Star Wars prequels - dilution of the Jedi

As a child, a big fan of Star Wars I was. Episodes IV, V and VI so many times I’ve watched. Almost own my neighbour's video cassettes I did :)

I grew up and along came The Phantom Menace (Episode I), Attack of the Clones (Episode II) and Revenge of the Sith (Episode III) which depart from the dogfight scenes that dominated my favourite Empire Strikes Back (Episode V). It was pleasing to know someone could fit in the Jedi robes and beards better than Sir Alec Guinness himself -- Liam Neeson. I still believe George Lucas made a mistake by starring him as Qui-Gon Jinn and killing him in that episode. Ewan McGregor doesn't exude the Jedi aura as much but that's probably exactly why Lucas stars him as a maturing Obi Wan. His coming of age he wants us to witness. And boy, Hayden Christensen's acting is as mediocre as the cheesy romantic lines. (No Star Wars critic fails to mention that!)

(Photo from Yahoo Movies)

I found that Revenge of the Sith especially diluted my great admiration of the Jedi Order. At the end of it I found the Jedi a bit contradicting

• They claim to be selfless but Yoda left on an escape pod leaving 2 Wookies and their clan in a losing battle
• They claim to be able to see the future a few seconds ahead but I wonder why Jedis were killed by the clone soldiers easily without any slightest hint of suspicion
• They train in light sabre combat since very young. Yet a Jedi couldn’t defeat a handful of clone soldiers? Come on!
• They don’t kill creatures who’re unarmed but that’s what Windu tried to do upon Palpatine (ok ok his fingers can emit electrical power)
• They claim to be virtuous but prefer not to discuss their spying of Palpatine in the Jedi Council. Add that with Obi Wan’s reluctance to put Anakin in a “difficult position”. Aren’t making decisions outside the Council and not thinking as one team politicising the Jedi Order?

(Photo from Darth Maul Estrogen Brigade)

The only consolations to the prequels are

• That cool Darth Maul creature and the lance he wielded. Was it a lance anyway?
• The final fight scene in The Phantom Menace with the beam curtains going on and off and the Jedi and Sith held us in suspense
• The dogfight scenes that open Revenge of the Sith. I love the diving of the Jedi fighters into the fray after flying calmly above that big ship resembling a giant A-Wing
• The design of the Jedi fighters are cool
• It’s Star Wars baby!

Nevertheless, the prequels provide closure to me. Diluting my belief in the Jedi it may have…in my heart it’s still the epic of the century.

In the sequels I watched legend. In the prequels a few decades later, I witnessed history.