For many fans, the Star Wars prequels, from The Phantom Menace (1999) to The Clone Wars (2008), are a cruel farce — a woodenly acted, highly profitable mockery of the beloved three original films. But Star Wars creator George Lucas has no intention of sweeping the prequels under the rug. Last week, details of a long-rumored plan to release the Stars Wars films in 3D emerged. A 3D version of The Phantom Menace will hit theaters first, on February 10, 2012, followed by the next five films in the franchise's narrative sequence, one per year. Will 3D really give the derided prequels new punch, or should Lucas just let them disappear... to a galaxy a safe distance away?
Enough Star Wars already: This is just another effort to "milk money out of gullible and should-know-better-but-they-don't Star Wars fans," says Kevin Jagernauth at Indiewire. I wish that instead of flocking to the multiplex for this, people would "know better and stick a middle finger up at Lucas," but that's not going to happen.
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