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This is not a review. However, beware it does contain plot spoilers for Attack of the Clones.
While the original Star Wars trilogy formed the basis for the childhoods to millions of fans across the world and undeniably entered into the subconscious as a seminal film for an entire generation it is unlikely that the second prequel trilogy will have the same impact. Even though most people didn’t recognise the allegorical nature of the films narrative the simple structure of good against evil was accepted as being enough to keep the attention of an audience. Neither did people generally recognise the parody of 1930’s space serials such as Flash Gordon, what they did recognise was an enjoyable adventure in which the audience could watch the stereotypical character roles play out an all too familiar story. It was this that was so entertaining. The plot was relatively simple. Although fans now recognise the cause and effect chain which started in The Phantom Menace as leading to the defeat of the empire at the end of Return of the Jedi, the original trilogy was so enjoyable because it let the audience fill in the past themselves, lending their own imaginations to the events of the Clone Wars and the degradation of Anakin Skywalker. Now that the gaps have been filled it is difficult not to think of the originals as part of the whole saga and in many ways the enigma of Star Wars is lost.
This is not to say that the prequels are not entertaining, they are just disappointing and maybe this is my point. We expected so much but George never delivered. His over use of CGI is an element of the films which was unavoidable considering modern box office expectation, but it is not this that upsets the balance of the films. In condensing most of the events mentioned in the original trilogy into three more films, the prequels are overly complex for a young audience, yet by clearly targeting the pre-teen demographic through the use of cartoon computer graphics he is essentially destroying the myth behind Star Wars. The level of complexity involved in the Phantom Menace is beyond comprehension for a twelve year old, with its plot littered with political intrigue. We know films have to make money, the question is did George need the money that much that he completely forgot the fans of the original.
Many people have criticised Attack of the Clones for continuing this, but in many ways it is superior to the Phantom Menace and it far more in keeping with the Star Wars of the past. The multi faceted story arcs are refreshing considering the reasonably linear structure of Episode 1. The journey of Anakin is taken up just as his instability reaches the surface and is made believable in the only way Star Wars has ever worked, by the suspension of disbelief. The love story between Amidala and Anakin has been widely condemned yet it is never the disaster that it is made out to be. While there is little emotional resonance it does resemble the Han/Leia romance of The Empire Strikes Back in that it is forbidden love. This does seem to be a problem with the film. While Episode 1 was at least original, Episode 2 borrows heavily from Empire. Maybe it was meant to mirror the events of the second film, or perhaps Mr Lucas just ran out of ideas. The romantic liaison between Anakin and Amidala before they enter the arena may be a coincidental link with the scene in Empire before Han is frozen in carbonite, but Anakin losing an arm is just too much.
The success of the original trilogy was the simplicity of the plots. The overall ideological emphasis was redemption, Lando repaying the debt he owed to Han and Leia for turning them over to Vader, Anakin’s change of heart and regret for being pulled to the dark side and mostly the conquering of the empire by the alliance. The problem with the new films is that they have no such message. The good versus evil story served the originals well, by attempting to show the inner conflict in Anakin this is in some ways shown in as a microcosm in Episode 2 and substantiates Luke’s belief that “There is good in him, I can feel it”. As Yoda might say “A complex plot does not a good story make.”
While the original Star Wars trilogy formed the basis for the childhoods to millions of fans across the world and undeniably entered into the subconscious as a seminal film for an entire generation it is unlikely that the second prequel trilogy will have the same impact. Even though most people didn’t recognise the allegorical nature of the films narrative the simple structure of good against evil was accepted as being enough to keep the attention of an audience. Neither did people generally recognise the parody of 1930’s space serials such as Flash Gordon, what they did recognise was an enjoyable adventure in which the audience could watch the stereotypical character roles play out an all too familiar story. It was this that was so entertaining. The plot was relatively simple. Although fans now recognise the cause and effect chain which started in The Phantom Menace as leading to the defeat of the empire at the end of Return of the Jedi, the original trilogy was so enjoyable because it let the audience fill in the past themselves, lending their own imaginations to the events of the Clone Wars and the degradation of Anakin Skywalker. Now that the gaps have been filled it is difficult not to think of the originals as part of the whole saga and in many ways the enigma of Star Wars is lost.
This is not to say that the prequels are not entertaining, they are just disappointing and maybe this is my point. We expected so much but George never delivered. His over use of CGI is an element of the films which was unavoidable considering modern box office expectation, but it is not this that upsets the balance of the films. In condensing most of the events mentioned in the original trilogy into three more films, the prequels are overly complex for a young audience, yet by clearly targeting the pre-teen demographic through the use of cartoon computer graphics he is essentially destroying the myth behind Star Wars. The level of complexity involved in the Phantom Menace is beyond comprehension for a twelve year old, with its plot littered with political intrigue. We know films have to make money, the question is did George need the money that much that he completely forgot the fans of the original.
Many people have criticised Attack of the Clones for continuing this, but in many ways it is superior to the Phantom Menace and it far more in keeping with the Star Wars of the past. The multi faceted story arcs are refreshing considering the reasonably linear structure of Episode 1. The journey of Anakin is taken up just as his instability reaches the surface and is made believable in the only way Star Wars has ever worked, by the suspension of disbelief. The love story between Amidala and Anakin has been widely condemned yet it is never the disaster that it is made out to be. While there is little emotional resonance it does resemble the Han/Leia romance of The Empire Strikes Back in that it is forbidden love. This does seem to be a problem with the film. While Episode 1 was at least original, Episode 2 borrows heavily from Empire. Maybe it was meant to mirror the events of the second film, or perhaps Mr Lucas just ran out of ideas. The romantic liaison between Anakin and Amidala before they enter the arena may be a coincidental link with the scene in Empire before Han is frozen in carbonite, but Anakin losing an arm is just too much.
The success of the original trilogy was the simplicity of the plots. The overall ideological emphasis was redemption, Lando repaying the debt he owed to Han and Leia for turning them over to Vader, Anakin’s change of heart and regret for being pulled to the dark side and mostly the conquering of the empire by the alliance. The problem with the new films is that they have no such message. The good versus evil story served the originals well, by attempting to show the inner conflict in Anakin this is in some ways shown in as a microcosm in Episode 2 and substantiates Luke’s belief that “There is good in him, I can feel it”. As Yoda might say “A complex plot does not a good story make.”
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This is not a review. However, beware it does contain plot spoilers for Attack of the Clones.
While the original Star Wars trilogy formed the basis for the childhoods to millions of fans across the world and undeniably entered into the subconscious as a seminal film for an entire generation it is unlikely that the second prequel trilogy will have the same impact. Even though most people didn’t recognise the allegorical nature of the films narrative the simple structure of good against evil was accepted as being enough to keep the attention of an audience. Neither did people generally recognise the parody of 1930’s space serials such as Flash Gordon, what they did recognise was an enjoyable adventure in which the audience could watch the stereotypical character roles play out an all too familiar story. It was this that was so entertaining. The plot was relatively simple. Although fans now recognise the cause and effect chain which started in The Phantom Menace as leading to the defeat of the empire at the end of Return of the Jedi, the original trilogy was so enjoyable because it let the audience fill in the past themselves, lending their own imaginations to the events of the Clone Wars and the degradation of Anakin Skywalker. Now that the gaps have been filled it is difficult not to think of the originals as part of the whole saga and in many ways the enigma of Star Wars is lost.
This is not to say that the prequels are not entertaining, they are just disappointing and maybe this is my point. We expected so much but George never delivered. His over use of CGI is an element of the films which was unavoidable considering modern box office expectation, but it is not this that upsets the balance of the films. In condensing most of the events mentioned in the original trilogy into three more films, the prequels are overly complex for a young audience, yet by clearly targeting the pre-teen demographic through the use of cartoon computer graphics he is essentially destroying the myth behind Star Wars. The level of complexity involved in the Phantom Menace is beyond comprehension for a twelve year old, with its plot littered with political intrigue. We know films have to make money, the question is did George need the money that much that he completely forgot the fans of the original.
Many people have criticised Attack of the Clones for continuing this, but in many ways it is superior to the Phantom Menace and it far more in keeping with the Star Wars of the past. The multi faceted story arcs are refreshing considering the reasonably linear structure of Episode 1. The journey of Anakin is taken up just as his instability reaches the surface and is made believable in the only way Star Wars has ever worked, by the suspension of disbelief. The love story between Amidala and Anakin has been widely condemned yet it is never the disaster that it is made out to be. While there is little emotional resonance it does resemble the Han/Leia romance of The Empire Strikes Back in that it is forbidden love. This does seem to be a problem with the film. While Episode 1 was at least original, Episode 2 borrows heavily from Empire. Maybe it was meant to mirror the events of the second film, or perhaps Mr Lucas just ran out of ideas. The romantic liaison between Anakin and Amidala before they enter the arena may be a coincidental link with the scene in Empire before Han is frozen in carbonite, but Anakin losing an arm is just too much.
The success of the original trilogy was the simplicity of the plots. The overall ideological emphasis was redemption, Lando repaying the debt he owed to Han and Leia for turning them over to Vader, Anakin’s change of heart and regret for being pulled to the dark side and mostly the conquering of the empire by the alliance. The problem with the new films is that they have no such message. The good versus evil story served the originals well, by attempting to show the inner conflict in Anakin this is in some ways shown in as a microcosm in Episode 2 and substantiates Luke’s belief that “There is good in him, I can feel it”. As Yoda might say “A complex plot does not a good story make.”
While the original Star Wars trilogy formed the basis for the childhoods to millions of fans across the world and undeniably entered into the subconscious as a seminal film for an entire generation it is unlikely that the second prequel trilogy will have the same impact. Even though most people didn’t recognise the allegorical nature of the films narrative the simple structure of good against evil was accepted as being enough to keep the attention of an audience. Neither did people generally recognise the parody of 1930’s space serials such as Flash Gordon, what they did recognise was an enjoyable adventure in which the audience could watch the stereotypical character roles play out an all too familiar story. It was this that was so entertaining. The plot was relatively simple. Although fans now recognise the cause and effect chain which started in The Phantom Menace as leading to the defeat of the empire at the end of Return of the Jedi, the original trilogy was so enjoyable because it let the audience fill in the past themselves, lending their own imaginations to the events of the Clone Wars and the degradation of Anakin Skywalker. Now that the gaps have been filled it is difficult not to think of the originals as part of the whole saga and in many ways the enigma of Star Wars is lost.
This is not to say that the prequels are not entertaining, they are just disappointing and maybe this is my point. We expected so much but George never delivered. His over use of CGI is an element of the films which was unavoidable considering modern box office expectation, but it is not this that upsets the balance of the films. In condensing most of the events mentioned in the original trilogy into three more films, the prequels are overly complex for a young audience, yet by clearly targeting the pre-teen demographic through the use of cartoon computer graphics he is essentially destroying the myth behind Star Wars. The level of complexity involved in the Phantom Menace is beyond comprehension for a twelve year old, with its plot littered with political intrigue. We know films have to make money, the question is did George need the money that much that he completely forgot the fans of the original.
Many people have criticised Attack of the Clones for continuing this, but in many ways it is superior to the Phantom Menace and it far more in keeping with the Star Wars of the past. The multi faceted story arcs are refreshing considering the reasonably linear structure of Episode 1. The journey of Anakin is taken up just as his instability reaches the surface and is made believable in the only way Star Wars has ever worked, by the suspension of disbelief. The love story between Amidala and Anakin has been widely condemned yet it is never the disaster that it is made out to be. While there is little emotional resonance it does resemble the Han/Leia romance of The Empire Strikes Back in that it is forbidden love. This does seem to be a problem with the film. While Episode 1 was at least original, Episode 2 borrows heavily from Empire. Maybe it was meant to mirror the events of the second film, or perhaps Mr Lucas just ran out of ideas. The romantic liaison between Anakin and Amidala before they enter the arena may be a coincidental link with the scene in Empire before Han is frozen in carbonite, but Anakin losing an arm is just too much.
The success of the original trilogy was the simplicity of the plots. The overall ideological emphasis was redemption, Lando repaying the debt he owed to Han and Leia for turning them over to Vader, Anakin’s change of heart and regret for being pulled to the dark side and mostly the conquering of the empire by the alliance. The problem with the new films is that they have no such message. The good versus evil story served the originals well, by attempting to show the inner conflict in Anakin this is in some ways shown in as a microcosm in Episode 2 and substantiates Luke’s belief that “There is good in him, I can feel it”. As Yoda might say “A complex plot does not a good story make.”