Now that the new Star Wars sequels are coming out and they feature the welcome return of Harrison Ford’s Han Solo, Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker, and Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia, there is much rejoicing along with some serious anticipation among the Star Wars fanbase.
Of course, there was similar rejoicing not so very long ago when word came that George Lucas, the director and writer of the original Star Wars film and the overseer (until these sequels) of the Star Wars empire, was working on a Prequel Trilogy.
My how things went sour so quickly!
Today, there are few who would argue the Star Wars prequels are worthy of much. Of the three prequel films, perhaps the final feature, which finds a young Anakin Skywalker becomiing the fearsome Darth Vader, is the one that people may like the most.
Or perhaps the one they hate the least
I’ve made my opinions of the original Star Wars films evident over the years (in short: I never liked them all that much, even though back in 1977 I was of the proper age and was crazy about sci-fi, For whatever reason, these films never really clicked for me).
Even though I’m not a fan of the original trilogy, I find the prequels far worse. Why? Because while they feature some truly fantastic special effects, the story presented within them is alternately boring, childish (especially that first movie), silly (some of the dialogue goes beyond silly and into cringe-worthy territory), and boring (did I mention this already?).
Anyway, David Steward delves a little deeper into the why’s regarding fan hatred of the Star Wars prequels:
Why Does Everyone Hate the Star Wars Prequels?
I think he nails it. The Prequels, unfortunately, were a victim of being not very good films that were released to a legion of fans who hoped for -nay, demanded!- new Star Wars films that were on par with the previous films. Expectations, alas, have a way of being overblown.
But here’s the thing: Most people who grew up loving Star Wars are older, wiser (yeah, right!), and -I’m especially guilty of this- view things through nostalgic eyes.
There are things that, as a child, I absolutely loved. Then, many years later and as an adult, I would go back to them and find they didn’t live up to my original nostalgic conceptions. I loved Ron Howard’s first directed film, Grand Theft Auto (it has nothing to do with the video games), but when years later I bought and started watching the DVD release of it, I couldn’t last more than 15 minutes before shutting it off.
Time has a way of changing our enjoyment of certain things. Movie pacing, for instance, has changed considerably. Further, CGI effects have quite literally opened worlds to filmmakers and allowed them to present things there was no way they could back in the day.
I strongly suspect today’s 11 year olds will not see the original, untampered Star Wars as an 11 year old did back in 1977.
But the bottom line remains as always: For a movie to be successful, you have to present a good, interesting story along with interesting characters that draw viewers into your work. While I can acknowledge the original Star Wars trilogy did this, the prequels failed to do so.
Are the prequels worth all the hate?
Perhaps not. While they are, in my opinion, worse than the original Star Wars films (films I didn’t like all that much to begin with), I’ve certainly seen far more inept works in my lifetime. The prequels, when you get down to it, are mediocre to below mediocre films that unfortunately focused on boring subject matters (trade deals?) to fill out their storyline and give their makers an excuse to show us some (then) state of the art CGI effects.
Those who lived and breathed all things Star Wars probably felt/feel the prequels were nothing less than a betrayal of their long held -and nostalgic- love for the original movies, and anything that trampled on those cherished feelings hurt them all the more.
Will the new Star Wars films defy or at least reach fan expectations…or will they fall like the prequels did?
Only time will tell.