I've been through a lot with this franchise.From watching the Clone Wars series,playing the games,watching the movies,read the books and novels,talk about them,however there is something about it that still bothers me.
Now by saying that there's something wrong with it,you must think that I'm talking about the prequels.Well...yes and no.What I meant is the unfair criticism that they get.
Allow me to explain:
I'm not saying that the prequels are good,they're just not very good and pale in comparison to the original trilogy.All I'm saying is that they're not without merit.
As you may have seen from the title,I'll be discussing as to why I'm more forgiving towards them.
I'll talk about all 3 of them individually and then I'll explain to you why I don't think they deserve all that hate,but also give you a brief synopsis.
Now this is all opinion based.If you disagree with me,that's fine.You're allowed to have your own opinion and I will respect your opinion because I respect you as people.
1.The Phantom Menace:
I can't deny it,this is bad movie.However,as I said before,it's not without merit.
What can I say about one of,if not the most despised prequel in cinema history?
I think the question should be "What can I say about it that hasn't been said before?".
The wooden acting,the wooden characters,the effects being way to CGI,the writing is like that of a 5th grader,the confusing plot,the racism,the terrible and forced jokes...however,as I said,it's not without merit.
When I heard how despised this movie was,I thought it was because when it first came out,people were infuriated that a franchise that they loved was botched by a movie that's not only directed by the same man who did A New Hope,but is also canon.
However,when I looked up information about it,it turns out that it actually got critical praise when it first premiered! Yeah! While it is a bad movie,critics liked it when it first came out because the new technology and visuals were breathtaking,and for the time they kind of were.Now we can see that the computers are overused,but back then people didn't see a movie that surrounded itself in that technology,or at least not to that extent.And given the fact that critics saw the same thing over and over,yeah it would a little refreshing.But many people were upset that they couldn't connect with the story and characters.
But this is not the worst movie ever people,there is a lot to like about it:
-The different worlds:
While the CGI is overused,the CGI used for landscapes and worlds is freaking amazing.
One of the disadvantages that the original Star Wars had is that,while it had a decent budget,it was never so big that you could show off how gigantic its worlds could be.Now they made up for it by keeping the locations closed,intimate and having a lot of personality.With the prequels though,you could show vast landscapes,entire cities,incredible backdrops.We could go from a solid still of Cloud City,to circling buildings while flying though other ships.
Now,do I think that there's too much CGI and not enough hand-build sets? Of course I do,just like everybody does.And yeah,one or two environments can be painfully lazy.But we're allowed to see a planet from multiple angles and several different locations,rather than just finding a desert and saying "Oh! The entire planet looks like this!"
Keep in mind too that in the 90's,CGI was mostly used for monsters and devices.This is one of the first movies to create giant fantasy worlds and went outside your everyday environments.I even like some of the places that pay homage to other great locations.
A lot of people say that the Podrace scene was way too similar to Ben Hur. Oh Yeah! Because nothing in the original Star Wars movies were paying homage to anything else! (I was being sarcastic if you couldn't tell.)
Combined with some really impressive cinematography,and these places are just awesome.
-The lightsaber fights:
The fighting in these movies definitely got better when the prequels got started.Even the most intense moments from the original trilogy,mostly keep it to two people tapping lightsabers,but the storyline and character still kept us interested.Well,since there was crap characters and storyline in The Phantom Menace,they made up with it with amazing choreography and impressive lightsaber duels.Instead of two people there are either three or four,and they don't just tap lightsabers,they jump,kick,flip,back flip,they even introduced that awesome Saberstaff (The Double-Bladed Lightsaber). It's definitely better in contrast to the first trilogy.
The fight with Darth Maul at the end is one of my favorite lightsaber duels.Yes,there's little emotion behind it,but the choreography is still impressive to look at.
Plus,Ewan McGregor showed the most emotion in this scene,especially when Qui Gon Jin was killed.
If you couldn't get into the story,at least you could get into the action!
-The score by John Williams:
Much like the Transformer movies,while the movies may not be very good,the score is always amazing.
I'm not kidding when I say that Duel of the Fates is my favorite piece of Star Wars music ever.And there are some pretty good music in the movies as well that I like to listen to from time to time.
-Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious:
As much as how bland most of these actors are,there are actors who manage to pull off a great performances.
While he had his goofy moments,Darth Sidious was the best acted and the best character in the prequels,bar none!
He had the dark,menacing robe the would become famous in the other movies,but he also played a great diplomat,a great charmer,a great deceiver and a great manipulator.
It didn't seem like he was restrained to looking evil,or doing evil things like a lot of the other Star Wars villains.Or heck,his role in the original trilogy.He could be cheerful he could be funny,but it was all for his diabolical need to control.
Ian McDiarmid returns in this role and you can tell,he's having a blast with it.He runs the game from being incredibly subtle and sneaky,to being full-blown,over-the-top psychotic.Even in scenes where he goes too silly,he's till so much fun to watch.(I especially love the "UNLIMITED POWER!!!" scene.) You can see that whatever part he's doing,he's going full force.
We pretty much saw him in every enjoyable light a good villain should be seen in:polite and calculating,loud and roaring,joyful and content,angry and bitter.Every time he was on screen he stole the show!
We'll talk about this one again when we get to the end.
-This line:
“Fear is the path to the dark side.Fear leads to anger.Anger leads to hate.Hate leads to suffering.”
It's quite possibly the most meaningful line in the prequels.
Why? Because Anakin's downfall reflects this quote beautifully.
Episode 1:Anakin is a scared little boy.
Episode 2:Anakin is an angry young man.
Episode 3:Anakin is a hateful man.
Episodes 4-6:Anakin is a suffering old man.
And I think it's a meaningful line even if it didn't reflect his downfall.
The most heinous of acts in the world can be caused by simple fear.It could be the fear of our own insecurities,fear of the unknown,fear of things we can’t understand and the like.Like Yoda said,this fear can take on a life of its own and grow into other negative reactions,like the aforementioned anger,hate and suffering.
Now,most of this fear can actually be controlled with some understanding.Once we get past the fear and actually try to understand why we are afraid of something,then that’s the time we can conquer the fear.
It actually reminds me a lot of this quote from Frozen: "Fear will be your enemy".
-Anakins's Podrace:
To the dismay of some,it played a big part in Phantom Menace.I really like the idea of podracing.Each podracer is designed uniquely to the character designated to it,so there's a sense of tension and imminent danger that adds to the drama.And as I said,I have to roll my eyes every time they complain that this scene is more of a rip off of Ben Hur,when the original trilogy took inspirations from other sources as well.
Either way,this is an enjoyable scene and definitely a highlight of the movie.
-Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan Kenobi.
As much as how bland most of the acting is in the prequels,the one who seems to be perfectly cast and even manages to make some of the most painful lines tolerable is Ewan McGregor.
Not only does he surprisingly command a lot of authority,but he also has an energy that carries over from a young youth to an aging warrior.When I look at him,I don't see an actor badly playing a role,I see young Obi Wan Kenobi.
He captures the calm and collective nature Alec Guinness,but still has the outlook of a man who's learning.
Sure,he still got some lame lines to say,but if someone were to ask me how I would imagine Obi Wan Kenobi in his youth,this would be it.
-Darth Maul:
A lot of people say that Darth Maul is the best thing about Phantom Menace.I agree that he's definitely one of the best things about the movie,but not the best.
While in the movie,he wasn't the most interesting character,much like Anakin from Revenge of the Sith (Which I'll be getting into later.) whenever he's not saying anything,he looks really intimidating.He's a more aggressive type,the one who uses his fighting skills and techniques.I know this because unlike most Sith lords who use the Force,Maul is the only Sith lord I've seen so far who doesn't use the force,but rather his skills and fighting techniques,which my eyes,make him more unique.
I also love his design! Black skin with red tribal symbols all around him,and horns on his head that make it look like he's wearing a crown.
And as I said,the fight scene with him,Obi Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn is one of my favorite lightsaber duels in all of Star Wars.
While The Clone Wars show (From 2008) and Rebels developed his character better,but he's certainly one of the better characters from the movie.
I'm honestly not surprised that this movie turned out bad,it only came down to logical deduction.George Lucas only directed 1 Star Wars movie.And impressive as it was,it had problems:the writing was silly,the acting was stilted,and there were a lot of things that didn't make much sense.But he had a lot of people to give him advice and limitations,so he still turned out a good product.
Then,years later after barely directing a thing,this guy is suddenly suppose to direct a masterpiece? Though,I wouldn't have guessed that it would be this bad.
As much as critics at the time tried to say this was a good movie,it showed in full view the power of hype,and how long it took people to realize that the emperor has no clothes.(Metaphorically speaking).
Honestly,in many respects,it's kind of an important movie for that.It shows that artists are flawed and there's no perfect project.Heck,the original Star Wars had a lot of stilted acting and silly dialogue.
For a lot of fans,this was the bursting of the bubble,the ending of the fairy tale,to having to face life.But there's advantages to that too;it tells people "Hey,you don't have to be perfect to make good stuff! You can learn,you can change things,you can make things better." Even your heroes aren't always your heroes.And that's fine,you could be inspired to do good work.
If you're one of those people who claim that Lucas killed your childhood,you never had a childhood to begin with.,where you're constantly trying to reject reality and avoid your grown up world.
Bottom-line,he got his vision made,and it was bad,but at least he got it made exactly how he wanted it,which is kind of admirable in my opinion.
And as I said,while this movie is bad,it had a lot of things that I liked about it,so I give it a pass.
2.Attack of the Clones.
While may people complained and still complain about The Phantom Menace,Attack of the Clones is the worst one in my opinion.
Why? Because while The Phantom Menace is a bad movie,it was so bad that it gained infamy and people still talk about it,plus there was a lot to like about it as well that made me give it a pass.Attack of the Clones' problem is that it still suffers from the problems of the Episode 1 (Well,there's a lot less Jar Jar and Ewan McGregor's acting's got better.),there's not as much to like about it and it also commits the crime of being boring.It is dull!
I will list of some of the things I like about it that I haven't said about Episode 1,there isn't a lot:
-Christopher Lee as Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus:
As I said,not all of the actors in the prequels are bad and Christopher Lee is one of them.
As Count Dooku,he actually plays it well and actually does give off a pretty intimidating presence.
You see,I grew up with the Clone Wars saga which took place between this movie and Revenge of the Sith.And Count Dooku was basically the main villain in that saga.And he was actually very impressive and quite intimidating.Mostly because unlike Vader who's slow but strong or Sidious who's sneaky but also loud and roaring,he had an elegant and classy fighting stile.
My point here is that Lee did a god job of portraying him and he was a lot of fun to watch.(Which is typical of Christopher Lee. (R.I.P))
-Yoda's lightsaber fighting:
One complaint that I have to role my eyes at is Yoda using a lightsaber.Well,why the hell shouldn't he? While he uses the force more than he uses his lightsaber,he's still a Jedi master and Jedi always use lightsabers.It's like having a knight without his sword or weapons,it's just not going to happen.
Plus,both Clone Wars shows had him using a lightsaber and nobody complained there.
With that out of the way,I have to say that Yoda's fight with Dooku is actually really impressive and funny to look at,especially if you consider his size compared to Dooku's.
-Moving the story somewhat forward:
I know a lot of people say that Episode 1/2 have no reason to exist and I can understand why.Most of the things that happen in Episode 1/2 don't really matter in the grand-scheme of things,rendering them pretty useless.However,it's not entirely true.
Phantom Menace advanced the story by introducing the characters and put them in a situation that would ultimately change them.
Attack of the Clones advanced the story by making Anakin and Padme fall in love,introduced the clone army which started the Clone Wars (Which is my favorite saga in Star Wars.),introduced Count Dooku who would be the villain of the Clone Wars and introduced Boba Fett.
However,besides these,it didn't advance the story that much,but it did advance it somewhat,so I guess it counts.
-The scene with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Kamino in the Clone Factory.
I personally like this scene because it shows how the clones were manufactured and raised.
As I said,the Clone Wars is my favorite saga in Star Wars,so seeing how it started was really interesting.
I also like the part were they introduced Jango Fett and his son Boba,because we get to see how the clones were made as well as gave us a backstory to how a little boy came to be the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy.
Plus,Ewan McGregor's acting is still really damn good.
My only complaint about it is the outdated CGI.I give the prequels credit for being some of the first movies ever to relish in CGI which was a new technology back then.However,it really didn't age well.Don't get me wrong,CGI is not a bad thing and sometimes necessary,but a lot of films don't integrate it well and in the end,something that the actors are actually interacting with will always look more real than something that isn't.
However,despite the outdated CGI,this was a pretty cool scene and I think it's one of the more memorable ones from the movie.
-The fight between Obi Wan and Jango Fett.
While the fighting in this movie isn't as good as in Episode 1/3,but this fight is actually well done.
I like the fact that they added rain in the fight to make it more unique.I can't recall a fight sequence from the movies that took place in the rain,or at least not between a Jedi and a bounty hunter.
-This scene:
"You wanna buy some death sticks?"
"You don't want to sell me death sticks"
"I don't wanna sell you death sticks."
"You want to go home and rethink your life."
"I wanna go home and rethink my life."
There's nothing more to say,I just think it's funny.For a series so devoid of good humor,this was a genuinely funny scene.
That's it,I got nothing else.
And honestly,that's about it.They try to fill up all these things going on,but it's not very interesting.And if you can't follow what's going on,or anything like that,I don't think it knows what suppose to be important.I mean yes,I can follow but that's because when i watch something,I always spay more attention to what's going on,even if what's happening isn't very interesting.
We get a little bit of Anakin being separated from his mother,plus his turn into an angry young man who would become Darth Vader later on.
Attack of the Clones is probably my biggest problem,because while I liked the things I listed off,it is the most boring of the Star Wars movies and it failed at what it was suppose to be,which was a romance movie.And before you say it's not suppose to be a romance movie,George Lucas himself said it was suppose to be a romance movie.Just word to the wise,don't let Lucas right romantic dialogue.
I wouldn't mind them falling in love (Because if they weren't then neither Luke or Leia would exist.),but it's done so poorly.They just kind of say they love each other over and over and find really corny ways of saying it.Plus,you never feel any chemistry out of them because the acting is so stilted and the dialogue is beyond silly.(Thank God both Clone Wars shows actually developed their relationship.)
At this point I've started to realize something.It's not the acting that was the problem.Now don't get me wrong,some of them actually do it really well;Ewan McGregor nailed it as Obi Wan,Christopher Lee is always a lot of fun and Ian MacDiarmid steals the shows as Sidious.
Actually,I'm just realizing,it's all the Brits! The British people are the only actors in these movies that actually give great performances.Even in A New Hope,Harrison Ford,Mark Hamill are a little whiny,but with the exception of James Earl Jones,it's all the British people who add the credibility to the movie.(Maybe that's why Carrie Fisher tried to do a British accent.)
But regardless,what I'm trying to say is that unless you have a really great actor,it's hard to make this dialogue sound natural,and you have to put a lot of trust in you director that what your doing sounds and looks good.And I think we've established that George Lucas has been out of touch of being a good director for a while.
So we can't really blame the actors of how blandly or poorly they're reading these lines because they're hard lines to read.And if someone is giving you the direction to read it more and more bland,you're just going to do it.
What more can I say? I may have liked those parts I've listed off about it and I am more forgiving towards it because it's not really the actors fault.But to me,this was the worst one out of the prequels for being boring,uninteresting to watch and failing to be a romance movie.
3.Revenge of the Sith.
Out of the entire prequel trilogy,this was the closest to a Star Wars movie.
I'll be honest with you,I actually really like this movie.
While it suffers from some of the same problems as Episode 1/2 (Mainly the forced romance,the stilted acting,etc.), they're not as present here as they were previously,but the things that are good in my opinion are so good that it's enough for me to actually call it a decent movie.Heck,most of the good things from the prequels come from Revenge of the Sith.
It still has some of the good things from Episode 1/2 as well,like the fighting,the music,the cinematography,Ewan McGregor,Ian MacDiarmid,but there's a lot more as well:
-The opening fight scene with the Star Destroyers.
Yeah,it's a little corny and kind of overblown,but the original trilogy was corny and overblown as well.
There's a lot to like in this part.The action,the effect,the comedy and the lightsaber fighting.After 2 underwhelming movies,I actually felt like I was watching a new Star Wars movie.It had the energy,it had the action,it had the imagination and even the comedy of the original.
Personally,I think this intro was a damn (Sorry about that.) fun ride.
-Casting Hayden Christensen as Anakin.
Hear me out!
I'm not calling this a good performance,it's not.It's bland,it's emotionless,half of his lines are completely monotone,and when he tries to sound angry and hateful,he sounds like he's whining instead.But to his credit (As I said),barely anyone in the prequels gives a good performance,they sound the same! (Not all of them.)
Are we really gonna blame Samuel L. Jackson for his bland delivery? Do you think the guy who does this...:
"I HAVE HAD IT WITH THESE MOTHERF*CKING SNAKES,ON THIS MOTHERF*CKING PLANE!!!"
is totally at home,talking like this...?:
"The oppression of the Sith will never return.You,have lost!"
No! This is obviously a sign of bad direction.The same kind that could turn a good actor like Mark Wahlberg into a useless fool in Transformers 4.The same kind that told Christian Bale his Batman voice was fine.
As I said,actors need to put a lot of trust in their directors,and an unfocused director could easily mislead a good actor.George Lucas has been out of touch with making movies for a long time,so it's expected that this would happen.
I personally think casting Hayden Chritensen was a decent choice.He has acted well in other movies and he can demand a strong presence.I know this because any scene where he's not told to say any bad dialogue,he looks really intimidating.Any time he doesn't have to talk and instead uses his facial expressions work really well.
Everybody,whether or not they're doing a good job or not,look the part.Anakin looks amazing,this is how I would imagine a young and angry Darth Vader to look like.
-Anankin and Padme's reaction to her being pregnant.
This might be a strange scene to focus on,but I actually think it's done quite effectively.
Jedi are forbidden to fall in love and get married,(Mostly reflecting Buddhist teaching and techniques about rejecting material possessions and earthly connections.) so when Anakin returns to his secret wife,this is the last news he wants to hear.
With very few lines,they manage to run the gamut of shock,fear,happiness and then back to fear again.That's a lot to display only a couple of seconds.It's the perfect reaction to such huge and devastating news.
Maybe because so many other scenes are devoid of natural human reaction,but I think this shows two thinking people who know this is a huge joy and a big problem.
It's short,quick and it's the perfect response such a major discovery.
-Padme's ruminations.
This is one of the most powerful scenes I've seen in Star Wars.It's the scene where Padme and Anakin are separated and both of them are contemplating what's going to happen to themselves and each other.
There is so much happening in this scene.You can visibly see Anakin give in to Palpatine and prepare to reject all of his principles.It also adds a layer of emotional depth to the Anakin/Padme relationship.The mental/emotional silent conversation as they look to each other across the distance is better written than any of the dialogue written in this movie and you can sense a real connection between them.You got everything you need to know and the emotions you're supposed to feel are there in the actor's eyes and music.
Speaking of the music,the haunting,creepy but atmospheric music in the background really helps this scene.
I also love the shots they took of Coruscant.Coruscant has always been one of my favorite places in the Star Wars universe,and the cinematography in this scene really makes Coruscant gorgeous.
-The opera house scene with Anakin and Palpatine.
Not only is this scene beautifully shot,not only is it dripping with atmosphere,not only is it well acted,not only is it well written,but this is the first time in the prequels that something is given to the Star Wars mythos to make it more of a mythos.What you may ask? It's own mythos.
Think about it,a lot of the great mythologies often have their own mythologies in their world:
Lord of the Rings,The Hobbit,Narnia,Dune,Harry Potter;but the original Star Wars,while many would agree,still is a strong mythos,mostly stuck to its own story.We get a hint about Obi-Wan's past but it's more of quick exposition.
This is more mythical,one that has roots in legend and may or may not have happened.
They're of course hinting that Sidious played a big part in this story,but if he did,he's lying about the identities,which means the story is already changing from person to person,but still keeping the same spirit,as well as the same focus.
Even though were technically learning about The Dark Side,Darth Plagueis and what he was capable of and the art of bringing the dead back to life,which wold come into play;it isn't being told as exposition like a lot of the Star Wars movies.Palpatine doesn't sit Anakin down say: "Let me tell you something I can do!" He's explaining it through a fable,a story passed on from master to student.
This takes the whole world and its mythos it creates to a completely different realm that none of the Star Wars movies ever touched about.It gave us a parable that had it's start in truth but overtime,morphed into something else.
It's not only the first time the prequels added something new besides expanding the canon,it evolved Star Wars to a different level.Even if it's just one scene,even if it's not very long.It added a story to a story,and that's one of the biggest steps if you want your world want to feel more real,be all the more believable.
-Anakin's turn to The Dark Side.
I really don't understand where the hate for this is coming from.People say that Anakin's turn was too fast.
Was it really? If you think about how easily he could slaughter children without some turmoil then yes but we saw the turmoil before in the scene where he's in the Jedi Council room not saying a word as the creepy music plays.Even when Mace Windu is about to kill Palpatine he begs him to spare his life instead of stopping him.To me that says that Anakin wants to keep Palpatine alive but without falling to the dark side,have him stand trial so that maybe he can find out the secret to saving his wife before his sentence. He's looking for an easy way out of his own fears instead of siding with one and losing the other,he wouldn't have to betray anyone and still get what he wants.But Mace doesn't know about what was happening between Anakin and Palpatine so when he decides to kill him,Anakin cuts his hand off.When he says "What have I done?" he realizes that he has killed a jedi master and has already sealed his fate as a villain.You might think the Jedi could forgive like Obi Wan would have but...would they really? Just put yourself in that position would you really believe your family or friends would forgive you if you had murdered someone even if it was for a good reason. The Jedi always viewed Anakin as the one who would save the galaxy and bring balance to the force,yet they failed to understand that he was just a man,a man who was afraid.
So I don't think Anakin's turn was too fast or out of nowhere,maybe it needed to be done in a different way,one might say more visually than simply have characters saying things but at the end of the day I see this as reason enough for Anakin's turn.
You want to know the reason why sympathetic villains are my favorite type of villains? That's because it shows that they're not completely evil,or evil for the sake of being evil,they're human and humans have problems and can make mistakes.
Anakin tried to save the woman that he loved,but in the process he betrayed everyone around him as well his teachings,but also lost his humanity in the process.
It actually reminds me a lot to Elsa from Frozen,who during "Let It Go",which was the signature song in Frozen for conveying just how close Elsa was to completely "losing herself." By pushing everybody she knew away from her, she was losing her soul and her humanity. Having power should make one wary.
-The fight between Yoda and Darth Sidious.
Also one of my favorite lightsaber fight scenes from Star Wars.
I especially love when Yoda enters,two guards are trying to subdue him but instead get knocked out by Yoda in one swoop.I find that really hilarious.
What I also really like about it is Darth Sidious himself.You can tell that he's having a blast with this fight.As I said,even when he goes too over-the-top,he's just so much fun to watch.
The choreography is also very impressive.Yes,it's mostly just Yoda jumping around Sidious while also attacking him;but there's also Sidious force throwing the Senate at him,with Yoda trying to force back at him;Yoda trying to repel his Sith lightning;it really is a fun scene.
My favourite thing about this scene is the amount of passion The Emperor shows,which is affiliated with the dark side.Ian MacDiarmid does a great job acting him out.If Yoda where even more calm and serene, it would be a near perfect scene to show the two opposites fighting it out,like the scene when Qui Gon and Darth Maul are separated by the force field and the Jedi immediately starts meditating while the Sith moves back and forth building up his emotions.
I also love the symbolism of the scene where both of them enter The Senate.The two most powerful sides of the force,fighting in the galactic senate,as if the whole galaxy was there witnessing,and waiting to be decided between light and darkness.
I also love the music in this fight.They even replay Duel of the Fates,which is always welcome.
-The Order 66 scene.
This scene is even sadder after you watched the Clone Wars.If you've only just watched the prequels,then you would think that these are just random nameless Jedi being killed.Sad,yes,but only because we know that the Jedi are done in general,not because any real characters were lost. But growing up with The Clone Wars (both from 2003 and 2008) and becoming emotionally attached to all of these Jedi,all of the sudden it becomes all the more tragic since now we are seeing characters we know and love being gunned down by clones who we now know really are living Mandalorians (Jango Fett is a Mandalorian,so physically the clones are to.) who if left to their own free will,might have defied Order 66 where it not for inhibitor chips in their brains.So in a way,the clones are also victims here.
-The fight between Anakin and Obi Wan.
I'll be dead honest with you,this is my all-time favorite lightsaber fight from any Star Wars movie.
Yes,it was expected that these too would fight each other at the end,so because this fight was expected to be epic,they did their best to make it as intense and epic of a fight scene as possible.And in my eyes,they succeeded.
The posters for this movie showcase this fight between them as a major thing and I don't blame them.
The choreography and music are already awesome,but as an added bonus,we have them
fighting on a volcanic planet,in a pool of lava and death,surfing on tiny machines and doing flips and kicks everywhere.It's just so awesome to watch.
Hokey acting aside,everything else from the action to to visuals and especially the music all adds up, and you really feel the emotion behind it.These were two brothers-in-arms who fought together in a war and were like family,and now they're now their friendship has fallen apart and they're seriously trying to kill each other over a clash of ideals.It really is a powerful moment that gets me every time.Especially because I grew up with The Clone Wars (Both from 2003 and 2008).
Say what you want about Hayden's dialogue.But his facial expressions combined with Obi wan's words make this damn (Sorry about that.) scene.
If it didn't suffer from some of the same problems as Episode 1/2,this would honestly be my favorite Star Wars movie.I'm not kidding.Nearly everything about this movie was done amazingly well.
But for what it is,it's my 3rd favorite Star Wars movie,(Return of the Jedi as the 2nd and Empire Strikes back as 1st.)
There's a lot to make fun in this movie and I make fun of it too.But at least I got something that felt much closer to George Lucas' vision,what he was trying to achieve and what the prequels were suppose to be.It is dark,it is brooding,it is gritty,it has big fights and manipulation that you can actually follow this time.
Do I laugh at the stupid moments? Yes. Do I point out the problems that don't make sense? Yes.
By no means perfect,it has some of the best scenes I've seen in Star Wars as a whole.
I personally really enjoyed this movie and I personally find it to be an underrated gem.
Before we conclude this article,I want to say one last thing,as to why I'm more forgiving towards them.
As I said multiple times in this article,I watched both The Clone Wars shows when I was younger,they were Star Wars to me.
I got introduced to Star Wars through the 2003 Star Wars Clone Wars cartoon,which introduced me to the prequels,which introduced me to the 2008 series,which then introduced me to the original trilogy.
To be honest,when people talk about Star Wars,they always talk about Luke,Darth Vader,Princess Leia,Han Solo,Chewbacca;except that I didn't grew up with these characters,nor did I know who they were.But I knew who Anakin,Obi-Wan,Yoda,Padme,Mace Windu,Count Dooku and General Griveous were.
Every time people talk about Star Wars,they always talk about the original characters I feel alienated because I'm not as fond with these characters like many other people are and it makes me feel like an outcast.
To me,the Clone Wars saga is the best (both from 2003 and 2008),which makes me more forgiving towards the Prequels.
So to sum it up,I'm more forgiving towards the prequels for 3 big reasons:
-George Lucas,after years of not directing anything,finally got his vision done,even if they didn't turn out very good,he at least got his ideas and dreams made and he put passion into it.
-There's a lot to like about them,which makes me give them a pass.
-Because I grew up with the Clone Wars,I recognize the characters in the prequels,more than the ones from Episode 4-6.
And if you disagree with me,more power to you.But there's something we can all agree on...that The Holiday Special is still the worst thing ever associated with Star Wars.
As always,Smell ya' later!
Nice posters,by the way.
