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AsStar Wars : The Rise of Skywalkerquickly approaches to usher inthe end of the Skywalker sagaand fans are still locked in heated debates overStar Wars : The Last Jedi , it ’s time to seem back , once again , to another controversialStar Warsdebate , the prequels .
Now that we ’re 20 years assort from the release ofStar Wars : The Phantom Menace , the debate over whether or not the prequels are good or bad is beyond wearing , but irrespective of the actual cinematic quality of the prequels , their grandness to the franchisecan’t be hyperbolise .
With numerous books and cartoons bring extra clarity to the prequels in recent years , many mass have saidLucasfilm is " fixing " the prequels , and while it ’s true this extra canon fabric has helped fans come to a salutary understanding of the story of the prequels , saying it " fixes " the prequels suggests they were basically broken in the first place , which just is n’t true .
The Prequels Were Misunderstood
Since the prequels have issue forth and break , Star Warsfans have already move through another Hz of the highs and lows of aStar Warsfranchise revival . The Phantom Menacewas coming after over a decade and a one-half withoutStar Warsmovies to tell the story of how the Galax urceolata generate to where we find it at the scratch of Episode IV , Star Wars : A New Hope .
What everyone expected at the meter was a return to theStar Warsthat they hump , but George Lucas did something only different . WhenStar Wars : A New Hope(or , justStar Warsat the time ) was released , it was to a great extent influenced by Akira Kurosawa , Flash Gordonserials , and John Ford westerns all wrapped up in a lived - in futurist post - Word War II aesthetic , but the prequels come to a very different look and feel .
Taking shoes 3 ten before the events of the original trilogy , yet create a decade and a half afterStar Wars : Return of the Jedi , Star Wars : The Phantom Menacenot only take up place in a wandflower solely uninfluenced by theturmoil that led to the acclivity of the Empireand the reality we are introduced to in theStar Warsoriginal trilogy , but also derives different story and conception inspiration .
While the Kurosawa and John Ford inhalation does n’t disappear , Star warfare : The Phantom Menaceand the other prequels tip right smart more into theFlash Gordoninspiration , also getting heavy influence from workings like Isaac Asimov’sFoundationbooks , and fittingly leans into Shakespearean drama to enjoin the story of the collapse of the Republic . Almost everything in the original trilogy was old and dwell - in , but the prequels roll the clocks back a few X to introduce design that also take influence from a few decades earlier in the tangible universe , while also include a less worn - down version of many of the trapping of the original trilogy .
The flick looked and felt dissimilar , but that was because the universe actually was unlike . It was n’t yet savaged by theconflict of the Clone Wars , the Republic had n’t been taken over by a Sith Lord and turn into the Galactic Empire , and the Rebel Alliance had n’t yet bulge out a Galactic Civil War against the Empire . The characters that inhabited that macrocosm were also far less cynical , even primitive , in particular the Jedi , as a result .
The idiomatic expression " special something " or " magic " are thrown around to distinguish what madeStar Warsso particular , and many mass claimed the prequel trilogy lacked that , and while discourse could be had ( and have , for 20 year now ) about the dialog and acting and the caliber of the VFX , it really come down to expectations . The dialogue , acting , and VFX in the original trilogy are also imperfect many times , and it did n’t all age perfectly , either . The difference is the prequels were charge with expectations before anyone had even see a single frame of the movie .
We ’re still bear the fallout of theinitial prequel chemical reaction , as Lucasfilm and Disney always emphasize the habit of genuine sets and practical effects on the sequel trilogy , but the prequels also had an abundance of hard-nosed sets and essence ( even more than the original trilogy , in fact ) , and while detractors have picked asunder low points in the VFX of the prequels in the decades since their press release , much of the prequels ' role of CGI goes entirely unnoticed because of how well it ’s stood up .
The prequel repercussion , therefore , is rooted way more in expectations derived from a nostalgic view of the original trilogy , as well as a mistaking of what Lucas was even go for in Episodes IV , V , and VI in the first place ( more on that later ) .
The Prequels Didn’t Get a Proper Examination When They Were Released
The fact that George Lucas defied expectation withStar war : The Phantom Menaceand did n’t just deliver more of the sameStar Warsmovies he ’d made over a decade sooner would n’t have been such a big problem if the discourse beleaguer the movies resembled the treatment that benefit Disney’sStar Warssequels . Sure , there ’s a heated debate that continues torage over Rian Johnson’sStar Wars : The Last Jedi , but bothStar Wars : The Force AwakensandStar Wars : The Last Jedialso benefit from an internet that had a desire to understand andexplain what the movies were doing and why .
For every raging article or YouTube television criticizingStar Wars : The Last Jedi , there ’s another explaining thecinematic inspirations , chronicle justification , andStar Warscanon implication of the flick . Not to sayThe Last Jediis without its flaw . The film suffers from a tonal imbalance , uneven tempo , and a few head - chafe grapheme decisions , but the prequels and even some of the original trilogy ( mostlyReturn of theJedi)have like issues . But , unlikeThe Last Jedi , it was n’t until late year that the prequels got a proper mainstream re - scrutiny , finding fascinating qualities that were unheralded on their initial outlet , such as the popularStar Warsring possibility of storytelling .
It was n’t so much that audiences fail to understand the prequels - it would n’t be the first sentence a movie was misunderstood - but there was no movement to find an understanding , and instead , they instantly became pop - finish antic fodder , and quickly became shorthand for " uncollectible . "
New Star Wars Canon Has Added Context To The Prequels
Thankfully , the massive popularity ofStar Warsstopped the prequel hate from bringing an end to the dealership , and Lucasfilm did n’t shy away from the prequels as much as many sports fan expect them to , embracing aspects of the prequels in the newfangled movies , andexpanding massively on them in volume , comics , and spiritedness .
TheStar Wars : The Clone Warsanimated serial publication is a devotee favorite example many fans mention as the cause their perception of the prequels began to improve , but other new - canon tale have also flesh out the story of the universe even more , bringing even more people around on what made the prequels bully .
While many fans entered the prequel trilogy believing the Jedi to be righteous zep , that ’s not what the prequels presented , and that subversive presentation has become more interpret through stories showing the growing high-handedness of the Jedi , their distrust of Anakin Skywalker , and their blindness to the machinations ofSheev Palpatine .
WhileStar Wars : Revenge of the Sithproperly tells the story ofAnakin ’s struggle to keep open those he lovesas he ’s pushed nigher to Palpatine , who ’s the only soul who appears to trust him or help him in any mode . The broad movie of the prostration of the Jedi and Palpatine ’s chess game - master scheming to take dominance of the galaxy , provided by non - movie account , has flesh the chronicle out to the point where Anakin ’s twilight to the morose side is n’t merely understandable , but empathetic ( even if we all gibe killing all the Jedi younglings is a step too far ) .
The Star Wars Prequels Never Needed Fixing To Be Understood
Looking at the abundance of new storey that avail contextualize and excuse what was happening in the prequels often lead many fan to say the spare canon material " fixed " the prequels , but that make the premiss that this level of nuance was n’t already present in the picture show themselves , when , in fact , the stories are n’t already deliver in the prequels , but the seditious nature of the story is even place - up in the original trilogy .
Anakin was rejected by the Jedi from his first appearances in front of the Jedi council . After examining him and confirming his power , thecouncil pushed back against Qui - Gon ’s desire to train him , and Anakin never block that . obtain off on that amiss foot led to him mistrusting the Jedi ’s posture on many thing , including their view on dear and attachment .
When he ’s falling in love with Padme and bear incubus about his mother , the council is n’t helpful , simply telling him he needs to be willing to permit go of the things he ’s afraid of losing . And through it all , the only mortal , other than Obi - Wan Kenobi , who praise Anakin ’s power , bank his opinion , or offers assistance isSupreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine . So , when issue at last force Obi - Wan to side with the Jedi , that leaves a Sith Master as the only individual who has been empathetic or expressed a desire to help Anakin in his struggles .
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This is a major failing of the Jedi , and it ’s not something that comes out of left field . Obi - Wan Kenobi may have declared that the Jedi were shielder of peace and justice in the galaxy for a thousand generations , but that does n’t mean the Jedi were right in the prequels . In fact , the original trilogy is a condemnation of the old Jedi , Obi - Wan and Yoda , who order Luke the only path to triumph is to drink down Darth Vader .
Luke in the end rejects the ideology the previous generation of Jediat the end ofStar Wars : coming back of the Jedi , the same ideology that led to the dusk of the Jedi and the rise of the Sith , and it ’s through his refusal to bolt down Vader that ultimately do as the demonstration of sexual love Anakin Skywalker needed all along , bringing him back from the sullen side to ( evidently temporarily ) defeat Palpatine and overrule the Empire .
unluckily , this variety of manifestation was n’t in high demand when George Lucas made the prequel trilogy , so it was n’t until year later when other cloth point out the nuance that already exist in the storytelling of the prequels that they in conclusion take off to gain mainstream espousal , and now we live in a daylight and age , 20 years after the press release ofStar war : The Phantom Menace , where the prequels have never been more highly regarded .
And not a moment too soon . withStar Wars : The Rise of Skywalkeron its mode to provide the last act of the three trilogy Skywalker saga , the movie will doubtlessdraw grueling breathing in from the story of the prequels , particularly with thereturn of Palpatine , AKA Darth Sidious . Sure , he was originally introduced inStar war : payoff of the Jedi , but theprequel trilogy is all about him and his lift to power , arguably even more so than it is about Anakin ’s declension to the dark side .
With fans continue to be divided overStar war : The Last Jedi , hopefully the saga’sfinal instalment can get closurein a fashion that not only honour the three Skywalker trilogy , but also brings a better understanding to how each movie , from the prequels toThe Last Jedi , all play an important part of one of the best account to ever grace the swelled screen , even if fans are n’t always ecstatic about the movie ’s execution .
NEXT : When Did The Star Wars Prequels Become Cool ?
