The irony of Star Wars fans hating the prequels 20-25 years ago is they must’ve known things were going to go from good to bad in the plots and events. The problem with The Phantom Menace is that while it’s the first of the Skywalker Saga, it shows all the crazy bureaucratic and political events that would lead to the Separatist movement which would lead to The Clones Wars, and the collapse of the Old Republic and the creation of the Galactic Empire.
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones ends with the beginning of the Clone Wars, which we learn were fought including stormtroopers who were bred from the DNA of Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison), a ruthless bounty hunter/killer. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith begins in the final weeks of The Clone Wars as The Jedi Council has banded with the Clone Army to fight the Separatist Forces under the command of General Grievous (voiced by Matthew Wood).
The image of Jedis and stormtroopers working together in tandem is a brutally honest reminder of how quick alliances can fall. Sith was made in the aftermath of 9/11 when the George W. Bush Administration got us into two wars with Afghanistan and Iraq. Both countries had been our allies just 20-25 years earlier. The 1980s news footage of Donald Rumsefeld, Defense Secretary under W., as a special envoy under Ronald Reagan meeting with Saddam Hussein all smiles and handshakes became the stuff of late-night talk show political humor.
As the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 leading to a war lasted almost 10 years, we helped supply Afghanistan with the weapons and aid to fight them. Rambo III and The Living Daylights were about the war. Then there was Red Dawn, the 1984 version where the teen guerrillas fighting the Soviets are meant to represent the Mujahideen, the Islamic guerrilla fighters.
“Ironic” as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) famously says in a scene that has become a meme. Writer/director George Lucas has never really discussed his politics. But his first movie THX 1138 seemed to focus on an authoritative fascist future. It includes elements in which people are prohibited from having sex. During one scene where an employee is dangerously injured, a voice over a PA tells them to keep working. And the powers that be decide not to continue to pursue the protagonist (Robert Duvall) as it’s no longer financially reasonable.
American Graffiti was set in late summer 1962 while John F. Kennedy was still in the Oval Office and alive. A lot of the teens in the movie probably couldn’t find Vietnam on a map and the Civil Rights movement seems to be something happening elsewhere from suburbia Modesto, Calif. But it’s also about the last part of their childhood as the majority of the main characters have to look to the future. And that means focusing on more than cruising the streets and throwing cherry bombs into toilets.
The Star Wars original trilogy seemed to be a metaphor for World War II, even though Lucas never really said there is a connection. Attack of the Clones opened less than a year after 9/11. Principal photography had ended a whole year earlier. Sith seems to basically show how the Bush Administration focused on absolutes. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) tells Obi-Won Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) “If you’re not with me, you’re my enemy.” This seems to reflect W.’s speech where he said “You’re either with us, or against us.”
But even in Attack of the Clones, Anakin has told Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) people should be forced to just agree with one side that works the best all the time. She says this sounds like a dictatorship. But it’s obvious, he doesn’t know much about politics, which is why Anakin so quickly and easily becomes a pawn of Palpatine, who is also the Sith master Darth Sidious.
Palpatine schmoozes Anakin into believing he belongs on the Jedi Council, which they object to at first but reluctantly do saying he won’t be granted the title of Master. Kenobi is on the Council as well as Yoda (Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), both Masters as well. This means Anakin is still under the guidance and control of Kenobi. Beginning in Attack, there’s been hostility between Kenobi and Anakin as he’s a teenage and still has the naivete and gullibility that most young men his age have.
He’s older in Sith and married to Padme secretly, but she’s pregnant. This may be some extra ammunition to his desire to be a Jedi Master on the Council as he is now a husband and soon-to-be father. Ironically, the Jedi Council seems to function more like a dictatorship itself. They prohibit their order from getting married or even having relationships as well as taking in children as young as possible. In many ways, it sounds like how the children of ancient Sparta were raised.
There’s been a lot of website posts, blogs, and videos made about how bad the Jedi Order really is so I’m not going to go into that here. But I think Lucas is telling us how the feeling of any type of power leads to corruption. Also, we see how Anakin could “be seduced” by the Dark Force. The biggest misconception of Darth Vader is that he is a worthy leader.
He isn’t. He’s mostly a bully. He uses his abilities to choke and even kill people who don’t agree with him. At the same time, he acts loyal to Palpatine for decades not seeing himself as a puppet. Even though he’s supposed to be the Emperor’s apprentice, it seems that Grand Moff Tarkin has more control over him in A New Hope. This may have something to do with how the Imperial officers originally treat Vader as if he’s the spoiled brat son who has been named as a vice-president executive of a company over more experienced executives.
A lot of the criticism of Jake Lloyd’s portrayal in Menace as well as Christensen in Attack was Anakin was too much of a little twerp or whiney wiener. This led to SW fans calling him “Manakin” Skywalker, because the acting was as about as wooden and stiff like a mannequin. In the end because Anakin lets his emotions get the best of him which leads to Palpatine getting the best of Windu leading to his death.
It’s really a no-win situation for other case. If the Jedi Council put Palpatine on trial which is what Anakin wants, the Senate might have taken pity or leniency on him especially since Kenobi has killed Grievous. Also, if Windu had killed Palpatine it might have led to criticism of the Jedi and the Senate could’ve considered the Jedi Council to be terrorists. Either way, Palpatine would’ve had the abilities mostly to quickly enact Order 66 leading to the murder of the Jedi Knights.
This is what Anakin wants is to be the most powerful one next to Palpatine. It’s because of his unwillingness to serve as a spy as he got to close to Palpatine is why he feels used by the Jedi Council. This leads to Kenobi and Anakin to fight in a light saber battle on Mustafar in which Kenobi lets out the cringeworthy line “I have the high ground.”
And while it would’ve made sense for Kenobi to kill Anakin after he’s been wounded and burned, it shows that Kenobi isn’t a killer like Anakin and will let him die from his injuries. Of course this leads to Palpatine, now the Galactic Emperor, healing him and turning him into the Darth Vader as we all know now. Take a look at Christensen’s eyes as he sees the mask coming down on his face. It’s almost like he has some self-doubt and regret thinking, “What have I gotten myself into?”
There’s been some speculation that it’s Kenobi, not Anakin, who is actually the father of Luke and Leia. This is based on a closeness between Kenobi and Padme during the climax battle on Geonosis in Attack. But I don’t believe that. I think it’s just Anakin’s jealousy and foolishness that Padme would cheat on him. It shows how delusional and deranged Anakin has become as he suspects the woman he loves who loves him back would treat on him with Kenobi. I also think Kenobi really did like Anakin as a friend but the young padawan was unable to realize that sometimes your friends and loved ones have to tell you the hard truths. And you think that means they’re your enemy.
The lightsaber battle between Palpatine and Yoda isn’t the best mostly due to McDiarmid’s overacting and mugging especially since you know neither one will be injured. The movie ends on a somber bittersweet moment as Padme dies during childbirth and Kenobi and Yoda go into exile. But there is an upbeat feelng as Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) takes in Leia to raise on Alderaan and Kenobi delivers Luke to live with his uncle Owen Lars (Joel Edgerton) and aunt Beru Lara (Bonnie Piesse).
What’s crazy is how people who were introduced to Star Wars through the prequels actually like them just as much as the original trilogy. We seem to forget that the original trilogy was just intended as a kids movies. Revenge of the Sith is the first movie in the franchise to get a PG-13 rating. Both Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones received PG ratings.
We can’t act as gatekeepers which is been my biggest problem with the Star Wars franchise for the last 25 years. At the same time, I don’t care for these loudmouths like Bill Burr who said he’s never watch Star Wars. I’m calling bullshit on that. He just said it because he knew people would take offense to it. And Burr always looks like the type of guy who doesn’t know how to wipe his ass as good.
But I think Lucas with the completion of the prequel trilogy manages to tie it closely to the original trilogy even though there were plot holes. At the end of Return of Jedi, Vader manages to see that his son, Luke, is actually pleading for his help and love as Palpatine is killing him with the lasers from his hands. Vader finally realizes that Luke cares for him, refusing to kill him while Palpatine has been using him as a puppet for years.
Knowing it will kill him, he throws Palpatine to his death. (And yes, I don’t like that they brought Palpatine back at all.)
But if this may be the last movie Lucas ever directs, he went out with a good one. It won’t ever match A New Hope, but I think if it could’ve just ended once and for all with the prequels and not the sequel trilogy, it might have made SW fans happy.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 