User blog:KaharZamet/Why the Prequels Are Better Than the Original Trilogy

Recently, I was challenged by a friend to write an essay on why the Star Wars prequels are better than the original trilogy. I gladly accepted that challenge. So, without further to do, here is my reasoning as to why the prequels are better than the original trilogy:

CGI - Star Wars has always had CGI that was ahead of its time. The original trilogy had pretty advanced CGI for its time, but in terms of modern technology the CGI is not that great. The prequel trilogy had advanced CGI as well, and I’d still consider it pretty good today. Hopefully this means that we’ll get some of the best modern CGI in the sequel trilogy and anthology movies as well. CGI in the prequels is a controversial topic, as many people do not like how heavily it was used. But the heavy use of CGI was a good thing. It allowed them to bring to life amazing planets far more detailed than that of Tatooine and Hoth. Interesting creatures were able to be created as well, such as gungans, Grievous, Geonosians, and so many more. The CGI also made Jabba and Yoda look a lot better than when they were puppets.

Acting - The acting in the original trilogy was not good. Even Admiral Ackbar’s lines, while memorable, were not that great. I watched The Empire Strikes Back again a few weeks ago and facepalmed at how terrible some of the lines were. And sometimes the characters had no emotion. Leia barely reacted when she saw Alderaan get blown up. Meanwhile, in the prequels, the acting was great. Sure, there were some bad lines, but there was many great lines with actual emotion put into them. Obi-Wan was bursting into tears as he saw Anakin burn alive on Mustafar and commenting how Anakin was like a brother to him. We never got a moment so emotional in the original trilogy.

Characters - The characters were better in the prequels in my opinion, and we had a lot more too. In the original trilogy we really only focused on Chewbacca, Luke, Leia, Han, C-3PO, and R2-D2, Palpatine, and Vader, who really weren’t that interesting. In the prequels we had Anakin, Padme, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Darth Maul, Yoda, Ki-Adi Mundi, Mace, Palpatine, Dooku, Jar Jar, Grievous, Cody...the list goes on. And these characters showed actual emotion and had great backgrounds behind them.

Story - I felt like the story was better in the prequels. Original trilogy was a little cliche: we’re being oppressed by bad guys so lets have some characters who are special rise up against them and fight to restore good. In the prequels, we had a richer story about how the largest faction in galactic history fell to the Sith and how the Chosen One fell to the dark side. The great cast of characters helped make this story even better too.

I’m not saying the original trilogy is bad. I’m just saying the prequels are better in my opinion. I think both trilogies are some of the greatest movies ever made. It’s Star Wars either way, and I’ll take both of them. But if I had to choose one over the other, it would be the prequels.