If Rian Johnson’s defense of the Star Wars prequels has your mind short-circuiting don’t worry, you’re not alone. After the bashing of his own contribution to the franchise, The Last Jedi, a lot of folks might think that Johnson would want to distance himself from Star Wars for a while, but in all fairness he did a good turn by coming to the defense of George Lucas’ aid when asked to say something nice about the prequels. For years now some folks have stood by the trilogy that Lucas created to explain how things got started in the Skywalker legacy and others have actively tried to shoot them down by saying they made no sense and that certain aspects were just horrible. While it’s a bit confusing to think of how the movies lack the continuity that some folks claim there are moments when the acting could have been better and certain elements could have been used to smooth things out just a bit. But overall the prequels were pretty entertaining despite their fast pace and the fact that at times the scenes appeared to cut away too quickly. It was a new era in filmmaking however and Lucas was at the forefront as he was using new methods and techniques that have greatly contributed to the way things are now in the business.
As far as the story goes there were moments when things appeared to drag on a bit too long and moments that went by far too quickly, but all in all the tale was one that was well told since it covered a lot of bases, and the books took care of the rest. Of course not everyone was bound to read the books so it’s fair to say that a lot of people missed out on some of the more pertinent details. But the movies were somehow highly anticipated and loved even when they came out only to somehow become divisive and reviled by some when a number of fanboys decided to say otherwise. It’s amazing what public opinion can do when people speak and are listened to by those who’s own convictions aren’t as strong. Personally I liked the original trilogy, the prequels, and the most recent trilogy, despite what Johnson did Luke Skywalker and the fact that Disney, the real perpetrator, is out for dollars instead of quality content. It’s a business after all and if the dollars aren’t rolling in then the whole thing eventually falls apart. But to hear that Johnson is actually defending the prequels is still fairly interesting as it means that not only does he know what it’s like to be vilified as a director (duh moment, I know), but he also has a good idea that the story is a little more important than the movie at times, and Lucas has told a masterful story from beginning to the end of his involvement with his creation.
The amusing thing about the prequels is that George Lucas’ style hasn’t changed much despite the fact that the technology and the special effects changed A LOT. Unfortunately the fans’ reactions to the story does tend to change as some people want to see it go in one direction and others want to see something entirely different. The truth of any story is that it’s not going to please every fan and it’s not going to do what they want, as the writer and the filmmaker in this case is going to drive the story and will determine where it goes and what it does. The great thing about being the originator of the story is that you don’t really need anyone’s permission to do whatever you’d like with the tale and the characters, much to the chagrin of some fans that would no doubt have taken the prequels in a very different direction. But the story had a few very important areas to hit, not the least of which was the Clone Wars and Anakin and Obi-Wan’s involvement in them, plus the idea that Darth Vader killed Anakin, which was true from a certain point of view. But the point is that Lucas touched on a lot of different facts that might not have pleased the fans entirely, but explained why Anakin was on a path to the dark side from the start, and why bringing him into the Jedi Order was so problematic. It also explained where Luke and Leia came from as that was needed to, but again, a lot of fanboys and girls decided to take issue with one thing or another about the movie. The fact that Rian Johnson came to defend the prequels isn’t terribly surprising, but it is intriguing in its own way.
As it stands now the stories are set and the franchise is better for it.
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