I was watching a video about the Galaxy’s Edge attraction at Disney and the statement was made: “The Sequel Trilogy won’t age the same way as the Prequel Trilogy”.
You said that right, my man…
While fans initially looked on the prequels quite favorably (dismissive at worst), in less than a decade, people began re-evaluating them and outing them as the irredeemable trash fires that they were. The prequels were rotten from top to bottom. They were poorly written, directed, acted, and they just looked awful, even at the time. A few creative ideas don’t make up for failing on every other possible level. Even a chimp throwing its own feces against a wall will make something resembling a recognizable shape, now and then, it doesn’t mean we should dismiss the fact that it’s still just shit that an ape threw at a wall.
The sequel films, on the other hand, may have failed to tell a cohesive, and compelling, story, but every other element worked. They were well directed, the cast was great, they looked fantastic. In the coming years we’ll view them and say “What a shame these didn’t turn out better… but at least this is watchable.”
I am one of those Last Jedi haters, who can go on and on, like a spoiled child, about all the mistakes that movie made, but even I can watch it and admire the craft. I cannot say the same for the prequels.
Wha???
Except… this isn’t the point this guy in the video was trying to make. He was making the opposite point, that the prequels were HATED when they came out and are now beloved classics. And the sequels are beloved by all, but soon “the masses” will see them for the garbage that they are.
Sir, I was there, in line, in 1999, 2002, and 2005. People were stoked for Star Wars. Critics were, at worst, a little underwhelmed. Fans were lining up. It wasn’t until about 2009, when a certain popular internet video cropped up, outlining how terrible those movies were, that people REALLY jumped on the “Wow, the prequels really were shit.” bandwagon.
And it wasn’t until Disney bought Star Wars that die hard defenders of the prequels came out of the woodwork to proclaim them as misunderstood masterpieces. Now, maybe these were shills, paid by Disney, to help bolster the value of their recently purchase bowel movement, or maybe these were braindead trolls who were afraid Disney was going to ruin the impeccable legacy of Star Wars. Regardless, the majority have definitely shifted to the latter. Everyone you hear defending the prequels now is typically saying it in conjunction with some slight against how Disney has ruined the franchise.
At the end of the day, you should like what you like, and you shouldn’t feel bad about enjoying it. However, accept that not everything you enjoy has to be a masterpiece and stop defending it as such. Enjoy the prequels, hate on the sequels, but recognize that one is little more than a nostalgic guilty pleasure, and the other is a well made misfire by a greedy corporation.
Armchair Screenwriter 