The Prequels, Episodes I-III. What did you like about them?

[mr_outsidevoice]

Darth Maul duel with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
The core story behind it was good, just poorly executed.
The best part was it set up the Clone Wars cartoons which had some great moments and deepened the tragedy of Anakin.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Hmmm ...

Pluses:

Art-deco design
Clear evolution to the "future" trilogy
Attempted to tell a Skywalker arc (just did it poorly)
Some good action sequences
Firespray dogfight in Episode II (I don't like Jango, or the way clones were handled, but I loved that dogfight.)
Ben & Anakin's lightsaber battle

 

[MarkB]

Also the lightsaber battles. A lot of folks disliked the wuxia feel as compared to the original duels, and sometimes they did go a bit far, but nevertheless I enjoyed them.

More than just the lightsaber battles, I enjoyed seeing what actual, properly-trained Jedi in their prime were capable of in general - practised, focused applications of the Force that integrated perfectly into their fighting style.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

My list:

1) Darth Maul

 

[ccs]

I don't get the love for Darth Maul. I mean, he looks cool, but he doesn't seem very menacing. When Darth Vader enters a room, he owns that room. I don't get that feeling from Darth Maul at all. Plus, double-bladed lightsabers are dumb, and gave us a decade of equally dumb double weapons in D&D.

Well, looking cool is step 1. When I see him I can envision all kinds of awesome action, toys, etc. But like a lot of stuff in I-III his potential was wasted.

As for comparing to Vader? That's not really fair because there's virtually no other movie villain that manages that either. Not even Heath Ledgers Joker.
Movie villain perfection was achieved via Darth Vader. As soon as he stepped into view through that smoking portal onto the Tantive, before he did or said anything, you knew that THIS was THE bad guy. And that he was a galactic badass.

 

[WayneLigon]

I liked a lot of the ship and planet designs.
I liked Obi-Wan, esp in the first and second movies. Like Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul.
I like the look and concept of Count Dooku, though we see far too little of him.

 

[Staffan]

Well, looking cool is step 1. When I see him I can envision all kinds of awesome action, toys, etc. But like a lot of stuff in I-III his potential was wasted.

As for comparing to Vader? That's not really fair because there's virtually no other movie villain that manages that either. Not even Heath Ledgers Joker.
Movie villain perfection was achieved via Darth Vader. As soon as he stepped into view through that smoking portal onto the Tantive, before he did or said anything, you knew that THIS was THE bad guy. And that he was a galactic badass.

True, Vader is one of the best villains of all time. But that does set a high bar for anyone who's trying to follow him.

But even so... we get to see Vader do a whole lot of things in A New Hope. He leads the attack on the Tantive. He, and Tarkin, interrogate Leia. He teaches the Death Star command a lesson in the power of the Force. He kills Obi-Wan. When needed, he hops into a custom-made TIE fighter to shoot down the Rebel Scum attacking the Death Star. We even get some background on him, albeit "from a certain point of view."

Maul, on the other hand, is a complete cypher. We get to see him look cool standing next to Sidious. He fights Qui-Gonn in the desert, and later he fights Qui-Gonn and Obi-Wan in Theed. We learn nothing about him, and he doesn't do anything other than fight.

 

[Janx]

I only saw them once. In the theatre. Whereas, I'd see the original 3 on TV long before I got to see the re-releases on the big screen.

 

[amerigoV]

I liked:

1. Palpatine - I have a suspicion that the story GL really wanted to tell was the rise of the Empire. Everything with Anakin's fall just felt bolted on

2. McGregor as Obi Wan in 2 and 3. I felt he really grew into the role.

3. Clone Wars Animated Series. I know, not part of the movies, but the movies made them possible and they were very good overall.

4. Red Letter Media reviews. Yes, they are harsh. But I learned a good amount about movie making and story telling from them.

5. Jango Fett/Obi Wan fight

6. R2D2 - cuz he is always da bomb.


Only 1 and 2 above popped into my head. That is telling, I think.

 

[cmad1977]

Nothing. Those films were objectively garbage. Terrible acting. Vapid script. Cartoon effects.