10 Reasons You’re Wrong About The Star Wars Prequels
8. You Have To Admire The Craft That Went Into Them
The other week, out of the blue, my YouTube recommendations lit up with an hour-long documentary on the making of The Phantom Menace. "Why not?" I think. "Episode I is easily my favourite of the prequels, and who doesn't love a bit of behind-the-scenes hijinks?"
Honestly, the making of The Phantom Menace makes for some brilliant viewing. The documentary takes you all the way from the conceptual stage of development, to Jake Lloyd's casting as Anakin Skywalker, all the way through to the pitfalls of location-based shooting and the pioneering special effects techniques that were developed at ILM. (It also features Ewan McGregor having A Very Nice Time on set, which is also lovely.)
The main point here is that the prequels left an indelible mark on blockbuster filmmaking. Lucas wanted to push technological boundaries and while the use of blue screen was extremely dubious at times, the creative process that went into the prequels is easy to admire and better to explore.
If you find yourself with time to spare, definitely go check out the behind-the-scenes docs that accompanied the prequels. Not just because they're interesting, but also because they show a cast and crew having a blast on set every day. (Except for that one part where the podracers are all blown away by a storm - that wasn't a fun time.)