see him talking with the Trade Federation, you seem him with Padme whispering in her ear. We watch him take leadership of the senate, we watch him get supreme power from the senate, all the mystery was gone, and we all knew he was evil anyways. The whole time they try to make it seem like they are different people, and the whole time we all KNOW he is the bad guy. Each movie we watch how he gains his power without any mystery.

You know what would have been neat? Having some "no-name" senator in the background. We barely see him, maybe one cameo, and then suddenly in the third movie he invades the senate with his army and the whole thing is over, or maybe through his own mental manipulations he takes it over, but not so overtly we have to see it on screen and KNOW its him so quickly. Then we could have that mystery of the untouchable Emperor continue on for the whole series.

Then again, I also hated the fact the whole "Luke, I am your father" reveal lost all meaning when kids know that fact the minute Episode 4 starts if they watch the movies in order of chronology. I feel like such a nerd.

 

[Hailey Knight]

You know what would have been neat? Having some "no-name" senator in the background. We barely see him, maybe one cameo, and then suddenly in the third movie he invades the senate with his army and the whole thing is over, or maybe through his own mental manipulations he takes it over, but not so overtly we have to see it on screen and KNOW its him so quickly. Then we could have that mystery of the untouchable Emperor continue on for the whole series.

I don't think that would work well at all.

In fact, could we put a moratorium on the fan-ficcing in this thread? The prequel trilogy was bad enough without having to add our own parallel universe awful prequel trilogies.

 

[HCGLNS]

As soon as Lucas decided that the prequels where movies for kids he handicapped his ability to tell believable stories. The prequels needed to tell only two things; how Darth Vader came to be and how Luke and Leia were conceived. Since Lucas made this a kids film he was limited to kids thinking on the second part, Luke and Leia could only be conceived by a husband and wife. No extra-marital sex, no rape, just loving a loving nuclear family that is ruined by the dark side. So he was forced into creating a set of movies that explained how Padme and Skywalker fall in love and get married., which they crammed into the space of a few weeks in Ep II. In Ep III they jump to the dissolution of the marriage without ever establishing the marriage at all.

 

[Hailey Knight]

They married at the end of Episode II (on Naboo -_-) and then for the duration of the marriage Anakin was off fighting the Clone Wars.

 

[ScytheRexx]

In fact, could we put a moratorium on the fan-ficcing in this thread? The prequel trilogy was bad enough without having to add our own parallel universe awful prequel trilogies.

Pft, I like coming up with alternate ideas to storylines. Not like I take them seriously. I just would have preferred that then what we had, I think it would have helped tell a better story by going back to the roots a bit more.