Every Star Wars Movie Reviewed - Pt. 2 - The Prequels
The Cosmonaut Variety Hour・2 minutes read
The Star Wars prequels, specifically The Phantom Menace, are criticized for their lack of originality, quality, character development, and illogical plot points. While some aspects like music are praised, overall, the movies are seen as disappointing due to poor writing, lack of coherence, and unengaging characters.
Insights
- The analysis of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace by Red Letter Media reveals significant criticism towards the lack of originality, quality, and coherence in the prequels compared to the original movies, particularly emphasizing the poor dialogue, performances, and character development.
- Palpatine's convoluted and illogical plot, including supporting the Trade Federation, creating secret armies, and orchestrating a war, showcases the absurdity and lack of coherence in his grand plan, contributing to the overall failure of the movie and the disappointment it brought to adult viewers of the Star Wars franchise.
Get key ideas from YouTube videos. It’s free
Recent questions
What are the main criticisms of the Star Wars prequels?
Lack of originality, poor writing, and character development.
What is the positive aspect of the music in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace?
Praised for its music.
How is Palpatine's plot described in the Star Wars prequels?
Involves supporting Trade Federation, secret armies, and war.
What is the impact of Anakin and Padme's romance in the prequels?
Poorly written, lacking chemistry and depth.
What are the main criticisms of the action sequences in the Star Wars prequels?
Long, boring, and poorly choreographed.
Related videos
Summary
00:00
Dissecting Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
- The text discusses the disappointment of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and the analysis by Red Letter Media.
- The author expresses dislike for the prequels and the marketing strategies used to sell merchandise.
- The author highlights the lack of originality and quality in the prequels compared to the original Star Wars movies.
- The text mentions the impact of Disney's Star Wars movies on the perception of the prequels.
- The author criticizes the dialogue, performances, and lack of character development in The Phantom Menace.
- The text praises the music in the movie as a positive aspect.
- The author discusses the lack of chemistry between the actors and the low stakes in the film.
- The plot of The Phantom Menace is criticized for being unclear and poorly conveyed to the audience.
- Specific scenes, like Anakin's interview with the Jedi Council, are analyzed for their lack of logic and coherence.
- The text concludes with a reflection on the overall quality and coherence of The Phantom Menace.
14:09
"Palpatine's convoluted plot in Star Wars"
- Palpatine's convoluted and illogical plot involves supporting the Trade Federation, creating secret armies, and orchestrating a war to become king of space.
- The movie's main plot revolves around unrest in the Galactic Senate and the Separatists' desire to leave the Republic, leading to the need for a military force.
- Palpatine attempts to kill Padme to prevent her from voting against creating a military force, but his inconsistent actions confuse the narrative.
- The characters' unnatural dialogue and actions, like Obi-Wan jumping out of a window, highlight the poor writing and lack of logical character motivations.
- The shapeshifter assassin subplot adds unnecessary complexity without impacting the story, showcasing poor storytelling choices.
- Palpatine's intricate timeline of events, including manipulating two armies to fight each other, reveals the absurdity and lack of coherence in his grand plan.
- The movie's lack of a clear main character, character traits, and personalities, along with ineffective dialogue, contribute to its overall failure.
- Jar Jar, despite being annoying, is deemed more integral to the story than other characters due to his perceived realism and impact on the plot.
- The movie's disjointed structure, lack of direction, and unengaging characters make it a significant disappointment, potentially alienating adult viewers from the Star Wars franchise.
- Despite being marginally more entertaining than its predecessor, "Star Wars Episode II" suffers from a convoluted and nonsensical plot, making it a challenging watch.
27:47
"Star Wars Prequels: Mixed Reviews"
- Obi-Wan discovers clones being grown and trained, based on Jango Fett, who Count Dooku hired.
- Obi-Wan fails to connect Dooku and the clones, missing a crucial link to stop the war.
- Anakin and Padme's romance is poorly written, lacking chemistry and depth.
- Anakin's character shifts abruptly from sinister to good, lacking narrative justification.
- Yoda's portrayal with a lightsaber is criticized as character assassination, lacking wisdom and nuance.
- Yoda's actions in the prequels are deemed uncharacteristic of a Jedi, lacking subtlety.
- The movie "Attack of the Clones" is critiqued for its long, boring action sequences and poor choreography.
- Anakin's fall to the dark side is deemed unconvincing, lacking proper storytelling.
- The movie "Revenge of the Sith" is praised for its opening long take and improved storytelling.
- The movie's middle section is criticized for splitting up Obi-Wan and Anakin, leading to a lack of focus and engaging storytelling.
41:25
Weak character development and pacing in prequels.
- Anakin's lack of believable internal conflict in the prequels leads to a rushed turn to the dark side, with the main problem being his sudden decision to murder everyone he knows and loves.
- The final battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin is criticized for being too long and unsatisfying, with Yoda's defeat and subsequent exile seen as abrupt and unconvincing.
- The conclusion of the movie is deemed weak and unsatisfying, portraying the heroes as unheroic for giving up after one attempt, contributing to bad pacing, a flawed storyline, and George Lucas' trademark poor dialogue.
