Futurism logo

It’s Okay to Like the Star Wars Prequels

And to Appreciate What They Add to the Series

By CKPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
1

All forms of entertainment are subjective, which means no one is right or wrong for enjoying something. With that in mind, I would never deny the fact that I love the Star Wars prequels. Are they perfect films? No. Do I still enjoy them? Absolutely. This article will focus on the main reasons why.

Darth Vader’s Past

A lot of the criticism of the prequel trilogy revolves around the portrayal of Anakin Skywalker. This did not bother me nearly as much as it did most fans. Some people found Anakin whiny and overly emotional but I found it fitting for the character. As interesting as Darth Vader is, he is not a good person. He blows up entire planets as an interrogation technique, so I think it’s unreasonable to expect his younger self to be calm and well adjusted. Furthermore, the prequels give him reasons to justify his emotional portrayal. Early on he is fatherless, him and his mother are slaves and he is immensely talented but often unable to show it. Even when he is recruited to become a Jedi, he can’t take his Mother with him, he fails to save her life, and kills for Sidious in an effort to save his wife. Then he is cut in half by his mentor and his wife dies anyway. With this in mind, I find it hard to fault the emotional portrayal of Anakin.

More Jedi and Sith

Another thing the prequels did really well was expanding the amount of Sith and Jedi there are. Jedi and Sith are my favourite part of Star Wars. Although Darth Vader is the quintessential Sith, the prequels basically introduce a new Sith each film. Most notably, Darth Maul, who might actually rival Darth Vader in popularity. Darth Tyranus may not be as visually striking as Vader or Maul but he was well played by the legendary Cristopher Lee. While not technically a Sith, General Grievous is a great placeholder villain until Sidious and Vader become prevalent. Speaking of Vader and Sidious, they were already established in the original trilogy but their younger selves are interesting in their own right. The prequels also brought more Jedi to the table. To this day, people are still wanting more of Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan. Similarly, I’m hoping I’m not the only one who misses Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn and Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu. Of course with Star Wars, even background characters can become fan favourites resulting in Jedi such as Plo Koon, Kit Fisto and Ki-Adi-Mundi having cult followings. Last but not least, getting to see Yoda in fighting form is a great moment for fans even if these fights don’t resolve how we’d like them to.

Lightsaber Fights

The amount of Jedi and Sith obviously allows for more frequent lightsaber fights. Only a few of these fights have a similar emotional weight to the ones in the original trilogy, but they are much faster and more excitingly choreographed in my opinion. When this is combined with the fights that are filled with emotion, namely Anakin vs Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul, they are arguably the best fights in the entire series. I also feel that the prequels began treating lightsabers as more than just weapons, expanding them as an extension of the characters that use them. Mace Windu’s purple lightsaber, Maul’s double-bladed lightsaber, and Doku’s subtly curved hilt sparked fans imagination that lightsabers could be personalized in countless ways.

At the end of the day, Star Wars is one of my favourite film series. Even when there are questionable side characters and strong feelings towards sand, I can’t resist watching Jedi vs Sith in a galaxy far far away. The prequel trilogy is far from perfect but I still find them entertaining and a valuable expansion of the Star Wars series.

star wars
1

About the Creator

CK

Glad to have a place to write my thoughts down

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.