Are The Star Wars Prequels Better Than The New Films?
Before Star Wars: Episode 9 came out I decided to go through all the movies again; from the original trilogy to the Star Wars prequels up until the 8th movie. I didn’t do it for me, I did it for my little sister. She had only seen the newer movies and felt lukewarm about them. So, it was my duty as her older brother to show her the rise — and harsh fall of Star Wars.
We laughed and enjoyed ourselves through the original trilogy. I wasn’t sure how a little kid would take in the 1970’s action and drama. However, by the end, she had a great time. The adventures and perils of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and Han Solo still held up.
Then it was on to the Star Wars Prequels. And I won’t lie, I looked forward to showing her these more than the original trilogy.
I didn’t grow up with the original films. I grew up on the prequels. So, while I can say the Star Wars prequel trilogy sucks eggs and balls; I can also say they have a weird, yet special place in my heart.
Moreover, the Star Wars Prequels are bad in a good way. Much like The Room and Troll 2, the Prequels are great to make fun of. My sister and I laughed our way through the entirety of all three movies (with the exception of producing, that was cool). We laughed at little Anakin saying Padme’s an angel. Or when Emperor Palpatine turned into a zombie and threw Mace Windu out the window in Episode 3.
We had a consensus by the end of Episode 3. The prequels suck, but they’re more entertaining than the new Disney movies.
The Star Wars Prequels > Disney Star Wars
After leaving the theater for Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker, I realized something: Unless you have a low IQ, you have to hate one of these new movies.
See, I knew people hated Episode 8 for destroying everything the previous film was building towards. There were others who liked Episode 8. I personally didn’t like the movie but thought it was interesting to see the series try something new-ish.
However, and at the risk of confusing everyone including myself, the latest episode, Episode 9 undermines everything that the 8th episode was trying to do.
So, what we have is an 8th episode that undermines the 7th; and a 9th that undermines the 8th. In layman’s terms, we have the exact blueprint on how to make a garbage trilogy of movies.
And if you don’t believe that the 9th movie tried to undermine the 8th, first off, did you even watch the films? Secondly, here’s how it did:
- Rose, a character that risked her life to profess her love for Finn is turned into a background character who gets friend-zoned
- Rey, who’s told she or her parents aren’t important in the 8th movie is told she’s totally important in the 9th movie. In fact, her whole lineage is one of the most important in the history of the series
- Kylo Ren is set up to be the final villain in the 8th movie with no reference at all to anyone else to take his place. Well, Kylo Ren, move over for Deus Ex Machina Emperor Palpatine
- The Rebels have their entire fleet destroyed by the end of the 8th leaving around 20 people. Yet in the next film their back in business with an entire army and fighting as usual. No explanation needed, I guess
- The “Holdo Maneuver” (when Laura Dern kamikazed a starship into a star destroyer) is brought up by name and swept under the rug. “That’s a one million shot” I can vaguely remember being said in Episode 9
The 9th movie is awful on its own. It’s rushed, messy, and lacks any nuisance that made the original movies great. However, from the standpoint of being the last movie in a trilogy, it’s even more garbage.
Why Do People Hate The Star Wars Prequels?
The Star Wars prequels aren’t good because the new movies are bad. Yet, the prequels do have something that these new films sorely lack: Soul.
You can tell that the old films came from someone with a vision. Albeit that person was a crackpot, who also essentially flipped the finger to his fans, and became obsessed over special effects instead of storytelling. Nonetheless, George Lucas still had a vision (and bat-shit crazy ideas).
The new Disney movies, however, were directed by a board room who couldn’t agree on a single thing.
Rian Johnson, the director of the 8th film, did seem to have his own ideas, but they ultimately sent the franchise off a cliff. And J.J. Abrams, the director of the 7th and 9th movies, is a puppet and a hack. Abrams excels in visual storytelling but has no talent for writing a compelling story.
Also, can you believe they got the screenwriter for Bat Man V. Superman to write Episode 9? You can’t make this shit up people.
Maybe the idea of milking Star Wars to death was so tantalizing that the team got ahead of themselves before creating a plan. Either way, now the product is cheapened — it’s a hooker on the street that Disney will pimp out until we’re all dead.
So yeah, the Prequels suck, but they’re far more entertaining than the garbage that Disney put out.
Why The Force Awakens is Worse Than The Prequels
As you take a look at the Original Trilogy (as well as the prequels in some instances), you’ll see many callbacks and parallels. There are a lot of familiar ideas in the Star Wars movies. He also said that the Prequel Trilogy should be like a stanza, that it should rhyme, etc. I mean even the fans came up with the “ring theory” that connects all the initial 6 movies and their similarities as some kind of saving grace for the Prequel Trilogy.
The fact that The Force Awakens shares parallels to A New Hope doesn’t mean it’s a bad Star Wars film. It just means you haven’t been paying attention to it or are caught up in the complaint frenzy.
Furthermore, claiming that the prequels’ redeeming quality was that they tried something new contradicts everyone (including Lucas) who says they are great because they repeated stuff from the Original Trilogy. Makes no sense.
Few Reasons Why The Star Wars Prequels Are Good
The Star Wars Prequel has helped the animation industry grow and it’s actually really good. As a final indulgence, the prequels gave us the acclaimed Clone Wars cartoons. As well as expanding Star Wars animation, the prequels have also enhanced overall storyline development.
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