Star Wars Episode VII: Cast Unveiled...slated for 12/18/2015

[Skykid]

Am I reading this all wrong, or is someone defending the prequels here?

[Squire Grooktook]

If only I had a copy of that 6 page long series of 3 posts Wasserkopp made refuting every single negative word that everybody in the thread had said about them, Skykid. I'd have loved to show it to you. Sadly, only me and Blinge got to see that madness.

[Wasserkopp]

I've got the screenshots but ultimately it's not worth reposting - any of those valid points can be made again separately or in a different context.

Oh, and Skykid... http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 5#p1149805, http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 5#p1149955
Your arrogance is outdated now.

Instead of acting all astounded by someone not sharing your secluded cultist opinions, why don't you go to the other thread and see how your unassailable views hold up to scrutiny?
Maybe you'll do a better job than the people on the RLM forums - though I doubt it. It's an unreasonable viewpoint, after all...

[Skykid]

Oh, so you ARE defending the prequels.

Jesus, what a fucknut.

[Wasserkopp]

Of course with that kind of attitude, you automatically lose any "oh but it's just my opinion" defence to fall back on, once your arguments are debunked - which they inevitably would, were you ever to engage in anything resembling a debate

[Skykid]

You lost all arguments when you defended the prequels.

Basically your critical faculties are fucked. If you want to go toe to toe with me, I'm game. Repost those screenshots of your original defense posts and I promise to go through them with a fine tooth comb.

After all, if you stand by your intellectual apprasial there's no reason to have removed them, is there?

[Wasserkopp]

Just skimmed through them, they're mostly just laconic snark tease - great as a dazzling opener, as in "I can't believe someone would disagree with us for so long but lemme just tear apart this vapid BS", but not so much now.

I might upload and link to them after I've won the debate


So you can cite some particularly convincing post from that thread, or what you think is a good argument by Plinkus or whoever else, and we'll see how they hold up.

[Mischief Maker]

If Star Wars was made by prequel George Lucas:

* The opening shot would be Princess Leia and Captain Antilles sitting on opposite sides of a couch discussing how they had just stolen the death star plans and need to get them to the rebels fast. Shot cuts to the bridge of a star destroyer where Darth Vader is telling a hologram of the Emperor that they've just found Leia's ship and the Emperor says, "so capture her, already! Geez, do I have to explain everything to you?" The next shot is a 20 minute CGI battle where seventy star destroyers converge on Leia's corvette from all sides.

* Instead of a couple minutes expository dialogue by Moff Tarkin, we are treated to a 30 minute long scene on Coruscant where the Emperor gives a speech explaining that the new Death Star enables him to dissolve the senate, followed by a powerpoint presentation on the new fear-based bureaucracy that will run the post-Death-Star Empire.

* After the Sand People knock out Luke, R2D2 uses his jet boots from episode 2 and death blossom attack from episode 3 and kills all of them, including the women and children, causing an avalanche that traps him behind a pile of rocks. Obi Wan shows up and says, "Jesus, R2! Good thing these were just Sand People you were slaughtering. If you killed Space Hitler right after he threatened to violate a beloved family member, you might have fallen to the dark side!"

* During the meeting scene on the Death Star, after the guy makes fun of Darth Vader and the Force, instead of saying, "I find your lack of faith disturbing," Vader instead starts stomping and pouting, "It's not fair! Why doesn't anyone take me seriously? This is all Obi Wan's fault! Nooooo!"

* Every six seconds on Mos Eisley, Boba Fett pops up in front of the camera, blocks the action, and waves at the audience.

* The Cantina band is replaced by a CGI rapping turd voiced by Justin Bieber.

* The "I don't like you either" guy doesn't threaten Luke's life but instead offers to sell him some cigarettes. Obi Wan sits the guy and his butt-mouthed friend down and explains the evils of tobacco. Scene ends with crying and hugs.

* Greedo shoots at a passive Han and misses, his shot bouncing off a mirror, then another mirror, then another mirror, finally hitting himself in the back of the head. When Han throws a coin to the bartender and says, "Sorry about the mess," the bartender throws the coin back to Han and says, "Keep your money, Han Solo, everyone here could see you were blameless in the death of Greedo, and therefore are a morally pure, non-offensive role model for impressionable toy-buying children!"

* Instead of sneaking his way around the Death Star, Obi Wan casually strolls to the tractor beam controls with his lightsaber out slaughtering stormtroopers left and right and never seeming to be in the slightest danger. When he fights Darth Vader, the two hop and spin off the scenery Yoda-style.

* Back on the Falcon, Han Solo stares at Leia nonstop with creepy eyes. Leia says, "Stop it, you're making me uncomfortable." Han replies, "But I think I'm falling in love with you." Leia stands up and throws off her robe to reveal her slave Leia bikini and walks away from him saying, "But it can never work between us! I'm a princess and you're an outlaw! We come from different worlds!" Han replies, "I hate Mynocks, they've got gross lamprey mouths, leathery bat wings, and they chew on power cables." Leia immediately spins around, sprints across the room, tackles Han, and mounts him on the battle chess board.

* When Luke starts climbing into his X-Wing on Yavin, he says, "Golly gee, I'm just a farmboy from the boonies, I don't know how to fly one of these things!" The camera then zooms into his bloodstream where little CGI midichlorians with big cartoon eyes start going to work with a purpose. Luke slips on the ladder and bangs his elbow onto the torpedo launch trigger. The torpedoes fly out of the hangar doors, out of the atmosphere, slingshot around a nearby planet, come up behind the Death Star, then fly into the thermal exhaust port, blowing it up in a seventeen doughnut blast. Back in the hangar someone yells, "Luke, you did it!" Look looks up in confusion, realizes he saved the day by accident, then throws his hands in the air and exclaims, "Yippe Skippy!" The camera then zooms into his bloodstream again and one of the midichlorions winks at the audience. End Credits.

We'll call it "The Very Special Edition."

[Wasserkopp]

If Star Wars was made by prequel George Lucas:

* The opening shot would be Princess Leia and Captain Antilles sitting on opposite sides of a couch discussing how they had just stolen the death star plans and need to get them to the rebels fast.

An opening with a couch scene would be a novelty for Star Wars, so I wonder how it would've been done: a cold opening like Matrix 3 that gradually and swiftly picks up on speed and atmosphere?
If this scene were to be calm and stoic, it would require a sense of "false peace" or "quiet before the storm" to convey that they're actually in the middle of an intense chase; alternatively, it could be done along the lines of TTT and its battle build-up, if we were to go with the whole "preparing for inevitable siege" approach.

Since there are no precedents for something like this anywhere in I-III, we'd have to get a bit creative.

Shot cuts to the bridge of a star destroyer where Darth Vader is telling a hologram of the Emperor that they've just found Leia's ship and the Emperor says, "so capture her, already! Geez, do I have to explain everything to you?"

So you're going with the whole "rising tension" thing, and I assume that scene would have a really gloomy, foreboding atmosphere or something? Sure, sounds alright so far - build-up, instead of straight to action, both valid concepts.

The next shot is a 20 minute CGI battle where seventy star destroyers converge on Leia's corvette from all sides.

I assume well structured, with a tension arc, and some main characters doing heroic stuff until gradually losing? Maybe it could be Antilles himself, or maybe that intense looking blue-eye soldier... could be great if done well.

* Instead of a couple minutes expository dialogue by Moff Tarkin, we are treated to a 30 minute long scene on Coruscant where the Emperor gives a speech explaining that the new Death Star enables him to dissolve the senate, followed by a powerpoint presentation on the new fear-based bureaucracy that will run the post-Death-Star Empire.

A public declaration of tyranny sounds like it could be more powerful than Tarkin merely mentioning such a dramatic event in the passing; obviously the way it was actually done wasn't a fault, merely a feature as the film focused on the evil military and not the political background as a stylistic choice.

* After the Sand People knock out Luke, R2D2 uses his jet boots from episode 2 and death blossom attack from episode 3 and kills all of them, including the women and children, causing an avalanche that traps him behind a pile of rocks. Obi Wan shows up and says, "Jesus, R2! Good thing these were just Sand People you were slaughtering. If you killed Space Hitler right after he threatened to violate a beloved family member, you might have fallen to the dark side!"

Well this was obviously an attempt at humor, not some kind of valid point.
A little piece of advice on your way: salt and bitterness are the death of any joke.

* During the meeting scene on the Death Star, after the guy makes fun of Darth Vader and the Force, instead of saying, "I find your lack of faith disturbing," Vader instead starts stomping and pouting, "It's not fair! Why doesn't anyone take me seriously? This is all Obi Wan's fault! Nooooo!"

So he'd be like that Nazi General subject to sudden fits of temper?
We all know a movie sucks when it has that type of character.

Also the premise of your post was "prequel George Lucas", not "Attack of the Clones George Lucas", just saying.

* Every six seconds on Mos Eisley, Boba Fett pops up in front of the camera, blocks the action, and waves at the audience.

You mean the prequel George that made him appear once in the SE, would make him appear 6 times and block the action? Whatever.

* The Cantina band is replaced by a CGI rapping turd voiced by Justin Bieber.

Again, SE not PT - the only time that one featured entertainment was the videogames in II's bar scene, which obviously were the exact opposite tonally from what you're describing

* The "I don't like you either" guy doesn't threaten Luke's life but instead offers to sell him some cigarettes. Obi Wan sits the guy and his butt-mouthed friend down and explains the evils of tobacco.

Not likely - this is a mean mob bar in the outskirts, not a fancy nightclub in the galactic capital... stranger danger is a more likely occurrence down there.

* Instead of sneaking his way around the Death Star, Obi Wan casually strolls to the tractor beam controls with his lightsaber out slaughtering stormtroopers left and right and never seeming to be in the slightest danger.

Strolling while blocking gunshots is actually something that might've been cool, but of course the whole "doing it without anyone noticing" angle would have to be completely rewritten.
If it wasn't, I guess he'd be sneaking around a cave instead, not sure why there's a cave in a space station...

When he fights Darth Vader, the two hop and spin off the scenery Yoda-style.

Why should the hop and spin ilke Yoda when none of them are Yoda?
Also while a faster-paced, fluent style might've worked with Ben (compare Dooku), I can't really see it looking good Vader - his heavy armor and helmet definitely cry out for a more straightforward, aggressive heavysword style.

* Back on the Falcon, Han Solo stares at Leia nonstop with creepy eyes. Leia says, "Stop it, you're making me uncomfortable." Han replies, "But I think I'm falling in love with you." Leia stands up and throws off her robe to reveal her slave Leia bikini and walks away from him saying, "But it can never work between us! I'm a princess and you're an outlaw! We come from different worlds!" Han replies, "I hate Mynocks, they've got gross lamprey mouths, leathery bat wings, and they chew on power cables." Leia immediately spins around, sprints across the room, tackles Han, and mounts him on the battle chess board.

That last bit sounds like it could be hawt, but why would an abrasive alpha pirate act like an insecure teenager, and why all the formality when the characters and the setting they're in are anything but?

Of course you could change the setting and make it like any classic pirate costume drama from earlier decades - could've worked.
"But you're a pirate!"
"A man can be many things - to one nation he may be a pirate; to the other a great liberator."
"Oh!"

* When Luke starts climbing into his X-Wing on Yavin, he says, "Golly gee, I'm just a farmboy from the boonies, I don't know how to fly one of these things!" The camera then zooms into his bloodstream where little CGI midichlorians with big cartoon eyes start going to work with a purpose. Luke slips on the ladder and bangs his elbow onto the torpedo launch trigger. The torpedoes fly out of the hangar doors, out of the atmosphere, slingshot around a nearby planet, come up behind the Death Star, then fly into the thermal exhaust port, blowing it up in a seventeen doughnut blast. Back in the hangar someone yells, "Luke, you did it!" Look looks up in confusion, realizes he saved the day by accident, then throws his hands in the air and exclaims, "Yippe Skippy!" The camera then zooms into his bloodstream again and one of the midichlorions winks at the audience. End Credits.
"

Now that was obviously quite silly, aside from the first couple of points where you made some decent alternate tone suggestions by accident.



Anyway, the reason I humoured this nonsense is because I'm honestly not expecting anything better from any of you - and you in particular, I think I've already seen what it looks like when you attempt some "real criticism".
Then demand a response.
Then suspicious silence once you get said response

[Skykid]

Just skimmed through them, they're mostly just laconic snark tease - great as a dazzling opener, as in "I can't believe someone would disagree with us for so long but lemme just tear apart this vapid BS", but not so much now.

I might upload and link to them after I've won the debate

There is no debate. The movies are patently poor through and through, there's absolutely no use arguing that whatsoever. To do so just demonstrates that you don't have an understanding of the medium or critical faculties enough to properly appraise what you're seeing.

Anyway, the reason I humoured this nonsense is because I'm honestly not expecting anything better from any of you - and you in particular, I think I've already seen what it looks like when you attempt some "real criticism".
Then demand a response.

You didn't need to humour it, Mischief Maker was taking the piss out of you by parodying what is already in itself a parody due to its inept assembly.

What I am yet to see is some "real crticism" from you. If you can turn heads and change minds over the quality of the SW prequels, well, you must be beholden to some of the sharpest criticism on the block, and I'm waiting to hear it.

So far you've just been swanning about taking pot shots at people without actually stating your case. So get on with it.

[Lord Satori]

Sometimes you guys make it really hard to be on your side... All of what you guys are saying can be said without treating him like shit, you know.

Anyway, the reason George Lucas was so successful in making the original three is because he wasn't the only person doing the writing that time, iirc. I heard that the original plan was to have Luke "become Vader" in the end for some reason, and to stretch it out even longer. The final movie was also supposed to feature Wookies instead of Ewoks, which was changed because of reasons. The other guy, whose name escapes me, did not work on the prequels; leaving Lucas to work on them. Since he's always favored special effects over writing, we were left with incredible action and cgi seasoned with political discourse.

If the Jar Jar theory is to be believed, this makes it even worse, as a Sith equivalent of Yoda would have been just enough to tie the series together and make it far less horrid. That and perhaps putting more effort into Anakin's seemingly sudden transition into Vader in the third film.

All of this is from memory, so it might not be 100% accurate.

[Skykid]

Sometimes you guys make it really hard to be on your side... All of what you guys are saying can be said without treating him like shit, you know.

Are you fucking kidding? I think it's the other way around

Also it's really easy to be "on our side" - the prequel consensus is a vast majority (for entirely the right reasons).

If the Jar Jar theory is to be believed

It's not, it's total nonsense.

All of this is from memory, so it might not be 100% accurate.

Absolutely none of this justifies why the prequels are so awful. The simplest way to put it: Lucas is a lazy director with limited ability, gone off the boil from his era of incidence, in a modern era where producer teams are abhorrent.

[NTSC-J]

we were left with incredible action and cgi

I chuckled.

[Wasserkopp]

You didn't need to humour it, Mischief Maker was taking the piss out of you by parodying what is already in itself a parody due to its inept assembly.

And now I took the pisseaux out of him, not sure if any of you even registered.

f you can turn heads and change minds

More like turn heads and change directions - i.e. making people run.
The RLM forum was a paradise of smug film critics when I arrived there... having faced my arguments, they were reduced to defensive quivering and evasive google gifs before long.

Can you do a better job than them?
Responding to the few points actually made here in the other thread: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 4#p1150414

[Lord Satori]

Skykid, only you would argue with someone who is on the same side of a debate as you. Do you seek conflict?

Absolutely none of this justifies why the prequels are so awful.

So the fact that the guy who prioritized good writing over fancy special effects had no part in the prequels doesn't justify why the were awful? Isn't your entire argument based on the fact that the prequels had poor writing?

If the Jar Jar theory is to be believed

It's not, it's total nonsense.

To be quite honest, I'm not sure what would make Lucas worse. That he made a bad decision and threw a shitty character into the mix in a likely attempt to appeal to kids, or that he caved into the bad reception of the first film and completely gutted what would've been an amazing equivalent revelation to the original's "Luke, I AM your father!" moment that shocked millions, and replaced him with a flat villain whose motives are never made entirely clear.

Besides, iirc, there was confirmation by the actor that Jar Jar's role was heavily changed. So it's not TOTAL nonsense, even if it is a stretch of the imagination.

[Wasserkopp]

Yoda's routine in ESB was funny and also had a point to it - Jar Jar's was annoying (to most over 10) and stuff like being taken along instead of being left on the ship, or him taking away from Amidala's character arc, wouldn't have looked better if such a reveal took place.

While it would've been an interesting way of playing on the audience's feelings, I think ditching him and making a clasically appealing follow-up instead (talking about Sith, as Clones was arguably worse in that department, or at least not sufficient improvement) rather than whatever divisive avantgarde piece it would've become otherwise, was a good idea.

and replaced him with a flat villain whose motives are never made entirely clear.

What? Which villain wasn't clear?

[BryanM]

I think that's Count Doodie he's talking about. Whose motivation was to not have to work for a living and have sex with lots of robots.

(That last sentence isn't projection I swear.)

The prequels were truly a gift that enriches our lives even now, decades after their release. Thank you George Lucas, you are a prince.

[Wasserkopp]

I think that's Count Doodie he's talking about. Whose motivation was to not have to work for a living and have sex with lots of robots.

(That last sentence isn't projection I swear.)

The prequels were truly a gift that enriches our lives even now, decades after their release. Thank you George Lucas, you are a prince.

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 7#p1150427 - from now on I'm gonna do this without notifications by default.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Alrighty, here's a SW parody to the tune of "12 Days of Christmas" (source is as shown on page 8 of the locally produced Dec. '15 Modesto View indie magazine in it's entirety -- is based out of Modesto, CA):

12 Days of Star Wars

On the first day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me Luke, Leia and Han Solo

On the second day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me 2 loyal droids

On the third day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me 3 words with Yoda

On the fourth day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me 4 pod racers

On the fifth day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me 5 Jedi Knights

On the sixth day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me 6 Wookies "growling"

On the seventh day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me 7 Sith Lords scheming

On the eighth day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me 8 X-Wing fighters

On the ninth day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me 9 smugglers smuggling

On the tenth day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me 10 Ewoks drumming

On the eleventh day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me 11 stormtroopers

On the twelfth day of Christmas George Lucas gave to me 12 Rebel fighters

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BareKnuckleRoo]

You lost all arguments when you defended the prequels.

Serious question: do you think the travesty of mediocrity that was the prequels was something that should never have been made? Or was it worth them being made if only to get the Plinkett reviews? I genuinely enjoyed watching these reviews, but I'm also well aware they wouldn't exist if the prequels didn't (or hadn't been so astonishingly inane).

Is poor-quality media at least redeeming for the sheer amusement of how bad the media is? I guess that's sort of why Mystery Science Theatre is able to exist. Maybe a more devoted Star Wars fan would be able to say for sure whether or not the existence of the prequels tarnished the rest of the series.

Also, here's Star Wars disco, for anyone who didn't know this was in fact a thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ3kV3Icm28

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Well, George Lucas wanted to do the prequels to tell the complete story because the technology wasn't all there (meaning CG) until what he thought was acceptable in 1996/1997to be able to tell them. It's a given that Mr. Lucas was an avid car racer but involved in a really bad car crash accident (in which he survived but otherwise would've died, thus changing his outlook in life to do something else for a change of pace -- look at the Nascar Daytona 500 race back in February of 2000 when Dale Earnhardt Sr. hit the wall head on the very last lap of that particular race -- it didn't look that bad on TV at the time but other folks knew right away that this was it for the infamous driver aka "The Intimidator" whom died instantly upon hitting the wall because his seat belt harness broke + the fact that he was wearing one of those old-school styled open-face racing helmets -- this was the defining last straw that forced Nascar to develop the HANS safety device and design/build the COTA prototypes {Car of Tomorrow} that was the basis for the current Nascar Sprint Cup racing cars that we see today), his love for auto racing is clearly shown in the pod racing sequence of Episode 1.

Sure, there was a lot of hype leading to the premire of SW Ep.1 in Modesto, CA back in May of 1999 with a special guest appearance by Mark Hamill there for the first showing (which required some serious $$$ to do so if you wanted to sit by him during that special once-in-a-lifetime screening).

I had the rare opportunity to check out a DLP screening of SW Episode 3 at the Riverbank, CA based Galaxy 12 theater that was authorized by Mr. Lucas himself to show it in that extremely limited distributed format (basically, a very special thank you gift for the local Modesto, CA and surrounding areas since Modesto is considered his hometown indeed -- he didn't have to do it but he did it with that limited DLP screenings stint) -- it was super crystal clear & razor sharp compared to watching it in the traditional 35mm print version earlier back in May of 2005, especially during the lightsaber battles -- wow. Plus the fact that particular screening room was THX certified certainly didn't hurt in the audio department either. I know it's now considered the gold standard for movie theater chains to show first run movies with the Dolby Atmos surround sound format.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Xyga]

So will Luke officially be a Sith in this episode ? I would be disappointed otherwise.

[Mischief Maker]

Serious question: do you think the travesty of mediocrity that was the prequels was something that should never have been made? Or was it worth them being made if only to get the Plinkett reviews? I genuinely enjoyed watching these reviews, but I'm also well aware they wouldn't exist if the prequels didn't (or hadn't been so astonishingly inane).

We'd still have the Star Trek reviews, where it all started!

[Skykid]

Serious question: do you think the travesty of mediocrity that was the prequels was something that should never have been made? Or was it worth them being made if only to get the Plinkett reviews? I genuinely enjoyed watching these reviews, but I'm also well aware they wouldn't exist if the prequels didn't (or hadn't been so astonishingly inane).

We'd still have the Star Trek reviews, where it all started!

Yeah, I think this is a good answer. In the end the Plinkett reviews are just very adept movie criticism, which I enjoy (as you probably know), and they're transmitted in a way that qualifies as genuine educational entertainment - a very rare thing. But while I think the SW reviews are the best of them, the other stuff is still good. I don't agree with everything Stolaska (or whatever) says about film. He thought Jurassic World was good - but there's no doubt he's on the money with the prequels. There's just so much material to work with.

That said I think it would be better for humanity if the prequels were never made. Really.

[Lord Satori]

So will Luke officially be a Sith in this episode? I would be disappointed otherwise.

That would be interesting. I heard that Snoke is a brand new character, so that just leaves Kylo Ren. Unless there are three?

[dan76]

It would certainly be better if the prequels had never been made. I can't think of a single positive thing about any of them. They weaken the original films in so many ways, but I think I finally understand why some people like them.

Ok, by any critical thinking they are bad films... but they expand the lore. If you love cinema you can view the OT as good movies in their own right, that's the main thing, viewing them as pieces of cinema, products of their time. Their charm increases with age. Others see the films just as vehicles for characters and stories, it's not about cinema, it's about the universe. Pacing, editing, performance, composition etc. don't matter so much if you're into the world.

This is why the argument will continue, because prequel fans get so much "stuff" from them that "OT" fans couldn't give a monkeys about.

It's clear that Lucas thinks this. The reason he changed Han Solo to shooting first was because he didn't think it was right that a Princess marry a character like that. So he changes something in an actual film to fit something we don't even see (or care about). Btw, that was in an interview with Lucas the other day. That's why he's not ashamed of the prequels, because they expand the universe he created and please a certain type of fan. The fucking nerd fans.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

All the edits George Lucas made like Han Solo shooting first when he rereleased the films were a disgrace to everyone who worked on the original films. I'm disappointed I actually saw Star Wars first that way, because what they did actually changed the characterization very stupidly. Apparently there's a fan release of the trilogy where they're removing all of that bullshit while keeping the updated visual quality elsewhere?

[Xyga]

All the edits he made like Han Solo shooting first when he rereleased the films were a disgrace to everyone who worked on the original films. I'm disappointed I actually saw Star Wars first that way, because what they did actually changed the characterization very stupidly. Apparently there's a fan release of the trilogy where they're removing all of that bullshit while keeping the updated visual quality elsewhere?

Yes the 'despecialized' editions. Fan project of extremely high quality led by 'Harmy'.
The original stuff in HD, excellent even for non-fans.
Files are huge though.

[BryanM]

So will Luke officially be a Sith in this episode ? I would be disappointed otherwise.

Considering it's supposed to be 2 torturous hours of fan service and you're literally the only person on the planet that wants them to go down that tired, uninteresting road, I'll go out on a limb and say no.

There's more people who want to see Jar Jar come back than that.

I can't think of a single positive thing about any of them.

If they had been good or even worse, mediocre, we wouldn't still be talking about them. When's the last time a 10+ page thread on Ghostbusters got made?

[EmperorIng]

but I think I finally understand why some people like them.

I honestly think the biggest reason is that they are a hit with little kids who love laser swords, spaceships, and CGI. Every adult I know groans about how lousy the prequels are, but all of the younglings in my family cannot get enough of it. You obviously have people who are adults and have no taste (see: the latest lolocaust of critical perception in the prequels thread), but children and parents bringing their children likely constitute a significant percentage of box office sales. These two groups already don't care about how good a movie is.