I am a fan of the Prequels - PART 1

Hello to all 

In this article I will probably be unpopular because, yes, I am a fan of the prequels too. 

Oh no I will not say that they are perfect or better than the orginal trilogy but I am still a fan of the Prequels (+Clone Wars serie) and I will try to express you why : 

• The Story: 

First of all it is clear for me that there is no way to compare the story of the episode 4 to 6 versus 1 to 3 because the general scopes of the 2 trilogies are totaly different . 

4 to 6: the story of a group of rebel fighting to liberate the galaxy with heroic actions. It focuses on hope, a fellowship of heroes, sacrifices to the cause.

1 to 3: the description of the slow drift of an established galactic society to its own destruction. It focuses on corrupted democracy, political conspiration, greed and the raise of an hidden enemy.

So if we compare them one to one in term of action sequences, relation between the characters or well established good vs bad fight it is not fitting! And to my mind this is one of the reason why most of the fan grown up with Luke and Leia's adventures were disappointed. 

The originals have been created in order to tell the story of a modern Myth (as explained by Lucas himself) in order to express the values of the hero's journey. A renewed myth that could help young people to grow up and identify themselves to! For example, think how many people admitted that Leia's was a model for them and inspired their life.

I recommend the documentary : The Mythology of STAR WARS - A George Lucas interview

The prequels are telling a story of society very similar to the developed countries on earth and the risk of fall of democracies due to corruption, hidden scopes, quest of power from few people in disregards to the good of the citizens as a whole. The scope here is to show the viewers what can happen to a society not "Far Far away" but just near to us in our countries ! 

Lucas is above all a story teller  and his view was not only the entertainment but also somehow to open eyes of the public and make them think of how they can behave in their life and in the society in a better way by identifying to the characters and stories of the saga.

In summary : prequels and orginals are not to be compared because they are complimentary !

• The Universe: 

This is the strong point of the prequels, the 3 films enlarge the universe extremely in terms of worlds, species, categories (clones, bounty Hunters, numerous Jedi, politicians...) and characters. All of them have a back story that can be told and a present that set ideas for expansions for the future of the StarWars aventures. 

Off course it is important to add to the Prequels the 120 episodes of the Clone Wars animated show that explored all these stories. 

Now if you see the new cannon, nearly each novel (Tarkin, A New Dawn, Rogue one Catalyst ...), each comic series (Darth Maul, Anakin and Obiwan, Darth Vader, Young Yoda ...) and Animated Serie Rebels are taking source and develop the society, the characters or the worlds of the prequels. 

For sure the prequels are more dispersive than the episode 4 to 6 that focus on the few key characters but it makes the 3 films extremely rich. Again I take the liberty to include the Animated Serie in this analysis because it brings much more details on each characters in a way that the 3 films could not dodue to the limited time. 

• The characters:

Palpatine: For me, the whole story development of Palpatine and his galaxy scaled plot to become the emperor makes him the biggest villain of all time in Sci-Fi. So I really like the way he manipulate s all the people and federations arounds him hidding his identity to the Jedi. (I recommend to read the Tarkin Novel to know more about him)

Obiwan: He his the character we most link to in the prequel and he is great in showing the true values of the Jedi Order. He shows integrity and he his not yet corrupted as the rest of the Jedi Council that slowly loose their original ways. 

Best Jedi ever. 

Anakin: The prequels and the originals are linked by him, as we all know films 1 to 6 are his story. 

Even if I truly find that the Love Story with Padme is not shown in a very emotional way, it is fundamental to understand the fall to fear, hate, anger and suffering.

Also here, the Clone Wars animated serie is bringing up the character to a very high level showing how very complex Anakin is, how strong he is afraid of loosing Padme and how he can become mad due to jealousy. 

But we see him also as a master and the way he cares about Ashoka like a father to her is really great. He is teaching her like Obiwan would do but with just the more freedom he wanted for him. And actually Ashoka becomes one of the best Jedi ever due to the teaching of Anakin. Her character is perfectly balanced between the wise ways of the Jedi and the self confidence and liberty needed to overcome situations and grow further in the Force.  

We see also his sense of leadership and sacrifice in each episode and his dedication to helping those in danger. But roots of the dark side are present and he can explode any second if he is pushed to the limit. 

Well that is it for now. PART 2 will discuss on the other aspects like the CGI, the lightsaber fights... ... 

I hope you enjoyed it. Please comment because I know that a lot of you will disagree but that is what a blog is for: Express and discuss each opinions.

Do not forget to subscribe to receive several news and point of views on the Star Wars world and May the Force be with you.