I'll say it: the Star Wars prequels were artistic triumphs [View All]

[DerekG]

As someone who fancies the Lazenby entry "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" to be the best of the Bond films and "The Godfather: Part III" criminally underrated, it should be obvious I don't care a whit for what the status quo thinks.

I love the Star Wars prequels. In lieu of the omnipresent "bad acting" charges, we've been given several of the finest performances of the series (Neeson, McDiarmid) as well as the best ensemble effort in "Revenge of the Sith." True, the dialogue rarely pleases (stately, but bereft of elegance), but it's certainly no worse than the nuggets found in the screenplays to the first three.

What's more, Lucas has crafted three of the most politically daring and labyrinthine big-budget blockbusters ever devised. And I think that's what irked so many fans--the Manichean flavor is almost entirely jettisoned in the PT. Instead of the simplicity of the OT galaxy, in which freedom fighters grapple with a totalitarian state, we're presented with warring factions that are all morally compromised: a republic that is crumbling under the influence of bureaucrats; an idealistic secessionist movement that, in actuality, is a front for corporatists; a cadre of arrogant, dogmatic monks who sacrifice their principles to become soldiers in a phony war; and finally, at the center of it all, a deranged cultist, who has his fingers in everything.

There's a mad grandeur to these films, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are at least somewhat vindicated in the years to come.

(And if Jar Jar really bothers you that much, try to remember this is a franchise that also showcases a giant monkey and dancing teddy bears.)