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The prequel trilogy constructive criticism thread

Either droidspeak is very dense or R2-D2 swears like a sailor. C-3PO did tell him to watch his language.
 
If you are familiar with Red vs. Blue at all, then putting Lopez's lines in for R2D2 speak makes for some fun moments.
 
I wanted to add a suggestions to those who think this thread is too harsh or not positive enough. Now, I'm not a full bore prequel supporter nor do I hate them-I land in the middle.

That being said, I recently have been enjoying a series of full length commentaries on the Star Wars films by Rebel Force radio, with Star Wars alumnus, Sam Witwer. Sam's insight in to the films is something that I absolutely love. He gives a perspective on the greater film-making language that the PT brings as well as the larger story beats.

So, if you want to hear some interesting insights as well as more positive evaluation of the PT, check those out.
 
I have a question. Why did Anakin remain on Mustafar after killing the other Separatist leaders? Both Padme and Obi-Wan were still on Coruscant, after he had committed the deed. I think the timing of this whole sequence - from the deaths of Separatist leaders to Padme and Obi-Wan's arrival on Mustafar could have been handled better.
 
I imagine it was equal parts awaiting new instructions from Sidious and reflecting on/processing what just occurred. Maybe a little seething. The scenery would certainly help in that regard.

As for the travel times: hyperspace travel is *really* fast, especially if you're near a major route. Recall that in tESB, it was said that the Falcon could be on the other side of the galaxy by now. Granted we don't have an exact timescale for "by now" but it couldn't have been more than a few hours. And that's from a system presumably way off the beaten track.
 
In my opinion Hayden Christensen did a good job with the lack of direction he had.
His performance in scenes like, The tusken slaughter and his confession with Padme, or the first act of ROTS were great.
If you want to see him act great watch the movie Shattered glass.
I didn't see it that way.

Whether it was due to Christensen's weak acting ability, or Lucas' poor directing, or a combination of both, the bottom line was that Christensen gave a poor performance.

HC came across as a lightweight actor throughout the PT. To me, he didn't have a strong screen presence. He had no heft as far as acting went, although he did come off better by the 3rd movie. But by that time it was too little too late.

It was a shame that the role of a central character was given to a relatively lightweight actor. Maybe HC is a decent actor, but he was miscast as Anakin imo.

When I think about the PT, I often wonder how the PT would have fared if Lucas had cast a stronger actor for the Anakin role. It wouldn't have made up for the many other problems with the PT, but it might have made some difference for the better.
 
I didn't see it that way.

Whether it was due to Christensen's weak acting ability, or Lucas' poor directing, or a combination of both, the bottom line was that Christensen gave a poor performance.

HC came across as a lightweight actor throughout the PT. To me, he didn't have a strong screen presence. He had no heft as far as acting went, although he did come off better by the 3rd movie. But by that time it was too little too late.

It was a shame that the role of a central character was given to a relatively lightweight actor. Maybe HC is a decent actor, but he was miscast as Anakin imo.

When I think about the PT, I often wonder how the PT would have fared if Lucas had cast a stronger actor for the Anakin role. It wouldn't have made up for the many other problems with the PT, but it might have made some difference for the better.
I don't think he was a strong enough actor to work with the material given. Even Natalie Portman, who is known as a good actress, struggles in some scenes, so it can't be all on the actors. I think there are multiple factors at play and it added up to being a lackluster character, save for a few choice scenes were they feel like real people in real situations.
 
And Ewan Mcgregor had made comments that Lucas wasn't really good at directing the actors.
He had a funny anecdote on the Graham Norton show about it
 
Even as far back as Star Wars in 1977 it has been known the Lucas was not all that good at directing actors. Even he repeated what is main directions are, "Faster, and More intense", Which are not the best directions possible for some of the heavy scenes that would have made the PT better.
 
And Ewan Mcgregor had made comments that Lucas wasn't really good at directing the actors.
He had a funny anecdote on the Graham Norton show about it


He did okay for a guy not great at director actors. For me, the worst decision he really made was allow Harrison Ford to get away with a few terrible lines from "A New Hope" that the actor had added on his own. That was a mistake, because Ford does not do stylized Old Hollywood dialogue very well.

His second worst decision was to allow Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid to get away with some very hammy acting in "Revenge of the Sith".
 
Hammy acting fits the 1930s and 40s sci-fi serial styling that Lucas was somewhat going for with Star Wars in general.
 
He did okay for a guy not great at director actors. For me, the worst decision he really made was allow Harrison Ford to get away with a few terrible lines from "A New Hope" that the actor had added on his own. That was a mistake, because Ford does not do stylized Old Hollywood dialogue very well.

His second worst decision was to allow Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid to get away with some very hammy acting in "Revenge of the Sith".
As much as I dislike Revenge of the Sith, the hammy moments were actually ones that fit very well. I don't have a problem with that style of acting, given some of the more ham moments in the OT. Everything in the PT is way to stiff and serious at times to mesh with the Old Hollywood style of acting that came with the British crew and Sir Alec Guiness.
 
Was it ever mentioned anywhere in a book or otherwise what happen to Chancellor Valorum after the no confidence vote?
 
Was it ever mentioned anywhere in a book or otherwise what happen to Chancellor Valorum after the no confidence vote?
He appeared in one of the later episodes of The Clone Wars. Basically he was retired and living in an estate on Coruscant during the war. When the Jedi investigated Sifo-Dyas' disappearance (after uncovering his old lightsaber), the investigation led them to a related file sealed during Valorum's administration. Yoda spoke with Valorum personally and he explained the details of the file, which led Obi-Wan and Anakin to eventually discover that the Sith helped create the clone army.

In the old Expanded Universe, Valorum advised Bail Organa to take a stand against one of Palpatine's bills that granted him even more authority and control. Valorum's personal starship was subsequently destroyed in a convenient terrorist attack, killing him.
 
Agreed that Anakin should have probably been older, even up to 12 or 13, although probably not much darker ... the main benefit from this would be that he wouldn't be so much older (maybe even could be played by the same actor) in Episode II, it could take place just 6 or so years later and feel like more the same character.
Probably also remove the idea, or at least the emphasis, that 9/12 year old Anakin is too old to be trained so that the Jedi don't seem so creepy and exclusive.
 
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