Listen guys, I get it. The wound is still fresh. If I had to sit down and watch either AOTC or TROS, 9 times out of 10 I’d pick AOTC. But that doesn’t mean it’s the better movie, it just means it’s a movie I’ve enjoyed since childhood, and I’m more used to its inadequacies.
Truth be told I’m really tired of the “but at least the prequels ___.” For the most part it’s revisionism. The PT didn’t have any real plan, beyond the mere fact that we knew it would end with Anakin as Vader after taking a tumble in lava. George didn’t have the whole thing mapped out, hell he started shooting AOTC without a finished script and reshot half of it in post-production. On the other hand, there are certain brushstrokes for the ST that have obviously been there from the start as well (Rey takes on the mantle of restoring the order, Kylo Ren is redeemed). Regardless, what I’m sure we all can agree is the best trilogy didn’t have even an inkling of a plan at any point in time, so the approach isn’t inherently bad, regardless of execution.
I also think it’s really disingenuous to say that this trilogy is purely a cynical cash grab, just because it was produced by Disney. Clearly the people working on these movies love Star Wars. JJ and Rian are obviously big fans. Watch any BTS feature and you’ll see the entire cast and crew are completely hyped and thankful for the experience. Even Terrio, whose contributions I despise, is obviously coming from a place of being a massive fan - I just disagree with his perspective on the series in many ways (but then I did with Lucas as well).
“Well, at least AOTC wasn’t reactionary to fan complaints and didn’t resort to cheap fan service.” You sure about that? You don’t think Jar Jar’s reduced role was an accident? You don’t think AOTC feels like a complete 180 from TPM? Way less politics, way more action. Introducing an army of stormtroopers. Shoehorning in Boba Fett and his cool dad and giving him a backstory. Death Star easter egg. A huge fan service moment for Yoda. Doesn’t seem too far off.
And hey, I’m not saying AOTC had no interesting ideas. But if we’re comparing it to TROS, let’s be fair, no? We’re saying TROS had no interesting ideas? Come on. If anything, it had too many, which was part of the problem. But we’re ignoring execution of course, because AOTC fails there. Its romance, while potentially interesting on paper, is one of the least convincing and most cringeworthy relationships in cinema history. But at least it had an interesting love story? Well didn’t TROS as well?
Well alright, both films are a mess, but at least AOTC didn’t slaughter it’s main character. I mean sure, the execution was bad, but Anakin was always supposed to be an unlikeable creep, right? That was the goal? Never to make him a good person who becomes bad. He was supposed to be a piece of shit in AOTC, right? He was never supposed to be friends with Obi-wan, right? Killing innocent people is cool and hot actually, that’s why Padme married him.
Here’s where it lands for me.
They both:
- Have poor pacing
- Nonsensical plotting
- Poor narrative construction
- Do a disservice to their characters
But AOTC:
- Looks like shit
- Has awful dialogue
- Rarely fun
- Bad character dynamics
- Love scenes that are impossible to watch
- Terrible acting
- Barely feels like a Star Wars movie at all
So it’s gonna be TROS for me, sorry.