Phantom Menace is the best Prequel.

[Sindatur]

^The reasons are outlined in AOTC when Obi-Wan is touring the Clone factory.

That and the Battle Droids, with some exceptions (The Droideka), are shown to be incredibly stupid and fragile.

I haven't seen Clones in quite a while, but I don't recall this ever being explained. The tougher droids were never shown as being less reliable than the clones, who were cut down by the thousands.

I suppose it doesn't really matter anyway. Star Wars has always been pretty silly when it comes to war and combat. Why, for example, given their level of technology would any army on army battle ever be necessary. When you can bombard planets from orbit, it kind of makes you look dumb when you have thousands of individuals standing there in formation shooting each other in the face.

Eh...overwhelming air strikes, without ground troops, leaves you with few survivors bombed back to the stone age or no gained subjects. Either way, what's the point, if you want to subjugate, and be the ruler of all? If you kill EVERYone, there's no one left to worship you. If you don't bomb them back to the stoneage, and don't use ground troops, you don't really have control, and Palpetine was a Control Freak.

You can destroy a culture with air power, and even kill everyone and poison the well, but, you can't have actual control of what happens on the ground.

IMHO, of course.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

Eh...overwhelming air strikes, without ground troops, leaves you with few survivors bombed back to the stone age or no gained subjects.

That's not true. After using air strikes to weaken the enemy or eliminate the majority of their forces, you then send in troops to clean things up - just like the majority of modern wars have worked.

The Empire must have learned this at some point. They sent a handful of AT-AT's to attack Hoth instead of a ton of troops.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

It seems the orbital warfare ability in SW is pretty limited. In ANH Han says that the entire fleet couldn't wipe out a while planet.

He says the whole fleet couldn't turn an planet into an asteroid field - not wipe every living thing off the surface.

We saw in ESB that the Empire can send droids from orbit to a planet's surface. Here's a tip - next time send a bomb!

 

[Sindatur]

Eh...overwhelming air strikes, without ground troops, leaves you with few survivors bombed back to the stone age or no gained subjects.

That's not true. After using air strikes to weaken the enemy or eliminate the majority of their forces, you then send in troops to clean things up - just like the majority of modern wars have worked.

Perhaps, I hadn't finished editing when you replied, but, my point was, you had to use ground troops at some point to actually gain control. But again, like modern warfare, no matter how good your air assault was, if there's anything left worth conquering, it won't necessarily be an easy ground campaign.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Star Wars has always been pretty silly when it comes to war and combat. Why, for example, given their level of technology would any army on army battle ever be necessary. When you can bombard planets from orbit, it kind of makes you look dumb when you have thousands of individuals standing there in formation shooting each other in the face.

That's not "being silly", that's choosing what is entertaining and emotionally relevant over what's realistic, which is the best option when you're making fiction.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

Perhaps, I hadn't finished editing when you replied, but, my point was, you had to use ground troops at some point to actually gain control. But again, like modern warfare, no matter how good your air assault was, if there's anything left worth conquering, it won't necessarily be an easy ground campaign.

Oh, I agree you don't want to bomb the hell out of civilians and cities you wish to conquer - but then, we have never seen a battle in SW where they were fighting over or in a city. Every one was in an open area, far from civilization.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

That's not "being silly", that's choosing what is entertaining and emotionally relevant over what's realistic, which is the best option when you're making fiction.

I doubt the parties fighting care about what is entertaining!

Besides, the battle on Hoth was far more entertaining and emotionally involving than any battle in the prequels, and that was essentially one side using technological superiority against the troops of the other side.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I doubt the parties fighting care about what is entertaining!

Yeah, see, that's the thing: there are no parties fighting. It's a movie. Bashing Star Wars for not being realistic enough is a bit like bashing the war in Afghanistan for not being entertaining enough.

Besides, the battle on Hoth was far more entertaining and emotionally involving than any battle in the prequels, and that was essentially one side using technological superiority against the troops of the other side.

It's still an army on army battle, isn't it? They should have just scorched the planet's surface, and the movie should have ended after five minutes!

 

[Agenda]

I'm not a fan the prequels, so I have nothing invested in this. But I have to say, without a doubt, Revenge of the Sith is the best prequel, in that it's the best movie among the three.

 

[Sindatur]

Can we stop saying best, and instead say something like Least awful

Best gives a wrong impression

 

[Whofan]

I think that the Star Destroyer from ESB's opening actually wasn't in Hoth's orbit, just in the system or nearby. (Sort of supported by the radio adaptation as well, which has several extra scenes of exposition). They didn't know the Empire knew they were there until later.


Also the rebels raised the shield as well, so attacking from orbit would not have worked. Hence the AT-ATs which could get through the shield and take it out. (Presumabely the shield blocks the ship lasers.)

 

[Trekker4747]

Can we stop saying best, and instead say something like Least awful

Best gives a wrong impression

Seconded.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

Yeah, see, that's the thing: there are no parties fighting. It's a movie. Bashing Star Wars for not being realistic enough is a bit like bashing the war in Afghanistan for not being entertaining enough.

Yes, because I'm the first person to critique the realism of a piece of fiction ever!

 

[TremblingBluStar]

I think that the Star Destroyer from ESB's opening actually wasn't in Hoth's orbit

Ah, you are correct. Either way, the probe was dropped through the atmosphere and survived intact.

Also the rebels raised the shield as well, so attacking from orbit would not have worked. Hence the AT-ATs which could get through the shield and take it out. (Presumabely the shield blocks the ship lasers.)

So the shield doesn't block moving materials? Bomb, anyone?

Can we stop saying best, and instead say something like Least awful

Best gives a wrong impression

Means the same thing, doesn't it?

 

[Sindatur]

I think that the Star Destroyer from ESB's opening actually wasn't in Hoth's orbit

Ah, you are correct. Either way, the probe was dropped through the atmosphere and survived intact.

Also the rebels raised the shield as well, so attacking from orbit would not have worked. Hence the AT-ATs which could get through the shield and take it out. (Presumabely the shield blocks the ship lasers.)

So the shield doesn't block moving materials? Bomb, anyone?

Can we stop saying best, and instead say something like Least awful

Best gives a wrong impression

Means the same thing, doesn't it?

I was being facetious. However, calling something "Best" gives the impression something is actually good

Truth be told, I actually don't dislike the Prequels (Unlike many who react to them as if they were somehow assaulted when the Prequels were made), matter of fact, I just pulled them out and watched the first two this weekend.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

Truth be told, I actually don't dislike the Prequels (Unlike many who react to them as if they were somehow assaulted when the Prequels were made), matter of fact, I just pulled them out and watched the first two this weekend.

Yeah. I don't hate them either, but recognize they are deeply flawed films that rode on the legacy of the original films. Had the originals not existed, and these prequels were released on their own, I highly doubt we'd be talking about them right now.

 

[Trekker4747]

Well we'd be talking about them. Probably much in the same way we are now without the weight of the OT to compare them too. Instead they'd be compared to Battlefield Earth and Hudson Hawk.

 

[RoJoHen]

Instead they'd be compared to Battlefield Earth and Hudson Hawk.

At least Battlefield Earth isn't a trilogy!

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Can we stop saying best, and instead say something like Least awful

Best gives a wrong impression

Seconded.

Thirded. Can we get a fourth?

 

[RoJoHen]

Can we stop saying best, and instead say something like Least awful

Best gives a wrong impression

Seconded.

Thirded. Can we get a fourth?

I think I can handle that responsibility.