Why the prequels are legendary
- Devin Martin
- Oct 8, 2018
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 10, 2018
Yes, I am a defender of the prequel trilogy and I do firmly believe that the story was appropriately told.
Let’s start with this, when the original trilogy concluded in 1983 with Return of the Jedi, 16 years later, George Lucas would release Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The movie also had a famous list of cast members such as Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, and Frank Oz.
Lucas also knew he wanted to also use CGI for the film itself. This led to how filming began on June 26, 1997 in locations such as Leavesden Film Studios and the Tunisian desert.
Some scenes that were shot that day would also make the final cut and be completely computerized, such as the podrace sequence for example. Some characters would also be completely computerized as well such as Jar Jar Binks.
This led to when the film was released and critics had mixed reviews as the film generated $924.3 million worldwide.
However, with as much work that went into the film, according to Rotten Tomatoes "the film only received around a 55 percent score based on 212 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10." The cast was also not safe from their fair share in criticism. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described Binks as "a major miscue, a comic-relief character who's frankly not funny."
Andrew Johnston of Time Out New York explains that, “Let's face it: no film could ever match the expectations some have for Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Which isn't to say it's a disappointment: on the contrary, it's awesomely entertaining, provided you accept it on its own terms ...Like the original film, it's a Boy's Own adventure yarn with a corny but irresistible spiritual subtext. The effects and production design are stunning, but they always serve the story, not the other way around."
Some parts of the plot were also questioned such as midichlorians, what Jar Jar Binks even adds to the plot, ect.
Let me just say this, the force, the jedi order and the clone wars are all subjects that are difficult to explain. They were mentioned in A New Hope but why weren't fans upset that those plot points were not talked about more?
The prequels explain these topics in a beautiful and simply put, visually stunning way. A reason why I love the prequel films are because they do connect the original trilogy to the prequel trilogy.
Seeing Anakin Skywalker on the screen and watching his descent to the dark side never gets old to me. Watching the forbidden love of Padme and Anakin grow over time is fresh and new to me because in the Old Republic, Revan was allowed to be in a relationship with Bastila after the Jedi Civil War ended.
Watching the podrace sequence, the lightsaber duels, the battle of Geonosis and even watching the television show The Clone Wars and Rebels to me expanded the prequel trilogy and made the world more believable.
Sure starting the first film by talking about a trade dispute might not be the most intriguing to some, but to me I found it to be so fascinating and to see how the sith rise after the fall of the Old Republic like I said before, never gets old.
Star Wars films are meant to be on a timeline and I think what the prequel films do well is explain and show the story during that time period.
I will always continue to cherish the prequel films just like I do the rest of the films in the franchise.
With that being said, here is an infographic about how the Star Wars films should be watched and yes I do believe you should start with the prequels because simply put, my friends were so confused about the series when we started on A New Hope.
As always, may the force be with you.
*Infographic- Devin Martin / Confessions of a Star Wars Freak (Images provided by Google Images).
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