Trying to watch the Star Wars prequel movies...

[happybird]

it’s not going well. I enjoyed the Obi Wan Kenobi limited series so much, figured I take another look at those three movies before diving into Andor.

I was hoping maybe time and sentimentality would make them better? So far, it’s not.

Gotta say, I do love me some Darth Maul, though.

I do remember when the Phantom Menace first came to theaters. It was Christmastime and my sister, her husband, and I went to see it. Dave and I were all excited afterwards while walking to the car, tossing around theories and just all jazzed up. Then my sister asked a question that, yet again, proved why she is the black sheep of the family, and also was banned from going to Video Den alone to pick out movies:
“So, when on Earth did this supposedly take place?”


There is no feeling like being in the theater, seeing the blue text of, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...” and then that music starts up.

[oregonjen]

1. Same as you, I didn't really enjoy the prequels.

Andor was fantastic! If you haven’t seen Rogue One, watch it after.

[happybird]

2. It's mostly Jar Jar who is annoying the heck out of me

I saw Rouge One when it came out and liked it a lot. It’s also on my watch list while I’ve got this free trial to Disneyplus.

[AllaN01Bear]

3. he backkk. runnnnn.

[oregonjen]

4. Yes! I remember when they came out and I refused to go watch them.

They weren’t my beloved trilogy that I treasured.
My daughter demanded I watch them to have better context for Kenobi. They were okay, but yes, Jar Jar was awful.

[Orrex]

5. Christmastime? Didn't EP1 come out in May 1999?

Regardless, I share your view. So much about the prequels was so bad that there's just no getting past it. Apologists then and now have said "yeah but this" and "yeah but that," but in the end they were crap, with Lucas inflicting his full creative control upon all of us.

Darth Maul was solid and should have been the antagonist through the prequel trilogy, and the arc was set up perfectly. After he killed Qui-Gonn, Kenobi's revenge subplot could have spanned three films only to have him realize in the end that revenge is not the Jedi way.

But nope. He gets his revenge 30 seconds later. Nothing to see here.

I could go on and on, but there's no point. Everyone realizes that they were terrible.


Except for that one woman I met in Ohio, a former NASA engineer, whose house is chock-full of EP1 memorabilia, including a distressing amount of Jar Jar swag. Baffling.

[happybird]

6. I wonder if my sister and BiL were up to visit for Easter?

May seems too late for that, though. They were staying at my parents’s house for some reason, could have sworn it was Christmas. I was in college at the time and home, too. Maybe Spring Break?

Have you ever read the ‘Jar Jar was meant to be a Sith Lord in the style of a Drunken Master’ theory? It’s entertaining as hell and I wish it were true.

[Orrex]

7. Oh yes, I've read that theory!

If true, and if Lucas could have pulled it off, I'd have forgiven him every fart joke, every poop joke, and every terrible line of dialogue leading up to it. Can you imagine the impact of such a revelation, after audiences worldwide had spent ~3 films hating Jar Jar for being a misbegotten attempt to shoehorn unnecessary comic relief?

One comment I read about the theory is that Lucas might have panicked upon realizing just how badly audiences reacted to Jar Jar, so he bagged the whole idea. If that's true, it's a terrible shame.