Is the PT really all that bad?

That’s good old Lucas for you. Having all the ideas in his head for a long time...and improving upon them.

Too bad he did not have someone to advice him more on the execution of it, but all in all, he was a master for creating both the OT and the PT. There’s none to rival it.

 

To answer the OP, no, I most certainly don't think the PT was really all that bad. Though there were some things to like in it, I didn't like TPM when it was released, but I took an instant liking to AOTC and ROTS was almost perfect. There were certainly some bad decisions throughout but all in all, I think it was much better than either TFA and the trainwreck TLJ (despite its numerous flaws, TPM at least felt as a Star Wars movie and the juvenile humor in TPM and TLJ are nearly on the same level though TLJ's is worse).

 

My wife and I actually just re-watched these movies because we weren't sure what we thought of them after so many years. I went into it thinking TPM was a lot better than people gave it credit for, that AOTC was bad but had some pretty cool parts, and that ROTS was overall pretty solid, with bad parts. My ranking of the films didn't really change ( 3-1-2), but it was pretty shocking to see how much I'd glossed over in my memory.

TPM was waaaay worse than I expected. I didn't realize Liam Neeson was so bad at acting with Jar Jar, I had completely forgotten how many times Anakin says "yippeee!" and I had forgotten how creepy the weird age difference between Padme and Anakin was. At the time, I convinced myself I liked it. Now, I'm in shock that I could have been brainwashed by fandom like that. I felt like watching it again let me finally understand the utter disappointment this movie was to generations of Star Wars fans.

AOTC was somehow, incredibly, even worse than TPM! I couldn't believe how much I had chosen to forget about this movie. The acting and dialogue in the romance subpot is just unbearable, the silly plot twists and political intrigue are both stupid and confusing, and the battle at the end wasn't nearly as cool as I remembered. What's really crazy is that if you pay attention, there is not a single action scene from the speeder chase at the beginning until the jango fett chase about 2/3rds of the way through. There's a vast, boring expanse of poorly written and acted talking scenes that stretch on and on and on. This movie is so bad, and so little happens in it, it might as well not even exist.

ROTS was the real shocker of the bunch, because I actually really liked it. Yes there are cringey moments of acting from Anakin, and Padme dying from giving up the will to live is beyond stupid, but especially after seeing episodes 1 and 2, this movie is a huge reward. The downside is that things move so quickly and there's so little time for anything else, because apparently Lucas forgot to make a prequel in the previous two movies and he now has to fit everything into one movie. I think when it first came out I (and probably many other people) was just worn down by the other two movies so I never really gave this one as much of a chance. I was wrong though, this movie is a legit Star Wars movie. Now that I have some fresh perspective on it, I'm gonna alter my pre episode 9 viewing order from having no prequels in it whatsoever to starting the saga with 3 and moving forward from there. So rewatching the prequels exceeded my expectations in that regard.

But yeah, overall these movies ARE really that bad. ROTS sort of saves the day at the end, but it's still seriously held back by the movies that proceeded it. Episodes 1 and 2 come across as almost amateur movies, and Episode 3 holds on by the seat of it's pants and succeeds at being only corny. It's still nowhere near any of the OT or the current movies. If you find yourself arguing that TFA or TLJ are worse than the prequels, please watch the prequels again. What the prequels could have been and what they are is truly heartbreaking.

 

Maybe 4, 5, 3, 6?

 

I just watched Revenge of the Sith on my 4K tv and it looks like a damn horses ass. Hoping for a massive box set with a face lift for each movie. It'd be really cool if it also had an Original Cut of the OT but with the exteriors/backgrounds from the Special Edition. I think that would be a good compromise.

Also, ROTS is the only passable prequel. The last 20 minutes of Phantom Menace are obviously badass aside from Anakin flying the Naboo fighter into the droid ship. It just wasn't smart or tasteful to kill Darth Maul. I know it happened so Obi-wan could ascend, it just wasn't done well. He could have defeated Maul without a definitive blow.

Attack of the Clones? Nah, fam. I'm good.

 

The prequels are a guilty pleasure for me.

 

"Is the PT really all that bad?"

Yes.

 

When TPM and AOTC came out, I was young enough to see nothing wrong with those movies, I just loved every part of them. But ROTS is the first time I remember sitting in a theater and thinking "this is kinda cheesy," specifically the battle droid humor in the first act. You can dismiss some of this stuff by saying "Star Wars is for kids!" But even at 12 or whatever, I could tell it was a bit silly.

That said I still really enjoy these movies and there's a lot of cool stuff in them.

 

No, I don't think so.

Moderator edit:

Please stay on topic.

 

I love how @Bradford Tyllestad argued.
How one may not agree with him after this convincing pleading ?

- Is this ok ?
- No.
- Ah, and why ?
- No.
- But can you explain ?
- No.
- Just a little bit, in order to see why ?
- No.

 

I watched the anti-cheese edits recently and those cuts are watchable. I can sit through those. I still can't do that with TLJ.

Yes they are that bad but something can be found in them.

 

No.

 

I LOVED the Revenge of the Sith when it came out and I still do. There are parts of AOTC that I enjoy, and parts that make me cringe. TPM is the same way. But the parts I like, especially in TPM, I really like. I really like seeing Palpatine manipulate the events in AOTC. I also like seeing Obi-Wan doing Jedi things. I can never get enough Obi-Wan. I totally get that the effects didn't age well and Lucas shouldn't have relied entirely on CGI. But the story I like (the execution of said story was definitely a problem).

 

The PT story is great and holds up, but it’s the execution that falls flat for me. Ironically, I think the ST movies are executed well, but the story is unoriginal and falls flat for me.

 

For me, The PT expands the story. GL made a mistake, and made the PT for a new generation of young fans which upset the hardcore fan base, something JJ with TFA didn't do, yet lesson learned you can't please everyone. RJ made an honest story that a good writer would do, yet he upset most fans. Now the rehash king JJ is back, and the same fans that were complaining about TFA's rehash is hoping he will salvage the ST. Lessoned learned, love the PT for what it is. Don't listen to the spoiled angry fan base. Love the films for what they are not what you hope they would be. I've enjoyed every iteration because I don't expect this or that to happen, or want what I want to happen.

 

I thought it was good. Sure, you can nit pick and there is Jar Jar… but it was a good story.

 

What did you do that for?

--- Double Post Merged, Jan 10, 2019, Original Post Date: Jan 10, 2019 ---

I had no problem with the execution of the PT. To be honest, I don't have a problem with the execution of "TFA", even if I didn't care for it. But I definitely had a problem with the execution with "TLJ".

 

I've always enjoyed the prequels. It was such a fun time to be a fan. After the dark years the promise of a new story telling the rise & fall of Anakin was super exciting. They greatly expanded the mythos and breathed new life into the Star Wars universe. They have their flaws but so does the OT. For all the crap Lucas gets for them I can appreciate that as an artist he got to tell the story he wanted to tell without restrictions. It wasn't perfect but I prefer an artists true vision of their work warts and all.

 

No. The story is amazing!!!

It's the execution of the story that lets it down.

 

Absolutely no pun intended for you @Darth Wardawg , but I don't understand how one complains about "the CGI effects that aged in TPM" while not saying a word about the non-realistic "DS 1 explosion (or Alderaan explosion) in ANH".
I find it useless to complain about the effects 20 years after they were created. It would be like complaining about Charlie Chaplin's movies because they are black and white. Or complaining about 1920's movies because they are silent.

The PT expanded the SW universe in a way that was astounding : Maul's double saber, the underwater Gungan city, the luxuriant Naboo, Dooku's spaceship, the Clones, Coruscant, Felucia, Utapau, Geonosis' monsters (Acklay, Nexu and Reek) who where the "modern Banthas", Grievous...

What was good in the PT, overall, is like was good in the Titanic movie : everyone knows how this will end... the unknown is: how will all of this happen?