PoP! Top 6-Pack: The Best Way to Watch ‘Star Wars’
Today (February 10th, 2012) marks the first step in the next-era of the Star Wars film franchise, as Episode 1: The Phantom Menace is released in 3-D, a first for any Star Wars flick, and the lead horse in a re-release event which should see all six movies make it back to the big screen by 2017.
However, logic would persist that if Phantom Menace, easily the most derided film of the franchise, much less the Prequels, doesn’t make bank in it’s 3-D re-release, then we might never see a 3-D Rancor in five years. It’s certainly a risky move leading with Phantom Menace, considering the black-eye it left on the Star Wars mythos. Sure, it’s Episode 1, technically, but is it truly worth of being the lead film? If you start with The Original Trilogy, purists might skip the Prequels altogether. But if you’re going to watch a six-movie marathon of the Star Wars films, what would be the most appealing sequence, bolstering both the narrative of The Original Trilogy, and making the Prequels somewhat watchable?
PoP!-Stars and lifelong Star Wars fans Jason Knize and Mary Staggs take a blaster-shot at re-ordering the films of the Original and Prequel trilogies that will not only benefit viewers new to the franchise, but might just be serviceable to all the Prequel haters. Get your hands on all six movies, theatrical or Special Edition, and join us for a journey from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
Filed Under: PoP! Top 6-Pack
“…next to Phantom Menace, the Battle of the Endor Moon looks like Saving Private Ryan by comparison.”
Genuine LOLz.
If the prequels must be watched, this is definitely one of the two best orders to do it in. However, they should NEVER be watched in numerical order, unless you hate yourself or something.
Reading this has pretty much guaranteed I’ll be attempting to squeeze some Star Wars into my weekend at some point.
I agree wholeheartedly with this order. If you absolutely must watch the Prequels, treating them as an extended flashback is probably the best way to do it.
This was a fantastic article you two. Very well done and I have to agree. Duel of the Fates is also my jam as well. So it seems that you agreed with the guy who did a blog about showing his kids the Star Wars movie in this exact order. This is how I will show my daughter the movies as well. Very nice.
Boba doesn’t hold his father’s head in AotC.
Right as Jango gets decapitated, watch the shadows on the ground as the helmet goes sailing: the head flies out.
Boba’s only clutching his progenitor’s empty bucket, which is also why nothing plops down from it when he picks it up.
~_^
Great article guys. You sure do make a swell team!
I’d never really given much thought to this but you seem to have hit the nail on the head. If you’re gonna watch all six this is probably the best way to do it.
To paraphrase Mahoney:
“Incorrect, the right answer is skip the prequels entirely.”
Great article.
Personally, I like all 6 Star Wars films. I didn’t grow up watching Star Wars. I didn’t see the movies until 2005 (when I was 18). So, the Original Trilogy doesn’t hold a special place in my heart like it does for so many. The order I originally saw the movies in was 2, 3, 1, 4, 5, 6.
I get the general point of people not wanting to spoil the Vader reveal, but unless you are showing the movies to someone who is VERY young, I think they’ll know Vader’s identity. I made it to age 18 before seeing the movies, but I still knew who Vader was and a slew of other things about the movies. They an enormous parts of pop culture, so I think spoilers are rather unavoidable.
I’ve introduced the series to Jenn and some youger cousins and this is the route I’ve always taken. Unless it is someone who is into pop culture someone can still be surprised by the Darth-Luke relationship…ask Jenn =)
What makes it a little difficult with younger kids now is the Clone Saga. They begin to ask about characters introduced there and I have no answer because I don’t watch that crap.
Basically the answer is, “They dead, kid.”
It’s linked in the article, but when we conceptualized this article, we had no idea about the blog linked at this PoP!ulation Forum link: http://www.panelsonpages.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2653
And obviously, by some of the reaction in this article and that thread, we’re not as cool as we thought we were for thinking of this “plan”.
Thanks for the comments, everybody!
“How come it took 18 years to build the first Death Star and only two or three to build the second?)”
This one’s easy – - to make an original, the plans have to be conceived first. All the bugs have to be worked out, the proper materials have to be used, etc. To make a duplicate is much easier. Now, from 18 years to 2 or 3 – - wellllll, maybe not, but who’s to say a second one wasn’t already in the making somewhere out there anyway?
I found the “official” explanation on the Star Wars Wiki.
“The project was dragged out over a nineteen year time period as labor union disputes along with the supply and design problems slowed the construction. Efforts were not helped by repeated—albeit usually unsuccessful—sabotage efforts. Actual effective work on the station took less than two years, and involved resources from every corner of the Empire being funneled to complete the project.”
Just remember, Han didn’t shoot first. It was Guido Guidi.
I’m pretty sure Leia meant Organa as her mother, they do show her being put into a family at the end of Sith. Also, while I do agree with this list and how the movies should be seen in order, it still doesn’t help people who have never seen the movies, ever. My training NCO has never seen a single SW movie. So our KM made him watch episode 4, he didn’t like it because it was old and not that much action, so he hasn’t seen the rest. For people like him, who unfortunately don’t care about the series or the story, they would have to watch 1-6. I hate it, but some people are like that. I still love the order you guys put them in, truly the best way to watch them all.
Frankly, if you (the hypothetical you) can’t sit through Episode IV, I don’t want to be your friend.
Not that much action?! If he thought Star Wars didn’t have much action, wait until he gets to the snoozefest prequels.
I’ll never comprehend people who can’t watch a movie because it’s “old.” Good is good.
And that’s why he’s not my friend. It’s also why my KM makes fun of him every time my text tone goes off, btw my text tone is “Utinni!” He always acts confussed when a loud utinni goes off.
I’m also called a jawa at work.