[wushuliu]

Most people I have talked to about the film completely missed the entire point of the "trade agreements and embargoes". Not necessarily saying you did, as well, but every time I hear this mentioned and I have a conversation about it, it was obvious it went right over their head.

I think the fact you have to say that is confirmation enough. I have no recollection if I understood that plot point or not, the films were so awful that I simply didn't care about anything that was happening.

[Larkston Zinaspic]

The awful Jar Jar Binks: Alive!?

The awesome Darth Maul: Dead!?

Everything else was a blur after that.

[ajzepp]

I think the fact you have to say that is confirmation enough. I have no recollection if I understood that plot point or not, the films were so awful that I simply didn't care about anything that was happening.

Yet you saw all three? lol 

[Letitroll98]

I think if JJ and Kasdan are going to 'keep it real' so to speak then yeah Luke is going to be a baddie. Classic tragic structure. Son defeats the father only to take his place.

I think it might be more interesting if Luke was a mysterious, reclusive character that no one was really sure if he was bad, good, or something else.  Don't know if Disney would go for anything like that.

[RDavidson]

Despite how horrible the movies are, there's still some cool and significant stuff interspersed throughout. No one has really made this point, but the prequels explain the origins of The Empire and Vader. They're worth watching at least once for those reasons. At least watch Revenge of the Sith.

[Rob Babcock]

Yet you saw all three? lol

I was born in 1969 and saw the first film at the drive in theater with my dad.  Star Wars is a cultural touchstone to much of my generation.  When The Phantom Menace came out it was much more than a mere film- it was a major event!  Watching it the first time I was a bit overwhelmed. The effects were stupifying and the light saber battles epic in a way that the earlier films were not.  At first it was really hard to pull back from the 'event' to really analyze the film itself.  I saw it a second time and decided that it was actually kind of terrible with a few cool parts.  IMO the prequels got better as they went along and the last one was bearable (although it had some awful elements, too).

I dunno how old you are, ajzepp, but not seeing canonical Star Wars films because they suck would be like a Cubs fan not attending games because the Cubs stink.   The original films earned so much goodwill that some of it has rubbed on off the turds we call prequels.  The world of Star Wars is really compelling and it has very well developed mythology.

[wushuliu]

Yet you saw all three? lol

Because I'm of the generation that grew up under the spell of Lucas and Spielberg, et al. That shouldn't need explaining.

[wushuliu]

I was born in 1969 and saw the first film at the drive in theater with my dad.  Star Wars is a cultural touchstone to much of my generation.  When The Phantom Menace came out it was much more than a mere film- it was a major event!  Watching it the first time I was a bit overwhelmed. The effects were stupifying and the light saber battles epic in a way that the earlier films were not.  At first it was really hard to pull back from the 'event' to really analyze the film itself.  I saw it a second time and decided that it was actually kind of terrible with a few cool parts.  IMO the prequels got better as they went along and the last one was bearable (although it had some awful elements, too).

I dunno how old you are, ajzepp, but not seeing canonical Star Wars films because they suck would be like a Cubs fan not attending games because the Cubs stink.   The original films earned so much goodwill that some of it has rubbed on off the turds we call prequels.  The world of Star Wars is really compelling and it has very well developed mythology.

Well ajzepp is the one advocating your position while I'm saying anyone who is not a big enough fan to have seen the prequels already, do not need to start now. I saw the prequels even though they sucked because Lucas and Spielberg made some of the best films of my childhood and I felt obligated in a sense. I also watched them out of curiosity for the HD cameras that were used to shoot the film as the prequels were some of the earliest blockbusters to be shot in HD (and it shows IMO). I had almost no desire to see Revenge of the Sith but there was enough talk about it being 'edgier' and 'darker' that I went anyway. Dear God that 'Nooooo' scene is so bad it could be a deleted scene from Spaceballs.

The upside is that Lucas felt so badly about Jar Jar and how much he blew it on the prequels that he finally have the film rights to someone else. Things can only go up from here.

[OzarkTom]

I read that Lucas had so much pressure to keep the series going that he just threw the prequels together. Lucas said he was burned out.

Maybe he was just too busy still counting his money from the first three movies. Lucas also severely botched the fourth installment of Indiana Jones.

[ajzepp]

I was born in 1969 and saw the first film at the drive in theater with my dad.  Star Wars is a cultural touchstone to much of my generation.  When The Phantom Menace came out it was much more than a mere film- it was a major event!  Watching it the first time I was a bit overwhelmed. The effects were stupifying and the light saber battles epic in a way that the earlier films were not.  At first it was really hard to pull back from the 'event' to really analyze the film itself.  I saw it a second time and decided that it was actually kind of terrible with a few cool parts.  IMO the prequels got better as they went along and the last one was bearable (although it had some awful elements, too).

I dunno how old you are, ajzepp, but not seeing canonical Star Wars films because they suck would be like a Cubs fan not attending games because the Cubs stink.   The original films earned so much goodwill that some of it has rubbed on off the turds we call prequels.  The world of Star Wars is really compelling and it has very well developed mythology.

I agree with you...I was born in '72 and Star Wars is literally my first theater memory. The only bigger Star Wars fans than myself are the ones who know what species some of the minor characters are...I can't compete with those folks, but I grew up on the films, had all the action figures, got the special Boba Fett in the mail when I clipped the proof of purchase tabs from the action figure packages, etc, etc.

My position is as I said above...if someone enjoys Star Wars, there's no point in not seeing the prequels...it's not a huge time investment at all, and there is plenty in there to enjoy. It would be like torture knowing there was a Star Wars film out there that I hadn't seen yet...everybody knows they aren't as good as the originals...who cares? The originals are iconic. It's not like you have more films like that popping out all the time.

The haters are always the most vocal, and usually cite the same three or four scenes (or miss the forest for the trees talking about the "trade federation" plot) but overall all three films still were given positive reviews by the majority of critics and fans.

[Phil A]

Everyone will have an opinion (which is great).  There are also various rating sources online (pick your favorite - this is just one) - http://www.imdb.com/list/ls000068177/

I noted earlier I in my opinion Episode 5 was the best.  It was tough to be the middle act of a trilogy and it gives one background as to some of the important players (and Lucas selected a director other than himself).  If I had to watch some earlier films and had not seen any, I'd probably want to see Episodes 4 and 5.  Not that I think the rest were terrible, to me they were not quite to that level.