Current Events > Star Wars prequels "not very much liked", admits Ewan McGregor

(+) Yeah! (+)

Says the negative reaction was quite difficult.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/28/star-wars-prequels-not-very-much-liked-says-ewan-mcgregor

He was like the one thing everyone loved about the prequels though lol

He said working on 2005s Revenge of the Sith was difficult because it was largely done in front of a screen rather than on a set. After three or four months of that, it just gets really tedious especially when the scenes are I dont want to be rude, but its not Shakespeare.

Theres not something to dig into in the dialogue that can satisfy you when theres no environment there. It was quite hard to do.

But the success of the subsequent movies set after the original trilogy, along with the $100m television series The Mandalorian, among the first of ten spin-offs coming to Disney+, proves there is still an appetite and enthusiasm for new stories from the Star Wars universe.

McGregor said he was really excited to be reprising his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a series for Disneys streaming platform due in 2022. Maybe more so than the first ones, because Im older I just turned 50 and Im just in a much better place, he said.

He said that during filming for the new series, the backgrounds are projected on to this massive LED screen which would feel more realistic than CGI-acting.

So if youre in a desert, youre standing in the middle of a desert, he said. If youre in the snow, youre surrounded by snow. And if youre in a cockpit of a starfighter, youre in space. Its going to feel so much more real.

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shaboomaloo

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The only good star wars movies are the first two, the second half of jedi, and rogue one.

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pogo_rabid posted...

The only good star wars movies are the first two, the second half of jedi, and rogue one.

We were curious.

Anyway, good on him for making his piece with this. Like OP said, he was the best part of those movies.

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Doom_Art posted...

We were curious.

Glad I could help out :)

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We don't deserve Ewan

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I legit feel bad for anyone involved with making those movies. Ive never seen such a disgustingly pathetic immature fanbase. Even when I was a little kid when the prequels were coming out, I was like why are people THIS angry over a space fantasy movie?

I can imagine how much even Empire Strikes Back wouldve been blasted if it came out in the Age of Internet Rage.

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rexcrk posted...

I can imagine how much even Empire Strikes Back wouldve been blasted if it came out in the Age of Internet Rage.

TESB had pretty mediocre reception from fans when it originally came out.

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he was one of the best parts of the prequels

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Parappa09 posted...

he was one of the best parts of the prequels

He was the best part.

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Ilishe posted...

He was the best part.

he's tied with ian mcdarmid tbh

The guy who played Jar Jar considered suicide. I'm serious.

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I saw an ad for his Disney+ (I think it was D+ anyways) travel show where he goes to some village and is shocked the villagers haven't seen the Star Wars prequels.
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Verdekal posted...

The guy who played Jar Jar considered suicide. I'm serious.

such a shame, because jar jar rules. the first film is the only one with anything worthwhile.

Well no shit, the prequels are trash.

There was no need for them really, Lucas could have just done sequels and been done with it. We didn't need a backstory for Vader at all.

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Still not as bad as the Disney sequels

Verdekal posted...

The guy who played Jar Jar considered suicide. I'm serious.

Reminds me of how people were personally attacking Rose Tico's actress. Like, what the fuck do you expect? AnyoneAsian, white, male or femalewould jump at the chance to go from obscurity to being in a Star Wars film.

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Water is wet etc.

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coh posted...

Still not as bad as the Disney sequels

They're both bad for very different, incomparable reasons.

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Shablagoo posted...

Revenge of the Sith was difficult because it was largely done in front of a screen rather than on a set. After three or four months of that, it just gets really tedious

I mean, you can absolutely tell.

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I dont really blame him. Lucas got old and lazy. He thought he could recreate the magic of Star Wars without ever leaving his ranch/studio.
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Mr_Karate_II posted...

Well no shit, the prequels are trash.

There was no need for them really, Lucas could have just done sequels and been done with it. We didn't need a backstory for Vader at all.

To this day I can't believe someone actually sat down and thought to themselves, "we really need to see one of the most menacing, iconic and mysterious villains of all time as a dorky as fuck kid"

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Don't take it hard, Ewan. You weren't responsible for the writing.

coh posted...

Still not as bad as the Disney sequels

Facts.

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Remember that video where McGregor learns the title of Attack of the Clones and laughs out loud?

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Man they must have talked so much shit on set about these movies. Imagine being Ewan and reading the script he got. "It's not Shakespeare' is the nicest way to put it.

UnholyMudcrab posted...

Remember that video where McGregor learns the title of Attack of the Clones and laughs out loud?

You can see him barely contain his laughter when he says Anakin killed younglings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6klOn2DZ3fY

But yeah looking it up I bet this was his reaction to most of the stuff he learned about the prequels after he signed on.

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I find Revenge of the Sith enjoyable to a large degree. It has more good than bad at least. It definitely is the most rewatchable of the three prequels. Ewan nailed it with the comment about the dialogue, it is especially bad and jarring in Ep3 considering how great the set pieces are.

coh posted...

Still not as bad as the Disney sequels

True, but that's a really low bar.

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Someone ask Ewan McGregor what he would name Episode II

ToastyOne posted...

I find Revenge of the Sith enjoyable to a large degree. It has more good than bad at least. It definitely is the most rewatchable of the three prequels. Ewan nailed it with the comment about the dialogue, it is especially bad and jarring in Ep3 considering how great the set pieces are.

It has some great fight scenes in it.

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steveoSEK posted...

It has some great fight scenes in it.

It really doesn't and its weird people keep claiming it does.

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My preferred PT changes
Owen Lars was Anakin's best friend
Yoda was Obi-Wan's master
Padme raised the twins for at least a year so Leia can form some familiarity with her mother

"Oh it was awful, acting in front of a green screen was tedious and boring..."

*Disney backs up the Brinks truck for him to be Obi-Wan again*

"So anyways I can't wait to get in front of that new screen they got! I'm in such a much better place now it's gonna be so much better!"

lol

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sLaCkEr408___RJ posted...

Padme raised the twins for at least a year so Leia can form some familiarity with her mother

But that wouldn't explain why Luke had no memory of her

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Sictis posted...

But that wouldn't explain why Luke had no memory of her

Some people have better memory. That's how I interpreted it in the OT. Luke simply couldn't remember.

I forget, was there stuff in the OT to indicate that Luke and Leia are twins?

It's been a while since I've watched them lol

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No Ewan the prequels were great! At least it didnt have Rey, Holdo, or Rose amirite bois?

No amount of revisionism or lying to oneself is going to make these movies better than the Disney movies.

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pogo_rabid posted...

The only good star wars movies are the first two, the second half of jedi, and rogue one.

More correct s*** in this post than you realize!

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DeadBankerDream posted...

It really doesn't and its weird people keep claiming it does.

I'll give them Qui Gon vs Maul on Tatooine and then the Naboo fight but everything else is overdone CGI nonsense.

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EU wise prequel era star wars is probably my favorite, though the movies do suck ass. I think for my personal EU rankings:

Clone Wars > Old Republic > Post Empire > Empire > Pre Clone Wars > Sequel Era

The Disney movies have shown me I care way more about the EU than the main movies themselves, which range from decent to really bad.

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nexigrams posted...

"So anyways I can't wait to get in front of that new screen they got! I'm in such a much better place now it's gonna be so much better!"

To be fair, it's a really cool technology.

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IShall_Run_Amok posted...

No amount of revisionism or lying to oneself is going to make these movies better than the Disney movies.

This.

The Disney trilogy doesn't have a consistent theme or story going on among the movies, but at least they're fun to watch. The prequel trilogy is outright BORING for most of it. I fell asleep when I watched Episode 2 for God's sake. I've never done that with a Star Wars movie, even on rewatches.

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Doom_Art posted...

I forget, was there stuff in the OT to indicate that Luke and Leia are twins?

It's been a while since I've watched them lol

Vader: So...you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her, too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me.


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coh posted...

Still not as bad as the Disney sequels

I disagree completely. I dont know how people can say that. The sequels at least are the same style as the original trilogy. The prequels are stupid boring trash films. Especially episode 2

DeadBankerDream posted...

It really doesn't and its weird people keep claiming it does.

Obi-wan vs Anakin and Obi-wan vs Grievous are cool.

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Doom_Art posted...

I forget, was there stuff in the OT to indicate that Luke and Leia are twins?

It's been a while since I've watched them lol

In Return of the Jedi when Luke asks Obi-Wan what Yoda meant when he said "There is another", Obi-Wan replies that Yoda was referring to "your twin sister".

sLaCkEr408___RJ posted...

Some people have better memory. That's how I interpreted it in the OT. Luke simply couldn't remember.

In the same scene Obi-Wan also tells Luke that he and Leia were split up when they were born, so I think it was supposed to be interpreted that Leia was left with her mother while Luke was given to Owen and Beru, but then their mother died young and Leia was adopted by the Organas.

But of course, like many things, the prequels just ignored that and had Padme die immediately, so there was no way Leia could remember her mother at all.

BakonBitz posted...

This.

The Disney trilogy doesn't have a consistent theme or story going on among the movies, but at least they're fun to watch. The prequel trilogy is outright BORING for most of it. I fell asleep when I watched Episode 2 for God's sake. I've never done that with a Star Wars movie, even on rewatches.

Yea, the action and visuals in general are much better, not to mention the performances. I agree that the underlying story of the whole series is a mess, but they took a few good steps to getting there. The prequels might have had a better story, but it's entirely theoretical because they failed to take those steps.

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Obi-Wan vs Anakin is atrocious. It's basically a Super Mario lava level where they just bounce jump over cartoon obstacles for supreme silliness. It's often overly dark and they have the same coloured lightsaber for maximum visual obfuscation. Plus it's approximately 27 hours long.

Obi-Wan vs Grievous is just embarrassing. It's blatantly obvious that Ewan McGregor had no clue what was happening when the scene was shot. His reactions to the movement of the complete CGI character are slow and non-responsive. The whirling of his ten thousand lightsabers makes it impossible (or fairly difficult) to distinguish actual coreography until he gets them cut down to two and then it's basically over. Obi-Wan gets maybe 3 or 4 moves in on him. Yes, the first fight is too long and the second one is too short. A beautiful middle ground is possible, but it's not reached here. And also, Grievous is a complete nothing character so any fight with him is inherently not interesting. Dooku has Christopher Lee's graceful presence (even if it was a stuntman doing the fighting) and Darth Maul has been staring menacingly at the screen with his demon face for the whole movie to give their fights some sort of emotional tone. Grievous has nothing.

Legitimately the only good lightsaber fight in the whole prequel trilogy is the Duel of the Fates in the Phantom Menace.

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