The Star Wars prequels are good. A bold statement, I know. Except, I don’t really think it’s that bold at all. If you’re a huge fan of the fan-made movie merchandise site Super Yaki like I am, you know that they recently released their second Star Wars themed collection, which promptly inspired me to watch the whole series starting with the prequels. I hadn’t seen these movies in years and my only perception of them as of late is that people tend to REALLY hate them, which, now that I’ve re-watched them with my big adult brain, I frankly don’t understand. There is a clear, planned out plotline that spans across all three films with nuanced takes on the corruption of electoral politics. Along with that, The Phantom Menace has podracing, Attack of the Clones has an incredibly melodramatic love story, and Revenge of the Sith has the same sad boy angst that Kylo Ren has in the newest trilogy, so what is there not to love?
Die hard fans also tend to spew hate at Jar Jar, but it has come out in recent years that the actor Ahmed Best had considered suicide after the backlash received for his character, whom I find quite funny, which is despicable considering he is one of very few Black actors in the franchise. Jar Jar is also a character rescued from oppression, a pretty remarkable storyline for the early 2000s. The prequels tackle much more serious topics than I had remembered and that definitely went over my head as a kid.
What I noticed in this viewing is that the prequels as a whole do a pretty good job of condemning toxic masculinity over the span of Anakin’s coming of age. The three films are a villain origin story, but it’s pretty clear that he begins turning to the sith to emulate the path of Palpetine and gain control over his wife Padme. Obi-Wan and Yoda do their best from the beginning to instill values of respect, loyalty, and justice without unnecessary violence. It’s only when Anakin has visions of Padme’s death that he considers turning to the dark side as the option that could prevent this from happening.
Anakin’s relationship with Padme starts out rocky considering he claims to have a crush on her when he is 9 years old and she is 14 in The Phantom Menace. Attack of the Clones is reported to be 10 years later and he says he still thinks about her, which to me is alarming, but, that aside, he is loyal to her! Their relationship is built up as star-crossed, forbidden love, which is the perfect narrative for an early 2000s movie about space with a lot of very hot people. We care about their marriage, we maybe even shed a tear when we see Padme in that gorgeous lace dress, surrounded by the drone friends of our dreams. His intentions for the middle of the trilogy are out of love and follow the code of the Jedi, it’s only when his control starts to slip that he betrays the personal values in exchange for violent masculine power.
It doesn’t take much time for Anakin to switch sides in Revenge of the Sith, which isn’t surprising considering the build-up of his angst, but his desire is triggered by the killing of Count Dooku egged on by Palpatine. The Supreme Chancellor is a trusted ally, so he is able to push Anakin’s boundaries until he has full control over him. Palpatine tempts Anakin by telling him that the dark side of the force has the ability to save Padme’s life, which is key since he has nightmares of her dying in childbirth. Once Palpatine introduces violence, Anakin becomes more and more comfortable with it until he is able to ruthlessly kill a group of child Jedis-in-training. His visions finally come true about Padme, but instead of childbirth being the reason for death, it’s him and his need to have power over her. He tries so hard to protect her that he does the opposite and irreparably harms her. Toxic, violent masculinity, and the control over the woman in his life are the real origin story of Darth Vader, one that I find worth telling.
The prequels offer us a version of Star Wars that is a product of its time, but each trilogy seeks to offer us that slice of history. The original trilogy and the newest trilogy show us an era of the series that could only be produced in their specific time period, and they each give us a different lens to view the series through. I think these films are a great time, a romp if you will, and don’t nearly warrant any of the hate they receive.