So much Star Wars recently. Galaxy's Edge opened at both Disneyland and Disney World, The Mandalorian came out on Disney +, the much anticipated Rise of the Resistance debuted at Galaxy's Edge in Hollywood Studios, the Rise of Skywalker came out in theaters, and Star Tours debuted new scenes based on Rise of Skywalker. All of that doesn't even reach into the video game world where Star Wars Battlefront II released a massive content update and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order recently came out as well. It seems like the last half of 2019 was themed around that galaxy far far away. So I feel like now is the perfect time for me to throw a bunch of opinions out there on Star Wars. These are my opinions on the Star Wars movies, some of the video games, and the presence of Star Wars in the Disney Parks. Just remember, these are my opinions on these science fiction works. They are not right and they are not wrong, they are what I believe. If you disagree that is fine, you are just entitled to your opinion as I am mine. Also. Spoilers ahead. Duh.
The Prequels
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
The prequels will always hold an interesting spot in my heart as far as Star Wars movies go. These were the three Star Wars movies I grew up seeing in theaters. I had seen episodes IV, V, and VI before, but episode I was the first I saw on the big screen. Often seen as one of the worst Star Wars movies, I've recently come to find some good in episode I. While it is nowhere near my favorite Star Wars movie, to me it isn't the worst. Yes Jar Jar Binks is completely annoying and really needs to just go away, and yes there are script/story issues throughout, but there are still some really cool moments that I cannot help but enjoy. The lightsaber duel between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Maul is one of my favorite of any Star Wars movie. Couple that with one of the most incredible music tracks of any Star Wars film in Duel of the Fates and the entire scene just works.
Pod Racing was visually outstanding for the time and I always found it neat to see some sport in a Star Wars movie. Honestly I wish it was brought back for a certain later movie that I'll get into later. I also really liked the idea of the Gungans. Yes Jar Jar is annoying as anything, but the idea that a planet's largest military force exists underwater and utilizes weaponry that were certainly not used to seeing in a Star Wars movie I always thought was pretty cool. Especially when the Gungan Grand Army was able to hold off the vastly superior Trade Federation army for so long. I'd also be silly not to mention Darth Maul. Of all the Sith that we see through the years of Star Wars, none of them look as intimidating as Darth Maul. Even Palpatine himself doesn't bring that horror feel that Maul does simply by looking the way he does. It's a shame that as far as movies go this is the only time we see him outside of a brief cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story. Yes we do see him in a couple of the animated series as well, but man did he look awesome in this movie.
Episode I I feel had such incredibly high, almost impossible to reach expectations that when the movie failed to live up to it, a lot of people turned on it super hard. Again, this is not a great Star Wars movie, but I feel like it did enough to set the stage of the Clone Wars. Was it needed? Probably not, but it did introduce several important characters in Padme, Darth Maul, Mace Windu, and Anakin who would all become important characters throughout the clone wars and in Anakin's case, beyond.
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
For quite a while I really enjoyed Episode II, however recently it has dropped to my least favorite of the Star Wars movies. While it does offer some awesome visuals from the time and when there is action, it's good action, the majority of the movie feels like a drag. I understand that the purpose of the prequels was to tell the story of Anakin Skywalker and the fall of the Republic. That being said I feel like a lot was somehow missed. By the time the movie starts Anakin is already on that slow path to the dark side. It doesn't take long at all to see this without any word on his earlier training.
I also wish that this movie didn't have Padme falling in love with Anakin while he was already starting to waver. So much of this movie harps on the relationship between the two, but I feel like the entire time Anakin is borderline creepy and while Padme is at first shooting him down, after he slaughters all the tusken raiders she basically gives herself to him. I'm not going to bash any actors on here, but the acting is kind of all over the place with some, Christopher Lee, standing out against others that are much weaker, but in bigger roles. You can probably figure out what I'm talking about if you've seen the movie. I don't dislike everything about this movie though.
Seeing the Jedi younglings training was pretty cool. While overstaying its welcome a bit, the chase scene of Coruscant was visually appealing. The battle of Geonosis from the time Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan are chained to the pillars against three beasts to the end is a good time. In that fight we see all kinds of Jedi fighting, Jango Fett dying, Padme kicking some serious tail, the Republic army debuting, as well as some awesome looking new droids of the Confederacy. We also get to see the Death Star plans in the hands of the Confedercy (yet still in the hands of Palpatine anyway). We also get to see Yoda fighting. Yes, the lightsaber battles were crazy in the prequels and involved a lot of flipping and other craziness that would vanish afterwords, but it was so much fun to watch. Perhaps the most important thing and stand out thing to me is Count Dooku literally telling Obi-Wan the truth about the Republic being run by the Sith and Obi-Wan refusing to believe him.
I also want to point out that I have a pretty big interest in the army of the Confederacy. While the army of the Trade Federation in Episode I was largely comprised of AAT tanks, Battle Droids, and Destroyer Droids, the Separatist army was much, much more varied. In addition to the Trade Federation's droids from the previous movie, a slew of new droids including the B2 Super Battle Droid, Spider Droids, Dwarf Spider Droids, and the Hailfire Droid can be seen fighting on the battle of Geonosis. For some reason the droid army always fascinated me. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I always thought it was pretty cool to see so many different droids on the battlefield. I also found it more interesting in that the Confederacy was more of an unknown. By that I mean it's no secret that the Republic eventually became the Galactic Empire. It's also no secret that Palpatine was behind the scenes of the Republic. What was cool to see was the dynamic of Palpatine running the Republic and then Darth Sidious behind the Confederacy. By the end of the Clone Wars it really feels like the Republic was the enemy and the Separatists were in the right all along. That of course is up for debate, but the Confederacy is such an interesting faction in Star Wars in my opinion.
All of that good though can't make the movie awesome for me. I'll still watch it, but I'd watch pretty much any Star Wars movie before it. It's kind of funny to me because when it came out I really loved it, but as I've gotten older more and more about it bothers me. It's still Star Wars though so while there are things I have issue with I still can find enjoyment in watching it.
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
The prequels end with Anakin fully turning to the dark side and becoming Darth Vader. This movie has always been my favorite of the prequels and on my most recent watch just before Rise of Skywalker came out, I enjoyed it more than ever. I feel like most people I talk to say if they are going to watch a prequel movie, this is the one they watch. It is certainly the most important one hands down too. If I didn't find the entirety of the Clone Wars interesting, I'd say that neither Episode I nor II were even necessary to watch to fully grasp the story of Star Wars (to this point at episode IX). Really the Clone Wars animated show has more lead into this movie than Episode II does. That's for another time though. Episode III focuses on Anakin's final turn from the light to the dark and culminates in a lengthy battle with his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Again, I don't want to bash actors here, but Anakin remains pretty weak compared to Padme, Palpatine, and Obi-Wan. At times this makes it difficult to take him seriously. Still though I found myself sympathizing with he was going through in this movie. Granted I felt more for the character in general, not really what I was seeing on screen due to the acting... Anyway... The opening scene I thought was a bit over the top once General Greivous's ship begins to crash, but the space battle itself between the Republic and Confederacy I thought was an awesome way to jump start the movie.
Compared to Attack of the Clones, this movie is high paced. There were very few times where things were "quiet" in this movie. One thing always led to another and usually with tragic consequences for one of the characters. Once Order 66 is issued you can feel the betrayal just as hard as Yoda. Granted we all knew it was coming as Palpatine reveals himself as the Sith Lord, but I still felt that sting as we watch Jedi after Jedi fall to the clone army. After the order we really see Anakin rapidly fall into madness, a madness that continues right to his very defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
It's all incredibly emotionally charged and for the vast majority of the movie it works. There are a couple things I've always pondered though and it could just be nit picks. The biggest of these probably being when Palpatine is telling Anakin the story of Darth Plagueis, Anakin doesn't seem to be really suspicious about the fact that Palpatine knows the story even after revealing that the story is not one that would be told by a Jedi. Even when he finally finds out that Palpatine is actually Darth Sidious, again he doesn't really react. Yeah he goes and tells the Jedi, but there is no shock or anything that the guy whom he had been working along side turned out to be the guy the Jedi were worried about all along.
The final battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan is so intense it is almost palpable. It is such a dramatic fight filled with amazing music and cool visual effects and screams heartbreak the entire time. Obi-Wan heart broken over the loss of the man whom he considered his brother. Heartbreak from Padme over the loss of the man she loves. Even heartbreak and pure rage from Anakin under the belief that Obi-Wan had turned Padme against him. It's all very well done and ends in the dramatic end of Anakin as we saw him in the prequels and gives birth to the Darth Vader we all know.
Of the three prequel movies, Revenge of the Sith is easily my favorite. I've beaten this to death, but it is an emotionally charged adventure that we already know the ending to before the movie even starts. We know the tragedy is coming and all we can do is sit back and watch it unfold in an ultimate betrayal on so many different levels. We watch a character that started out as a child literally break and become a monster. We watch his teacher do all he can to save his student and fail. We watch as the last hopes of the galaxy are hidden away on two very different planets. We watch as the Empire is born. It's all done in one movie and that movie, while certainly not perfect, is worthy of being talked about alongside the original trilogy.
Closing
I feel like the prequels are going to be forever looked at with controversy. I don't think they are ever going to be celebrated like the original trilogy and overall I think that's fair. While I personally can watch any of them at any time and find something to enjoy, I know a lot of people take issue with a lot more things in these movies than I do. I know a lot of people view Episode I as such a departure from what came before and has a character in it that literally somehow ruined the movie by himself. I know that Episode II will likely be looked at as a movie with a loose plot, bad acting by the lead actor, and a questionable script. Episode III will probably stay as the acceptable movie that is just not as good as the original trilogy, but one that can be talked about along side them. Whether or not you fall into those camps is totally okay. For me the prequels are all still worth a watch despite their flaws. They still tell the story of how Darth Vader came to be, how the Jedi fell, how Yoda and Obi-Wan ended up secluded, told the origin of Boba Fett, had some really cool lightsaber battles, featured a ton of interesting character, and most importantly shoiwed how Palpatine manipulated the galaxy and ascended to power.
The Skywalker saga stretches on for now nine movies with a few extra goodies thrown in. In-between these movies though so much more happened. I am only now discovering the animated series, The Clone Wars, which bridges the gap between episodes II and III. When it originally aired on TV I wasn't able to consistently watch it, but now that it is on Disney + I've started watching it and really it has brought my interest back to the prequel era. I can't comment much on it since I am still on season one, but so far I like what I have seen despite the animation not being my favorite style by any means. Perhaps once I finish it I'll give my thoughts on that.
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