Re: I love the Star Wars prequels!
Having finished my homework for the evening I made this thread to answer the PT-bashing that has been going on lately. I know it's an unpopular opinion, and one poster in this thread has even expressed incredulity that people find enjoyment from things he does not. But I am not just some mindless, mouth-breathing idiot who likes shiny lights and cool action. I think there is more to these movies than many people give them credit for. Here are just a few things I have found to like about the much-maligned prequel trilogy.
The Phantom Menace:
The opening crawl. It really gets trashed by critics for talking about such mundane matters as taxation and trade routes but that is the brilliance of the story. Palpatine's plan did not start with some great battle or overt attack, rather he used mundane things like tax policy to engineer his ascension to the chancellorship.
Symbolism. Palpatine and Sidious are both introduced via hologram, just as we first saw the Emperor in TESB.
The Jedi in their prime. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon tear through the battle droids like they are paper dolls. In the original trilogy we only ever saw three force users in battle: A crippled cyborg, an old man, and an inexperienced child. Here we finally get to see what the Jedi were like before the purge.
Jar-Jar. He makes me laugh. Sue me.
The visuals. Take a moment to look at Gunga City or Theed on a big HDTV screen. The CGI in the prequels gets a lot of flack but look at some of the awesome things they were able to create.
Duality. Palpatine's alter-ego is the evil Sidious. Amidala's is the innocent Padme. These four characters plot and scheme in circles around each other.
Introduction of the Sith. Did you know that the word "Sith" was never used in the original trilogy?
The podrace. If you have ever seen the brilliant American Graffiti you know about Lucas' fondness for the era of teenage boys tinkering with their muscle cars for the drag races. The podrace is this concept transplanted to Star Wars. Even having seen it a million times I still find it exciting to watch.
Anakin saying goodbye to his mother. The relationship between Anakin and Schmi is a driving force for his character. She tells him "Don't look back" as the force theme swells. You know he won't be able to obey.
Coruscant. Another name not mentioned in the originals. (It was named by Timothy Zahn in Heir to the Empire.)
The Galactic Senate. Like many Star Wars concepts, this was barely an offhand mention in the original trilogy. Here we get to see it in all its glory. I was blown away when I saw it in the theater.
Yoda. The Yoda we knew from the originals was a little creature dwelling in a mud hut in the middle of a swamp. Here he presides over the Jedi Council in a magnificent temple. How the mighty will fall.
The battle droid army in the field. One hundred percent CGI but it looks great.
Duel of the Fates. Enough said.
The little things: Jar-Jar's stupid grin when he first meets Obi-Wan. The completely obvious fact that Sidious and Maul meet on the balcony of Palpatine's Coruscant apartment. Sebulba straightening his goggles after sabotaging Anakin. Anakin glaring at Mace Windu after being told he cannot be trained. Palpatine's half smile after learning Amidala is returning to Naboo.
Attack of the Clones:
The music. I bought the soundtrack while I was hanging out in Australia in the summer of '02 and fell in love with this score. The first scene of the movie, with the unique pan-up showing the ships flying into Coruscant, quickly establishes a mood that is much different from TPM. It is a much more serious motif.
A day in the life of Coruscant. Unlike in TPM we spend a lot of time on the city-planet and get to see the normal citizens of the Republic. Rush hour traffic, people in the bar, Dex, etc.
I love the shot of Zam putting the assassin creatures in the droid. Something about that picture screams Star Wars.
Obi-Wan cutting off people's limbs in bars. It's a bad habit...
Obi-Wan's investigation and fight with Jango Fett. Obi-Wan really owns the prequels. He is not the strongest, nor the wisest Jedi, but he is definitely the most resourceful. The conversation with Jango indoors is absolutely brilliant in its subtext. The fight is amazing too, take away the lightsaber and its a drawn out bare-knuckle brawl.
The Lars family. It is neat to see them at this point in their lives, knowing their sad fates. We also get an idea of why Owen does not want Luke following in his father's footsteps.
Obi-Wan trying to evade the Slave I. Jango throws everything he has at the Jedi but cannot seem to bring him down. Notice that Boba is not fooled twice by Obi-Wan's trick, as he will anticipate Han Solo doing the same thing in TESB.
The binary sunset scene. It is a different angle, but Anakin is standing at the same place, looking the same way, as Luke did in ANH.
Count Dooku. Sure he has a silly name, but Christopher Lee brings such gravitas to the role, as he always does. You know he is being played by Sidious but you can't help but see a certain nobility in him, as if he really wants to do the right thing but he is simply going about it the wrong way.
Jar-Jar moves for the vote that creates the empire. Classic.
The arena battle, from start to finish. Mace Windu in action, Jango shooting the unfortunate Jedi Master on the balcony, Anakin and Padme working together, the arrival of the clone armies.
A special mention to the end of Jango Fett. His son will also learn the hard way that it's a bad idea to get too close to an armed Jedi.
Anakin with two lightsabers, though it is over too quickly.
Yoda doing battle. I know many people came up with this wild idea that he is too far advanced to bother with a lightsaber, but I think that was merely because they could not imagine him actually using one.
Musically and visually, the last ten minutes of the movie are sublime. From Dooku's arrival on Coruscant, to the Imperial March over the deployment of the clones, to the wedding, and finally to the end credits. Almost no dialogue interrupts the scenes. George Lucas has said that he wants you to be able to turn off the dialogue and just watch the visuals and listen to the music and feel the story. This is that concept at its best.
Little things: The droid repairing Padme's window on Coruscant. Nute Gunray's fist pump when he thinks Padme is done for. Obi-Wan checking the pulse of the dead Jedi on Geonosis. Bail Organa's frustration when watching the clones at the end.
Revenge of the Sith:
War! The opening crawl followed by the up-tempo martial music really sets the stage for this movie.
The best star-pilot in the galaxy. We finally get to see Anakin show off his piloting skills and he is as good as we thought. Between flying the proto-TIE Fighter to landing the larger vessel, we can see how Obi-Wan can describe him as the best.
The first saber duel. Anakin boasts about his greater power and then backs it up, completely destroying Dooku.
The opera scene. The music, the reflections, the shadows, they all underscore the creepiness of Palpatine as he manipulates Anakin. Since he was just a child, Anakin has had everything Obi-Wan tries to teach him twisted by the Emperor. Anakin is Palpatine's ace in the hole, and Palpatine never bluffs.
The shot of Obi-Wan jumping into the middle of Greivous' army is another pure Star Wars moment. "Hello there!"
Obi-Wan versus Greivous. Once again he shows himself to be the most resourceful of all the Jedi, finishing his opponent off with an uncivilized blaster. Throughout the prequels we get a taste of the life that this great Jedi has led, which adds so much weight to his interaction with Luke and Han in ANH.
Confrontation with Palpatine. His fighting style is so different from anyone we have seen thus far and it is clear the Jedi are completely unprepared.
The broken window scene. Mace has Palpatine dead to rights but this is where the Emperor plays his ace in the hole. All his years of manipulating Anakin have led to this moment. Everything Palpatine has done has been to further his aims of creating the Empire and destroying the Jedi. This is the one moment where he could lose everything. If Anakin wavers, or decides to trust in Mace, then all is lost. Even if Palpatine was bluffing against Windu there is no way he could take Mace and Anakin together. But his ace proves to be the trump card. Anakin, guilty about killing Dooku, cannot repeat his mistake. His lingering mistrust of Windu does not let him trust him now. And he is not willing to risk losing Padme, no matter how slim the chance that the Sith Lord could really help him. Palpatine played his cards perfectly. His reward? "Power! Unlimited power!!!"
Darth Vader leading the stormtroopers into the Jedi Temple. This is what fans have been waiting for since 1977.
Order 66. John Williams' tragic music underscores the tragedy of the scene. The Jedi walked into Palpatine's trap without even knowing it.
The creation of the Galactic Empire. Even though Lucas spelled it out in the introduction to the novelization back in 1977, I think a lot of people still expected the Empire to come about through a coup or military conquest. It was neat to see it done so much more subtly. The everyday people did not fear the coming of the Empire, they applauded it.
Anakin destroying the remaining separatists. Nute Gunray has been such an irritant and he goes down like a little punk.
The final duel of the fates. We had all been waiting to see the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin ever since ANH in 1977. Two Jedi in their prime, fighting for the fate of the galaxy. Anakin is the stronger but once again Obi-Wan is more resourceful. His lament at the end is heartbreaking.
"Then I threw the Senate at him. The WHOLE SENATE!"
The last scene before the credits is the infant Luke Skywalker left in the care of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, with the Skywalker theme from ANH playing softly.
Little things: Obi-Wan and Anakin's banter in the opening battle. The Tantive IV. Mas Amedda slowly walking away. Obi-Wan picking up Anakin's lightsaber after the duel. Yoda losing his saber in the duel with Palpatine. Wiping C3PO's memory. Captain Antilles! The japor snippet on Padme during her funeral.
Overall:
Like I said, I think the prequels get an unnecessarily bad rap. They are not the same simple good/evil stories of the originals, they are something different, more akin to a Greek tragedy. Palpatine executes his plan flawlessly at every step. The brilliance of his plan, however, is the way he hedges his bets. If the Jedi foil one part of his plan he has another ready to go. In TPM he sets himself up to win no matter what happens to Padme on Naboo. In AotC and RotS he is set to win no matter if the Republic or the Separatists claim victory in the Clone Wars. The only point at which he risks loss, as I mentioned, is when Mace has him cornered. But Anakin was always his trump card. Had Darth Vader not been horrifically injured on Mustafar it is likely that he would have defeated Palpatine. But in doing so, Palpatine's plans for the eternal domination of the galaxy by the Sith would have been secure.
The music is just as good, if not better, than the original trilogy. (Mostly because it reuses the same motifs, but I digress.)
The visuals are parsecs better than the originals. The first trilogy was groundbreaking for its time but its age had begun to show. The wampa, the tauntauns, and the rancor look ok to our eyes but you can't forget that they are simply made with stop-motion animation. They, along with the ship models, often look like exactly that - models. With the CGI of the prequels, you can sometimes tell that it is computer animated. But more often than not, you can't. Every clonetrooper in AotC is CGI, but they look as real as the human actors. Yoda in Rots remains one of the most lifelike CGI characters ever created, right up there with Gollum and Davy Jones.
If you claim to be a Star Wars fan, yet claim that the prequels are complete trash, I dare you to watch them again. Watch with an open mind and suspend your disbelief, the way you did when you first saw the original trilogy. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
I did not mean to insult you. It's just that this PT-vs-OT thing has gotten way the hell out of hand and tempers do tend to fray. Very nice that this has not happened here. 
