Why Do People Hate the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy?

[HugeLobes]

Also, does anyone else HATE the prequel lightsaber designs?

Here's Luke's OT lightsaber:

One of my favorite prop designs ever. Doesn't look practical. Actually looks like a massive pain to hold. But there's also this enigmatic mystery to it. Really feels like something created personally, and perhaps a little imperfectly, by individual jedi. Really reflects the arcane nature of the force and the jedi.

Here's Qui Gon's lightsaber

Just boring. Featureless metal tube with grip. Looks like it was ordered from a catalogue. Guess that kinda reflects the prequel jedi...

I know you might see this as nitpicking, but maybe it's the difference between a ship design like this:

and this:

Come to think of it, maybe it's the difference between a character like this:

and this:

 

[M.A.C.O.]

Also, does anyone else HATE the prequel lightsaber designs?

Spoiler

Here's Luke's OT lightsaber:

One of my favorite prop designs ever. Doesn't look practical. Actually looks like a massive pain to hold. But there's also this enigmatic mystery to it. Really feels like something created personally, and perhaps a little imperfectly, by individual jedi. Really reflects the arcane nature of the force and the jedi.

Here's Qui Gon's lightsaber

Just boring. Featureless metal tube with grip. Looks like it was ordered from a catalogue. Guess that kinda reflects the prequel jedi...

I know you might see this as nitpicking, but maybe it's the difference between a ship design like this:

Spoiler

and this:

Come to think of it, maybe it's the difference between a character like this:

Spoiler

and this:

I don’t hate the lightsaber designs. Some of them are pretty cool.

Spoiler

Dooku

Sidious

Windu

As for the ships, one is a freighter and the other is a queen’s yacht.
They’re not in the same class (literally) to be compared. Haha


As for Padmé vs Leia, it depends on what we’re talking about. Both are distinct characters and had they’re own struggles.

 

[HugeLobes]

Thing is, Dooku’s lightsaber is just the basic tube with grip, but bent. The only one that looks kinda like an OT lightsaber is Windu’s. Even then, feels more like the focus was on making a cool toy rather than saying something about dull Mace Windu.

Doesn’t really matter what class the ships are. All the OT ships have really interesting designs, and that’s just not the case with PT ships. Naboo starfighter is the same class an an X-wing, but the X-wing is a way more interesting and unique design.

As for Leia vs Padme, I’m talking about how one is a good character and the other so clearly isn’t.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

Thing is, Dooku’s lightsaber is just the basic tube with grip, but bent. The only one that looks kinda like an OT lightsaber is Windu’s. Even then, feels more like the focus was on making a cool toy rather than saying something about dull Mace Windu.

I don’t imagine the hilt of a laser sword really matters, in-universe and out-of-universe. The blade and the colors are what people see.

Doesn’t really matter what class the ships are. All the OT ships have really interesting designs, and that’s just not the case with PT ships. Naboo starfighter is the same class an an X-wing, but the X-wing is a way more interesting and unique design.

Well, in your example, it did matter. A cargo freighter with turrets vs a shiny and chrome, luxury yacht. Besides, the Arc-170 fighter and LAAT have unique designs as well. Definitely worthy.

As for Leia vs Padme, I’m talking about how one is a good character and the other so clearly isn’t.

If you care to detail the pros and the cons, that would be cool. Seems to me that Padmé and Leia both got less important as their respective trilogies went on.

Movie 1: Independent Royal (Queen and Princess) who has to be rescued by the Jedi, and in the intrigal in making the plans to take the fight to the bad guys (Trade Federation and Empire).

Movie 2: Strong independent woman is given a love interest and is sidelined with that interest for most of the film. Until the end, when she again has to be rescued by a Jedi.

Movie 3: Padmé is sidelined with pregnancy and later death. Leia is captured a 3rd time, has to be rescued by a Jedi, is basically along for the (47 minute Second Act sag) ride on Endor, until the finale. Plus for Leia in this film though, is she made first contact with the Ewoks and they assisted in toppling the Empire’s battalion on Endor.

 

[HugeLobes]

I don’t imagine the hilt of a laser sword really matters, in-universe and out-of-universe. The blade and the colors are what people see.

You see the hilt of Luke's lightsabers multiple times, and it matters because they're one small part of what made the SW universe seem so rich and unique. Sure, it doesn't matter that much, but the OT lightsaber hilts are such perfect designs that reflect something about the jedi, and the new ones just look like toys. Someone took the trouble to design a really interesting prop with a strong aesthetic instead of just using a metal tube with grips.

Well, in your example, it did matter. A cargo freighter with turrets vs a shiny and chrome, luxury yacht. Besides, the Arc-170 fighter and LAAT have unique designs as well. Definitely worthy.

It's easy to say "a cargo freighter with turrets", but the Millennium Falcon is such a unique ship design. If you described the basic characteristics of the ship, you probably wouldn't imagine the whole burger with a bite out of it thing. If you imagined a luxury cruiser, Padme's ship would come as no suprise. What I'm saying is that no effort went into making that ship unique.

Also, the Arc-170? Right ... in no way is that just a slightly revised X-wing, except with none of the old character.

Movie 1: Independent Royal (Queen and Princess) who has to be rescued by the Jedi, and in the intrigal in making the plans to take the fight to the bad guys (Trade Federation and Empire).

Movie 2: Strong independent woman is given a love interest and is sidelined with that interest for most of the film. Until the end, when she again has to be rescued by a Jedi.

Movie 3: Padmé is sidelined with pregnancy and later death. Leia is captured a 3rd time, has to be rescued by a Jedi, is basically along for the (47 minute Second Act sag) ride on Endor, until the finale. Plus for Leia in this film though, is she made first contact with the Ewoks and they assisted in toppling the Empire’s battalion on Endor.

Honestly, this kind of thinking is everything wrong with the prequels for me. Are there a few similarities between Leia and Padme? Sure, because Lucas was hoping to graft the character of Leia onto Padme.

But when you get down to actual interactions and dialogue, Padme is just so all over the place. Leia's character isn't quite as sharp in ROTJ, I guess because her and Han had kinda wrapped up their arcs, but at least she seems like a real person who doesn't magically fall in love with someone who confesses commiting genocide... I guess she has some sense of agency in TPM, but not much. In the next two films she's just forced to go through these terrible written scenes with Anakin.

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[PureCrimson]

Yup. Thing is, I read a whole bunch of the expanded universe novels as a kid, and every single one of them felt like it took place within the same universe with the same characters.

By this point, I think it's a pretty well known fact that Lucas understands what made up Star Wars and it's popularity the least out of pretty much anyone on the planet alive today.

 

[HugeLobes]

By this point, I think it's a pretty well known fact that Lucas understands what made up Star Wars and it's popularity the least out of pretty much anyone on the planet alive today.

You know, I have the impression Lucas tried reasonably hard on TPM and was genuinely shocked by the backlash. If you look at that movie, it has the most Star War-sy structure; there's more focus on dialogue than action, and the reliance on CGI isn't quite as strong. We're not yet at the point where almost every non-action scene is two characters talking against a greenscreen, and there's only one major lightsaber battle.

I think after the backlash, Lucas just went with the low-hanging fruit. Lots of pointless battles and actions scenes, and a hell of a lot of lightsaber duels.

 

[suarezguy]

Yup. Thing is, I read a whole bunch of the expanded universe novels as a kid, and every single one of them felt like it took place within the same universe with the same characters.

I think most of them suffer from too often trying to up the ante and make the author's new characters seem cooler and better than the film characters.

 

[HugeLobes]

I think most of them suffer from too often trying to up the ante and make the author's new characters seem cooler and better than the film characters.

Really, in what way?

 

[JD]

I really liked the lightsaber and ship designs in the PT.

 

[Reverend]

The different design aesthetic in the prequels was very much a deliberate choice that directly informed the subtext of the larger sociopolitical narrative of both the PT & OT.

The PT designs are clean flowing, artisan like work and very much inspired by 1930's sci-fi. It represents a cultured society where craftsmanship is just as important as utility. In the OT, it's almost pure utility and every that isn't Imperial military equipment is old and beat up.

You can actually see this progression in the PT itself with most of the Flash Gordon inspired designs appearing in TPM, before being gradually pushed out by the stark, 1940's style in AotC until RotS where I'm pretty sure the last vestige of it is Padme's ship. This is no coincidence. It marks the gradual transformation of the Republic into the Empire. It's even reflected in the Jedi sabre hilts, which get plainer and more utilitarian as the Order becomes more and more compromised.

 

[Smellmet]

The different design aesthetic in the prequels was very much a deliberate choice that directly informed the subtext of the larger sociopolitical narrative of both the PT & OT.

The PT designs are clean flowing, artisan like work and very much inspired by 1930's sci-fi. It represents a cultured society where craftsmanship is just as important as utility. In the OT, it's almost pure utility and every that isn't Imperial military equipment is old and beat up.

You can actually see this progression in the PT itself with most of the Flash Gordon inspired designs appearing in TPM, before being gradually pushed out by the stark, 1940's style in AotC until RotS where I'm pretty sure the last vestige of it is Padme's ship. This is no coincidence. It marks the gradual transformation of the Republic into the Empire. It's even reflected in the Jedi sabre hilts, which get plainer and more utilitarian as the Order becomes more and more compromised.

Finally someone that gets it.

 

[Roundabout]

That is not a particularly flattering shot of Portman/Padme. I wonder who told her to pose like that. Too bad we never got to see Padme wearing a bikini as a prisoner of a Hutt. If the two characters ever got into a fight, I'd put my money on the original, Leia.

On a slightly different matter, the name of the character, Padme, struck me as a bit odd. The name sounded like an invitation for sexual harassment. That was not the only name that bugged me. It annoyed me whenever I heard someone call out "Ani/Annie", especially annoying when Jar Jar, with that ridiculous accent, said it.

I know this is small in the scheme of things. But these names were just another aspect of the prequels that didn't help make the prequels likable, at least for me.

The different design aesthetic in the prequels was very much a deliberate choice that directly informed the subtext of the larger sociopolitical narrative of both the PT & OT.

The PT designs are clean flowing, artisan like work and very much inspired by 1930's sci-fi. It represents a cultured society where craftsmanship is just as important as utility. In the OT, it's almost pure utility and every that isn't Imperial military equipment is old and beat up.

You can actually see this progression in the PT itself with most of the Flash Gordon inspired designs appearing in TPM, before being gradually pushed out by the stark, 1940's style in AotC until RotS where I'm pretty sure the last vestige of it is Padme's ship. This is no coincidence. It marks the gradual transformation of the Republic into the Empire. It's even reflected in the Jedi sabre hilts, which get plainer and more utilitarian as the Order becomes more and more compromised.

Padme's ship looked cool. I liked the shiny sleek design. It had an art deco look.

I agree it did make sense for the ships to be designed as such. As Obi-wan once said, it was "for a more civilized time".

 

[M.A.C.O.]

The different design aesthetic in the prequels was very much a deliberate choice that directly informed the subtext of the larger sociopolitical narrative of both the PT & OT.

The PT designs are clean flowing, artisan like work and very much inspired by 1930's sci-fi. It represents a cultured society where craftsmanship is just as important as utility. In the OT, it's almost pure utility and every that isn't Imperial military equipment is old and beat up.

You can actually see this progression in the PT itself with most of the Flash Gordon inspired designs appearing in TPM, before being gradually pushed out by the stark, 1940's style in AotC until RotS where I'm pretty sure the last vestige of it is Padme's ship. This is no coincidence. It marks the gradual transformation of the Republic into the Empire. It's even reflected in the Jedi sabre hilts, which get plainer and more utilitarian as the Order becomes more and more compromised.

Great post.

And then we get to the ST, which is xeroxing the OT's style. As if Han, Luke and Leia's generation didn't win the war and reinstate the Republic. The First Order can afford new vehicles, tech and weaponry. While the Resistance makes like they are still poor and have limited resources.

The ST has a bad case of "sequelitis". Where the sequel undoes the original, for it's own story telling purposes.

I wish Disney would've invested time in telling us why the peace won at the end of ROTJ didn't hold, but that would likely invovle people talking in rooms about politics. Which the PT was known for. And everyone hates the PT. So be prepared to see the Rebels destroy another Death Star in IX. Because that's what we really matters.

 

[Reverend]

And then we get to the ST, which is xeroxing the OT's style. As if Han, Luke and Leia's generation didn't win the war and reinstate the Republic. The First Order can afford new vehicles, tech and weaponry. While the Resistance makes like they are still poor and have limited resources.

The way I see it, the design aesthetic of both the Resistance and the First Order suitably reflect the outlook, philosophy and historical legacy of each respective faction. Both look back into the past and glorify their progenitors.
For the First Order that means bigger, badder and more deadly versions of old Imperial designs, because that is what they value.
For the Resistance it's first gen New Republic designs that are slightly refined, more romanticised versions of what the old Alliance had (which was itself mostly late Clone Wars surplus), because this is how they see themselves.

Indeed it's no coincidence that there's some very clear inspiration taken from 1950's/Korean War military design aesthetic. That was also iterative of WWII tech, refined for efficiency and utility born of necessity and produced in a time of post war austerity where rebuilding from the last great conflagration is still ongoing and taking it's toll.
The Republic may be back, but it's not going to instantly spring back to the cultural and economic prosperity of it's last golden age, which was itself the culmination of 1000 years of peace. Also, many may justifiably view that time as one of decadence, corruption and greed that allowed the Empire to rise in the fist place. So it's possible that displays of opulence and over-sophistication is being culturally shunned in favour of simpler, more humble design philosophies.

It lines up fairly well with how I view the ST as a whole: the epilogue of the Skywalker Saga. This isn't a story of blazing new trails, it's about legacy and consequences. Of the process of putting aside the old and moving onto something new. It's basically the "Scorching of the Shire".

 

[LJones41]

I don't share you view of the ST as an "epilogue" of the Skywalker saga. If "The Force Awakens" and "The Last Jedi" are parts of Kathleen Kennedy's idea of the Skywalker saga, she can keep both films and shove them up her ass. As far as I'm concerned, the Skywalker saga covered six films between 1977 and 2005.

And everyone hates the PT.

Everyone? Did you ask every STAR WARS fan in existence? Because I doubt it very much. You know, when I express my dislike of the Sequel Trilogy, I try to express it as my own opinion. I try not to pretend that I'm speaking for everyone, which you apparently just did.

 

[fireproof78]

The different design aesthetic in the prequels was very much a deliberate choice that directly informed the subtext of the larger sociopolitical narrative of both the PT & OT.

The PT designs are clean flowing, artisan like work and very much inspired by 1930's sci-fi. It represents a cultured society where craftsmanship is just as important as utility. In the OT, it's almost pure utility and every that isn't Imperial military equipment is old and beat up.

You can actually see this progression in the PT itself with most of the Flash Gordon inspired designs appearing in TPM, before being gradually pushed out by the stark, 1940's style in AotC until RotS where I'm pretty sure the last vestige of it is Padme's ship. This is no coincidence. It marks the gradual transformation of the Republic into the Empire. It's even reflected in the Jedi sabre hilts, which get plainer and more utilitarian as the Order becomes more and more compromised.

I may not like the characters of the PT but the visual designs are fantastic and feel more thought out than some of the characters. I prefer the Naboo designs over the Millennium Falcon, but that's just me. The visuals are among some of my favorites in science fiction.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

It's basically the "Scorching of the Shire".

I think you might mean "The Scouring of the Shire."

 

[M.A.C.O.]

Everyone? Did you ask every STAR WARS fan in existence? Because I doubt it very much. You know, when I express my dislike of the Sequel Trilogy, I try to express it as my own opinion. I try not to pretend that I'm speaking for everyone, which you apparently just did.

You clearly missed the backhanded nature of my post. Stating "everyone hates the prequels", is an understood meme at this point. Because so many fans (famous and and normal) have been vocal regarding their complaints.

By the same token however, the sequel trilogy has demonstrated it has a bad case of sequelitits. Where the film's play out like "greatest hits" from the OT and high priced fanfiction.

TL;DR: My comment about EP IX having yet another Death Star, was the punchline, with the PT hate comment being the set up.

Take a chill pill, mate.

 

[Prax]

Here's Qui Gon's lightsaber

Just boring. Featureless metal tube with grip. Looks like it was ordered from a catalogue. Guess that kinda reflects the prequel jedi...