It wasn’t so long ago that the Star Wars prequel trilogy was simply a subject of mockery. To be fair, there’s a lot to cringe at, whether it be wooden performances, excruciating dialogue, flat direction, or literally everything to do with Jar Jar Binks. But over the last few years, they’ve seen something of a critical rehabilitation.
The Disney Plus shows have begun directly referencing prequel-era characters and storylines to acclaim from fans, with this renaissance cemented by the glowing reception to Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor reprising their prequel trilogy roles in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Even so, there are some fan opinions that still go against the grain.
Of the three prequels, 2005’s Revenge of the Sith was by far the best received, as it ditched a lot of the slapstick comedy in favor of focusing on Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side and the destruction of the Jedi. But for one fan, it’s “the worst Star Wars prequel”.
User ‘AnalogueWaves’ says that Anakin’s fall is “clumsily handled” and that it’s not plausible that he goes from slightly troubled Jedi Knight to murdering children “in a flash”:
“This turn is far too quick and abrupt. You can argue he’s afraid of loss and that’s his big character flaw, but there’s a big gap between that and literally becoming space Hitler in the span of 5 minutes.”
Other users disagree, saying that Anakin’s fall isn’t just contained within a single movie. They point to his massacre of the Tuskens in Attack of the Clones, his flirtation with the benefits of a dictatorship, and repeated comments that he’s frustrated and dissatisfied with the Jedi Order’s strict rules.
But even the film’s fans admit that it wouldn’t work half as well without having The Clone Wars flesh out the backstory:
Does this animated show really uplift the movie that much?
Others say that a movie relying on a multi-series long kid’s TV show is a hard sell to older audiences:
But we’d struggle to argue that The Phantom Menace is better than Revenge of the Sith, as at least the later film doesn’t have Jar Jar Binks in it:
The prequels have a lot of great ideas in them, though it’s not controversial to say the execution fell short of the ambition. Even so, if we had to pick one to rewatch we’d choose Revenge of the Sith, if only because every event that’s actually relevant to the original trilogy happens in this movie.
