Star Wars

by John

Part V: Final Analysis of the Prequels

Any good story is centered on its characters. Though the new films do not present stories as well-told as the original movies did, the prequel films succeed in their most purposeful task of tying the saga together through key characters that are at the heart of Star Wars.

The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), and Revenge of the Sith (2005) put the central characters first seen in the original trilogy in a broader context - framing them in the full scope of the saga's grand story of how one man, Anakin Skywalker, falls and is redeemed by his son, Luke.

Though the series offers a wealth of characters to sort through, both trilogies essentially focus on a core group of seven characters that revolve around their respective protagonists, Anakin and Luke. Luke, the protagonist of the original trilogy, is taught by mentors Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, is tempted by the evil Emperor Palpatine, discovers his family - his father Darth Vader and sister Leia Organa - and befriends eventual freedom fighters Han Solo and Lando Calrissian.

Luke's journey is centered on his two mentors, his tempter, his father and sister, and his two closest friends. The relationship that is most focused upon is that of Luke and his father, whose redemption through Luke's success of saying no to Palpatine's temptations is essentially the point of the original trilogy.

The prequel trilogy, on the other hand, focuses on the father, Anakin - the future Darth Vader. His descent to corruption, which juxtaposes Luke's rise to goodness, is also developed through seven key characters: two mentors, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan; Palpatine as the same tempter; two other familial relations - his mother Shmi, and his wife Padme Amidala; and two of his superiors in the institution to which Anakin belongs: Yoda and Mace Windu.

The central relationship in the new trilogy is that between Anakin and Obi-Wan. Anakin's fall, caused by his decision to say yes to Palpatine's temptations, and his eventual transformation into Darth Vader, is the ultimate conclusion to the new trilogy and sets the stage for the original trilogy. So, we see a total of twelve characters that are at the heart of the saga's central story, as the two trilogies share four characters - Anakin/Darth Vader, Yoda, Obi-Wan and Palpatine.

The most successful function that the prequel films serve, better than standing alone as stories unto themselves, is that they give the original trilogy greater meaning and context through the development of these key characters and their relationships.

Perhaps the fairest way to judge the two Star Wars trilogies, then, is in terms of how much potential was achieved and how much was missed. There is no denying that the Star Wars saga tells an amazing story, but how well do each of the six episodes, split into two trilogies, tell it? While the two trilogies do have different storytelling goals, and not only can't help being very different from one another but in fact are meant to be this way, they're still all movies, and a certain degree of comparison has to be drawn in order to judge them accurately.

In terms of criticism, this is the bottom line: George Lucas has said that he considers his movies as silent films that best communicate their stories visually. That's fine, considering this is a mythic saga packaged in a popcorn movie format.

That still doesn't excuse, however, stilted acting, forced dialogue, and generally poor scriptwriting. The screenplay is the backbone of any movie, and though it may be changed, if it starts out weak and underdeveloped in places, the finished product will never be able to hide those flaws, no matter how much visual spectacle is stuffed on the surface.

That's the difference between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, and the other four: the first two boast the best screenplays.

The cinematic storytelling standards set by Star Wars and especially The Empire Strikes Back were high: those were simply great tales well told, and they achieved a balance between story and spectacle that was never completely recaptured in subsequent films.

With Return of the Jedi, we see the standards inevitably drop. However, the integrity of the story in Jedi isn't sacrificed; it rounds out the saga in an appropriately thrilling and emotionally satisfying way, still making it an overall positive entry. Still, with Jedi, we first see troubling signs of things to come for the prequels: weak characterization and plotting, bad dialogue, wooden acting and awkward whimsy (Chewbacca bellowing a Tarzan yell?) coupled with an over-reliance on spectacular special effects. These letdowns make Jedi the weakest of the original trilogy.

It's the imbalance of too much action spectacle over the essentials of storytelling that are carried through to The Phantom Menace and especially Attack of the Clones, the weakest film in the prequel trilogy and overall series. Though the flaws that show this imbalance in Sith certainly don't crop up as frequently nor as strongly as Menace and Clones, their regrettably familiar presence can't be ignored.

Still, of the three prequel films, Revenge of the Sith, Episode III of the six-part saga, certainly has the most challenging and crucial storytelling tasks. Luckily, the end result fares better than Menace and especially Clones. Sith not only wraps up the new trilogy of Star Wars movies, but ties together the original trilogy as well, bringing all six films full circle. The film concludes the story of how exactly Anakin Skywalker turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader, set against the backdrop of the corrupt Republic transforming into the totalitarian Empire; the story leaves no major loose ends untied.

We watch as Anakin (Hayden Christensen) struggles to maintain his relationships with his mentor Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and wife Padme (Natalie Portman). He is torn between his loyalties to the Jedi--led by Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson)--and to the Republic, led by Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).

The story centers on Anakin's personal struggles and the growing tensions between these two organizations, which both reach their respective boiling points and eventually give birth to Darth Vader and the Empire. The stage is then appropriately set for the original trilogy's storyline, which chronicles Anakin's son Luke and his essential role in redeeming his father and bringing him back to the good person he used to be, while the Empire is eventually defeated by the virtuous Rebel Alliance.

First, the film's weaknesses. Anakin's scenes with Padme, which are much better and more convincing than ever before, still fall flat for the most part. The middle of the film drags and meanders for a bit too long, and several crucial scenes—especially those centering on Palpatine, Windu and Anakin—contain dialogue, acting and plotting that fall short of the drama that the story calls for. Sith's biggest flaw is that Anakin's transformation from a conflicted, angry but well-meaning young man to essentially a mass murderer is not adequately addressed.

Reasons for his conflict are given—his frustration with the Jedi, his crippling fear of death and losing the ones he loves—but these alone are not enough to bridge the gap between Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. If Anakin had shown more conflict, more remorse, more anger at Palpatine as he descended further into the dark side, that would've helped in smoothing the transition. A shot of Anakin looking resentfully at Palpatine in his office after the tyrant knights him Darth Vader, or shedding a few tears after a new spate of killings on a fiery lava planet, just don't cut it.

Overall, Sith comes close to meeting the standards set by the original trilogy, and in some places actually meets them, but the film unfortunately still wears some of the glaring warts that the previous prequels have developed. Having made this criticism, there's no denying that Sith is certainly the best prequel film. Even though that's a somewhat weak compliment, it doesn't negate the fact that Sith was able to engage the audience's feelings and deliver genuine moments of excitement in ways not felt since Jedi.

The first twenty minutes were flawlessly entertaining, containing genuinely fun moments of humor, action and characterization that brought Anakin and his mentor Obi-Wan's relationship to a level of believability never seen before. In this opening sequence, the fun of the original trilogy was definitely recaptured.

The acting and characterizations have also improved overall, as most of the actors and the characters they portray show a range new to the prequel trilogy. When events turn tragic, you truly feel the pain Obi-Wan and Yoda experience. Yoda's character in particular comes full circle; he emerges as the best characterized figure in the film. The underrated McDiarmid also does a riveting job portraying Palpatine; his performance is truly terrifying. Also effective are the parallels made with ancient and contemporary politics. In short, Sith truly resonates with its audience's thoughts and feelings in crucial places, and that itself is one the film's most enjoyable aspects.

Although Sith's strengths—all welcome improvements—are not consistent enough throughout the film, there is tremendous satisfaction in seeing this grand saga of fathers and sons, and mentors and pupils, fully complete. Recalling the original saga of the 70s and 80s through characters, locations, designs, dialogue, and some inside jokes as well, is a genuine treat in all the prequels, especially in Revenge of the Sith. Perhaps that was the best way for the prequels, and therefore the entire saga, to end last year: our contemporary eyes looking back fondly at the binary sunset of the past.