What one element would you change of the Prequels?

I would have had Anakin the same age in Episode I as Luke was in Episode IV, and that would have enabled Lucas to use the same actor for all 3 movies. Episode I should have been about Kenobi finding Anakin and showing them as great friends as they save the Queen and Naboo. That way Lucas could have started showing the cracks in Anakin's personality in Episode II, and not having to worry about establishing his friendship with Obiwan in the next 2 movies like was forced to in the PT.

 

There's a lot I would change, but for me the biggest sticking point is the rule of two for the Sith.

I mostly find it incredulous that there would only be two Sith in the galaxy at any one time. Plus I wanted to see massive battles with armies of Sith vs. armies of Jedi.

 

I have to agree with this assessment. I think the Anakin/Amidala relationship would have worked better for me if they were closer in age, and Episode I told the story of them falling in love. I think Episode II could have then dealt with Anakin's journey to the dark side, perhaps even involving Obi-Wan in a love triangle, and Episode III could have then focused on the establishment of the Empire with a young Darth Vader.

 

I know you want one but overall, I would enter better dialogue, more matte painting replacing CGI, a change in the humor, and a slower pace to fight scenes, there seemed to be to much going on.

The Phantom Menace: I would liked to have seen one of Queen Amidala's decoy's be a clone, with Padme the real Queen.
Jar Jar was fine, but there was to much at times, I never thought I'd see a fart joke in Star Wars. (prior to pod race).
Darth Maul's death came to soon, it could have went longer with a more dramatic scene.

Attack of the Clones: C-3PO in the droid factory should be deleted.
The romantic scenes more romantic and not so uncomfortable.

Revenge of the Sith: Everything seemed rushed, the movie should have been in two parts because it should have been longer and slower paced.
Too many close calls in Palpatine's rescue, especially the elevator shaft.
Dooku battle with Anakin & Obi-Wan a little longer and dramatic.

 

A big problem I had with the 3 prequel films was how painfully obvious it was that Sen Palpatine was really the "Emperior".
In a few scenes you'd think a character like Pademe or Bail Oregana or some Jedi Master would say; "hold on a sec" or "wait a tic".
With "thousands" of different star systems & senate members wouldn't one of them or a group want to question Palpatine? Even in the US Congress & US senate are sub-groups/divisions.

George Lucas should have down played the "Emperor" scenes in The Phantom Menace, then slowly pulled him out in Attack of the Clones(like his limited, holographic image in TESB) then in Revenge of the Sith, expose him fully.

 

The casting.

Christopher Lee as Count Dooku? Now I'm not saying Lee can't act - he's a very good actor. But the Episode II fight scenes with Christopher Lee were a total disappointment after watching the brilliance of Ray Park as Darth Maul in Episode One. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief long enough to enjoy the fights. Lawrence Fishbourne would have made an excellent Count Dooku.

Hayden Christensen did a pretty good job in Episode III, but I felt he was too old for the part in Episode II. The dialogue seemed like it was written for a 14 year old kid, just discovering hormones. A younger actor should have been cast, or the dialogue rewritten for an older actor.

Jake Lloyd was cute, but his lines were so forced it was painful.

I know the CG distracted from the story, and it gets a lot of blame for the Prequals not living up to expectations. But the acting and casting were just as distracting as the CG.

 

I thought Lee was a great choice for a Star Wars character. He was already well known with younger audiences for the Lord of the Rings films. Lee did well in the role but I agree the fight scene in ROTS had a lot of problems.
The big issue is pacing & time. The first versions of Revenge of the Sith ran 3h45min & then 3hr.
Lucas and the producers didn't want the film to drag on which I could get but the final movie had to clear up all the story points & tie into the events of A New Hope.

The opening of ROTS thrust the viewers into it without really explaining what was going on.

 

Only one thing? Hm, tough decision... Getting rid of all the bad comedy and forced comic-relief, including but not limited to Jar-Jar Binks. However, I sort of agree with jedi77-83 about starting with Anakin in his late teen years or early twenties instead of giving us this sickly sweet child, or maybe keep him a child but making him a darker character, like Damien Thorn from the Omen films, perhaps.

 

Many of the members here are bringing up points to make the story or characters better but, you need to factor in the HUGE demand for toys/games/action figures/etc.
The producers & the studio(Fox) wanted to "cash in" on this segment of the market.
Lucas put these elements in the movies it's just the - way they lead to the problems/flaws later.
Jake Llyod, Jar-Jar, potty jokes, etc.

TheFettMan

 

Ceruleanlord said:

'The romantic scenes more romantic and not so uncomfortable.'

I have to agree here. I found the long winded love affair between Anakin and Padme 'uncomfortable' and just too long.

Also not happy with the way Jango was dealt with in Clones, I have never really been drawn to Temeura Morrison and I thought he did not do justice to the character of Fett. It kind of took a little too much of the mystique away from a cult character.

 

I have to agree about Padme's death. I think that to show Vader's true evil, the choking scene should have been the reason she died. The broken heart death was just too difficult to believe. I would also liked to have seen a young Han Solo in the final montage of the ROTS. They could have had a young boy in the Han outfit standing with the people at Padme's funeral. I mean they showed Chewbacca for goodness sake, you couldn't show a young Han!!!!!

 

I would make it less shiny. Less CGI. Make the ships less sleek. Most of it didn't LOOK very Star Wars.

 

One thing...oh my. There is approximately one thing I would *not* change....

...but all right. I'd bring in Jude Law as young man Anakin Skywalker. I know I am the only one in the universe thinking this but I always thought Law would be an excellent young man found by Obi-Wan Kenobi.

 

Can I ad another thing? Ok, I'm adding another thing I would change: Battle Droids.

 

I agree with most of the points people would have changed in the films, but I would change something else that has yet to be discussed.

I would totally revise Yoda to be the character he was in the original trilogy. I would have never made him a general, or be directly involved in The Clone Wars since "War does not make one great." It would also follow into the continuity of Obi-Wan being "ruthless," if Yoda didn't fight in the War. It would require a great deal of rewriting all three movies to accommodate this kind of character, but I would be totally okay with that, lol. Moreover, I really wish Lucas would have stuck to his guns about this character not wielding a lightsaber. It felt like complete fan service. As an added bonus, I would have never have heard "Who da man? You da man! Yoda the man!"

 

Oops meant reckless, not ruthless

 

I respectfully disagree. I think that the toys would have sold more if the films and characters were more beloved. For example, the Darth Maul toys were selling very well, while most of the other merchandise was so over produced (in anticipation of a higher demand) that they ended up heavily slashing prices.

 

Can agree that if the characters were 'more loved' then in the end there would be more sales. I also think that Yoda as a General made him a little less of a pure Jedi Master of the FORCE. But unfortunately there are many out there, me included, who just wanted to see Yoda use his own Saber Knowledge. I have been slammed on other Threads for this idea but i still believe it resonates. There is a curiosity created from the minute Yoda starts rummaging through Lukes lunch on Dagobah: how did this little creature ever defend himself against the Sith and clones in the Clone Wars.

George Lucas thought we wanted to see it. I thought people wanted to see it. Especially if fans want to argue that midichlorians are a bad idea. Then how did a sentient being ever learn to fight with his hands?

But you know what i'm starting a new thread!