What do you like about the Prequels?

I love everything but the overreliance on CGI and one or two things about the plot, Anakin and the "no emotions" acting.

Yep, I'm biased.

Sorry but not sorry

 

• Pernilla August - she as Shmi is the unsung hero of the Trilogy.
• Christopher Lee - he had always given 100% to whichever role he played. A true legend.
• John Williams - the score for Prequels is great. Nuff said.
• Frank Oz - Yoda, as long as he's not jumping around with a lazersword, is always great to listen to.
• Ian McDiarmid - he loves to be Palpatine.

There is a lot of recycling when it comes to music in the Prequels and not in the sense of themes being repeated because of the shared nature of them. Both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith contain whole sequences that are scored to music that comes straight from The Phantom Menace. Not only that, in Attack of Clones there are cases where utilization of particular themes makes no sense story-wise (for more info check my profile post on AotC.) I strongly believe after this rewatch that to a significant extent the music of the Prequels is considered as more memorable than the Sequels' music thanks to heavy recycling of themes. There one thing I'll admit, though - TPM's score is amazing.

Better because of recontextualization that TLJ gives or better because of TLJ being "bad?"

 

The best thing in the prequels was Palpatine.

 

I loved to see the Jedi Order - in OT we only saw old Ben and Yoda and heard there were mysterious and powerful Jedi before. Thanks to PT I was able to finally see them. I also loved duels - true, they were more dancing than actually fighting, but I still loved the choreography (maybe except strange Obi-Anakin moment on Mustafar). I also loved the variety and cool ideas of new planets - something ST really lacks. Loved Naboo, loved Courscant, Utapau, Geonosis, Kamino... Of course I also loved Ewan McGregor, but Ian McDiarmid, Pernilla August, Liam Neeson and Christopher Lee were also good. I enjoy to this day the dynamic podrace scene. I also liked starship designs - another thing that is better in PT than in ST.

ST is better done when it comes to dialogues and script in general, but it lacks the imagination used to create PT designs.

 

The brilliance of the prequels, hidden beneath many technical flaws, really comes out when you pull on specific plot threads.

Just trace Anakin's fall into darkness.

In TPM, we learn he can see things before they occur (that's how he pod races so well, we are told). Qui-Gon invites him into the Jedi life, but to do so he will need to deny attachments--even attachment to his own mother. But Anakin agrees, even though still attached to his mother, and perhaps motivated by a new attachment to Padme which will stick with him for years.

Then in AoTC, Anakin has one of his premonitions. His mother will die. It comes true. His attachment and fear lead him into hateful slaughter. His first big attachment has died. In response he doesn't deny attachment, as Qui-Gon's path would dictate, but forms an even deeper attachment to Padme.

Then in RotS, he has yet another premonition. Death is coming for Padme, his remaining emotional attachment. To defeat death, he follows the Sith path, once again giving into fear and anger--and Padme still dies.

But, we learn, there is a power to overcome death. Who had this power? Qui-Gon: the very person who invited Anakin down the Jedi path of non-attachment. The very answer to Anakin's fear was there all along at the very beginning, if only he had followed the Jedi path.

That's beautiful storytelling. Unfortunately it's quite hidden behind poor filmmaking.

 

1. continuity
2. continuity
3. galaxy building
4. sense of scale
5. sound design
6. score
7. Palpatine
8. Force/Jedi/Sith lore and imagery
9. Qui-Gon Ginn
   
10. Coruscant

 

The dynamics between Master Obi and Apprentice Anakin were interresting.
It was quite obvious that Obi was not enough a "master type" in comparison to Yoda. He was more the good friendly uncle for Anakin. That is not always the best way to have authority especially if the "pupil" is as talented as Anakin was.
Whereas Palpatine was more of a "wise" Mentor for Anakin.
The whole social and political circumstances did the boy from Tatooine no favour. Lucas captured that quite well on screen.

 

Episode 1 was particularly special for me. It was the first Star Wars film I saw in theaters after becoming heavily invested in the Expanded Universe novels as a young teenager.

The best part, for me, was the line "I'm taking these people to Coruscant." Before that one line, there had always been a bit of a disconnect between the movies and the books in my mind. But when Qui-Gon said the word "Coruscant" I already knew exactly what it was! I'd flown along with Corran Horn as he helped liberate the world from the clutches of the Empire! I knew everything about it, shiny and nice on the topside, but ugly and dank on the lower levels. Imperial Center, the seat of power for the entire galaxy.

With that one line of dialog, the two universes became one. It was like everything I loved most about Star Wars had been legitimized right there on the silver screen...

Those were truly golden days for my Star Wars fandom. Bittersweet memories now, but for a while there it was grand.

 

Seismic charges

 

-The Score
-Order 66
-The Opera Room Scene
-The Pod Race
-The three way lightsaber duel.
-The battle of Geonosis
-Shmi's death

 

Something else I love about the prequels where you get too see fully fledged Jedi, Not trainee or Padawans, not retired Jedi's, but actual fully fledged Jedi at the height of their power.
In the 10 live action movies, (13 if you include the Ewok Movies and the holiday special) these 3 are the only one where we get to see this and it's awesome!

I hope whatever comes next after 9, we go to a time frame where their are Jedi again, or at least quite alot of good and bad force users in full control of their powers.

 

I'm a child of the OT. And I found it easier to embrace the PT than I did the OT. I'm not claiming that the PT was better. I just found it easier to embrace, because I found it easier to embrace the OT when I got older. It was easier to embrace and appreciate the saga as a whole as an adult, regardless of either trilogy.

I will say this about the PT. I really enjoyed and appreciated how Lucas used his story for this trilogy to convey the moral ambiguity of human nature. I think this was more apparent in the PT than in any other Star Wars movie, aside from "Rogue One".

 

- score
- world building
- relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin (even though I wanted more and better)
- relationship between Anakin and Padme
- Jango Fett
- space action
- Palpatine

 

I love so much about the prequels.

They are the main reason I am still interested in Star Wars today. When I was younger AOTC was my favourite Star Wars film. ESB was too boring for me and ANH and ROTJ were fun but didn't match the prequels in scale. I watched AOTC so many times that I could recite the whole script by heart (still can to some extent). John William's score, the epic lightsaber battles, the beautiful, vibrant planets, and the overarching story absolutely captivated me.

Now that I'm a little older, I recognize the flaws, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying them as fun, pulpy films that are definitely worthy of being Star Wars.

 

I love the scale, world building and "life" of the PT. The OT is great, but it never felt like a "living world" to me. Most of the OT takes place in backwater or barren locations where there's very little in terms of society and cultures, so the OT always felt pretty lifeless and static to me. We also don't really get a sense of why the Empire is the bad guy (except for the Death Star) or what the Rebellion is fighting for; the PT is the exact opposite. We not only get to see the center of galactic civilization, but numerous other cultures and population centers as well, and it really made the galaxy feel alive. We get a sense of the scale of the Clone Wars and why it was being fought, as well as adding more weight to the OT.

I also enjoy the dynamics between Anakin, Obi-wan, Padme, and even Palpatine. Although I think there should have been a greater focus on growing Anakin's relationship with Palpatine throughout the trilogy, not just them suddenly being close in RotS. It should have shared central focus with Anakin and Padme's relationship.

 

That they showed Coruscant in all its glory.

 

The prequels arent my favorite, but some of my favorite Star Wars things are in the prequels. The soundtracks are amazing. Duel of the Fates is my favorite lightsaber battle of the saga. Ian McDiarmid and Ewan McGregor both knocked it out of the park.

 

EVERYTHING

 

My vote is for recontextualization. A favorite moment of mine in TLJ is when Finn and Rey finally reunite on Crait after she lifts the rocks out of the way using the Force. As they embrace and the movie cuts to a close-up of Luke, the music there recalls the tail-end of the Order 66 sequence in ROTS, when Bail Organa is confronted by Clone Troopers on the landing platform after the sacking of the Jedi Temple. Which is really cool if you think about it because the story has kind of come full circle at that point-- the destruction of the Jedi temple, and Luke proclaiming many years later that he is not the last Jedi, linked by a similar-sounding musical passage. A musical throughline cutting across the entire saga.