Star Wars prequels-why all the hate?

[CrimsonGhost]

As I mentioned before The best way to watch the films is the machete order it excludes episode 1,
known as Machete order (4, 5, 2, 3, 6) it treats the prequel films as an extended flashback within the original trilogy.
Thus saving the big reveal in empire.the only change I would make would be to add rogue one in the beginning.
New order being ;
Rogue one, IV, V, II, III, VI, VII, VIII.

I think I'll go IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and leave it at that.

[fallensaviour]

I wanted to like them. I tried to convince myself after watching Phantom Menace that I liked it. As time went on however, I find them unwatchable.

The story seems not planned out to fit with the original trilogy. I mean, if someone who had never seen any of them tried to watch them in order, they destroy the shocking reveal in Empire.

As I mentioned before The best way to watch the films is the machete order it excludes episode 1,
known as Machete order (4, 5, 2, 3, 6) it treats the prequel films as an extended flashback within the original trilogy.
Thus saving the big reveal in empire.the only change I would make would be to add rogue one in the beginning.
New order being ;
Rogue one, IV, V, II, III, VI, VII, VIII.

[CrimsonGhost]

I wanted to like them. I tried to convince myself after watching Phantom Menace that I liked it. As time went on however, I find them unwatchable.

The story seems not planned out to fit with the original trilogy. I mean, if someone who had never seen any of them tried to watch them in order, they destroy the shocking reveal in Empire.

The acting is very flat. How can actors that are great in every other movie, such as Ewan McGregor, be this unwatchable? Possible because they weren't given proper direction. Probably because they were trying to act in a giant green room to a green tape mark on the wall. I feel no emotional connection to anyone, and I can't even tell who our protagonist is. It probably should be Obi-Wan, but is it? It's not Anakin, not Jar-Jar, not Qui-Gon so I guess it falls to Obi-Wan, but it's not played that way.

The effects have aged poorly. The backgrounds look very artificial. There are complete sequences that might as well be cut scenes from a video game. And furthermore, the world doesn't even look like Star Wars. As much as I think Rogue One is boring, it LOOKS exactly like the Star Wars universe from the original trilogy.

I don't hate the prequels. It's actually worse. I'm indifferent to them. They've stirred as much emotion to me as 2016's Ghostbusters did. I have no connection to it at all and it might as well not exist.

Having said all that, I have movies that I know aren't good, and maybe they're even flat out bad movies, that I like despite their flaws because I find them entertaining or fun or whatever. I have an emotional connection to them. And there are plenty of movies that the masses love that I can't stand.

Like what you like.

[Mikey]

One word to describe the prequels --- pompous

[palitoy]

The curveball had to be in the performance, Anakin should have been your favourite character.

[thunderbolt]

The thing with the prequels to me is I knew where they were going, Anakin was screwed and you knew who was going to do it to him. There was no twist like Vader is daddy or Leia is sis. Just going straight on thru to the rise of the emperor and the fall of the Jedi. All those wise Jedi could not see how Anakin was going to bring balance to the force, by getting it down to two dark lords and two Jedi. Lucas should have thrown some kind of curveball in there as a surprise.

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

Yeah, I rewatched them numerous times over the past month and a half on tv. The first one is my least favorite but I enjoy them over the first 3 movies. Star Wars didnt resonate with me as a kid. I think Mantlo's Micronauts gave me a better space fantasy that was hard to outdo. I really loved how everyone in the theatre flipped out when Yoda came around the corner to fight Dooku. I would love to see a solo Kenobi movie with Ewan Mcgregor.

[William Vafai]

So been watching the marathon (here in Canada) of these movies a couple times this weekend and, as a Star Wars fan since '78 (yes '78, when the action figures came out) I don't understand why so many dislike these movies.

In fact it was only a few (several?) years ago reading stuff online that I realized that I'm not supposed to like these movies. And I sorta bought into that, for awhile.

Yup Jar Jar is annoying (as was reviewed in '99), as is young Anakin at times (and the pod racing is kinda goofy) and the Anakin/Padme love story is...well...kinda painful...

But most of the rest is all Star Wars, including some really cool light saber duels.

Anyone else out there not hate the prequels and just enjoy them for what they are?

K

I like them. Lots of great stuff in all three of them.

[Hector]

The only thing I liked about the prequels was Darth Maul...and he was greatly and vastly underused.

[YoungOnce]

Star Wars: A New Hope... The movie comes along with a great story, special effects and matinee serial innocence. Becomes a phenomenon. There is mystery in the characters and the things they reference like Jedi wars and dead fathers, Kessel Run, bounty hunters and all the details of world-building are left to the viewers mind.

Empire Strikes Back is an anomaly, in that is a sequel that doesn't drop off from the original. In the pre-Internet days, the biggest secret in cinema is able to be kept and it pays off big time. Return of the Jedi is just a big party to wrap up this great ride. The story is still moving forward (not backwards) and there is not so much canon that the minefield cannot be traversed.

The prequels were never going to be able to capture the same moment in history. They made their money for sure because it's freaking Star Wars and we were all hoping to recapture that magic, but that moment of fantastic discovery was unique. Too, for me, the visions formed in my juvenile brain of the clone wars and the Jedi Order were self-romanticized to a degree that the prequels over-explanations just diminished the magic. I did learn to enjoy them in moments because the Star Wars universe is just a fun place to visit, but the magic wasn't there for me like it had been before. I had changed. The movies had too.

And now the sequels are kind of in the same boat, other than they are at least not bound to the future. But the sense of discovery has been replaced with a whole lot of meta-knowledge. Soon there will be a new Star Wars movie that will perhaps show us what Solo's Kessel Run looked like, but it's doubtful that it will live up to anyone's mind picture.

Same with Indiana Jones, Alien, Karati Kid, First Blood, or Van Halen with David Lee Roth... Going back and recapturing the magic is tough. Not impossible maybe, but tough.

[Hedji]

I love them, and I do not get the hate either. I think we are likely going to see more acceptance as the generation that grew up with them comes of age now.

Having said that, I cringe every time I see a Prequel discussion thread. I know it won't be good for me, but I can't help myself, like a moth to a flame.

Anyways, you can label me all you want, but I really enjoy them, and to me, they are Star Wars. A few things I'd have done differently, but I find them entertaining as heck. Also...

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

I like Jar Jar.

[Goblin19]

While I don't hate the prequels like a lot of people do, I think they have some good moments, but suffer from terrible dialogue, a terrible romance, and some stupid characters. I think if Lucas would have just done the treatments and let somebody else write the script, they would have fared much better.

[huedell]

Wish I could like them more than I do, which is: Not much.

Take The Last Jedi, out of 10/10, I thought its story-beats were a 9 or even 10, and execution of it in plot-form was 7 or 8 at best.

The 3 prequels? I thought its story-beats was/were 7 or 8 at best (and that 8 would only be for what Revenge Of The Sith had to offer), and execution of it in plot-form was 3 or 4 at best (again, the prequels, as a whole, benefit whatever benefit can be eeked out mostly for what Revenge Of The Sith had to offer).

The worst thing about the execution of the prequels?

The dialogue... as spoken by flat characters.

Only George "independent filmmaker responsible to no one (except, in theory, the fans)" Lucas could write such deficient material and have it make it to an actual Star Wars film.

[Bravestarr]

Why not ???

[fallensaviour]

I think they suck but have some redeeming quality sprinkled throughout.
A heavy edit of all three would make 2 really good films.
Reduce phantom to about 30 minutes.
Make the second film 1 hour and take most of the third film.
If you really wanted a trilogy out of it make them each about 85 minutes.
The best way to watch the films is the machete order it excludes episode 1,
known as Machete order (4, 5, 2, 3, 6) it treats the prequel films as an extended flashback within the original trilogy.