If the original trilogy was made with the same sort of "talent" that the prequels were then it would have sucked more.

If the prequels came out first and the original trilogy came out as it currently is, Star Wars wouldn't be a household name and probably no one but a few nerds would know of it.

You kinda have to get off to a good start, if you lay an egg in the box office and try to improve it with something new under the same name, you'll be burned by the viewers as it is so much harder to reverse a negative impression.

If Episode 1 came out first, I doubt it would have spawned any sequels.  Yes, it's that bad.

Please excuse the following ramblings, this is off the top of my head and is easier to articulate verbally.

I really don't know what to say about the prequels.

Whilst I can see your "shitacular fuckfest" argument, I can see the where the plot was intended to go, and can connect the dots of what was supposed to happen.

Here is my take, and why I don't hate the prequels.

For starters, though the originals are loved the world over, what initially drove people to the theatre to watch them?  It wasn't the cast.  It was largely nobodies at the time (and let's face it, Mark Hamill is not a great actor).

It was the special effects.  Though mediocre by today's standards, it was cutting edge in the late 70s and people are drawn to the new shiny thing.

But, they backed it up the new, shiny thing with a fun, entertaining ride.

Now the new.

The gimmick of the "first computer generated character" in a feature film was a new shiny thing for the Star Wars prequels, but it was wholly unnecessary.  Aside from alien Jamaican, I rather enjoyed the visual effects, but it wasn't anything that people hadn't seen.

The new movies are much darker than the originals but the general plot lines are very similar.

Anakin was poor kid with exceptional abilities

Luke, likewise.

Anakin needed to leave his planet to go anywhere in his life.

Luke, too.

Anakin left his home with strangers who promised to train him.

Luke had similar promises.

Both were deemed too old for training by Yoda.

Both lost their preferred mentors almost immediately.

Both saved the day in their first real battles.

After that, the first movies kind of become "what would happen if Luke had taken a different path?"

What I mean is you can start out as the scared but friendly kid and either end up the hero or the villain just through the choices you make.

It's just how they decided to make that journey that didn't quite work in the prequels.

The Gungans were put in because of the computer generated character hype.  They were the big dumb army to fight the Trade Federation's big dumb army.  That was a waste of budget.

The pod race.  Hated by many, but I understand it's function.

Anakin is a mechanical genius and the pod race is supposed to showcase that.  Building C-3PO is one thing, building a jet powered racing machine and being able to trouble shoot it on the fly, makes it plausible that he could take off and fly the fighter later (even though his success was seemingly accidental).

As a side note, it is alluded to in Episode IV that R2-D2 and C-3PO have seen lots of action, so why not at the side of Anakin and Obi-Wan?

The real problem with the movie is that they failed to make the movie about Anakin, and made it about som assinine trade dispute.

For now, I am out of steam.

I won't say I hate the prequels, but i think they were poorly writen. Characters seem out of place, all the time.

Here is an example for you, It seems that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were swapped. Obi-Wan should have been this eger adventurer who stumbles on Anakin and sees his potenial and wants to train him. But in stead He treats the kid like he dosn't want anything to do with him. While Qui pretty much makes Obi train him. Qui should have been this resevered wise master who sat on the ship leading Obi-Wan, Instead it's Obi-Wan who holds back, and acts like he is better trained than his master. What would have been even better is if Obi-Wan wanted to train Anakin, and when Qui dies it leaves Obi-wan without any direction for Anakins training, eventually leading to Anakins fall to the dark sode.

The EXACT same thing happens again in Attack of the Clones. When Anakin and Obi-Wan are sent to protect the Amadalin(sp?), Obi-Wan acts like he dosn't care, but when a droid tries to kill her, he is the first one to chase after it, while Anakin just stands there. Why didn't Anakin jump out the window, he was the only one eger to get to the bottom of this assassination shit. It should have been Anakin jumping out the Window, and Obi-Wan making a face, sighing and chasing Anakin down in the speeder.

Then in Attack of the Clones the same shit happens AGAIN, with Anakin and Padame. Anakin is pretty much begging for sex while she is pushing him away because she is a senator. So the guy with the Jedi training to control his emotions can't control his emotions? Why was she pushing him away, she wasa freaking senator, what social obligation did she have to not be getting some action on the side? Senators *coughEdwardscough* have always gotten some pudding on the side. But the girl who walks around half nude in all these romantic places is the one who is put off by a relationship. It would have made for a better story if she was making advances on him and it being the start of his fall to the dark side (forbidden apple anyone?)

It's ok tho guys, movies normally have remakes made normally 30 years after they were made...guess who's 30 years old...

Cmon... give episode 1 a chance!

/sarcasm

Episode 1 is fine and I have watched videos of people nitpicking everything wrong with it and they are all valid points but I can re-watch Episode 1 but not Episodes 2 or 3.  If it wasn't for people saying how bad the prequels are I would not of watched the original movies. (Which are far better.)

After watching the original trilogy if they were made today or at the time that the prequels were made they would not be the same because CGI would be used and it would take away from the realness of the environment. As for the prequels being made back then, yes they would suck.

My hatred for the prequels completely destroyed all love I once had for the three original movies. Why? Because every time I see them, I can't get out of my head that:

1. Everything that happened in the prequels actually happened in their past.
2. Jar Jar exists.
3. Vader is a bitch.

Someone should have killed George Lucas' career in the 80s. Seriously, Howard the Duck? WHY was that movie not an indication of what he could do to the Star Wars movies?! God gave us a sign, and we went to see all three prequel films anyway!

Then we wouldn't have had a fourth Indiana Jones movie without gophers, monkeys and a CGI jungle!

....I  may agree with Roo in that, if the movies were all made in chronological order, then no other movies after The Phantom Menace might have been made...It probably would have been that bad, yes.

Some things to keep in mind though; Lucas had a lot of trouble even getting A New Hope made. No one wanted to fund it or release it. Lucas did, of course, eventually get producers at 20th Century Fox to release it, but they weren't that thrilled with it, and there were a lot of internal problems. Basically, very few people believed in the movie, and that it would be any good at all, and few people understood what the Hell it was even supposed to be about, let alone how Lucas wanted it made. Can you imagine the same things happening if TPM was the first to be made? Probably, and the results would likely have been more disastrous.

Also, both trilogies were products of their time in terms of how movies were made, and able to be made. One of the reasons why things are or look the way they do in the Original Trilogy was because that's what they were able to do at the time, and how filmmaking was seen and done, and vice versa with the New Trilogy. Had Lucas made the movies in chronological order, they would surely be very, very different, and people would probably see them differently, as well. Perhaps most fans would actually the 'New Trilogy' for once! Except it would be....the Original Trilogy!

-Mr. K- Well, Lucas sort of 'killed' his own career, in a couple of ways, actually. First of all, after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, he didn't do a whole Hell of a lot in movies, especially in actual filmmaking anymore. He just...didn't make movies. To this day, he still has barely made that many movies, when you think about it.  He finally decided to with the New Trilogy, and well, that's what 'killed' his career in that.....millions of fans cried out in terror, and lost faith in Lucas...He has become a joke since then, despite Star Wars's success. But also keep in mind that, Lucas can make the movies he wants with his own money, so he can always keep doing it...But I don't think he is seen the same as he was, years ago.

'So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view'. 8P

Lucas created the Nuking the fridge meme, how long was it between jumping the shark and nuking the fridge? It was necessary for the sake of the internet, Ford took one for the team, so in reality both he and Lucas are heroes of the internet.

Honestly I didn't think the prequals were that bad, I never really got hooked on the originals. They usually put me to sleep after a while to be honest. I'm not sure if I've ever seen all of the original trilogy or if I just dreamed it, like that episode of the Transformers with zombie Optimus Prime in the space crypt attacking the Autobots. The movies were a bit long winded and the plots were a bit convoluted, I'm pretty sure I saw them all in theaters but I can't remember most of them. I always liked the fight scenes though. And tell me you didn't think the dual lightsaber was badass when you first saw it.

The way I see it the biggest problem of the prequals was it made Lucas obsess over CG effects. Once it because apparent he could do whatever the fuck he wanted with CG it was all over. It was like CG was a super whore, once Lucas jizzed out Jar Jar he just kept coming back again and again.

But wait, CG is made by computers, computers exist to access the internet, and the internet was invented by Al Gore, so REALLY Al Gore is at fault for corrupting Lucas and the Star Wars franchises.

Really? The Original Trilogy 'put you to sleep'?? D: Eep.

I think most of us would probably agree that Lucas's obsession with CGI just went too far. Before TPM was even made, Lucas decided he simply had to go back and tamper with the Original Trilogy, and add stuff that wasn't there before, and isn't necessary, and 'fix' things he didn't like, and of course, that's the Special Edition, from 1997. He did even more tampering for the 2004 disc release, and...ugh, he also went too far in trying to get his first movies to tie into the new ones. He didn't add that much more crap, but what he did do...just went too far. It's nonsense, and unnecessary. Now, the Blu-Ray release is upon us, and we don't know if Lucas has done even more or not. No Bothan spies have reported anything yet, but....don't be surprised.

People sometimes say, in Lucas's defense, "It's his movies, he can do what he wants with them!" I get so tired of hearing that because no one ever said otherwise. Have you ever heard anyone say it's not the case? That's not the point or the issue; it's whether Lucas, or anyone for that matter, should do it or not. And you know, Lucas used to keep saying he doesn't want Star Wars to be the only thing he does in life, but that's what he has been doing; one reason for that is he won't let go of the movies, and leave them be. He has to keep tampering with the film because he doesn't like it. As an artist, I do sympathize with him to some extent, when one looks back on their old work and all they see are the mistakes they wish they did better at the time. But do you know how  common that is? All or most artists do that. Lucas simply has problems accepting this, won't let go of what is and was, and thus, he doesn't allow  for actual growth. Fine, using the Magic Electric Box™, he can make and insert whatever he wants into his movies more than he ever could before. But what has he actually learned in all these years? Has he really grown as a filmmaker? In most ways, it seems the answers are 'nothing', and 'no'.

There was an episode of South Park (Free Hat) that was about it, where the boys get tired of Lucas and Spielberg screwing up their movies. When Lucas does give the defense of "They're my movies! I can do what I want with them!" Stan says "They're our movies. We paid for them." He goes on about how 'art belongs to everyone' when it's released, and movies like SW that have become such great parts of our lives that we pass down to other generations are, in a sense, everyone's. You can appreciate the sentiment.

I think the main thing with the New Trilogy is that everyone had such great expectations and they were crushed into a fine powder right before their eyes. First, it was new Star Wars. How could one not be excited about that? And we'll finally learn how Anakin became Vader, and see Obi-Wan as a Jedi?? Sign me up! And well....things didn't turn out as well as fans hoped. Lucas's CGI obsession was one thing, yes. He just....shoved it all in your face and wanted you to focus on it too, it seemed. It seemed to be one of the main things that mattered most to Lucas, when most SW fans wanted more story. And a better-told story. I've heard all kinds of criticisms about the story, and honestly, we could go on forever about it. I will say that... continuity errors and...retcons sure didn't help either...

I will agree that overall, I think the New Trilogy is okay, despite its....various problems. I love Revenge of the Sith, honestly. It's great. Again, not all of it is....ideal, and there are things that could have been done better, but taking it for what it is, I like it. Attack of the Clones is also okay. The....love elements are...just not good, but I also think of it as an example of how Anakin and Padme didn't change as people, through the 10 years since they last saw each other; they have flaws. Otherwise, I think it's decent. The New Trilogy....should have been done differently, in perhaps most ways, and I don't exactly defend Lucas on it much. But eh, I find things in it I still like.

To be fair some and i do mean SOME of the things remasterd / added to the original trillogy, were good. 

Most weren't... but some were good and reasonable changes.  I just wished he had stopped there.

I admit that some SE things were kind of neat to see. I did think, especially at the time, it was cool to see new portrayals of X-Wings and TIE-Fighters. But again, Lucas actually inserting these things into the old movies because he didn't like the original film is just unnecessary. I thought these things were more neat at the time, because it was new Star Wars....something! But well, much time has passed and I don't feel quite the same. Granted, even today, looking at the Death Star battle again, the new material doesn't look 'bad', no. That's just it though; it was never a matter of it looking bad; it was a matter of it being unnecessary for Lucas to try and re-write history, and make it look like he made a different movie than he actually did. Lucas seems to want people to remember Star Wars for the Special Edition, not the original film, and a lot of fans, myself included, are not appreciative of that. It's a matter of principle.

I've read that if the N64 starwars game didn't sell well they weren't going to make the prequels... if that's true, we can all lament having bought that game back in the day.

I believe you're referring to Shadows of the Empire; there were a few SW games on the N64. :P

I've also heard the same idea, too. Evidently, SotE was meant to be a big multimedia event to help test the waters of interest. Now granted, Lucas would probably have eventually made the New Trilogy anyway. Because he's...Lucas..But I suppose the venture didn't hurt.

Keep in mind, before SotE and the N64, there wasn't a lot of SW multimedia back then. Timothy Zahn helped ignite that powder keg with his Thrawn trilogy in 1991 or 1992, and after that, SW multimedia was still growing.

I saw part of A New Hope on TV and the CGI takes away from the experience of the movie. One thing that I wonder why it was changed was the scene when Han Solo shot the alien in the bar, by making Han Solo shot in reaction takes away from his character.

Ugh....the whole 'Who Shot First?' mess....Sigh...

As for why Lucas....felt the need to make Greedo shoot before Han is reportedly that....Lucas didn't want Han to seem like 'a cold-blooded killer'. That's been the 'word around the campfire', I guess, and I'm not quite sure how true it is or not. There aren't any real reasons that make sense to me to begin with, but this is Lucas so....who knows? Bleh...

He did even more tampering for the 2004 disc release

WEEEESA FREEEEE!

...Yes. Crap like that....Just...so unnecessary. And what did it add to the movie?? 'Oh, see? Continuity! I'm adding continuity with my new movies! See?!'

Yeah, meanwhile, he made the huge black hole that already existed in Star Wars continuity even bigger, in other areas.... -__-

The crap like that and the random droids walking INRONT of everything going on in the movie are examples of the bad. Things like touching up the combat, adding in more stormtroopers, etc. are examples of what I think were good.

As for the whole Han / Greedo issue don't even get me started. Fucking Rhodian should take a long stroll out a short air lock.

Removing the Vaseline smear on the lens to obscure the wheels on the landspeeder-- good idea.

That banthaa walking in front of the camera in ANH during the Mos Eisley scene for FOUR seconds-- bad idea.

Animaniacs totally came to mind when I wrote that.

Yeah, the ronto, I think it was, or...something, that walked right in front of the screen totally blocking your view was completely obnoxious, and just...why would you add that?? I suppose might say that in the same scene, there's also a droid that rolls by, close to the camera. Yes, but it's still not right in your fucking face, being obnoxious. Sigh...

The...Vaseline is something I'd actually understand wanting to remove/fix. Of all the things Lucas did, that one actually makes some sense.

Well, again, the Death Star battle, and even adding some more troopers, didn't look 'bad' or anything, but I just find them to still be unnecessary. And again, what I think bothers most fans, or a lot anyway, about the whole SE mess is that Lucas is trying to rewrite history and make it seem like that's the movie he made all along, when everyone knows that's not true. He's trying to erase the original films from history and force replacements in time instead, and...that's just nuts.

Michael Okuda, who supervised the remastered editions of Star Trek TOS, knew from the mistake that George Lucas made that less is more. He knew only to dress up the broken graphics, insert establishing shots and update the stock images.

Because of that minimalist approach, TOS is perfect now. As much as I love Star Trek, I still find TOS to be almost unwatchable, but it's absolutely perfect.

...you know, CBS did pull a Lucas and did the exact same thing with TOS, when they decided to remaster and re-broadcast the series. I...haven't seen any of it, but....wow, I didn't know what to say to that.

Nope. It wasn't the exact same thing Lucas did. It was what Lucas should have done in the first place.

The remastered episodes look AMAZING. There's no content changed. Nothing flashy about it. Just simply the way it was originally in Rodenberry's mind.

I heard they replaced special effects with CGI. I recall that's what the original press release stated. They didn't do that?

Of course that's what they did. That's what I'm trying to tell you. But it isn't retarded like a lot of the CGI in Star Wars.

I mean I can think of a logical reason of WHY lucas threw shit infront of the camea in Mos Eisley. it' s supposed to be a bustling busy hive of scum and villany. Not some baren practically abandoned town.

The WAY he did it though was BAD. 

I can't comment on STTOS though. never saw the remaster.

....why is the Star Trek version 'better' than what Lucas did? While they may not added pointless new stuff like Lucas did, they did replace original effects with new ones, like Lucas did in some areas. In principle, I don't see any difference, and that's the problem a lot of fans have with the Special Edition; digital tampering (that doesn't include film restoration) shouldn't have been done, period, and didn't make the movies 'better'. But like I said, there's also Lucas's attempt at re-writing history that also angers fans.

Well, yeah, I guess Lucas's intention was to make Mos Eisley look busier and more alive, but most of it was still just unnecessary; especially  the....animal, whichever it was, that walks right in front of your face and takes up the whole fucking screen. That was just plain obnoxious.

No content from this remastered Star Trek was changed. Not a bit of it. In one episode, a phaser blast might be green, while in another, they were red or blue. Now it's consistent across the board as red.

All that's been changed was the graphics. The CG effects are the quality of Enterprise. That there's nothing wrong with. There's a few episodes where you don't even see exterior shots. That was corrected. There's a few episodes where the wrong models were used in a shot. That was corrected. Only the stop-motion was replaced with CGI. No sets, no backgrounds. Just exterior shots and stills.

The problem Lucas had was he went haywire with adding in new sequences, shit in front of the action and entirely new scenes like "Weeesa freeee!" There's none of that to be found in the new TOS. That's the difference.

Film restoration and digitization was also a part of the remastering.

...well. you've just said they both did change and did not change things in TOS. It's not both. ;P

It seems I was correct then that there was some CG editing, as I had heard. Whether it was done for 'consistency' or to 'correct' something, they still did it. Again, keep in mind Lucas felt the same way about his Special Editions; he's just making 'corrections' to his work, and some things he did 'for consistency' (or what he felt was 'consistency'). A lot, if not most, fans disagreed. In principle, it is the same thing, although probably not done for all the same reasons that Lucas made changes to Star Wars.

I said there was CGI added. But no content was changed. That consists of the story and anything involving characters. Only the technical aspects were changed.

Lucas changed both content and technical.

To answer the original question... I would have to say that if the prequels were made first they would NOT suck as much as they do now, but they would still suck.  My reason is they wouldn't have to shoe-horn so much back story in to three promised films and still try to make it fit inline with the established continuity.  As a result, IV, V and VI would be so vastly different we wouldn't recognize them.

If I could change the prequels...

Episode 1:

-Ditch all the stereo-type accents. I have a difficult enough time understanding the Gungans as it is.

-Make Anakin less... creepy.  "Are you an angel?" feels more serial killer like than naive.

-NO MIDICHLORIANS!

-Maybe more Darth Maul. Hard to say on this one though. It might just be a case of less is more.

Episode 2:

-Start to very slowly lead Anakin, from respectable man, down the path toward the dark side. (NO EMO!)

-DARTH BINKS!!!  Jar-Jar is responsible for the republic having an army! Just make him a Sith Lord. ( I know he was "tricked" into  suggesting it to the senate.) Still I would pay good money to see any Jedi have a light saber fight with Darth Binks.

- Show an actual romance developing with Anakin and Padme.  I swear my socks have a more convincing relationship than they do.

Episode 3:

-Finish the path toward to the dark side.  Let's face it, he was an unofficial Sith at the beginning of Episode 2!

-Change the lava fight. I had no feeling of danger for either Anakin or Obi-Wan.  Anakin getting both legs and real arm all cut off in ONE stroke of  a light saber always bothered me.

-Have at least two minutes of Darth Vader. Most important... No "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Well... maybe it would be ok if Anakin was never portrayed as a WHINY EMO BITCH!

But that's just me of course!

Yes, I know. My point is digital edits were still made, and well, replacing old effects with digital ones is content change, to a degree,  even if they replaced it with basically the same thing or kind of thing. They may not have added new material the way Lucas did, but they still digitally 'made corrections', just as Lucas felt he did. Again, in principle, it's the same thing, even if it wasn't done for the same reasons. To be honest though, I don't know why they decided to edit Star Trek. 'To make it better'? Look, people know how old the show is and what effects were like back then. Why bother?

Lucas demonstrated a good reason why it's not always a good idea to make a story backwards, and chronological order is usually the best way to go....I guess it is intresting to realize that Star Wars would be very different if he had made the movies in chronological order, but like I said, one thing to remember is that things we saw in the New Trilogy probably wouldn't have gone exactly as they did, had Lucas made them first. For example, we probably wouldn't have had battle droid armies because...well, look at 'em. They're definitely more of a product of the Digital Age. I suppose Lucas could have had the droids designed differently, enough so so that they could be guys in robot costumes, like C-3PO, and other protocol droids. Who knows?

 If Lucas had made EI-III first, they would probably have to be different enough that they might have actually been better, quite possibly! And again, what if a complete reversal happened; he made the movies in chronological order, EI-III becomes the Classic Original Trilogy, then he makes EIV-VI and people chastise it? It's crazy to imagine, but it could have happened!

But like I also said, I agree with Roo that had Lucas tried to get EI made first, especially if, for some reason, it was really close in script and idea to the movie that does exist, that would probably have killed Star Wars, and no other movies may have been made.

....Darth Binks?? The Dark Side I sense in you, Temujohn.... D:

It would have been nice to have a lot more Vader, I think we can all agree. You know, Darth Malgus, the Sith from The Old Republic, clearly looks like a Vader prototype, design-wise. Why couldn't we have had that for a while, in at least one of the movie? He'd eventually become the Vader we recognize, but why not a better transition?

As far as Maul goes, it sounds like in this case, a lot of people think less is not more! I think a lot of people were disappointed at how little there was of him. In other SW media, you see what a bad-ass he was, but you really don't get that impression so much in EI. I think fans would have been interested to see more of him and what he can do, but alas.

In my opinion, had Episode I actually launched the saga, then the rest of the mvies would have never been made.

If you view Episode I through a lens that filters out decades of star wars culture, and look at it on it's own, it sucks.

I'd love to agree with you Boomer... but:

Transformers
Resident Evil
Guyver
Final Destination
Uwe Boll

And my number one example to debate that statement:

Star Trek (the original mostion picture)

The problem that Gene Roddenberry had with Star Trek: The Motion Picture was that he had originally intended for it to be a new show. He was left stuffing a pilot and three episodes into the same movie and felt like he could use the original show's formula for a new series, when the world's scifi tastes had changed. If he'd altered the pacing, it could have been a decent hour and 20 minute movie like the rest of them were.

I'm not sure what you mean, Aestolia. Do you mean, despite the years of back-culture, as Boomer mentioned, those movies still suck? Or...that they're good? I'm not sure! D: I mean, I do think all of your examples are movies that suck! >D But I'm not sure if we agree there. :P

I meant them as examples of movie series that shouldn't have continued based on the merits of the first movie alone.

Would star wars of had made it to 6? no, probably not. but I'd be willing to bet the first trillogy would have been completed.

Ah. I got'cha now! Well, in all the examples you named, I didn't like the first entry in those series to begin with, so...I agree! >D And of course, Uwe Boll just makes bad movies, period, so.... :P

Yes, the prequels would suck as much as they currently do even if they had come first. How much freaking Star Wars' canon (from the 20, or 30 or so odd years of novels that followed the release of the original movies and MUST HAVE BEEN greenlighted by George Lucas, or they would never have existed) was rewritten whole cloth just to make them even? Why did Anakin have to make freaking 3PO? Why is the  general caliber of acting on the level of a 90's Nickelodeon series? Why does most of The Phantom Menace play like an extended video game commercial?Why do NONE of the actors/characters exhibit even a modicum of chemistry with one another, much less the kind of great banter (mostly ad libbed) that was displayed by Han and Leia, or Han and Lando? Hell, even Han and Chewy had more chemistry than the freaking two main characters and supposed star crossed lovers of the prequels.

Why is the script so bad it would appear at home on a FanFic site? Why do they almost seem to be trying to be family films? Why are they so juvenalized? Why are there miticloriwhatevers? Why is there no actual WAR in the Clone Wars? Why did Industrial Light and Magic INSIST on utterly abandoning models and matte painting for CGI that (certainly at the time of The Phantom Menace's release) just wasn't up to carrying a movie when they ADMITTED the film would have looked better  if they hadn't soon after its release? Why are all of them except Revenge of the Sith PG and not PG13? Why is Anakin such an emo? Why is Padme such a moron? Why is Obi Wan such a well....nonentity? Why is Yoda a wuss who gives up on trying to take down the Emperor before a single drop of blood is even spilled? Why does Jar Jar Binks exist?????

Is my view of the original trilogy biased by nostalgia? Sure. Were they perfect? No. Was the writing Shakespeare? No. They were still good movies. It was still a good story. The prequels aren't. Name one catch phrase that has come outta the prequels (that isn't a mocking, hate filled parody of Jar Jar). I can think of several from the original trilogies. Name me one actor involved with the prequels who has a 1/10 of Harrison Ford's charisma, or Carrie Fisher's wit and intelligence (she's a famous novelist ftr)? Besides the fact that the original trilogy was so beloved and such a cultural freaking icon should have made Lucas and Co. tread VERY lightly and carefully when attempting to add to and/or change the original series. Instead he stomped all over my childhood. If I still had my R2D2 Underroos I would burn them in effigy of what Star Wars has become.

Original trilogy catchphrases:

"I'm out of it for awhile and everyone starts suffering from delusions of grandeur"

"I love you" "I know"

"I have a baaaaaad feeling about this"

"I don't have time to discuss this with your committee" "I am not a committee"

"Would you relax, he's a friend of mine" "That's what I'm afraid of"

"These are not the droids you're looking for"

Er...I'm not sure what you mean by "Why is there no actual WAR in the Clone Wars?" Yes...there definitely is! Granted, we didn't see a whole ton of it in the actual movies, if that's what you meant. However, even in 'Sith, you still get the idea there's a war indeed going on, and we see some battles.

In regards to other Star Wars multimedia taking place in the Clone Wars, well....there's clearly a  war going on there, too. :P

Only decent battle in the prequels was the one at the start of Sith that I remember.  Of course I may have blocked out alot of the atrocity that was Attack of the Clones.  Maybe there was a little skirmish in that?  I hate seeing Yoda fight like he does in the new ones too so that hurts.  He should use his mind power.  He uses a lightsaber at all and it should be totally with the force only.  Him going all ninja and jumping around is silly imo.

Battlefront had some good Clone War battles, but we're talking about the movies, right?

Like Boomer and Roo said.  Episodes 4,5,6 would never have been made if the others had been made first.  No studio would have gotten anywhere near Lucas after Attack of the Clones.  The new ones are like Sci fi original movie quality at best.  Without the legions of fans of the originals they disappointed, the prequels would have lost millions.  A really bad big budget movie could still pull off a couple of followups maybe, but not 6.

I now have my doubts as to Lucas having writen the original 3 at all.  At the very least he's become so completely enamoured of himself and his ideas to the point he listens to no one and someone reigned him in hard on the originals.  I find it very hard to believe no one had the balls to tell him what a fail character Jar Jar was or that Indiana Jones surviving a nuclear bomb might be Looney toon quality stupid for that matter.   Hell.  Didn't someone have to stop him from making Luke a Hobbit?  Does he now just fire anyone who says anything besides, "Ooo!  Great idea Mr. Lucas!  You're a genius!"?

Oh and Natalie Portman was terrible in all of them.  I think alot let their fanboy crushes color their judgement.  Granted a good portion probebly was the terrible dialog and direction, but not all of it.  Sith would have been almost watchable for me if not for her completely stinking the hell out of every scene she's in.

Spielberg actually claims responsibility for the 'Nuke the Fridge' scene. Whether that's really accurate or not, he's still taking the blame for it. :P

I had a similar thought, in regards to, didn't anyone tell Lucas some of his ideas were bonkers? Did no one say anything?? While we may never know for sure, the thing is, even if anyone did, Lucas doesn't have to listen to anyone. So....he doesn't. He really does seem to think he knows best, and his ideas are the chief ones that matter so...why should he listen to anyone else? Naturally, I don't think that's right, but that's what I suspect goes on. :/

Yeah, I was talking about in the actual movies. That is what I meant. We don't see a lot of war in the actual movies, specifically in Attack of the Killer Klones from Outer Space. For the sake of my own sanity, I generally just refer to Episode 2 as the Clone Wars, misnomer though that may in every way be.

I don't know anything about the other Star Wars multimedia, or anything subsidiary to the films released since Jedi. I thought the discussion was about the movies? And I stand by there being no war in Attack of the Killer Klones. There isn't much in Revenge of the Sith come to that. This is a galactic wide conflict we are talking about here. That should have rated more than a few (between Episode 2 and 3) Droid Army fights and one Space skirmish. Originally Anakin Skywalker was supposed to turn to the Dark Side of the Force as a direct result of his experiences as a fighter pilot in the Clone Wars. I know Lucas and Co. tossed all that out the window when he came up with the prequels, but I still expected it to actually LOOK like kindof an epic conflict instead of coming off as the celluloid equivalent of Grenada. NO, I AM NOT EXAGGERATING - well, okay maybe a liiiiittle. =D

Picture some of the great movies about the Vietnam War like Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, or Platoon without their epic and expansive battle scenes, or Saving Private Ryan and WWII for the younger generation. Scratch that, they would still be awesome movies because Oliver Stone and Stanley Kubrick are actual artists and understand things like plot development and storytelling and the importance of a good script and decent acting. But they sure rawk a lot harder with those scenes included, and their presence adds to the viewer's understanding of and identification with the characters and the conditions they are living under.

The Vietnam War: It's got some war in it! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKYALsp-sIg