Five Moments We Still Love From the Star Wars Prequels

Ah, the Star Wars prequels. Some fans will protect them with their very lies, even counting one or all of them amongst their favorite movies. Some refuse to find any redeeming qualities in them out of pure spite, despite there being many.

Indeed, the prequels are seemingly often derided just because it’s somehow popular to do so. We’d like to offer a different point of view. Despite some missteps that just about anyone would agree on, at their core, they’re still Star Wars, with some incredible parallels to the original trilogy, some fantastic emotional moments, and some awesome action.

Here are just five of the many moments we still love from the prequels. Let’s change the conversation!

Pod Racing!

You can be as jaded about action movies as you want, but it’s very hard to deny that the pivotal Pod Racing scene from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is just straight-up fun. With riveting action, especially when it pulls you virtually into the pod racer alongside the very young Anakin Skywalker, this scene was movie-making magic. It also happened to spawn an incredibly fun game on Nintendo 64 that for many fans of the time worked its way into a regular rotation alongside Goldeneye and Mario Kart 64 as the go-tos on that console.

Mace Windu Throws Down

Samuel L. Jackson had one major request for his character in the Star Wars films: Just let him be a badass. Well, when Mace Windu entered the fray in Attack of the Clones, a badass he was indeed. The ultimate moment for Windu, which showed his different level of ruthlessness (honestly, Windu was probably more in danger of the dark side than any other member of the Jedi council), was his fight with Jango Fett at the Battle of Geonosis. The fight itself didn’t last long, and that’s because Windu took care of business. After being hooked by Fett’s grapple, he pulled him in, and with one swift motion took his head off.

More than just a crazy moment, this also provided fuel for a great arc surrounding Boba Fett on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and helped to show his personal disdain for Jedi that he kept with him for decades after.

Execute Order 66.

Without a doubt one of the most emotional moments in the entire Star Wars series of films, when Darth Sidious finally shows his true colors in Revenge of the Sith, he contacts the clone army and tells them to “Execute Order 66.” With that order, the clones turn on their Jedi generals and begin the great purge, with the vast majority of Jedi being slaughtered.

The moment is especially poignant if you’ve watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the six-season animated television series that takes place between Episodes II and III. The series gives much more emotional context to Revenge of the Sith, as you get to know and love many of the Jedi that die on screen in that film, not to mention the clones that kill them. Knowing that a clone like Cody, who we get to know in bursts on the show, would turn on Obi-Wan (sure, he missed, but hey) is just heartbreaking.

Duel Of The Fates

The climactic fight scene in The Phantom Menace realized lightsaber combat in a way fans simply hadn’t seen before – or perhaps even imagined – on the big screen. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Darth Maul face off in a two-on-one fight that showcases not just incredible fighting, but also the huge difference between the passion-fueled Sith and the peaceful Jedi. When they’re cut off and prepping to fight, the Jedi sit and meditate, while Maul prowls back and forth like a jungle cat.

It doesn’t hurt that this scene also featured the best track from the prequels, the exquisite “Duel of the Fates.” It’s been used to symbolize tense situations – and Darth Maul’s presence – ever since in the Star Wars universe.

You Were My Brother, Anakin!

Revenge of the Sith gets into several fans’ top 3 list of Star Wars films, as it finally fulfilled the promise of seeing Anakin Skywalker’s descent into the role and persona of Darth Vader. In this fight, one-on-one between the newly-christened Vader and one of the last of the Jedi, his former master and friend Obi-Wan Kenobi. As the two battle, Kenobi begs for his friend, his brother to stop and to come back to him.

“You were my brother, Anakin!” and “You were supposed to be the chosen one!” are amongst the things he shouts in sheer agony.

Once again, this scene hits much harder if you’ve watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars, where you can really see that brotherhood form completely. It’s terrible and horrifying and painful, and it’s a moment from the Prequels that we genuinely love.