The 10 best film and television prequels
In anticipation of Syfy's upcoming Peter Pan prequel 'Neverland'
The 10 Best Film and Television Prequels
Over the last several years we've seen a higher concentration of prequels than perhaps ever before, a trend which is mainly the result of increasingly risk-averse studios going back to the drawing board in an effort to reinvigorate aging franchises and hopefully milk a few million bucks in profits off an established title. The most recent of these comes not in the form of a theatrical feature, interestingly enough, but rather a television movie - namely Syfy's Peter Pan prequel "Neverland" (premiering this Sunday at 9 PM), which takes place prior to the events of J.M. Barrie's 1911 novel "Peter and Wendy" (actually a novelization of his own play "Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up").
In anticipation of the movie's debut, we here at HitFix decided to put our heads together and compile a list of the 10 best prequels in the history of movies and television, with our final choices sure to stir up some debate among those who feel we unfairly left out one or more of their own personal favorites. Of course, that's just the sort of discussion we like to encourage here; i.e. once you've scrolled through the full list we encourage you to weigh in with your own picks in the comments!
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupObi-Wan Lowenthal
December 2, 2011 at 8:20AM EST Reply to CommentLet me just say that I'm not one of the people who likes to trash the star wars prequels to no end. They weren't the best movies, and some of the acting and dialogue was particularly groan-worthy, but I did find them entertaining throughout. However, even the third movie, which was far and away the best of them, did not feel like it was a worthy companion to the original three. And I think that factor needs to be considered when evaluating the merits of a prequel. It's not just about how much you like the movie itself, but also how it compares to the other movie(s) in the series. If someone were to make a prequel to Goodfellas or some other classic, that prequel couldn't get away with just being good. Competent execution is not enough when expectations are already extremely high.
Tyler There was nothing competent about Revenge of the Sith. The characters were awful, the plot made no sense, and people were total idiots about everything. It was filmed totally on green screen and had the grittiness of the originals washed away with terrible CG. It really felt like a movie designed to sell toys.
December 2, 2011 at 3:33PM ESTLiz Ditto. Earlier this year we did a reshowing of all six and there's just no comparison and no justification to put the and of the "first three" on any Best list of any kind.
December 2, 2011 at 3:41PM ESTObi-Wan Lowenthal Tyler, I can see where you're coming from with the characters, but I don't think the plot made zero sense. You're entitled to your opinion, but I generally find that people can get a bit hyperbolic in their criticism of the Star Wars prequels because of how amazing the original trilogy was. Revenge of the Sith doesn't come close to any of those movies, but I don't deny having enjoyed it, flaws and all. That said, I think we're in agreement that it does not belong on this list.
December 2, 2011 at 4:05PM ESTGuy Gaduois
December 2, 2011 at 11:16AM EST Reply to CommentTwin Peaks was on ABC.
Monty Jack
December 2, 2011 at 12:15PM EST Reply to CommentGlad to see someone else admitting to liking Smallville, which should go down as one of the best takes on the Superman story ever done. While it ran a few seasons too long, it never got unwatchably bad as so many genre TV shows do (and a lot faster..Smallville was good for ten seasons, while Heroes crashed and burned in barely four), and it retained an irresitable, cornball charm. Plus, probably the best Lois Lane of all in the shapely, sassy form of Erica Durance.
Elevation
December 2, 2011 at 1:10PM EST Reply to CommentSaying Revenge of the Sith is one of the 10 best prequels ever is a credibility killer.
rainman90
December 2, 2011 at 1:36PM EST Reply to Comment"'Sith' is far-and-away the best of the three 'Star Wars' prequels and that has to count for something on this list."
It does? Being the tallest midget doesn't make you a giant.
Mulderism
December 2, 2011 at 6:53PM EST Reply to CommentSmallville went on w-a-y too long. It would have been better served to limit it to 5 season max. I stuck with it to the end but it became one of those shows that I would watch while doing something else.
In fact I told my office mate that I would watch new Simpsons (which I now loathe) if he would watch the Smallville finale (excruciating).
I agree with the ROTS bashing. It pretty well put the last nail in the coffin for me for any love I had for SW.
Star Trek (2009) for me ranks slightly above Star Trek V of all the Trek films. The first time I saw it I was indifferent but the second time I actively disliked it. And this coming from a big fan of Star Trek. Not sure why people liked it so much.
Turtle Man, that Smallville finale was terrible. I wouldn't mind the show being deemed a success based on how long it lasted, but that finale killed any goodwill I had left for Smallville. If they had ended the show after the fifth season, it would've gone out on a high note. Letting it drag on so long, while repeating all their earlier story lines at least twice, meant the show just fizzled out. My relatives that hung in there for the finale deemed it a waste of ten years after it aired.
December 2, 2011 at 8:14PM EST