I agree, that's why I used the words 'some fans'.
Can Prequels Ever Be Well Recieved by the Fans?
- Thread starter VulcanMindBlown
- Start date
I agree, that's why I used the words 'some fans'.
There was definitely kind of a backlash not long after the release of TPM. I'm not in a position to know precisely how many people felt one way or the other, I didn't take a poll or anything. I'm not in a position to say it was the majority view. But after the initial euphoria of the first SW movie in 16 years faded, the popular mood kind of soured.
^ This argument/assertion doesn't hold up given the amount of money all 3 Prequels made.
The Prequels were initially received positively by the vast majority of both fans and general audiences. It was only after-the-fact that the infinitely small minority of whiners were able to change public perception by incessantly peddling and trumpeting their opinions as if said opinions were the only thing that mattered.
The Prequels were initially received positively by the vast majority of both fans and general audiences. It was only after-the-fact that the infinitely small minority of whiners were able to change public perception by incessantly peddling and trumpeting their opinions as if said opinions were the only thing that mattered.
There definetly was kind of some backlash for TPM. I think the backlash for AOTC sort of began before the film even came out (For one, the N'sync PR fiasco, in which it was reported that the group had filmed cameos during the Jedi arena scene, and Lucas had to quickly edit them out before release).
ROTS enjoyed mostly positive critical and fan reaction, at least at first, until 2008 rolled around with Indiana Jones and Clone Wars reigniting Lucas backlash, and then came Red Letter Media....
ROTS enjoyed mostly positive critical and fan reaction, at least at first, until 2008 rolled around with Indiana Jones and Clone Wars reigniting Lucas backlash, and then came Red Letter Media....
Actually, while there initially was a lot of excitement for a new SW, once TPM was released, I remember feeling like its reception was considerably cooled. People are going to see SW regardless, because come on, it's SW! So yes, it's still going to make tons of money, but nowhere is it an indicator that people like what they're seeing. Not to mention the marketing for the trilogy was in full overdrive especially when it comes to kids.
The prequels are like Furbys. Sold tons, made loads of money, but are they universally liked? Hell no.
Now you're being silly. Public perception to TPM and AOTC at the time was lukewarm at best. They also don't look any better as the years have gone by.Anytime online polls for Star Wars films are done TPM and AOTC are usually the ones liked least. If you like them great. Not every movie I like is popular so its no big deal. But the general consensus is the movies were bad
It's not an "argument", it's an observation. It's something that happened.
Your post does not erase what I've mentioned earlier. No one knew what to expect from the films based on the trailers, other than knowing TPM was about the early years of Obi-Wan, Yoda and Vader. There was no groundswell of negativity until the release of the film. To deny that is not only historically incorrect, but just a sweeping generalization of anyone who did not eat up all things prequels, and ignoring the innumerable reasons why the films were judged as flawed after each release.
There was some problems people had with the special editions, although they didn't intensify until around the time of TPM...which is also around the same time Lucas said future home media releases would only be the special editions as well.
It also could be argued a bit that perhaps the failure of TPM 3D sort of led to the Disney sale.
It also could be argued a bit that perhaps the failure of TPM 3D sort of led to the Disney sale.
I always found it interesting that the special features on TPM DVD showed the huge excitement from fans at opening night including the loud cheers for the opening crawl but didn't show their reaction when the movie ended.
Agreed. NOBODY would have had a problem with the special editions if lucas had made the originals available. Spielberg and Coppola provided originals alongside their "improvments" to E.T and Apocalypse Now. Lucas really destroyed his standing with the fans by refusing to do the same with Star Wars.
"Hey! What if it sucks?"
I've often thought the real saving grace for the prequels really ended up being the Clone Wars TV show. Left to their own devices, the prequels really do a lot more harm than good, both in terms of the canon and also as movies within themselves. But the TV show (retrospectively) did a lot to make the back story not feel as shallow. It was something of a saving throw, but the movies alone are still very poorly received even today.
So, ironically, I actually think Clone Wars ended up being the prequel that the prequels should have been. But it was only made *after* the prequels were already dusted (and had already done their damage.)
Yes, people were actually harmed by the movie.
The funny thing about The Clone Wars is how the prequel haters flip-flopped on it. When it first started, it was considered the same as the prequels and was treated like it had prequel cooties. "There's a character named Stinky the Hutt!!!" and all that. Then, at some point, a little light bulb went on. They figured out the natural endpoint of their "the prequels are the worst thing ever"/"literally everything is better than the prequels" mentality was to embrace The Clone Wars. Eventually The Clone Wars became just another plank to beat the prequels with.
So basically, some fans just want something to bitch about.
I guess I always root for the underdog. Because I actually do like the prequels. Although like @LJones41, I'm not that fond of Enterprise. But I certainly like Enterprise better than some of what passes for entertainment recently.
Don't forget that there are actually two Clone Wars series. The first one was the 2D animation, which I think is what people weren't so much sold on. From what I remember, it was only after they had made the 3D animated series that people started to really take notice of it. I'm not even sure if they share the same continuity.
To be fair the first "series" was pretty much just a collection of loosely connected 3 minute shorts. The second "season" was more or less one rather long episode with a fairly contained narrative that alternated between two plots. It wasn't really a show in it's own right so much as a tone poem for the world and a promotional lead-in for what was the new film at the time.
The 3D series was a much more traditional show of 30 minute episodes. Even then I think it wasn't until the second or third season that it's popularity among the fanbase really started to pick up the pace. Much of the resistance to the show early on was for all the usual reasons fans resist prequels: "there's no tension or drama when we already know when they die" "it doesn't add anything to the narrative" "it explains too much!" etc. etc. None of those claims bore out in the long run as the quality consistently improved.
So yes, while being a prequel of something doesn't automatically mean a fandom is going to unequivocally hate it, it's certainly an uphill struggle. We're seeing a similar shift now with Rebels, though this time with the uptick coming much earlier in the run, thanks mostly to the return of Ahsoka at the end of season one, but also a lot of good will earned by the same creative team as TCW.
Indeed, Ahsoka is practically a paragon of this uphill battle as she was almost universally reviled when she was introduced at the beginning of Clone Wars, but fast forward to the end and all of a sudden she's THE breakout character and by far the most popular among fans of all stripes.
That's the difference between movies and TV shows though. Movies have to win you over in just a few hours, while a TV show can have dozens, even hundreds of hours to do so. Clone Wars was a show that took advantage of that extra time to blaze new trails and build a following, while the likes of 'Enterprise' mostly (but not entierly) squandered those same opportunities.
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