The Prequels, Then and now.

[Darth Groovy]

So in anticipation of the upcoming blu rays, I have started watching the prequels again.

 

In this thread, discuss what you loved about them when they came out, and what you hated about them when they came out. Then discuss how you feel about them now. Try to do this one film at a time.

 

The Phantom Menace:

 

Then:

 

I was super fanboy number 1,115,558! Had my tickets pre-ordered for opening day. Made sure I took vacation from work to see it. I don't remember who I went with, but it was a small group of friends and relatives. I laughed at some of Jar Jars antics, I cried a little when Anakin left Mos Espa. I died a little inside when Darth Maul was killed. I drooled at all of the CGI through the entire thing. I saw that movie a grand total of 9 times that summer.

 

What I liked:

 

Fantastic pacing. Outstanding visual effects. The pod race, the escape from Naboo, the duel of the fates. Darth ****ing Maul! Fantastic sound track from John Williams! Also great use of THX sound at the time. Ian McDiarmid, the true STAR of the prequels. In this movie as Darth Sideous/Senator Palpatine he is every bit as spooky as he was when we saw him in Empire Strikes Back.

 

What I disliked:

Too much Jar Jar. Too much dialogue. Padme changed costumes more times than Madonna did during the Girly Show. Too many cartoon characters. Jake Loyd did not seemed like the troubled young hero depicted in the book.

 

Now:

 

What I like:

 

I still like the way the Jedi are depicted. One minute they are like hooded monks, the next, they are flying through the air, hacking up droids, and using the force like the bad asses they are. That part was always done well. Darth ****ing Maul...probably will be my favorite forever... Music is still awesome! Sound quality is a bit lower than today's BD standards. I am sure that will be fixed. Visual effects still hold up well. The short bits between R2 and 3PO were great.

 

What I dislike:

 

Too many cartoon characters! With cartoonish voices and cartoonish names! I think they are what killed the movie for most. It was like Disney got molested by George Lucas. I think his determination to get young kids on board with his old pal Star Wars, got in the way of his original vision for the fans at bay. With names like "Watto, Sebulba, Nute Gunray, Boss Nass, Captain Tarpels, all of those characters severely annoyed me most of the time. Jar Jar...nuf said, let sleeping dogs lie. Jake Loyd. Not sure what George's idea for Anakin was supposed to be. In the novel by Terry Brooks, Anakin was depicted as upbeat, yet constantly haunted by dreams, which were actually visions of what was to come. Some of that in this movie would have helped a lot. I have always loved villains that you can feel sorry for or almost relate to as to why they are the way they are. To the point to where they become tragic and sad, because you know what motivates them. The prequels failed with the story of Vader in my opinion. Last but not least, this one I will catch hell for. Yoda. All of that CG tech which was pioneering at the time of this release, and they waste it on the worst character in Star Wars history....Jar Jar. I am sorry but the CGI Yoda in AOTC was probably the only redeeming quality of that film. The Yoda in this movie is a very bad muppet. With a stupid smirk, and the color of both guacamole and puke. Having a Yoda muppet was one thing, but the TPM muppet looks like a pile of baby puke wrapped in a gauze bandage. If George decided to dick around with his movies for another do over, I would not be sad to see that go.

 

Ok, carry on. I will post my remarks on AOTC after I watch it again.

[RoxStar]

Are you familiar with the Red Letter Media reviews? They are absolutely hilarious and make some great points on the films.

 

Warning: Language is very NSFW.

 

http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/star-wars-episode-1-the-phantom-menace/

[SITH LORD 872]

I loved all three, However i was a little upset how slow moving The Phantom Menace was compared to the other 2, I do enjoy going back and watching the first three movie's on a rainy day or when I just want to relax.

 

The Phantom Menace, I thought it could have had more to offer, I don't feel it was the film it should have been, Kind of like watching the last three when the special edition came out, The new footage added more to the film, Even if it was only a couple of quick screen shots.

 

I wished that it explained how young Vader became a slave on Tatooine, That way we could see just exactly where the seed had been planted for him to betray the republic and later become the powerful man we seen being made.

 

But overall the biggest thing that bothered me was, Boba Fett wasn't a actual Mandalorian, So why did we see him wear the armour like he was one, As far as we know, Jango Fett is from the planet Concord Dawn?

[irish_texan]

phantom menace: 7/10 stars

 

what i liked then:

special effects. huge improvement on the original trilogy. good combat sequences, good landscapes and scenery.

pod race. nuff said.

qui-gon jinn. possibly my favorite character in star wars, after obi-wan kenobi.

 

what i hated then:

yoda. i have always hated that muppet, and what you said, darth groovy, really struck a chord with me. so annoying.

sebulba. i dont know if i hated him or loved him. or if i loved to hate him. every time i saw him break that little thing off of anakin's pod before the race i just wanted to wring his neck.

 

what i like now:

storyline. i was young when i first saw phantom menace, so i mostly watched it for the action. but now i realize what a good plot it had; it really set the stage for AOTC and ROTS (which was really the climax of the saga, not ROTJ).

qui-gon jinn. still probably my favorite EVER after obi-wan kenobi.

sebulba. same reason as stated above. sebulba still pisses me off, but i realize that i dont really hate him, i just... well yeah i guess i hate him, but its more of an enjoyable hatred these days. TPM wouldnt be the same without him.

 

what i hate now:

yoda. still cant stand that puppet. his eyes creep me out.

nemoidians. same reason i hate yoda, i just never realized before. their lips look so fake when they speak.

jake loyd. he was no good, but ive come to expect bad acting from child actors, and i guess you cant blame them... theyre inexperienced by their very nature, after all.

[irish_texan]

attack of the clones: 4/10 stars

 

what i liked then:

arena scene. those animals were COOL. the acklay, the nexu, and the reek were very well done. my favorite always used to be the reek, but these days i lean toward the nexu. that thing is awesome.

dooku. cool villain. and his lightsaber is badass.

yoda. HUGE improvement on TPM. HUGE.

 

what i hated then:

obi-wan's hair. i know it sounds trivial. but that was a stupid haircut. a really stupid haircut. what was he thinking...?

the acting. baaad acting. hayden christiansen was awful. natalie portman wasnt too great either. and since they were pretty much the main focus of the film, it was just... you know, bad.

 

what i like now:

cinematography. great fight scenes. great fight choreography for dooku vs anakin and obi-wan, and dooku vs yoda. awesome arena fight with jedi vs droids, and mace windu vs jango fett.

scenery. kamino, geonosis, coruscant (zam wessell chase? suh-wEEEt!). love em all.

 

what i hate now:

padme/anakin focus. too much development of anakin and padme's relationship. they should have focused more on the story of THE CLONE WARS.

pace. too slow-paced for me. the action scenes were good, but there werent enough of them. i know they were trying to develop "padmenakin" but like i said, i didnt much like that either. more clone stuff please.

[irish_texan]

revenge of the sith: 10/10 stars

 

what i liked then:

plot. easily my favorite plot of all 6 star wars films in the saga. a true masterpiece. perfectly tying in the prequel trilogy and everything leading up to it into the tragic vader story.

palpatine. best villain ever? possibly. can you think of a villain who is more of a genius? think about his entire plan that he executed to absolute PERFECTION. he freakin' took over the galaxy and wiped out the entire jedi order in one smooth, seamless, swipe. GENIUS! and evil. very evil.

yoda. yoda? YODA? ROTS was easily his best movie. what a fricken badass. nuff said.

 

what i hated then:

order 66. i couldnt stand watching all those jedi die. but these days i am mature enough to know that the entire plot would have been shid if they hadnt. it was essential. but still sad.

 

what i like now:

obi-wan's hair. much better

scenery. mustafar, kashyyyk, coruscant, and all those other places they only showed briefly during the execution of order 66. wow.

plot. still my favorite. EVER.

wookiees. nuff said.

 

what i hate now:

still not much. i give this movie a 10 out of 10 rating for a reason. easily my favorite one of the whole saga.

[irish_texan]

I wished that it explained how young Vader became a slave on Tatooine, That way we could see just exactly where the seed had been planted for him to betray the republic and later become the powerful man we seen being made.

 

the seed that plants hatred in his heart is the killing of his mother by tuskens in AOTC. but i know what you mean; it would have been cool to see a little more background.

[SITH LORD 872]

the seed that plants hatred in his heart is the killing of his mother by tuskens in AOTC. but i know what you mean; it would have been cool to see a little more background.

 

Well yeah that's what i mean is a little more background into his character, All we really knew he was a slave, He left to become a Jedi, Came home finds out mother is gone, Finds her, then she dies, Then he goes on a rampage, Not to mention through all 3 films we seen he had little patience, All ways had a ego, Then the events in ROTS That's all.