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Are The Prequels That Bad? — Page 11

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SilverWook said:

By writing a trilogy with action, adventure, and heart, characters I actually give a damn about, and no poop or fart jokes?

And thousands of re-writes and fan-edits all attest to that.

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OldMateMatt said:

i don’t think the prequels are bad movies i just think they were bad in comparison to the original trilogy, i mean seriously how are you supposed to follow up probably the best movie trilogy ever?

How?

This:

Not this:

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TV’s Frink said:

Just off the top of my head…

TPM: Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, C3PO, R2D2, The Emperor, Greedo (deleted scene but point stands)
AOTC: Boba Fett, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, C3PO, R2D2, The Emperor
ROTS: Chewbacca, Luke, Leia, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, C3PO, R2D2, The Emperor

TFA: Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, Phasma, Snoke, Hux, BB8, Maz

Yep, new characters in the PT, same old reboot characters in TFA…

Urge to trigger Frink…rising…

I believe you mean Rey(extreme Luke), Poe(extreme Wedge), Snoke(new Emperor), Hux(extreme Motti+Tarkin), BB8(really?), Maz(Yoda lite), Unkar Plutt(extra portions of Watto), Phasma(Boba Fett lite).

All these in addition to the outright reused characters:

Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, R2, C3PO, Ackbar and Nien Nunb.

This list by itself rivals the prequels in length, let alone all of the clear character analogues and reused ships, locations, weapons, and plot points. But I’m mostly fine with all the reused characters in TFA and the prequels because at least it’s honest. The character analogues, not so much.

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)

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The debate that will never die - now with comparisons that barely make sense! Wedge = pilot, Poe = pilot, that obviously means Wedge = Poe!!!

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I mean, Poe/Wedge, Unkar/Watto, Phasma/Fett…really? But if you don’t consider Rey a new character because she grew up on a desert planet too…sure.

Alec Guinness was just a Toshio Mifune rehash anyway. There’s not a single Star Wars character that is original.

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Also

DominicCobb said:

The only reason people don’t complain about TPM being a rehash is because that movie has far bigger issues.

Anakin = extreme baby Luke
Padme = new Leia
Qui-Gon = new Obi-Wan
Jar Jar = stupid C-3PO
Darth Maul = bad ass Vader
Nute Gunray = wussy Tarkin
Boss Nass = noncriminal Jabba
and of course Ric Olie = handsome Wedge

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DominicCobb said:

Ric Olie = handsome Wedge

I can almost see it but you can’t handsome up anyone enough to get them to Ric Olie levels.

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NeverarGreat said:

TV’s Frink said:

Just off the top of my head…

TPM: Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, C3PO, R2D2, The Emperor, Greedo (deleted scene but point stands)
AOTC: Boba Fett, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, C3PO, R2D2, The Emperor
ROTS: Chewbacca, Luke, Leia, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, C3PO, R2D2, The Emperor

TFA: Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, Phasma, Snoke, Hux, BB8, Maz

Yep, new characters in the PT, same old reboot characters in TFA…

Urge to trigger Frink…rising…

I believe you mean Rey(extreme Luke), Poe(extreme Wedge), Snoke(new Emperor), Hux(extreme Motti+Tarkin), BB8(really?), Maz(Yoda lite), Unkar Plutt(extra portions of Watto), Phasma(Boba Fett lite).

All these in addition to the outright reused characters:

Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, R2, C3PO, Ackbar and Nien Nunb.

This list by itself rivals the prequels in length, let alone all of the clear character analogues and reused ships, locations, weapons, and plot points. But I’m mostly fine with all the reused characters in TFA and the prequels because at least it’s honest. The character analogues, not so much.

Shoving a dozen new characters in our face can hardly be called innovative, when they don’t have any personality. Qui-gon, Mace Windu, Kit Fisto and so on are so bland, calling them characters is an overstatement. They are just kind of there.

Ceci n’est pas une signature.

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I actually kind of like Qui-Gon, but only because of what Liam managed to wring out of him with his performance.

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This part was fun. 😉

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Where were you in '77?

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ray_afraid said:

But you did say that to enjoy these movies you have to look past the terrible acting, script, characters, plot points, issues and mistakes. What’s left to enjoy?

The ideas?

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For an idea where I come from when I talk about the prequels and how they rank in the wide world of film, can anyone truly say that the writing and acting is worse than Battle Beyond the Stars? Now, I love that movie, but it is quite stupid on many levels. The acting leaves a lot to be desired and the writing is … well, I think Lucas could have done better. The special effect are far below Star Wars (they did a good job with compositing, but they cameras are very static and there is no life to it). The sets are lazy. But, and this might be because of the Seven Samurai origins of the story, it is fun to watch.

I have seen many films where you just don’t care about the characters. But frankly, a lot of the enjoyability of the PT comes from its relationship to the OT. It is a window into the past with the story of how the galaxy got to the point where they need a rebellion. So, yes, I can see past its failings and enjoy the PT for what it is, an inferior past story arc in the Star Wars universe.

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I saw BBTS theatrically in 1980, and I felt more when St. Exmin died than the death of any PT character.

Okay, maybe some teen hormones were involved, but any reason to post picture of Sybil Danning will suffice for me. 😃
And you can’t really compare the visual FX of a Roger Corman production to what ILM did with millions more to spend. I still think the movie looks sweet on Blu Ray. What ever happened to that James Cameron kid who worked on the film anyway?

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Jeebus said:

ray_afraid said:

But you did say that to enjoy these movies you have to look past the terrible acting, script, characters, plot points, issues and mistakes. What’s left to enjoy?

The ideas?

The only new ideas I liked in the PT were the podracer vehicles. I still really like all the different designs in both visual and audio. Seems very StarWarsy to me. I also liked the Tuskins takin’ pot-shots.
But I hate the cartoonish racers, the stupid announcers (in design, dialog, and “performance”), the fake-looking spectators, that it’s a big NASCAR type sports event, Jabba and Co.'s involvement, The nonsensical bet surrounding the whole event, the “comedic relief” at the expense of families grieving over the death of loved ones/parents…

But most of all I hate the fact that it sets up Anikin to be a great pilot… but then everything he does at the end of the film is an accident! From taking off, to finding the battle, surviving attack, entering the control ship, stopping in the just right place and facing just the right direction to (again accidentally) fire the missiles to hit the one thing that’ll blow up the whole ship) So there is no payoff at all for having sat through that whole stupid race in the middle of the film.
So even the one aspect I like leaves a bad taste…

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Biggs in ANH edit idea
ROTJ opening edit idea

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The crowds may have been fake, but at least it was a practical effect. 😉

Frink’s version of the Pod Race scene is pretty good.

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Wow I always thought that shot was CGI. Color me impressed, my appreciation for The Phantom Menace has increased slightly.

I decided to add a signature

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ray_afraid said:

SilverWook said:

The crowds may have been fake, but at least it was a practical effect. 😉

I was talking about the close-ups with the worse-than-Cantina rubber masks.

Yeah, some of those guys probably should never have been seen in closeup.

The “human” extras bug me a bit.


We don’t see people remotely dressed like this on Taootine in the the original film, let alone the facepaint.

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