Updated December 19, 2017 16:03:19

There's a great … disturbance … in Star Wars fandom right now.

Despite the latest film, The Last Jedi, bringing in an absolute bucketload of cash in its opening weekend (placing it second only to The Force Awakens in the best opening weekend of all time stakes) and being a smash hit with critics (it's got a 93 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes), debate is raging among fans over whether the film stacks up.

The franchise's official Facebook page is filled with comments panning the film, the r/starwars subreddit is filled with the backlash to the backlash and there are petitions to have The Last Jedi struck from the official canon, to have it remade and even to have director Rian Johnson "admit" it is awful.

Now, I'm not going to judge you if you didn't fall head-over-lightsaber in love with the latest in the Skywalker saga.

But there's a sentiment that's been floating about as part of the backlash that's really rustled my intergalactic jimmies:

Oh boy.

You have *watched* the prequels, right?

The last time I put myself through the punishment was in a Machete Order re-watch before The Force Awakens.

They do not hold up well (especially when watched right before and after the original trilogy).

I could keep you here all day going over what makes Episodes I-III so bad, so instead let's just remember a couple of the worst sins the prequels committed before we condemn The Last Jedi to the same terrible fate.

The Anakin-Padme love story

There's a lot of bad dialogue and plots in the prequels (and most of it is delivered in boring two shots of characters walking and talking in front of CGI backgrounds), but this one takes the crown:

That sure is one way to tell a girl you love her…

Anakin's love for Padme is supposed to lay the groundwork for his turn to the dark side, but instead we get scene after awkward scene of two actors that have the chemistry of a wet biscuit trying to make the best out of wooden dialogue that doesn't sound like it was written by a human being.

And let's not forget, this whole creepy romance began when Anakin was just nine years old.

George Lucas almost ruined the Force

In an effort to answer all the questions nobody asked when making the prequels, George Lucas decided we needed an explanation for the Force.

Never mind the fact we already had a perfectly serviceable one from Obi-Wan (and later Yoda) in the original trilogy.

Instead, we're introduced to midi-chlorians, tiny life forms that became a scientific explanation of why some people were sensitive with the Force.

It stripped away much of the mysticism fans loved about the story and contradicted two of its most beloved characters.

Before The Force Awakens, director J.J.Abrams went out of his way to mention midi-chlorians didn't get a mention in the first film of the new trilogy.

And thankfully, The Last Jedi makes some moves to restore much of the magic of the Force from the original trilogy.

All the intergalactic politics

Now I'm not advocating that Star Wars should be free of politics (it's always been hidden beneath the surface).

And sure, how the Republic turned into the Empire is one of the key planks of the Star Wars story.

But did you really need to see Queen Amidala propose a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum?

Was Empire Strikes Back missing a good old-fashioned trade route dispute?

Is Jar Jar Binks leading a vote on emergency powers in the Galactic Senate better than a thrilling dogfight between an X-Wing and a TIE Fighter?

Speaking of…

JAR JAR BINKS

This is low-hanging fruit, sure.

But c'mon:

C'MON:

Is The Last Jedi the greatest Star Wars movie ever made? Probably not.

Is it worse than the prequels? Get outta here you scruffy-looking Nerf herder.

Topics: film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, united-states

First posted December 19, 2017 13:22:52