Star Wars Retrospective

While its common knowledge that this is one of the most universally hated movies in the last twenty years. Let me just say I don’t hate it…I don’t hate it. But I don’t love it either. I understand why fans do not like this movie but I always felt the hate it got was really exaggerated. I always thought The Phantom Menace, for the most part, is just an okay movie. I don’t think you guys can tell but I’m from the generation that was brought up on the special edition and the prequels. (And don’t think that does not give me a voice says what I think about these movies) So I guess I been a little softer on it or something. For the most part, I do like where the movie starts for the prequel since we have to start somewhere. The pod-racing scene while it’s pointless and drags the movie it a cool scene. Darth Maul was definitely one of the highlights of the films and definitely on the iconography for the prequel as the duel of fates is one of the all-time best lightsaber fights in the Saga I also do like to how C-3P0 and R2-D2 meet. And everybody did a good job with the material they had. Liam Neeson was good as Qui-Gon, Ewan McGregor was good as Obi-Wan, Natalie Portman was good as Padme and Jake Lloyd was okay as Anakin people seem to really not like his performance which I don’t understand because it like he a kid I don’t usually see kids do acting that are incredibly Oscar-worthy. But I think a genuine problem for me at least is the story. It too hard to follow, it not interesting and part of it felt too kiddie-ish. The movie also has a heavy use of CG with did not age well and looks like cut scenes from a PS1 game. And Jar-Jar (uggh) definitely not one of my favorite things in this movie. Star Wars humor tends to derive from the interactions of the characters and funny things in the background. But to have all the humor be in one character while none of the other characters are humorless doesn’t work. Also, Jar-Jar is just on the most ridiculous thing I ever looked at on the screen. So that The Phantom Menace not bad, not good either just a mixed bag.

Now for the longest time Attack of the Clones was the one I have seen the least and every time I do watch it I remember why for that reason. For the longest time, it was my least favorite Star Wars film more than The Phantom Menace but now I have to think which one I hate more. But nowadays I just think Attack of the Clones is also just okay. While I do like it is that it's action-packed and the action is pretty much it for me what is have going for especially Yoda’s fight which most people don’t like but I find it to be one of my favorite scenes in the prequels. I do like Christopher Lee as Count Dooku I’m a huge fan of hammer horror and I’m glad to see someone else think the Hammer aesthetic is cool too. I even like that they gave the origins to Boba Fett my favorite character in Star Wars. With the acting everybody did okay but the elephant in the room is Hayden Christensen as Anakin, is there’s one criticism to the prequel that everybody points out is Christensen’s performance now I get why people don’t like it. Because he does come off as whiny in some instance (and yeah that line about sand isn’t helping either) but I don’t know if this what I would have to envision a young Darth Vader to act and look like…this is it. Angry, full of himself, has some things that foreshadow his fall into the dark side and all that. Even the scene where he ranting about his mother’s death people tends to say that’s where they can’t take him seriously and it like bruh his mom just died in his arms anybody would in his situation have that reaction. I think where a character like Anakin fails is alike Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender actually succeeds. Even though the characters arc end with different outcomes. I think what Zuko a stronger is because he wasn’t so one-note. Even the romance between Anakin and Padme is not that interesting maybe because there’s literally no chemistry between they kind of say they’re in love with each other and boom next there married at the end. And just for the rest of the movie, I don’t think it’s interesting I think it full of fillers but my feelings for it are different now again I just think it’s okay but at least gave us two great tv shows.

While Revenge of the Sith is not my absolute favorite movie of the saga but it’s definitely up there, I think why it’s called the best of the prequel it’s because it does what a prequel supposed to do answer all your questions. To me, I think the Star Wars prequel is a prime example of what movie prequels are. People still say it’s bad but here I do think that’s a big exaggeration. While to me it’s pretty good it not a great movie. But for the most, it’s pretty solid. It has incredible action scenes, some really good dialogue and performance one it has one of my favorite scenes in all of Star Wars about the tragedy of Darth Plagues, Everybody has an almost 100% top performance especially Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine he’s been in seven of all nine films and this is one where he shines the most this is his movie you can’t even take your off of him. That being said most of the dialogue is kind of weak and has to be some of the worst in all of Star Wars (you know like NOOOOOOO!, I have the high ground, he killed…younglings) that what for me make it stop from being on par with the originals. But that being said I do like how it does seg ways into A New Hope and how it retroactively a finale to The Clone Wars along with being darker and more tragic than the previous two as if Lucas finally heard all the complaints and got his shit together. Also, it, not just Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen and everybody else does it great. It has great music like the temple. Again lightsaber fight Anakin dueling Obi-Wan on the volcano planet is one of the best duels in the franchise and even though I saw this movie a million times it always nerve-wracking to know what’s going to happen because it student vs. teacher the ultimate failure. I think a lot of the performances do make it sad when all your favorite Jedis get eliminated during Order 66. So yeah Revenge of the Sith almost the best.