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Mark Hamill has spoken about the Star Wars prequels, defending George Lucas' controversial trilogy.
"I was impressed the prequels had their own identity," the Luke Skywalker actor said, quoted in J.W. Rinzler's book Howard Kazanjian: A Producer's Life (H/T IndieWire). "They were criticized because they were exposition-heavy and more cerebral and probably, like he said back in 1976, they weren't as commercial. It's a darker story. But in the age of social media, people's voices are amplified, and I'm shocked at how brutal they can be, not just in the case of Star Wars films, but across the board."
The prequels – The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith –have been heavily criticized since their release, though many fans do express their appreciation for the films and their expansion of the galaxy far, far away (and, of course, the memes).
Star Wars editor Marcia Lucas also spoke about The Phantom Menace for the book: "When I went to see Episode 1 – I had a friend who worked at ILM, who took me as a guest to a preview – I cried. I cried because I didn't think it was very good. And I thought [George Lucas] had such a rich vein to mine, a rich palette to tell stories with. He had all those characters." She also criticized the burgeoning love story between Anakin and Padmé, and said: "There were things I didn’t like about the casting, and things I didn't like about the story… it was a lot of eye candy. CG."
