lazypadawan's Holocron

Today is the first annual SW Prequel Appreciation Day. This had been an idea festering in my mind over the past six months and I thought I’d float it to see what kind of reaction I would get. The goal wasn’t to get official fandom on board or get Hallmark cards printed out. After all, the first time I’d ever heard of May the 4th was when some co-workers told me about it in 2003. Who knows how long it was around before that? Besides, SW Day to me was May 25.

Anyway, the goal was to plant the seed for something that could be much, much bigger over time. Now I have a better idea of how to spread the word on something. Next year, there will be more to promote our love for Eps I-III.

Why do we need a Prequel Appreciation Day? I don’t think Eps I-III get a fair shake and I don’t think official fandom has enough emotionally invested in them to back them up. The people who don’t like the prequels have both the mainstream media and the internet echo chamber on their side, mostly because it’s the way of the media culture to prop up then attack icons. Without the real passion for Eps I-III on its end, I think official fandom kind of shrugs at this sentiment instead of figuring out a way to overcome it. Not only is the ongoing bashing potentially destructive to SW’s legacy, not only has it turned SW fandom into two camps, it’s also hurtful to those of us who have loved and supported these movies as part of the SW family. I would do no less if the targets were Eps IV-VI and I figure many of you wouldn’t either. It’s up to the fans to stand up, be counted, and help turn this thing around. I’m not interested in choosing one trilogy over another. I’m a fan of the saga, the whole enchilada, and I want to see a greater appreciation for how all of the movies work together as a whole.

By the way, check out the fics on swficchallenge for stories whipped up just for the occasion!

Has it really been half a decade since the last SW movie debuted in theaters? In some ways it shouldn’t seem that long and in other ways, one can appreciate how the blockbuster landscape has changed even since then. Go back in the sands of time to read some of my early reactions to the film.

Having seen it several times since May 19, 2005, occasionally I wonder if this one is really the best of the series. Not a favorite mind you; favorite and best are two different things. But on an artistic level, I think Lucas really outdid himself. This is the part of the prequel timeline he really wanted to tell and the last oh, 45 minutes or so of the film are just pitch-perfect. Even before that are scenes that while they don’t have the trademark action and adventure, are still just amazing film work. Exhibit #1 is the great opera scene with Anakin and Palpatine. For my money, I think it is the best-written and acted scene in the entire series. And you know I love all of them! Hayden Christensen and the brilliant Ian McDiarmid, who really should have gotten a Supporting Actor nomination, played perfectly off each other. It feels like a scene from a Godfather film. Maybe it was a little tribute to Lucas’s old mentor Francis Ford Coppola. Exhibit #2 is the amazing dialogue-free ruminations scene. Anakin and Padme are far apart, yet one can feel the love and powerful connection between the two of them as he struggles with the greatest moral dilemma of his life. Exhibit #3 is the Order 66 scene. A hat-tip to “Battleship Potemkin” turns out to be even more emotionally gripping than Eisenstein’s Soviet propaganda. Genius. The opening sequence is second only to ANH’s as my favorite and who couldn’t love the film’s coda?

Visually, it remains a beautiful film to look at. I can’t wait to see it in 3D, hint hint.