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The Star Wars prequels have recently made headlines. Marcia Lucas, George Lucas’ ex-wife, recently blasted not only J.J. Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy for the awful Sequel Trilogy from Disney, but also threw some shade at the prequel trilogy. Marcia has the bonafides to make these criticisms since she won an Oscar for her editing work on Star Wars (A New Hope) and was married to George for years, editing several of his films, including the original trilogy, in addition to THX-1138 and American Graffiti. While most critics and fans had similar, albeit less vehement, reactions to the Star Wars prequels, actor Mark Hamill seems to enjoy them more than others.
The films serve as prequels to the main Star Wars narrative, chronicling the destruction of the Jedi Order and Anakin Skywalker’s metamorphosis from Jedi to Sith Lord, Darth Vader. When the films were released, they garnered mixed reviews from both fans and critics. The majority of the criticism was directed at the overuse of CGI.
Hamill, the iconic Luke Skywalker, has come to the defense of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. He recently expressed his admiration for the films in an interview given to J.W. Rinzler for the same book Marcia Lucas is quoted in focused on producer Howard Kazanjian. IndieWire published excerpts of Hamill’s interview about the prequel trilogy from Rinzler’s newly published book, Howard Kazanjian: A Producer’s Life.
Here is what he said.
“I was impressed the prequels had their own identity. They were criticized because they were exposition-heavy and more cerebral and probably, like he said back in 1976, they weren’t as commercial. It’s a darker story. But in the age of social media, people’s voices are amplified, and I’m shocked at how brutal they can be, not just in the case of Star Wars films, but across the board.”
Hamill makes some valid points about the prequels being unconventional and how verbal attacks have worsened due to social media, but then again Hamill has also previously defended actor Jake Lloyd after he was viciously panned for his performance as young Anakin in The Phantom Menace. To most people, it’s objectively true that Lloyd’s performance was sub-par.
So while the Star Wars prequels are subpar compared to the original trilogy, they have enjoyed some newfound love in recent years, particularly after J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson’s sequel trilogy left such a bad taste in fans’ mouths. Like the prequels or not, you have to give George Lucas credit for taking big risks and delivering a unique set of films.
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