Star Wars Prequels

The Star Wars prequel trilogy, which was one of the most anticipated series of films ever,  has become one of the most maligned set of films, mostly by people like myself who grew up watching the original trilogy, when that type of film was completely new. 

Overall my thoughts are this on the prequel trilogy.  The films are technologically superior to the original films but less inspired.  The original universe looked lived in whereas this one is much shinier and glossy largely because it was created with digital effects as opposed to practical ones.  If the original films take place during the Depression then the prequels are the Roaring 20s. 

George Lucas has received many nasty comments and has even been the subject of a documentary (The People vs. George Lucas) as a result of the prequel trilogy and also the Indiana Jones film, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which he produced as a late entry to the Indiana Jones series.   Crystal Skull was also poorly received (although like the Star Wars prequels, extremely successful at the box office) and was by far the least impressive film of that series in my opinion.

While I think the prequels are watchable and entertaining there are two main problems: the dialogue and the acting.  In both cases Lucas was directly responsible since he wrote the scripts for all three films (and co-wrote Attack of the Clones with Jonathan Hales-one of the staff writers for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles) directed all three. 

Nonetheless, the stories are, to me interesting; Lucas has always been strong with crafting a tale and giving his characters good arcs.  Anakin as a character is well drawn in my opinion and Palpatine’s rise to power is effective. But a film of this stature should not have people saying lines like: “Many things will change but my caring for you will remain”.  Lucas desperately needed a co-writer like Lawrence Kasdan, who he had the good sense to hire for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, who would not be utterly subservient to Lucas and would strengthen the dialogue and tell Lucas when something did not work.  Lucas hires the absolute best talent for all other aspects of these films (stunts, effects, set design, music, etc.), I do not know why he would not want the best writers involved.  It almost seems as though he did not want to lose creative control or welcome outside ideas in the script stage which is absurd since as the producer and owner of the franchise he could have vetoed anything he wanted.

The acting also suffers despite a strong cast for these films.  It is as though the actors revered Lucas too much to challenge any direction he gave whereas he probably hired them for what they would bring to their roles.  Ewan McGregor is solid as Obi Wan but nothing more and he is, in other roles, a fantastic actor.  Natalie Portman, who I like an actress, especially in The Professional and Black Swan, is beautiful in the last two films especially and always conveys intelligence well but seems out of place in this fantasy series.  Hayden Christensen, with the trickiest role, plays the physical part of Anakin well but his line readings are too stiff.  The forced banter between Christensen and McGregor in the early scenes of Attack of the Clones is dreadful but it does improve over the next film and a half.  The love scenes in Attack of the Clones are badly written but the pairing of Portman and Christensen is better when the film is not trying to stuff it down our throats but letting it grow organically (ie they are working together in battle or Padme is consoling Anakin after the death of his mother).  Terence Stamp, another great actor (who scared me to death as a child playing General Zod in Superman II) in his brief appearance in episode I is very wooden.

There are only two really memorable acting performances in the three films.  Ian McDiarmid is great as Palpatine who over the course of the trilogy is scheming to take over the Republic from within.  Revenge of the Sith is his showcase film and he makes for a very strong villain.  Liam Neeson brings his strong screen presence and wisdom to the role of Qui Gon, the main saving grace of The Phantom Menace.

When I look at the behinds the scenes features of the films I see that much of the time the actors were acting against a blue screen.  This is just a theory but perhaps the fact that McDiarmid and Neeson have done so much stage work helped them invent this environment in their minds.

There is no giant space battle in any of the three films whereas each of the three original films had at least two or three memorable space sequences.  The only one of note is the opening sequence in Revenge of the Sith just above Coruscant and even that mainly focuses on the only two fighters manned by Obi Wan and Anakin and not on the potentially more interesting larger battle involving the other ships.

The general public reaction to the films were that Phantom Menace was a big disappointment (Jar Jar and Jake Lloyd being the scapegoats), Attack of the Clones was slightly better (though Hayden Christensen “won” a Razzie for Worst Actor)  and Revenge of the Sith was seen as the best of the three but that was not necessarily saying much.

Here are a few thoughts on each of the three films:

Phantom Menace:

Things I liked:

Liam Neeson makes the film watchable with his presence and commitment to the character.  Lucas could not have cast a better Jedi .  The scene in which he says “I give you my word” seems to be a throwback to his role in Rob Roy, since he says it in the same tone as in that character and it was one of Rob Roy’s guiding principles.

Ian McDiarmid has a lot of fun reprising the sinister Darth Sidious and we also get to see him as the cleverly devious Senator Palpatine. 

Darth Maul is very menacing with the low voice, quick movements and the red horned make-up. 

Pernilla August brings a lot of tortured warmth to her role as Shmi Skywalker, Anakin’s mother.  She gives the film what little heart it has and her performance in the scene where she says goodbye to Anakin is touching.  She conveys her mixed emotions (pain at losing her son combined with her relief that she is being freed from his ordeal) beautifully, and is helped by the John Williams score.

John Williams’ score is very strong and is on par with his previous Star Wars work.  The Duel of the Fates theme is rousing and dramatic and the chorus is a strong touch.

The final lightsaber duel is well choreographed and exciting.

The slight theme of the Imperial March on the soundtrack when Yoda says to Obi Wan that he fears for Anakin’s future is effective foreshadowing.

Things I did not like:

The plot seems to often be an excuse to send the characters to different environments (Naboo, Tatooine, Coruscant, and then Naboo again) without much thrust.

In particular the sequence in which Qui Gon, Obi Wan, and Jar Jar go to the underwater city just to come back does absolutely nothing except set up the tension between the Gunguns and the other citizens of Naboo.  But otherwise there is no reason to go there or come back.

Queen Amidala is a noble but somewhat ridiculous character with her hairstyles and faux English accent which is completely shed in Episodes II and III; perhaps her Padme voice is the real one and the Queen one is supposed to be the decoy. 

Jar Jar is a failed character, somewhat representative of the films themselves in that technologically he is a marvel (one of the first computer generated characters) but his dialogue is dreadful.  He occupies too much of the film with forced gags, always causing mishaps that often were not funny.

Jake Lloyd as Anakin was almost as maligned as Jar Jar but somewhat unfairly.  He was as good as could be in a role with good intentions but too much unbelievable actions (ie Anakin saving the day in the climax by accident).  If he had been directed with a few more shadings the character, who already is extremely capable, might have come off better.

Ewan McGregor has very little to do in this film except fight robots. 

The non lightsaber parts of the climax were visually impressive but uninvolving, especially the bits with Jar Jar bumbling through the Gungan battles.

The moment in which Anakin and Obi Wan shake hands feels like they are following stage directions.

Attack of the Clones:

Things I liked:

The direction, editing, and storytelling are all a little more confident and the film flows better.

Ewan McGregor gets to develop Obi Wan a little more, coming across as more seasoned and adding a little humor.  He almost is able to rise above some dreadful dialogue in a few of his scenes.

The cinematography is good and the new environments are very colorful (it was the first Star Wars film shot in digital).

John Williams again produces a fantastic score and his new love theme is soaring.

The locations are more interesting and better used. 

Natalie Portman looks gorgeous in her less outrageous costumes and with her warm expressions as Padme slowly falls for Anakin.

It was more dramatic (and tasteful) to instead of graphically showing Anakin slaughtering the Tusken Raiders, have him describe it to Padme, which of course is his first big step toward the dark side.  The background music with the hint of the Imperial March plays perfectly, though I did wonder why she continued to be attracted to him afterwards or at least did not seem to worry about his capability of such violence.

Jar Jar only appears briefly (although when one character says to him “It’s good to see you Jar Jar” it was wishful thinking at best).

Christopher Lee is inspired casting as a Sith Lord, with his height, age and menace.

The Yoda section of the Count Dooku battle is especially fun.

The climactic sequence in the Gladiator arena, the first battle of the Clone Wars, and the first time we see a lot of Jedi fighting,  followed by the battle between the Federation troops and the Clone army ending with the battle between Anakin, Obi Wan, Yoda and Dooku is very exciting.

The film seems more connected with the original trilogy than the Phantom Menace with the Death Star plans and the scenes Owen and Beru’s house.

The scene between Obi Wan and Jango Fett having a tough guy Jedi vs. Bounty Hunter talk is appropriately bad-ass in a Star Wars way. Their subsequent fight in the rain (staged perfectly to favor Jango by not letting Obi Wan get too near him for long) is creative and has some good stunt work.

The shots of the thousands of Clone troops heading off to war in ships resembling Star Destroyers to a strong rendition of the Imperial March (indicating the foundation of the Empire) is very strong and I think should have been the closing shots instead of Anakin and Padme getting married in secret.

The gag with Threepio’s head being replaced with the droid’s was a lot of fun.

Although most of the dialogue is weak as usual the “aggressive negotiation” line is clever.

Things I did not like:

The fireside chat scene in which Padme seems to convince Anakin that they should not fall in love is horribly written.

The banter in the “car chase” scene between Obi Wan and Anakin is overly forced.

The asteroid chase scene is more technologically accomplished than the similar one in The Empire Strikes Back but nowhere near as effective.  In Empire the audience feels as if they are in the Millenium Falcon with the characters, mainly because of their reactions.  In this film we are always aware that we are watching a neat visual effect.

There is an aspect to the plot that I could never quite grasp.  Jango is the original bounty hunter that the clones are based on.  However why is it that later he is fighting with Dooku and the Separatists?  It puts him against his own offspring.  The only dramatic reason I can think of is that Jango’s status as a villain of the film would naturally put him against any of the film’s protagonists.  Other than Anakin most of the characters in this trilogy are either completely good or bad.

The name Count Dooku is ridiculous for an interesting character.  It seems to be a badly written homage to Christopher Lee's seven appearances as Count Dracula between the 1950s and 1970s.

Revenge of the Sith

Things I liked:

Revenge of the Sith, apart from having the most satisfying plot, contains the most assured filmmaking.  The film flows even better, the performances are improved, and there is a strong sense of how the Clone War is affecting the entire galaxy.

Once again the music is great, if more tragic than the other Star Wars scores, and in the climax Williams produces a bombastic end to one of his most exciting darker themes (listen around 4:50) originally written for The Empire Strikes Back (listen around :50) played during the scene in which Vader is attacking Luke with the Force) here used in the scene in which the Emperor fights with Yoda.

Many of the action scenes use lightsabers so there is a lot of fencing which I think is an exciting form of combat.

The lengthy scene at the opera in which Palpatine makes his first deep impression on Anakin.

The opening tracking shot as the two fighters navigate their way through the space battle above Coruscant is well planned and executed and is scored well.

The fight with Yoda and the Emperor is perhaps inevitable but delivers and interestingly late in the contest Yoda is on the verge of defeating the Emperor but then only loses when they both fall and the Emperor has something to grab onto to break his fall and Yoda does not and is hurt enough that he cannot continue to fight.  I like the way they talk tough to each other in their own way (“At an end you rule is and not short enough it was”) and the setting in the Senate Chamber which seems to symbolize democracy being destroyed.

The beginning of the Yoda/Emperor battle has a neat touch of Yoda using the Force to knock the big red guards out.

There is a similarly staged gag of a droid kicking Artoo to the floor early in the film.

Although the Wookies’ presence seems to be shoehorned in to give a cameo to Chewbacca (and Yoda a reason to be away from Coruscant when Anakin and the Clones raid the temple) it was nice to see Chewbacca again, especially in his own environment.

The editing and music during the Order 66 montage conveys the tragedy of the murder of all of the Jedi.

The moment that drives Anakin to the dark side, impulsively cutting off Master Windu’s arm, to stop him from killing Palpatine, which leads to Windu’s death, seems appropriate.  Since Anakin was given to moments of rage it is consistent with his character for one to be his downfall.

The scene in which Anakin, looking physically stronger than in Attack of the Clones, and more battle hardened, faces off against Dooku, quickly leading to Dooku’s death, is an excellent contrast to their fight in the previous film in which Anakin was very overmatched.  The scenes actually serve as shorter companions to the Luke/Vader fights in Empire Strikes Back (which although it lasts awhile is a relatively easy victory for Vader) and Return of the Jedi (which Luke wins decisively).

Ian McDiarmid, as mentioned earlier, has a lot more screen time than in the previous two films, as Palatine becomes disfigured and the Emperor and is a strong antagonist.

The fight between Mace Windu and Palpatine is well staged and full of dramatic urgency.  The way in which Palpatine spins into the four Jedi is a creative touch showing just how dangerous a fighter Palpatine is.

In the lead up to the Palpatine/Windu battle there is a well edited scene of Anakin in the Jedi temple trying to resist Palpatine’s temptations to get involved when he knows he should stay put.  As a viewer I found myself wishing against all hope that Anakin would stay put even though it was clear his turn to the dark side was coming up.

The sequence in which Anakin is painfully saved and is put into the dark metallic suit is well cut against the birth of Luke and Leia, his children who will eventually bring him and the Emperor down (and Anakin himself back to the good side). 

The scene in which Darth Vader appears on the rising platform is reminiscent of the first appearance of the Frankenstein monster (to which Vader has some parallels, created out of a nearly dead man as opposed to Frankenstein who was created from a truly dead one) and we hear the familiar voice of James Earl Jones asking about Padme.  As Vader explodes in rage and sorrow there is a cut of the Emperor grinning devilishly behind him, which is indicative of what he has done throughout the trilogy, manipulate events behind the scenes.

The fight between Anakin (really Darth Vader at this point even though he is not yet wearing the suit) and Obi Wan is energetic and makes full use of both of the combatants’ powers.  Even though Anakin is a little more powerful and has no restraint as he tries to viciously destroy his one link to the good side of the Force who could help him, Obi Wan is able to outsmart Anakin and use Anakin’s arrogance against him.

When Palpatine says “Leave us” to the red guards in the opera scene he says in the exact same cadence that he does in Return of the Jedi when Vader brings Luke into the throne room.

Yoda has a slight collapse as Anakin switches to the dark side of the Force.

After Anakin switches to the dark side he starts speaking a lot like Vader does in the later films, somewhat non-emotional and using words sparsely even though he is not yet in the suit.

Things I did not like:

For all of the impressive visuals in the climactic fight between Anakin and Obi Wan never did I really believe they were fighting above a river of lava.  The two of them would have been drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted with the heat (combined with the intensity of the fight).

Padme does not have much to do in the film, except spur the battle between Anakin and Obi Wan, deliver the twins and die.

General Grievous was perhaps a little oversold.  He was just a henchman being manipulated by the Emperor.  Grievous’ relationship to the Emperor, for whom he works but he kidnapped Palpatine (who is the same person) is a little unclear.  Grievous’ motive for kidnapping Palpatine makes little sense without reading the novelization.

Some have complained that it would have been better to see Vader earlier in this series, for example if Anakin had turned at the end of Episode II and then Episode III could have had Vader as the main villain.  I do not know if that would have been better or worse.  I personally never had a desire to see Darth Vader as a little boy prior to this series and if the story of Episode II had been Episode I it would have allowed for that.  However the saga does align the fall of the Republic with the turning of Anakin and the dramatic impact of both of those events would have been lessened in Episode III if that film had only included one of those events. 

In the end the prequel trilogy as a whole is definitely the lesser of the two but on its own terms the last two films especially for the most part hold up well.  I would place Revenge of the Sith about on a par with the original Star Wars and both Revenge of the Sith and Attack of the Clones are far superior to Return of the Jedi.  The Empire Strikes Back is still my favorite by some distance.

Phantom Menace **
Attack of the Clones ***
Revenge of the Sith ****