Bad pizza is still reasonably edible

Rating: 5/10 (17 June 2017)

Now with Disney producing new Star Wars movies, the prequels have once again come under the microscope. I'm a Star Wars fan, I was 8 when the first film was released, and it is one of the most memorable things from my childhood. Nobody had ever seen anything like that, and I loved every second of it, every time I saw it. I was ecstatic when I learned that they were going to make two sequels, and those didn't disappoint either. Now the original trilogy is widely regarded as three of the greatest movies ever made.
Fast forward to 1999...a 15 year gap since the last Star Wars movie, and when I learned that 3 new Star Wars "prequels" were being made, I felt the same way I did when I was 10 and heard Star Wars was getting a sequel. I went on opening night, got my popcorn, and felt that same thrill I did as a kid when the opening theme played and the storyboard scrolled across the screen. But the feeling I had when I left the theater was different this time.
In all fairness, the bar was set pretty high by the original trilogy. I harbored no illusions of the prequels equaling them, but I did expect the Star Wars magic to be there. Sadly, it was only there in brief, fleeting glimpses, and as quickly as it came, it was snuffed out by one of the films many "why would Lucas do that?" moments. Space bugs in your cells that make you strong with the force instead of the intangible, mysterious thing it was before, A virgin birth and ancient prophecy ala New Testament, a trade dispute setting the stage for the evil bad guy to take over the galaxy, scene after bloated scene filled with "Lucasisims"...ie CGI sensory overload garbage everywhere that distracts from the heart or point of the scene, action packed filler sequences that have little or nothing to do with the story or characters (underwater pod journey through the core of Naboo, for example)....and of course the ever loathed Jar Jar Binks....the list goes on and on and on. Heap on top of it some really bad casting, horrible (even by Star Wars standards) dialogue, weak character development, a confusing, conflicting and muddled story, and too much lowbrow camp and slapstick, and you have one giant hot mess of a Star Wars movie.
The reason Star Wars (1977) worked and the prequels didn't is really pretty simple. It's a great example of "less is more" at work. Lucas was on a budget, he had people to answer to, and some of his "creativity" was reigned in by others. What you ended up with was a movie that was relatively simple in its individual parts, had clear protagonists and antagonists, clear goals and messages. Lucas was still a filmmaker at heart in 1977, and being on a budget and timeline, he had to fill scenes with character and plot development rather than fluff to make them interesting. Star Wars contained ground breaking special effects, but they weren't the backbone of the movie, rather they were tools to enhance the story and overall viewing experience. All this combined to form one of the greatest movies ever made.
When Lucas started making the prequels, he was no longer the young filmmaker he was in 1977. Now, he was a businessman and an egocentric. He crammed as much stuff as he could into these movies in an attempt to appeal to as many moviegoers as possible to generate large box office financial returns, bottom line. Nobody was there to say no to him when he wanted to include something unnecessary or just plain ridiculous in the film. The prequels are what you get when just one person has sole creative power in a film. It often makes me wonder exactly how little Lucas had to do with the original trilogy's success as films. Comparing them to the prequels, it's hard to believe the same person made them both, they are that vastly different in almost every aspect. It was no shocker that Disney chose not to include Lucas in their new trilogy and spin off films, and this is why, although still not as good as the originals, they are vastly superior to the prequels and are receiving a much more positive response from Star Wars fans. Disney did their best to get back to the basics of what made Star Wars work in the first place (although Episode 7 is a little too close to the original 1977 Star Wars in my opinion).
Episode 1, and the rest of the prequels for that matter, are like bad pizza....it isn't good, but you can eat it.