Many films have been reassessed over time. Heck, even The Empire Strikes Back was initially bashed for veering too far from its predecessor A New Hope.
But it’s genuinely stunning to see how the esteem of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy has shifted over time, given how irrationally enraged people were about it in the period between 1999 and 2005...
… [Obi-Wan voice] The annoying times.
Once the initial high of seeing the first new Star Wars movies in 16 years died, you couldn’t journey five feet without somebody eagerly telling you in great detail how much they sucked. Especially if you were one of the only Star Wars fans in existence who was willing to defend them.
And look, I too have been disappointed by films I really wanted to love. It happens, and we lament, and we move on.
But this was way beyond that.
“George Lucas raped my childhood” is one of the grossest “rallying cries” ever spewed – and yes, a lot of people actually said this with a straight face. There were death threats against certain actors. A whole documentary was even made about how Lucas had supposedly betrayed his fans.
So, how did this happen?
The first big culprit is nostalgia. These fans grew up with something that was the first of its kind in Star Wars, and it meant a lot to them. But the negative side of nostalgia is that it also made them think they owned those stories, which means they felt “entitled” to feel that way again. And if you didn’t meet their sky-high, unrealistic expectations, then they lost their goddamn minds.
So what happened next is they needed an outlet to process their rage and complain about it. And that’s where the internet came in.
[Puts on old man hat and suddenly feels very tired]
It may seem strange to those who are what we call “not old,” but knowing everyone’s opinions on every topic - whether you wanted to or not - was thankfully not a thing for a long time.
But as the first prequel was released in 1999, “surfing the web” was becoming more common. And this was downright overwhelming because we’d never had a far-reaching, open platform like that where we could just vomit out whatever we wanted. It happened in all areas of discourse, obviously, not just pop culture. But the end result was the same:
The raptors tested the fences, and once they saw what they could get away with, the floodgates opened. (Nothing like a good mixed metaphor.)
And who woulda thought that social media becoming the digital manifestation of the unfiltered thoughts we’d never share with anyone in real life - yet we do so because we are hidden behind a mask of anonymity and the consequences are zero and the rewards are the dopamine rushes of “likes” and attention - would end up being such a goddamn nightmare? 😂
Plus, the sheer repetitiveness is exhausting. We see it time and again: These people are always so shocked when the continuation of things they loved as a kid doesn’t make them feel like a kid again, seemingly forgetting they’re now adults with different brains and life experiences.
But the fact that the prequels have become more or less accepted now, just as these same “fans” transferred their bashing onto the sequels, shows just how much bad faith there was in the first place. It’s literally just a case of acting out because something wasn’t exactly like it was thirty years ago.
In my experience, the biggest tell that you are caught in a bad-faith argument is when these people start to nitpick stuff they would otherwise blindly accept in stories they like.
Prime example: One of their favorite things to say is how the sequel filmmakers were “making things up as they went along” and then “retconned” stuff they didn’t like.
Here’s the thing: George Lucas himself did not have everything planned out from the beginning. In fact, he was the original retconner - not a word but we’ll “retcon it.” [snorts]
In the Original Trilogy, Darth Vader wasn’t Luke’s father nor was Leia his sister until late in the writing process of the second and third films, respectively.
There are old Empire Strikes Back script drafts that have Papa Not-Vader appear to Luke as a Force Ghost. Not to mention that Luke and Leia make out, like, sixty-seven times in the first two films because Lucas hadn’t made them related yet. 🤢
The truth is that way too many trolls pick these bad-faith fights just to be “right” about a subjective art form. They don’t care if they illogically misuse critical terms, and they don’t care if they contradict themselves in what they choose to critique, and they certainly don’t care about how nasty they can get, they only want to prove those who don't agree with them wrong.
And that's how fandoms turn toxic.
Speaking of, it’s not even worth getting into what Star Wars fandom has become in light of the Sequel Trilogy. Just as an example, there are social media pages with handles like “F#%ktheSequels” whose entire purpose is to whine about the ST.
This means that, unbelievably, the discourse has only worsened. Not only do we still have obnoxious “you’re not a real fan” gatekeepers who are unwilling to let go of their nostalgia, but now we have misogynistic and racist attacks against the female and POC actors of the ST thrown in for good measure. It’s gone beyond Star Wars too - it happens with every big franchise now, like clockwork.
Of course, these trolls insist that they’re merely “critiquing the story.” But when story choices involving white male characters remain safe while story choices involving certain other characters who share certain other characteristics are attacked incessantly, it stops feeling like a coincidence real quick.
You could almost treat it like satire at this point if it wasn’t so ugly.
It’s a shame too because, at its best, fandom can instill a true sense of camaraderie - some of my favorite memories ever involve opening night screenings. But now it’s just a lot of misplaced anger and therapy fodder.
Anyway, anyway, anyway, bottom line: To paraphrase Ralph Breaks the Internet, NEVER go into the comments section. Retcons forever.
Phew. OK. Now. Let’s go to some good thoughts.
So, why exactly did the esteem of the Prequel Trilogy shift?
Again, I think the positive side of nostalgia has a lot to do with it – if you imprinted on something in the time before your brain started critically thinking, then a lot can be forgiven. But I also think it’s more than that.
I think George Lucas tapped into something so mythically potent with Star Wars, something that just instinctively connects with us at a granular level, that any flaws can be overlooked if you are willing to embrace the underlying power of the story underneath.
So maybe that’s what happened: Maybe the people who finally embraced these films once the backlash dimmed saw what we prequel defenders always saw…
The Phantom Menace (1999)
The first and third acts of Episode I feel the most like Star Wars of the entire PT – just pure unbridled pulp adventure.
Showing how the Force brings all these iconic characters together is a captivating way to start the Saga. It plants the notion of the Force as “destiny” right out of the gate, which in turn seeds the ground for it to be cleverly woven in and subverted throughout the entire series.
The ways in which Lucas cyclically foreshadows and echoes the original films are admirable, especially because he avoids straight-up retreads.
There’s a palpable sense of foreboding that sets in as we see the start of Palpatine's political machinations.
The groundbreaking digital world-building is truly immersive, displaying what the universe was like before the Empire rose. And the visual contrast against the worn-down environments of the originals is a stark way of showing what happens when tyranny takes hold.
Obi-Wan*, Qui-Gon, and Padme are endearing.
And yes, that climactic Darth Maul duel - which is accompanied by John Williams’ instantly iconic “Duel of the Fates” - is amazing.
*Ewan MacGregor has always been the MVP of the prequels, but the Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ truly surprised me. Not only was it emotionally grounded in the areas of the mythos I care most about, but it also enriched them. (Especially the psychological deconstruction of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s dynamic, every Padme mention, and the last few scenes). I’m very happy to have been so moved by it.
Attack of the Clones (2002)
Episode II furthers Anakin’s fall in interesting ways. I especially appreciate how he genuinely wants to be a good person, but finds himself overcome by the burgeoning darkness within.
I also really appreciate how Anakin and Padme fall in love simply by getting to know each other, and then by going through war together. And John Williams’ “Across the Stars” is a swooningly melancholic love theme that gels it all together.
Interestingly, Count Dooku - the film’s big bad - makes us aware of the arrogance and flaws of the Jedi Order, even as he embodies them as an ex-Jedi himself. Which means this is the part of the story where we start to realize that the Jedi Order makes a lot of mistakes. They discourage falling in love which, let’s be honest, just begs for a lot of repressed Darth Vaders in the making. And of course, there’s the fact that the Order’s hubris literally made them blind in the Force to the evil in their midst. All of this seems to be reflecting on the idea that staid institutions need to be rethought and restructured, both in the Star Wars universe and in ours.
Obi-Wan’s detective story is a really fun subplot. I especially enjoyed the tender little moment featuring Yoda and the younglings he was training.
The set pieces are thrilling, from the Coruscant speeder chase all the way to seeing the Jedi Order in action near the end.
And yes, the Yoda fight. The visceral impact in the theater was real; I will always cherish the joyful cheers surrounding me when he first drew his lightsaber. Plus, it looked great and that was part of the surprise!
Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Episode III is a truly grand finale and the best of the trilogy.
The opening thirty minutes - which include an epic tracking shot through an epic space battle, action-hero R2-D2 being awesome, brotherly Obi-Wan and Anakin banter, and the latter’s first big step toward the Dark Side when he executes Dooku - feels like a dynamic Star Wars short film. It also makes me wish there had been more room for that side of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s friendship in the rest of the trilogy.
It’s very emotional – Order 66 still hits hard. The music is haunting.
It’s very character-driven – lots of subtle, quiet close-ups of people thinking things through. You can read their regret about what could have been and their resignation about where things are headed without them having to say a word, and it effectively puts us in their shoes. We feel sorry for Anakin and want to see him prevail, even though we know that Vader is inevitable.
Padme’s famous line - “So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause.” - is one of the Saga’s best.
Palpatine’s monologue is fantastic - you know the one. Which is no surprise since it was apparently ghostwritten by the wonderful Tom Stoppard! (I also love how it was used as the basis for Palpatine’s return in the sequels.)
The second half of the film is epic space opera bliss - especially Anakin vs. Obi-Wan, which is elevated by John Williams’ rousing “Battle of the Heroes” anthem.
And the final, silent sequence - from the birth of the twins intercut with Darth Vader’s “birth,” to seeing the “birth” of the Death Star, to that final, familiar shot on the central planet of the Saga – is incredible filmmaking.
As Revenge of the Sith comes to its stirring conclusion, we realize that the Prequel Trilogy ultimately ends up as more of a Greek Tragedy than a swashbuckler, and that commitment to being so different from the Original Trilogy in such a distinct way should be commended.
In particular, the exploration of Anakin Skywalker's fears, flaws, and downfall tracks well over all three films. And his need to control death pays off in a shocking and dramatically powerful manner when the very thing he was trying to prevent - his wife’s death - is caused by his own hand.
This means that, at their core, the prequels tell a cautionary tale about hubris (how ironic). And they nicely complement the Original Trilogy’s hopeful tale about redemption, as well as the Sequel Trilogy’s timeless tale about legacy.
As a whole, the entire Skywalker Saga works wonderfully, and a considerable amount of that has to do with the prequel story material Lucas gave the Sequel Trilogy filmmakers to work with.
In fact, J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson, and company wove in some of the themes and concepts from the prequels and gave them satisfying payoffs in the sequels.
For example, they reintroduced the notion that the Jedi Order needed to be reformed. In The Last Jedi, the second ST film, Force Ghost Yoda encourages Luke to move beyond the old Jedi texts, learn from his failures, and build something new. And what makes this so impressive is how subversive it is; superheroes like the Jedi would typically be treated as infallible and perfect in their bravery. You would never expect such nuanced ideas to be explored in a big mainstream franchise like this, and we can thank the prequels for laying the thematic groundwork.
All in all, I’m glad the Prequel Trilogy exists. I’m also glad so many people have come around to them because, to me, they were always Star Wars.
Digressions and lamentations for cordial discourse aside, Star Wars spawned the first big pop culture fandom, so it only makes sense that it would spawn the first toxic fandom once the internet came along.
In short, there’s something about this franchise that just makes people crazy. And this means that at this point, for better and primarily for worse, such day-and-night reactions are to be expected.
After all, going from the extremes of “GL bleeped my childhood” to “it’s fine” to “this is MINE and you have to love it the way I love it!” is a tragic arc that can only happen with Star Wars.