10 Reasons You’re Wrong About The Star Wars Prequels
4. There Are Some Fantastic Performances Throughout
Bless Sir Alex Guinness - without him we wouldn't have Obi-Wan Kenobi - but Ewan McGregor just is Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Trainspotting and Doctor Sleep actor acts his socks off in the prequels, elevating the material and in turn redefining a beloved Star Wars character.
He's truly brilliant in those films, and the fact he'll be reprising the role alongside Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader in the Kenobi series on Disney+ is simply wonderful.
Speaking of Christensen, for all that his performance as Anakin Skywalker was met with ridicule and frequent memer-y, it isn't without its charm. A lot of the actors in the prequels are weirdly neutral (a result of Lucas' direction and some stilted writing), and Christensen bore the brunt in Episode II. However, he totally nails Anakin as a young, arrogant man - one resentful of the Jedi lifestyle and tempted by attachment - and finds added freedom in Revenge of the Sith, where his descent is made complete.
Then there's Ian McDiarmid, who so effortlessly embodies the duality of the slimy, duplicitous Palpatine and the terrifying Emperor that it's honestly scary. He's pitch-perfect across all three films, and brings a whole new dimension to the ghoulish figure who plagued nightmares in the preceding decades.