Toad

To me, I like seeing a very young Anakin even though I do not like TPM all that much. BUT, that said, I think it's better than AOTC, which in my opinion adds virtually nothing at all (except confusion: see Sifo Dyas, etc.)

I think ROTS is the best and is the most necessary.

I would have liked to have TPM, then ROTS, then something in between that and ANH.

Toad

P.S. This poll is based on STORY alone -- not on things like "oh the dialogue sucked!" or "the acting was awful!!" or "Luca$ is a fucking looozer and I h8 his stup-id gutz!!!"

Michael Corvin

Definitely TPM. Most of what was necessary for the larger part could have been handled in about 15 minutes.

I enjoyed AOTC.

Sith rules them all though.

chess

TPM and AOTC should have been combined into one good movie. Just write Anakin a bit older (more like Luke's age)...do the pod race bit and the battle with Darth Maul...show Anakin training with Obi Wan (think Luke on Dagobah)...wants to go save his mom from some unseen menace (Dooku) but is convinced by Yoda that he's "not ready"...mom dies and Anakin blames the Jedi...he retreats into the arms of Padme and it ends a lot like AOTC.

Second movie is tracking down Dooku and the clone wars.

The third movie is essentially ROTS.

That said, I voted "all essential" but was tempted to vote for TPM.

PixyJunket

You don't need a crystal ball to see where this is going.

Toad

Apparently I do, as I have no idea what you're alluding to...

Chess -- good point, I also think that TPM and AOTC could be combined into one solid movie. I'd still like to see something post-ROTS, but maybe if there was a gap-filler between TPM/AOTC and ROTS, I'd be happy with that too!

Mad Dawg

I agree that the first two could could have been combined in terms of story, if for no other reason than to give the Clone Wars and much of the last act in ROTS some breathing room. Also, fleshing out Dooku and Greivous a bit. As far as "post-ROTS," if this applies and as many others have mentioned in other threads, I wish we could have seen Jedi being hunted down by Vader instead of kind of being unceremoniously disposed of by Clone Troopers.

Groucho

I agree that TPM and AOTC would have gone well together as the first movie, having Anakin as a teen instead of a little boy. The second movie could have focused on the clone wars, and ended with Anakin becoming Darth Vader, making the third movie more focused.

TheNightFlier

I'm another person that thinks TPM and AOTC could have been combined into a nice 2 and half hour movie, maybe a little longer. The prequels should have started with Anakin in his early to mid teens. The 2nd would deal with Anakin's turn. And the 3rd we could've seen the Empire swing into gear more.

Amel

I picked ATOC, but like others, feel that the first two would have been great if combined into one movie. AOTC just leaves me confused. And besides the fight with Yoda and Dooku, completely unsatisfied.

Fok

TPM was more of a kiddies film than anything, we could of done without that.

KnightLerxst

Yup. Lucas just took way too long developing elements that could have been handled in a few lines of dialog...I think the first two prequels would have been much better if Anakin were "discovered" in his late teens or early 20s much like Luke.

Josh H

Definitely TPM. Only importance to the plot there was that Anakin was very attached to his mother, and that could have been told in 15 minutes of flashbacks in AOTC. It should have started there.

They could show more of his tendencies for wanting power, etc. in the first movie, had him go bad around the middle of the 2nd movie, had the Obi-wan duel in the middle or 2/3 point in the 3rd movie, and then had a more detailed ending and had more of in suite Vader.

That way we don't have the kiddy crap in the first, get to know Anakin better, more on his relationship with Obi-Wan, get to see more of Palpatine seducing him, see him doing more evil acts to be entrenched in the dark side more slowly, and get a longer ending to tie it into the OT even better.

The Bus

All were useful. Althought Anakin's story is not very big in TPM (even if he has a lot of scense), the politics were necessary.

TheNightFlier

I think it could've been even more interesting if Lucas kept Liam Neeson and Qui-Gon around for a little longer. And have a nice conflict betwen Obi-Wan/Anakin/Qui-Gon. Hell, could've had Anakin kill him off to make Vader look even more evil.

paulringodaman

Yes, all were necessary in my opinion. We needed to see Ben Kenobi taking in Anakin, the politics, the mother-son connection, Qui-Gon's discovery of Anakin and Anakin's "attraction" to Padme. Yes, the Pod Race scene and Gungan parts were unnecessary, though.

PopcornTreeCt

Attack of the Clones. Really nothing changes between Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith.

veloce

Having finally seen Sith last night (I took my Dad to the last Star Wars movie, since he took me to the first one when I was five), I think I can safely say that we could have done without all of them, story-wise. These stories of the Clone Wars, of the fall of the Republic, of the slaughter of the Jedi -- they were all a rich and mysterious back story to the original three films. They hinted at a larger world, with history and breadth. The prequels fleshed that out into a glossy bore. That's unfortunate, and disappointing.

Mr. Cinema

I think all 3 are necessary, but all 3 could use re-editing, but so do many other films. I'd like more Grevious in part 3, more scenes showing Anakin going to the dark side. Of course, less Jar Jar and more Maul in 1. More Jango in 2.

Zodiac_Speaking

Well, I said all are necessary, but what now in hindsight, the prequel trilogy should have been:

E1-First 15-20 essentially TPM, then fastwords to AOTC.
E2-The Clone Wars
E3-Just like it was.

Basically, just like chess said. Maybe then the preuqels would have been hated by people, even though I liked them all and they are Lucas' creation, so its a mute point-but again, that all would've been sweet.

Get Me Coffee

Tpm

Bandoman

My thoughts exactly.