Can Prequels Ever Be Well Recieved by the Fans?

[Owain Taggart]

I would rather not be on a plane where the pilot thinks he has to get creative, thank you very much.

Hey, it worked for Sully

But the analogy was to point out that one that goes first always has the most room to create, while the one after is always going to be constrained by what came before it.

And lasersword? I liken it to something said with childish enthusiasm and only learning the correct term later on. I seem to remember the early scripts for ANH used that term, and I think even the original novel used it, maybe Lucas thought to reuse it.

 

[fireproof78]

Lucas, as a general rule, does not use the term "lightsaber" when talking about Star Wars, though he does occasionally. Even on a featurette, he goes back and forth with the terms, as you can see here:

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[Set Harth]

But explaining what makes up the Force just was definitely one of its mistakes.

Except it didn't do that. The explanation of "what makes up the Force" was in the original movies. Midichlorians explain the biological basis for Force sensitivity. Not the same topic.

IIRC, they never explained the whole "The Clone Army was ordered by a Jedi Master named Sido-Dyas" because the writers realized it was too blatant.

Unfortunately, this meant that other writers did some convoluted EU story where Sido-Dyas turned out to actually be some separate guy from Palpatine.

It was Sifo-Dyas, not Sido-Dyas. "Sido-Dyas" was from an earlier version of the script and did not make it into the final version of the film. And Sifo-Dyas is indeed a separate person from Palpatine according to the film itself. He was a Jedi and Obi-Wan confirms as much. What the (Disney-)EU did was to confirm that Sifo-Dyas was personally involved in placing the order for the clone army. The old pre-Disney EU had strongly hinted in that direction but had stopped short of actually confirming it.

 

[fireproof78]

If I recall the old EU correctly, Sifo-Dyas was a friend of Dooku in the order and foresaw great trouble for the Republic. I believe he made a comic book appearance with Dooku, and killing Sifo-Dyas was part of Dooku's Sith initiation.

However this is now Legends material, and Clone Wars offered a slightly different take on the Jedi Master. The spelling of his name (reportedly) was originally a misspelling that Lucas found more appealing.

 

[Set Harth]

IIRC, The Clone Wars preserved both Sifo-Dyas foreseeing trouble and Dooku being involved in his death.

 

[ichab]

I'm not against prequals so long as they are done right.
I hated the Star Wars prequals for one simple reason...they were BORING. I never got invested in anakin. Not because I knew where his story was going but because he was incredibly unlikable. He never looked like a great hero of the galaxy or best friend to kenobi. He just came across as a selfish, whiny brat with a sense of entitlement. Really all the characters with the exception of kenobi and sideous were bland characters who were just there. I can't blame the cast because all of them have done better work. The story didnt even get interesting until Episode 3 when the Emperor takes over. Even then the jedi getting wiped out doesn't have the impact it should due to the fact we are on the third movie and I still know nothing about these characters beyond the fact they can swing a lightsaber.

A good prequal was Xmen-First Class. The backstory was written very cleverly and the characters were interesting beyond fight scenes. In fact I'd say you got more character development in First Class than you got in the entire Star Wars prequals.

 

[Greg Cox]

What about YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES? Yes, yes, I know it violated canon by even having Holmes and Watson meet as a children in the first place, but, if you accept that conceit, it was a very entertaining movie--with one of my favorite musical scores.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

It was Sifo-Dyas, not Sido-Dyas. "Sido-Dyas" was from an earlier version of the script and did not make it into the final version of the film.

Because Sido-Dyas just sounds ridiculous, Sifo-Dyas is so much more sensible.

 

[Mage]

I think the key difference here is one of expectations. Doing anything with a known property, be it an adaptation, a remake, sequel or prequel means it comes front loaded with baggage that original stories simply don't have to deal with. Such can cripple any creative effort before it's even begun, while an original succeeds or fails on it's on merits.

At the very least it's next to impossible to please the majority of any fanbase, but then if pleasing the fanbase is the main priority instead of a good story, it's no wonder such endeavours often fail. Most are made with the express purpose of cashing in on something that's already making money and unless you're very smart and hire some very talented and trustworthy people who passionately want to make something awesome, starting out from the position of profits first is almost always going to doom the whole thing to mediocrity at best.

I think you can paraphrase/misquote King Edward I from Braveheart here:
"The problem with fandoms is, they're full of fans!"

And that is the problem with prequels really. Even if they are well made, there is a group/type of fans that will pick it apart to find fault. They are actively hunting for something wrong with, to prove to others they were right about this prequel (or sequel) not being as good as the original. And the thing is, you will ALWAYS find something wrong, with everything. I mean, I love TOS for what it is, but I can find plenty of things wrong with it. And that's the original!

 

[Reverend]

^And if they can't find actual faults, they'll just start making them up. (eg: "Rey is such a Mary Sue!")

 

[Mage]

^And if they can't find actual faults, they'll just start making them up. (eg: "Rey is such a Mary Sue!")

Very true!!

 

[Set Harth]

A good prequal was Xmen-First Class.

Though, quality aside, it did contradict some details of the original movie, a criticism traditionally leveled at the Star Wars prequels ad nauseam.

 

[ichab]

Though, quality aside, it did contradict some details of the original movie, a criticism traditionally leveled at the Star Wars prequels ad nauseam.

Not a criticism of mine. Both expanded their respective universes. However, one did it better than the other.

 

[Anwar]

Not a criticism of mine. Both expanded their respective universes. However, one did it better than the other.

First Class directly contradicted what the first movie said though, that Xavier and Magneto met when they were both teenagers.

Their "Great Friendship" is also a bit of a sham within the Prequel movies. They knew each other for a few months, then Erik crippled Charles and that was it.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

And that is the problem with prequels really. Even if they are well made, there is a group/type of fans that will pick it apart to find fault.

The most high profile prequel in film history are Star Wars episodes 1-3; in the run-up to the 1999 release of The Phantom Menace, no one was trying to--as you say--

actively hunting for something wrong with, to prove to others they were right about this prequel (or sequel) not being as good as the original.

It was after seeing the film that the criticisms flowed from fans and critics alike, and with each film to follow, it was evident the prequels were a mess.

^And if they can't find actual faults, they'll just start making them up. (eg: "Rey is such a Mary Sue!")

Some people can tell the difference between quality work and inferior work.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Except it didn't do that. The explanation of "what makes up the Force" was in the original movies. Midichlorians explain the biological basis for Force sensitivity. Not the same topic.

Alright, you're right. You can however see how it's easy to conflate the two. But even then, there really isn't much of a need to explain any biological basis for wether someone is force sensitive or not. It seems more like taking the long way around when saying someone is force sensitive is enough. Nobody's going to believe them any less for not including those details, and again, I feel those details actually lessen the world's magic. There is such a thing as too much detail.

The story didnt even get interesting until Episode 3 when the Emperor takes over.

Yeah, if anything, I'd have been happy with just one prequel with it being Anakin's fall to the dark side.

 

[JD]

I don't think the midichlorians were even intended primarily as an explanation for Force Powers, they were just a way to give them an instant test to tell that Anakin was more powerful than most Jedi. Granted you could say that was still a mistake since it was a telling instead of showing, but it is still worth considering.

 

[Tuskin38]

What the (Disney-)EU did was to confirm that Sifo-Dyas was personally involved in placing the order for the clone army. The old pre-Disney EU had strongly hinted in that direction but had stopped short of actually confirming it.

Actually, those Clone Wars episodes were written and started production before Disney bought Lucas Film.

 

[Mage]

The most high profile prequel in film history are Star Wars episodes 1-3; in the run-up to the 1999 release of The Phantom Menace, no one was trying to--as you say--



It was after seeing the film that the criticisms flowed from fans and critics alike, and with each film to follow, it was evident the prequels were a mess.




Some people can tell the difference between quality work and inferior work.

I'm sorry, but no. When trailers were released, some fans were already commenting on how bad this was going to be, finding fault in scenes from the trailers. Because they simply couldn't accept that it wasn't their Star Wars. Samething happened with TFA, with Enterprise. It's happening with Discovery already, where people somehow KNOW it will be bad, simply based on a quickly trown together CGI scene and the fact that it's pre-TOS.

Some fans are simply unwilling to accept even the concept, and are automatically going to hate it, no matter what.

 

[DigificWriter]

I can attest from personal first-hand experience that the notion that all Star Wars fans everywhere hate the Prequels and that said films weren't well-received is a blatant fallacy. The films are not nearly as derided/reviled as perception says they are; it's just that the naysayers are the loudest voices in the room, and so what they're saying turns into the "reality" when it's really a bunch of bull.