Favorite Prequel Movie

[fireproof78]

Attack of the Clones, hands down. Fun and interesting Obi-Wan investigation, Clone Army and Kamino.

Sorry, the others are just not enjoyable for me. TPM does not feel like Star Wars in its story, despite being pretty to look at, and ROTS feels the need to cram too much in to that film. I've started enjoying bits of ROTS more due to the novel, but that's it. ROTS just feels unpleasant.

All of the PT frames the supposed "good guys" in a terrible light, so its hard for me to get excited about the PT save for some really amazing effects, and great music. Everything else is just downer.
So, this, in essence (also, it made me laugh):

Favorite Prequel movie? That's kind of like asking someone what their favorite strain of hemorrhagic fever is, for god's sake.


(Ebola Marburg, if you must know)

Though, Team Ebola Reston for me, just as an FYI

 

[BigJake]

Revenge of the Sith was far from ideal -- none of the prequels was what I'd call "good" -- but it was the least bad of the lot and despite its imperfections is still rewatchable. Its arc for Anakin's transformation was ultimately unconvincing and it was tonally uneven, sometimes wrenchingly so (the opening sequence "rescuing" the Chancellor whiplashes between cheesy droid slapstick, epic warfare, light-hearted action-adventure schtick and dark-toned drama almost unbearably, and also frequently does not make sense). But it also featured some solid action -- and quality scenery-chewing from Ian McDiarmid -- and at the very least it was never boring and rarely outright painful. Trim and tighten the epic lightsaber duel with Anakin and Obi-Wan and it could have been truly classic. The Force duel between Yoda and the Emperor was genuinely fun and inventive.

 

[cooleddie74]

Palpatine wasn't really that cartoonish or over-the-top. He was the way he was supposed to be. Gloriously and deliciously evil and so immersed in the power of the Dark Side that his true nature came to the surface during and after the duels with Mace Windu and the other Jedi. Ian McDiarmid knowingly and gleefully put that much energy into his performance to depict Palpatine at the moment of his transformation from the mild-mannered Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and quiet manipulator behind the scenes to the Devil incarnate and supreme ruler of his new and malevolent Empire.

Of all the things to criticize in the Prequels and even Sith, Ian McDiarmid's performance as Palpatine/Darth Sidious shouldn't really be one of them.

 

[USS Firefly]

I thought that Christensen was really good in Sith

 

[Disco]

I thought that Christensen was really good in Sith

 

[BigJake]

Of all the things to criticize in the Prequels and even Sith, Ian McDiarmid's performance as Palpatine/Darth Sidious shouldn't really be one of them.

Was someone doing so?

I hope you don't think I was doing so. That would be mortifying! When I use a phrase like "quality scenery-chewing" I mean it in the best possible sense, especially where the actors Ian McDiarmid, Brian Blessed, Bill Shatner or Ricardo Montalban are concerned.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Anymore, I think all three are better than Jedi.

Seriously.

The ROTJ Luke arc contained more heart, insight and drama than the entire, watery prequel trilogy. The PT was more about flashing lightsabers and the unsuccessful attempt to mirror OT events in the Pt (George's oft-stated "tone poem").

 

[cooleddie74]

Of all the things to criticize in the Prequels and even Sith, Ian McDiarmid's performance as Palpatine/Darth Sidious shouldn't really be one of them.

Was someone doing so?

I hope you don't think I was doing so. That would be mortifying! When I use a phrase like "quality scenery-chewing" I mean it in the best possible sense, especially where the actors Ian McDiarmid, Brian Blessed, Bill Shatner or Ricardo Montalban are concerned.

No, not you! Other people. I understood and appreciated the context of your comments. It's all good.

 

[Awesome Possum]

ROTS is most watchable of the trilogy. But even it is all flash and no depth. The Obi-Wan/Anakin fight goes on forever and has absolutely no emotional impact. The whole subplot of Obi-Wan hunting down Grievous could have been cut out completely and not really affect the plot other than he wouldn't have gone away, allowing Anakin to get tricked into joining the Dark Side. But I can at least watch parts of it on TV if nothing else is on. I can't say that about TPM or AOTC, they're pretty painful to sit through.

 

[Gaith]

ROTS is most watchable of the trilogy

Counterpoint:

​

I am aware of these movies, and the events portrayed, but have no interest in ever watching them again.

Pretty much this.

 

[cooleddie74]

I am haunted by the Episode II reference you should never have posted.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

I wish that I could just wish it away.

But I can't.

 

[Mach5]

Simon Pegg jihading against the prequels again:

I don’t really have any respect for anyone who thinks those films are good. They’re not. … (They’re) a monumental misunderstanding of what the (original) three films are about. It’s an exercise in utter infanticide … (like) George Lucas killing his kid.

The "monumental misunderstanding" thing may be on target, but it's still an incredibly immature thing to say.

Judging people based on their taste in movies (or lack thereof)?

Jesus Christ, people, just move on already. Prequel era ended a decade ago.

 

[Gepard]

Isn't he the same guy who told people to "fuck off" if they had problems with the Trek reboot movies?

I mean, not that I disagree with him about the prequels, but the "understanding" of what makes Wars Wars and Trek Trek is subjective in both cases. It'd be nice to get some consistency.

 

[Mach5]

Isn't he the same guy who told people to "fuck off" if they had problems with the Trek reboot movies?

I mean, not that I disagree with him about the prequels, but the "understanding" of what makes Wars Wars and Trek Trek is subjective in both cases. It'd be nice to get some consistency.

Lucas was well within his right to take Star Wars in which ever direction he saw fit.

Some fanboys still act like entitled little cry babies, thinking they own the thing, when it was in fact his franchise to ruin.

 

[fireproof78]

Isn't he the same guy who told people to "fuck off" if they had problems with the Trek reboot movies?

I mean, not that I disagree with him about the prequels, but the "understanding" of what makes Wars Wars and Trek Trek is subjective in both cases. It'd be nice to get some consistency.

Lucas was well within his right to take Star Wars in which ever direction he saw fit.

Some fanboys still act like entitled little cry babies, thinking they own the thing, when it was in fact his franchise to ruin.

It's an emotional topic. Some feelings are hard to get over.

I'm surprised by his comments but understand the emotion behind them.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Why should anyone care what Simon Pegg thinks? He's great as Scotty, but his taste in movies is none of my concern. If he thinks I'm an asshole for preferring the prequels, well, that's his problem.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I've always liked The Phantom Menace, it seemed to be less synthetic than the others. For all its FX it feels less "video game" to me than the other ones and the events and characters less remote and more relatable.

 

[cooleddie74]

^
TPM was filmed on traditional film stock instead of new, high-tech digital cameras developed around the turn of the century, so the first Prequel does have a grainier, more lived-in and rough-hewn look than Episodes II and III. Tatooine in Episode I bears its closest resemblance to the planet as it appeared in the original film and the editing and John Williams' choice of musical selections just makes TPM feel different from the next two films in the Saga and unique.

It's a flawed movie, but it feels more like Star Wars than big chunks of the two films that followed.

 

[Mach5]

^
TPM was filmed on traditional film stock instead of new, high-tech digital cameras developed around the turn of the century, so the first Prequel does have a grainier, more lived-in and rough-hewn look than Episodes II and III. Tatooine in Episode I bears its closest resemblance to the planet as it appeared in the original film and the editing and John Williams' choice of musical selections just makes TPM feel different from the next two films in the Saga and unique.

It's a flawed movie, but it feels more like Star Wars than big chunks of the two films that followed.

All of this.

The whole movie feels... Warm. Can't find a more suitable word.

The other two feel too... Technical, in comparison. Also, the visuals in TPM hold up much better today.