tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801441755423984496.post1488089245431169074..comments2024-03-05T17:26:44.559-08:00Comments on Roman's Movie Reviews and Musings: Movie Musings: What Works in the Star Wars Prequels - Part 2Roman J. Martelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801441755423984496.post-38872469296637848792016-02-01T19:44:29.214-08:002016-02-01T19:44:29.214-08:00Yeah Stuckmann and I agree a lot when it comes to ...Yeah Stuckmann and I agree a lot when it comes to the prequels. He makes a great point about Lucas going from showing in the original trilogy to telling the prequels. It is an especially big problem in "The Phantom Menace". One of the reasons me created the hated Midochlorians was so that he could have an empirical measurement of The Force. But that wasn't needed. Instead the Pod Race offers the best visual opportunity to see Anakin's wicked reflexes... or force awareness. But the thing is that Lucas actually has that in there too. So really that makes the Midochlorians even more useless!<br /><br />I also agree with Belated Media that the prequel trilogy lacks a central character. Lucas should have told the story from Anakin's or Obi-Wans point of view and stuck with it. The lack of focus ends up hurting the film.Roman J. Martelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801441755423984496.post-59005678246684487302016-02-01T09:26:04.971-08:002016-02-01T09:26:04.971-08:00Good analysis Roman. You establish a good case for...Good analysis Roman. You establish a good case for watching the prequels. No matter how someone negates them, they probably end up watching them because Star Wars has such a resonance with pop culture, even more so if you're a SF type person. <br /><br />You many have seen Stuckmann's analysis on what was wrong with the prequels, and I can agree with him, and it may have been why they didn't work as well as the original trilogy, and why The Force Awakens works well. It's something I hadn't noticed, but he says that the movies should have action sequences and less exposition in telling why something is happening or happened. He's probably right about that. All that telling drags things down. But I'll give you points for pointing out a few things I'd forgotten about, and I'll pay attention when I get ready to rewatch the prequels. El Voxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05985563041511492981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801441755423984496.post-14566268837550127672016-01-31T08:21:22.843-08:002016-01-31T08:21:22.843-08:00The Smithsonian did a whole exhibit in the late 90...The Smithsonian did a whole exhibit in the late 90s about Star Wars (the original trilogy) and its mythic origins. I have the companion book and it is a real interesting read. Lots of nods to Norse and Arthurian legend of course. But it also noted how the production design pulled from all kinds of things: Samurai armor, WWII uniforms, even 1970s flight suits for U.N. Pilots. That potent mix of past, present and future helps the story resonate so clearly to so many people (at least that is their theory, but I think it is a good one). The Prequels really kept that mythic approach and it gives them more weight when other elements of the films don't work as effectively.Roman J. Martelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2801441755423984496.post-67546014632324798662016-01-29T09:13:47.179-08:002016-01-29T09:13:47.179-08:00There is no shortage of movies with simple revenge...There is no shortage of movies with simple revenge themes: as the villain asks “why?’ as the hero poises to strike the final blow, we hear, “You killed my _________ [mother, father, sister, lover, dog, or whatever].” Lucas opted for a more complex mythic and Freudian construct for which I give him credit, sometimes telegraphing his intent – e.g. Darth Vader evoking Death Father and the obvious identification of Lucas with Luke. The prequels explore all that more deeply. I have yet to see the non-Lucas “The Force Awakens,” but we’ll have to see if Disney follows the established pattern by, as some fans speculate, revealing that Rey is the daughter of Han and Leia. Richard Bellushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.com