Ten years after Phantom Menace
Really? Ten years since standing in line for half-a-day (easy by no stretch of the imagination)? Ten years since my then-girlfriend now-wife held her lightsaber high in the middle of the theater as the Fox music played over the intro? Ten years since walking out, full of adrenaline with an awesome finale, only to think, didn't something was out of kilter for that film?
"Why do the prequels suck?" Jonathan asked me one time. "They explain things," I told him, and he agreed. Instead of trying to tell a good story, it seemed to be trying to connect the dots and hit the highpoints, as suggested by the original three.
There are plenty of other reasons, too, as our Smoking GNU team have discussed occasionally in our usual one to two hour trips to any puzzle hunt. Bad directing, bad acting, bad writing, effects that made much of films feel like an expensive cartoon, thin plots, thin characters, out-of-character plot service (no matter how anyone explains or fanwanks it, I can't believe Anakin would kill the Jedi kids), putting in too many connections, appeal to juvenile humor instead of youthful imagination, and no real attempt on Lucas' part to actually make a movie that people would like. (I've read that he makes movies to please himself and a close circle of friends.)
There was so much possibility there, though! A few changes and things could have been so much better. Have Anakin be discovered as a teen, have him have a solid, take-charge maverick personality instead of a whiny misfit, give him a better reason to join the Dark Side other than "I want my wife to live forever!", and have there be some sort of surprise about the man who would become Emperor.
One interesting line of thought, inspired by the recut trailer, is what if Padme Amadala were to be the real Sith Lord? And Palpatine her apprentice? That would set up some interesting conflicts — and a parallel reveal at the end of Episode II — and potentially give better reasons for Anakin's eventual switch than vague, self-fulfilling dreams.
"Why do the prequels suck?" Jonathan asked me one time. "They explain things," I told him, and he agreed. Instead of trying to tell a good story, it seemed to be trying to connect the dots and hit the highpoints, as suggested by the original three.
There are plenty of other reasons, too, as our Smoking GNU team have discussed occasionally in our usual one to two hour trips to any puzzle hunt. Bad directing, bad acting, bad writing, effects that made much of films feel like an expensive cartoon, thin plots, thin characters, out-of-character plot service (no matter how anyone explains or fanwanks it, I can't believe Anakin would kill the Jedi kids), putting in too many connections, appeal to juvenile humor instead of youthful imagination, and no real attempt on Lucas' part to actually make a movie that people would like. (I've read that he makes movies to please himself and a close circle of friends.)
There was so much possibility there, though! A few changes and things could have been so much better. Have Anakin be discovered as a teen, have him have a solid, take-charge maverick personality instead of a whiny misfit, give him a better reason to join the Dark Side other than "I want my wife to live forever!", and have there be some sort of surprise about the man who would become Emperor.
One interesting line of thought, inspired by the recut trailer, is what if Padme Amadala were to be the real Sith Lord? And Palpatine her apprentice? That would set up some interesting conflicts — and a parallel reveal at the end of Episode II — and potentially give better reasons for Anakin's eventual switch than vague, self-fulfilling dreams.
posted by Skott at 4:58 PM
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