What was Palpatine's original plan in TPM?

[TheHammer]

Those must have been pretty bad Jedi to be taken down by one guy with a light saber. Probably had the same quality of training as the 3 Palpatine easily disposed of in his office.

He's the freaking Chosen One. He killed Dooku, ie one of the best swordsmen in the Order.

And of course using a few missiles on the temple never occurred to them because we needed to have the Anakin killing kids scene to establish his baddity

Weren't there things in the Jedi archives Palpatine wanted (holocrons and the like)? Plus he wanted to send out the fake signal to lure Jedi back.

I think one of the tragic losses of ROTS was that We didn't get to see Anakin face off against Mace Windu. I always thought a much better scene would have been as Windu attempts to strike down Palpatine, rather than lopping off his limbs, he blocks it with a light saber - The same as when Luke attempted to strike him down in ROTJ. The symmetry would have been awesome.

Not only that, but during the duel you could have had Windu goading Anakin saying how he never trusted him, and that he'd make him pay. Then during the battle he'd read anakins thoughts and threaten to have him and Padme arrested. Up to this Point Anakin on the defensive, but then this last threat, and a subtle nudge by Palpatine sends him over the edge as he draws upon the darkside to strike down Mace Windu.

Then palpatine pointing out how his "hate has made him powerful". And how, under Palpy's tuteledge he would teach him how to use it. Making the final duel between Obi-wan even more of a mismatch, and great upset when Kenobi, despite being good, is clearly considered lesser than Windu. Leading to Anakins over-confidence, and downfall.

Perhaps the most awesome scene never filmed. There would be no need for the Jedi temple scene.

[ronindave]

I think one of the tragic losses of ROTS was that We didn't get to see Anakin face off against Mace Windu. I always thought a much better scene would have been as Windu attempts to strike down Palpatine, rather than lopping off his limbs, he blocks it with a light saber - The same as when Luke attempted to strike him down in ROTJ. The symmetry would have been awesome.

Not only that, but during the duel you could have had Windu goading Anakin saying how he never trusted him, and that he'd make him pay. Then during the battle he'd read anakins thoughts and threaten to have him and Padme arrested. Up to this Point Anakin on the defensive, but then this last threat, and a subtle nudge by Palpatine sends him over the edge as he draws upon the darkside to strike down Mace Windu.

Then palpatine pointing out how his "hate has made him powerful". And how, under Palpy's tuteledge he would teach him how to use it. Making the final duel between Obi-wan even more of a mismatch, and great upset when Kenobi, despite being good, is clearly considered lesser than Windu. Leading to Anakins over-confidence, and downfall.

Perhaps the most awesome scene never filmed. There would be no need for the Jedi temple scene.

That would have been good scene indeed instead of Mace being suckerpunched by Anakin and Palpatine. Even better had Palpatine not revealed himself so suddenly and out of character of his usual cool plotting self but had allowed the Jedi to seem aggressive in front of Anakin. In the original scene he had no idea Anakin would come to his rescue and he almost lost everything due to his sudden out-of-character lightsaber attack.

[Knife]

I think one of the tragic losses of ROTS was that We didn't get to see Anakin face off against Mace Windu. I always thought a much better scene would have been as Windu attempts to strike down Palpatine, rather than lopping off his limbs, he blocks it with a light saber - The same as when Luke attempted to strike him down in ROTJ. The symmetry would have been awesome.

Not only that, but during the duel you could have had Windu goading Anakin saying how he never trusted him, and that he'd make him pay. Then during the battle he'd read anakins thoughts and threaten to have him and Padme arrested. Up to this Point Anakin on the defensive, but then this last threat, and a subtle nudge by Palpatine sends him over the edge as he draws upon the darkside to strike down Mace Windu.

Then palpatine pointing out how his "hate has made him powerful". And how, under Palpy's tuteledge he would teach him how to use it. Making the final duel between Obi-wan even more of a mismatch, and great upset when Kenobi, despite being good, is clearly considered lesser than Windu. Leading to Anakins over-confidence, and downfall.

Perhaps the most awesome scene never filmed. There would be no need for the Jedi temple scene.

That would have been good scene indeed instead of Mace being suckerpunched by Anakin and Palpatine. Even better had Palpatine not revealed himself so suddenly and out of character of his usual cool plotting self but had allowed the Jedi to seem aggressive in front of Anakin. In the original scene he had no idea Anakin would come to his rescue and he almost lost everything due to his sudden out-of-character lightsaber attack.

I do have to agree with you here, that scene was seriously lacking in lots of things. The novel handled it a bit better but in a book you get to read their thoughts on the matter, not so in a movie.

Edit:
Of course, I think they rushed his 'fall' awful fast in RotS and his motivations were pretty thin. So, I wish they'd put more into that plot line and less in epic show down with Mace. Heck even Anakin finally snapping from all the shit Mace shovels his way while worried about Padme's possible death is screwing with his head, would make it a bit better.

[ronindave]

Edit:
Of course, I think they rushed his 'fall' awful fast in RotS and his motivations were pretty thin. So, I wish they'd put more into that plot line and less in epic show down with Mace. Heck even Anakin finally snapping from all the shit Mace shovels his way while worried about Padme's possible death is screwing with his head, would make it a bit better.

The fall wouldn't have been so rushed if so much time hadn't been given to unimportant scenes like Obi-wan and his fight with minor villain General Grievous or the Wookie Planet fight. A Mace-Anakin fight like the one described above would have added more to the major storyline and more to their characters. Both of the other scenes were needlessly longer than they should have been and - like I said with the Battle of Naboo - ultimately pointless. Mace vs Anakin would have been more interesting since that's the moment of Anakin's turn. Mace could have said something to antagonize him to the point of no return and given him more reason to hate the other Jedi

[TheHammer]

Mace and Anakin have friction through out most of ROTS. And Anakins turn should have been more of him giving in to the darkside, feeling the power and relishing it... Rather than the "Oh noes! What have I done!".

And for that Matter, Grievous could have been done much better. Less Machine and more man - a true cyborg similar to what Vader becomes, lacking most force powers, but with Jedi reflexes and dueling abilities. Or hell, what if you just swapped Grievous into Episode One, and had Darth Maul in Episode Three.

*sigh* Missed opportunities.

[Simon_Jester]

All that's great but then it comes down to Palpatine being the major character if not the protagonist of the Prequel series and therefore needed more screen time to see some of his plottings and manipulations. Too much is left offscreen that needed to be on screen. Personally his character (and the acting behind it) is far more interesting than any other character in the series. Anakin just isn't interesting as his Darth Vader persona of the OT is and his fall from grace wasn't a terribly big fall since he was such a whiny shit most of the time. More Plotty Palpy less Whiny Annie.

A fair point. Honestly, I think Anakin needed to be improved on more than Palpatine needed to be shown more: an Anakin who explicitly started out as a noble heroic Boy Scout type, then lost faith in the Republic, and ultimately lost faith in the Jedi by believable progression would have been better.

Instead of "The Jedi are holding me back!" Which is just... spiteful. Unheroic. Anakin's fall shouldn't be about ambition, even peripherally.

The real problem was that what should have been the first signs of Anakin becoming troubled and losing faith in the system he was charged to protect became... well, violent teenage angst, with lightsaber in hand. That was a problem with the acting and scriptwriting, in my opinion- the implementation of the character failing to live up to the archetype of what the 'fallen paladin' should look like in the opening part of his fall.

[Coyote]

I recognize a lot of flaws in the prequels, and would have liked seeing things done differently, but the idea that the heroes in TPM got distracted by Sidious's plan isn't one of the complaints...

I think the problem is just that this happens before we get to the climatic battle. I think storytelling and writing-wise having Palpatine ascend to chancellorship should have come as a result of the final confrontation because that would drive the point home much better. Regardless of how hard the heroes fight, the Republic is doomed and though victorious they only helped speeding its downfall up. Imagine the final scene of TPM, instead of a retread of ANH's ending, being Palpatine's inauguration, him standing in the middle of the senate, left hand on the SW equivalent of the Bible, right hand in the air swearing that he "...will serve the Republic and restore peace and order to the galaxy" -ending credits.

Good call, that would have made the whole thing better, and been an ironic twist of the victory that the heroes had won. Again, better writing and directing would have been the answer.

[Coyote]

I don't like the Prequels because on one hand they don't do justice to the Original Trilogy in continuity, characterization (Darth Vader was a whiny child-killing selfish prat?), and tone. I also don't them because as films in themselves they fail in delivering an effective and engaging story for a number of reasons.

The Prequels as they were shot are all over place with theme and tone. They are very inconsistent. The overall tone of the Prequels should have been tragic and any victory by the heroes bittersweet - kind of like that at the end of Seven Samurai where the peasants win but the Samurai realize they lost. As for the focus on Anakin, that is hard to swallow because the first film has him doing very little. He certainly isn't the main focus of TPM and he's too young to be of interest for this kind of story. We need an older ANakin who can be torn by decisions and questioning his actions and those around him something kids don't do - this is why kids are rarely if ever the focus of a drama.

I can see your points and agree with them, to an extent. I was surprised that they started with Anakin so young, the whole 'conceived by the Force' thing was (to me) stupid, and the scene pacing was spastic at times. But these are bad writing and directing choices, rather than an inherent flaw in the plot, or Palpatine's plans.

Palpatine unintentionally became the main focus of the Prequels more so than Anakin. He is what moves everything forward to the OT. There is very little any character could have done to stop him mainly because everyone is too stupid to delve deeper into the matter. IMHO he is the only interesting character in the Prequels because he is the only one who doesn't react to the plot but creates most of the situations for the other characters to react to. This is why the way the story was presented to us that we needed more Palpatine onscreen to learn more about him and his plottings. As it is we don't directly see what results the heroes have on his plans - do they set him back? Do they unwittingly advance his plans? Do they cause him to have to adapt to a changing situation? Or as it seems in the Prequels, do their actions have no effect whatsoever on his plans?

Yeah, for what is supposed to be the tragic arc of Anakin Skywalker's fall to Darkness, the truth is Ian McDiarmid's Palpatine totally steals the show, and we really would learn more by seeing what the heroes' actions mean to him.

But back to Anakin, if he was suppose to be the main focus, there should have been more opportunities given to show his heroic side. As he was presented he just comes off as selfish, creepy, arrogant, weak-willed, murderous. There are very few redeemable qualities in him to be a truly tragic hero plus he murders women and children. His ambitions aren't very well portrayed either. "I want more but I know I shouldn't." Could you be a bit more vague, there? And that little hissy fit in ATOC of bringing people back from the dead just sounds like something a 5 year old would say.

Again, piss-poor writing being dealt to the actors. It's hard for me to reconcile the interesting character of Mathilda in Leon/The Professional with the wooden, stilted Padme Amidala portrayed by the same actress. The Clone Wars cartoon series is actually a better portrayal of Anakin as he slowly turns more and more dark, in subtle ways, sometimes in leaps as he adopts more of an "ends justifies the means" attitude. Cartoon Anakin's portrayal, templated over the script Hayden Christiansen was given, would have made a better movie. IMO.

At the end of ROTS Anakin becomes practically like an afterthought in Palpatine's great plan. All he does is sucker punch Mace Windu while the Emperor was playing possum for ANakin's benefit, kill the younglings, and then tie up the loose end of the Clone wars by killing the Separatist leaders. Makes you think - what was the big deal? Why did he need Anakin? I originally thought that Anakin's fall would have been more crucial to Palpatine's plans and the end of the Jedi such as when Obi-wan in ANH says - "Vader helped to hunt down and destroy the Jedi." - unless some of the younglings hid behind the sofa, this didn't happen.

Anakin totally becomes a tool of Palpatine, and in fact the real plot behind it all almost seems like the Sidious/Plagueus relationship that is only alluded to. Again, though, these seem to be bad choices in writing and directing rather than built-in story failures.

In making the prequels "more political", Lucas seemed to have completely made character work incidental. But the prequel saga could have been kept as it was, but with a few changes in writing and pacing, and worked very well, I think.

[emersonlakeandbalmer]

The fall wouldn't have been so rushed if so much time hadn't been given to unimportant scenes like Obi-wan and his fight with minor villain General Grievous or the Wookie Planet fight. A Mace-Anakin fight like the one described above would have added more to the major storyline and more to their characters. Both of the other scenes were needlessly longer than they should have been and - like I said with the Battle of Naboo - ultimately pointless. Mace vs Anakin would have been more interesting since that's the moment of Anakin's turn. Mace could have said something to antagonize him to the point of no return and given him more reason to hate the other Jedi

That's a good point. It always felt like Lucas wanted Grievous to be a major counterpart to Obi-Wan, but it was never developed. I read somewhere (might have just been a fan site) that Grievous was supposed to be a cyborg Maul. Doing that would have instantly made their battle carry more weight. Instead ronindave is right, it just takes away from what should be the main focus of the movie Anakin's turn.

It always bothered me that the first order was to kill kids. If so much time wasn't wasted they could have him kill someone who might "deserve" it first and let it build to the kids. This is way I get so disappointed by the prequels, so many things that could have been easily fixed.

[jollyreaper]

But how is this any different? I mean, if you watch a movie about Operation Market Garden you won't care because it does not change the outcome of the war?

What about a movie about German soldiers on the Western Front in WW1? Not only do they change nothing but they even lose in the end.

What we're talking about is more a problem of prequels in a fictional series rather than with historical drama. When we read a story set in the Napoleonic wars, we may hear of the Ottoman Empire and wonder why we haven't heard of them today but then we check out history books and find out what really happened there. The Ottoman name may have gone away but the territories that made up the empire are still around, the people are still there.

The jarring thing with a prequel like the OT is we get stuff thrown in there that isn't present in the current trilogy. Ok, so the CIS name could have gone away and the races that made it up are still out there. That could have worked like the Ottomans, ok.... but then where did those member races go? We don't see the droid-building insect people or the nematodians or any of those other aliens. Yes, Star Wars is a big place but c'mon, where did these guys go? Imperial Russia disappeared after WWI but we still had Soviet Russia in WWII.

The other question with a prequel is whether the story is compelling enough to be worth telling. Prequels in general tend to be origin stories and just don't have the same feel as a story constructed in chronological order. Does A New Hope feel like a prequel to Empire? How would you feel about it if Empire came first and then A New Hope came second to set up the events of Empire and then Jedi finished it off? No, it feels stronger to tell it in the proper order.

I think probably one of the main defining characteristics of a prequel is when you have to see the movies/read the books in production order for them to make sense. They're not self-contained stories. A Bridge Too Far is a self-contained story set within the context of the larger war and so works as a stand-alone movie. The Star Wars prequels just don't really stand up on their own as movies.

Let the flaming commence.

[jollyreaper]

We need an older ANakin who can be torn by decisions and questioning his actions and those around him something kids don't do - this is why kids are rarely if ever the focus of a drama.

I think at minimum Anakin should have been Luke's age in A New Hope. That would have been the kind of poetic parallel Lucas said he was going for. When Ben sees Luke in A New Hope, it'll be like looking into the past all over again, another Skywalker budding with Force talent.

Ben should have met Anakin when he was already a trained pilot and been impressed with his skill. His latent Force sensitivity should have been apparent from the start. The younger Kenobi should have seemed wise but possessed an essential arrogance, the conceit that he could take on such an old pupil and teach him. Potentially this would even be outside the auspices of the Jedi order. That would make the mistake all the more damning.

But back to Anakin, if he was suppose to be the main focus, there should have been more opportunities given to show his heroic side. As he was presented he just comes off as selfish, creepy, arrogant, weak-willed, murderous.

I think that we should have seen him help win the war and then be disgusted by the politicians mismanaging the peace. His seduction to the Dark Side should have been the kind of thing we could see ourselves falling for. He went zero to baby-killer in seconds.

He should have been still essentially a right-thinking good guy and feeling he was on the side of the angels up until his final confrontation with Kenobi. That's when he would be disfigured, Kenobi would be driven off by Palpatine's troops before he could finish the job, and the crippled Anakin would be dragged off to the droid shop to get his cybernetic limbs. It would be this sense of betrayal by his old master and his cruel maiming -- all the worse, leaving him alive in this state! -- that would help twist his mind.

Anakin's fall was supposed to be tragic. He should have come across as every bit the classic hero Luke was right up until his fall. Instead it seemed more like the inevitable development of a serial killer. The only thing missing was torturing and killing small animals.

There are very few redeemable qualities in him to be a truly tragic hero plus he murders women and children. His ambitions aren't very well portrayed either. "I want more but I know I shouldn't." Could you be a bit more vague, there? And that little hissy fit in ATOC of bringing people back from the dead just sounds like something a 5 year old would say.

Agreed. He really had to be one of the most likable characters in the trilogy for his fall to have any meaning. If a total jerkass gets hit by a bus nobody sees that as tragic.

At the end of ROTS Anakin becomes practically like an afterthought in Palpatine's great plan. All he does is sucker punch Mace Windu while the Emperor was playing possum for ANakin's benefit, kill the younglings, and then tie up the loose end of the Clone wars by killing the Separatist leaders. Makes you think - what was the big deal? Why did he need Anakin? I

You could actually play that either way. You could say that getting Anakin was just an arrogant flourish added to the plan and Palpatine did it for his own ego-stroking. Or you could say that Vader really was important to pulling the plan off. But if Palpy is an evil genius, I find it hard to believe that he'd let any part of the plan rest on a single fallible person. I think the best interpretation would be that Anakin's Jedi training was a mistake made by Kenobi and an opportunity that Palpy recognized and decided to take advantage of. If not this, he would have found another avenue for attacking the Jedi.

originally thought that Anakin's fall would have been more crucial to Palpatine's plans and the end of the Jedi such as when Obi-wan in ANH says - "Vader helped to hunt down and destroy the Jedi." - unless some of the younglings hid behind the sofa, this didn't happen.

Nope, didn't show it at all. The way I always pictured it, Palpy's force powers were simply not known. As written, Palpy wasn't a sith master right up until Jedi was scripted. (There was a Lucas interview where they had described the emperor as being a feeble figurehead controlled by his politicians and generals in A New Hope and then implying he had some force powers in Empire and then a complete reimagining of what he could do by Jedi because they realized that Vader's redemption arc wouldn't have resonance unless there was an evil greater than himself he rejected. So this meant the emperor had to be a bigger badass than himself.)

So, with Palpy not being known as a force user, the Jedi know that Anakin is siding with Palpy for reasons unknown. There's the confrontation with Anakin who is presumed killed in the encounter. The Jedi are now freaking out because this is open rebellion, a power grab by the chancellor, and they're having to take sides in politics, something they've been trying to avoid. Now they're in the middle of fighting a coup and then Palpy's got evidence against them of crimes against the Republic. It's now reenacting the persecution of the Templars. The Jedi are ordered arrested and imprisoned as traitors and now there's this black-suited force-user leading the troops against the Jedi. Nobody knows who he is and he's claiming the title of sith lord, something that's straight out of the oldest legends. They were a great enemy of the Jedi but thought wiped out. And the general public has no idea what a sith lord is, this is an open taunt to the Jedi.

So a big question would be who the hell this Vader guy is and Kenobi probably figures it out before his final exile. I'm figuring the hunting down of the Jedi probably took years and years. Not every Jedi was a great warrior, there were the scholars and doctors and all of their servants. So only a fraction of the number would be highly capable and able to remain on the run necessitating Vader's personal touch. And the propaganda value of individual Jedi making desperate last stands that killed a lot of imperial troops was probably invaluable. How can these Jedi claim to not be a threat when they can kill so many soldiers, your husbands and sons?

[The Asiduo]

In this topic, it's all about guessing: we have to guess what were Palpatine's orginal plans, because the story won't tell us anything. Of course someone will tell us that "IT'S OBVIOUS THAT PALPATINE/GUNRAY WANTS TO BLAH BLAH", but, what was the plan again?.

- He was trying to create a crisis to gain political power.
- He used the TF as pawns in this plan.
- He was planning to use the TF to invade Naboo and force Amidala to sign the treaty...

... And this will make him gain political power because...

So, the evil dude wants to win political power. I don't know why the steps above will help him in this thing, but, ok. The good guys in the movie go from planet to planet in adventures and pod-races trying to... foil the actions of the pawns (TF) of the bad dude. But in the end, the evil dude ends up winning all that he wants anyway...

So, in the end, the whole plot of this movie can be summed up in two words: Entirely Pointless.

I think the movie relies too heavily in the fact that assumes that we all have seen the OT, then we all must KNOW that Palpatine is a bad guy. So, the movie is telling us this:

"Palpatine plans?, WHO CARES!, he is EEEEEEEVIL, you know that!. You've seen the OT, don't you?"

So, instead of building a good story about political tension, or something, it just relies in the fact we KNOW Palpatine is evil as an excuse to really don't present any story, just some vague political references that doesn't make much sense.

[Baffalo]

Reading through all of these, I can't help but think of how I, myself, would have written the prequel trilogy. This is just my opinion, so I'm going to roll with it and let you guys have a shot at the knees with a baseball bat when it comes to plot.

The Phantom Menace:
The movie opens to show battle droids mopping up on some planet, humanoid aliens being led off in chains to an unknown fate when the scene cuts to Viceroy Nute Gunray and his assistant, standing on the bridge. They are discussing the invasion when one of the technicians looks up and says they are receiving a strange transmission. Darth Sideous appears, clad in dark robes, and grins his wicked grin, "Viceroy."

The Viceroy demands an explination, and Sideous simply replies, "All in good time. But first, I have a proposal to make. I think you will find what I have to say VERY important," while manipulating his mind, a subtle hand gesture to reinforce the point to anyone who's seen ANH.

Cut to a shot of Tattooine, where Watto is haggling with a few customers, when a boy of about 13 enters, carrying parts. He drops them off and wipes his forehead, before Watto asks him how the repairs are going on the droid. Anakin replies that he is working on it, but can't get the stabilizer calibrated. Watto shakes his head and finishes up with the customers, then goes and shows Anakin how to do it, leaving Watto in the position of a fatherly figure rather than a slave owner, despite the difference in species. There is also a young girl seen playing in the background, and Watto subtly drops the name Baru.

A new customer comes in the shop, and Watto heads in to deal. He comes out and asks what he can do for the stranger in robes, and the stranger replies that he's not here so much for parts but rather for an exchange in currency and because he felt a 'disturbance' in the Force. Anakin comes in wiping off a part, and gets his first look at the stranger. The stranger smiles and offers his hand, for he is Obi Wan Kenobi. Kenobi explains that he is looking to exchange Republic Credits for the local currencies out on the Rim, since he does quite a bit of travelling through the Rim and might need it.

Watto explains that he doesn't exchange currencies, but tells Anakin to guide Obi Wan around and show him where he can. Obi Wan is thankful for the guide and walks with Anakin, who tells Obi Wan a bit about the planet and brags a little about his own accomplishments, as boys are want to do. Obi Wan listens quietly, smiling, and then asks Anakin if he's ever felt anything strange, like he knew something was going to happen or if he was faster than he should be. Anakin admits to this, and Obi Wan continues with him in silence. He exchanges his currency at one of the larger shops, then asks Anakin if he likes it here on Tattooine. Anakin says it's alright, but wishes he could explore the galaxy. Obi Wan chuckles and nods, before walking with him back to Watto's shop.

Back at the shop, Obi Wan asks if he might cook dinner for the three, since he is a decent enough cook travelling by himself, and Watto decides to allow it. Over dinner, Obi Wan tells Watto and Anakin he's a Jedi, and that he's on his way to Naboo to investigate the strange and sudden lapse in communications from the planet, explaining, "One transmitter going bad isn't cause for concern. When all of them go bad, that's real cause for concern." Watto tells him he's done a bit of trading with Naboo and is even expected to get a new shipment of parts. Obi Wan offers to look into Watto's deal, provided Anakin comes along for the trip. "I'll pay his way, and it'll give me a chance to see if he might be suitable for Jedi training."

Watto isn't sure he wants Anakin to go, but when he sees the look in Anakin's eye, he agrees, saying, "It might be good for the boy." He and Obi Wan shake, and the next morning, they are seen heading for Obi Wan's modest little ship.

They arrive at Naboo to find the reason for the sudden end to communications. An entire battle fleet is in orbit, and they surround Obi Wan's ship. Obi Wan surrenders, despite Anakin's protests, and the two are met at the ramp by battle droids asking them to come see the Viceroy. On the bridge, Obi Wan listens to the Viceroy's explination that Naboo is under martial law, and that the Trade Federation only invaded to put down several rebellions threatening the stability of the planet. They even produce a document, signed by the King, showing that the invasion is legal for peacekeeping purposes.

Obi Wan counters that if Naboo were having trouble, why didn't they contact the Republic for assistance. The two argue for a moment, then the Viceroy, in a fury, orders the battledroids to kill the two. Obi Wan produces his lightsabre and kills the battledroids, and Anakin even manages to grab a blaster from a fallen droid. The Viceroy runs, and Obi Wan is about to give chase when several Droidekas appear from the direction the Viceroy came from. He must protect Anakin, so he falls back, using his lightsabre to defend them as Anakin shoots any regular droids blocking their path. Once clear, they run.

The two run to the hangar and find a shuttle about to leave. They sneak aboard and hide, riding down to one of the droid outposts on Naboo. They sneak away, and while running through the woods, encounter a powerfully built Gungan named Jar-Jar Binks. He is not the lanky fellow we know, but rather more lean, more muscular, built like a warrior. He is mostly covered in tattoos and carries many weapons, and he is none too pleased to find Humans running through the swamps when battledroids are so near. Obi Wan explains he needs to get to the King of Naboo, and Jar Jar takes him to his own King, that of the Gungans.

Obi Wan explains he and Anakin need to get to the Naboo and help them warn the Republic of what the Trade Federation has done. The King listens, then says that normally he would simply throw the Humans out, but instead will send them to the Naboo, with Jar Jar leading the way. He doesn't like humans, but understands he might need them to remove the threat from his swamps. With Jar Jar leading them, they get to the other side of the planet, and sneak along under the cover of night, heading for the palace.

Inside the palace, they find the King and his daughter, Princess Amidala. The King says they must go to the Senate, that only they have the power to get the Trade Federation off Naboo. Obi Wan agrees, and tells Anakin to stay with the King and his guards. They run for the hangars, where they encounter more droids. Obi Wan and the guards pick them off, before the King heads for a shuttle, Obi Wan a fighter. They both take off and break for orbit, and the shuttle manages to break through the blockade, though suffering heavy damage, while Obi Wan is caught in a tractor beam and brought on board and arrested.

The shuttle manages to get away to Tattooine, where they land not far from Watto's shop. Anakin says he can probably talk Watto out of some parts for the ship, but can't make any promises. Princess Amidala insists on accompanying him, though and thus she drags a few guards along with her. They arrive at the shop, and Anakin explains the situation to Watto, who quips, "Never trust a damn Jedi. Take what you need, boy, and be quick. You're workin' for Royalty."

As Anakin and the others work on the ship, Amidala hangs around him constantly. They're roughly the same age, and at first she thinks of him as dirty and smelly and icky. Over time, as they argue and grumble, they begin to form a friendship. Soon enough, the ship is fixed and they arrive on Coruscant, where Anakin is whisked away to meet with Master Yoda and the Jedi Council. There, he explains what happened to Obi Wan, and asks for their help. Yoda thinks on the matter in detail, then asks if Obi Wan had tested Anakin. Anakin admits no, and so Yoda explains that while they inform the Senate, Anakin will be tested.

In the Senate Chambers, Senator Palpatine stands behind his podium, addressing the crowd, "A stronger Republic would not need to fear such actions by the Trade Federation, and I firmly believe that our weakness is the direct cause of this entire incident!"

The Senate erupts in argument, before Chancellor Velorum calls for order. He explains that the Republic has been a peaceful government for a thousand years, and it would not be Valorum who would return to the days of runaway militarism. As Yoda watches from his own platform, he shakes his head, "No easy answer, there will be."

Meanwhile, we see Anakin sitting on a mat, three spheres on the floor infront of him. They are all the same, and an instructor guides him through the tests. "Lift the middle ball with your mind. Feel its presence in the Force."

Anakin does so, and manages to hold the ball steady when the doors open and Amidala peeks in. Anakin looks over and smiles, then loses concentration and drops the ball. He apologizes profusely, and the instructor only smiles, "Go ahead, we'll finish the test when you're finished." Anakin rushes over, and he and Amidala talk. She mostly wanted to tell him that Chancellor Palpatine called for a vote of no confidence in Velorum, that it was his duty as leader of the opposition to do so. Anakin shows confusion, and Amidala only giggles, saying, "It's how us civilized people keep our ducks in a row."

Anakin laughs and then asks if her father is going to lead a fleet back to Naboo. Amidala says no, that with the vote of no confidence, the Senate can't send the military anywhere unless it's an emergency. Anakin points out it is an emergency, but Amidala counters and says that the Trade Federation is waving the treaty like it's a giant flag visible from space. She then tells him where to sneak out if they want to join them when they go back to Naboo to fight. Anakin is unsure, but then decides to. After his testing, of course.

The scene cuts to the shuttle returning to Naboo, and right before the ship is about to attack, it loses power and shuts down. A single fighter shoots out of the bay, and Obi Wan's voice comes over the comm. They explain what they're doing, and so Obi Wan leads them for the swamps, home of the Gungans. There, they once again seek out Jar Jar, who is angry because many of the Gungans think he's a Human lover. Obi Wan explains that they need assistance immediately, and that he even has the King of Naboo with him. Jar Jar is apprehensive, but knows it must be important. He leads them before the Gungan king.

After pleading his case, the Gungan leader says he will sleep on the matter, and that he will reach his decision in three days. If the Naboo are to help, they must be ready then. The Kings leave one another's company, and and preperations begin.

Next it shows a shot of Gungans blowing horns, emerging from the jungles ready for war. Jar Jar is on a mount, watching the troops, and tells his General, "These Humans better be worth it." Meanwhile, the King and his guards sneak towards the Palace with Obi Wan. Anakin is there, but he's told to keep an eye on Amidala. The group almost reaches the palace when they are discovered, and a running firefight begins. They begin running towards the hangars, kids in tow, where the King and his guards free several pilots and begin heading for the sky. Anakin is told by Obi Wan to make sure to protect Amidala, "Just in case." as they head for the throne room.

As the fighters enter orbit and begin their attack, the Gungans begin theirs. Hurtling balls of blue energy, they begin decimating the droid ranks, though they are taking fire in return. The two sides clash, and the camera shows Jar Jar swinging an ax and taking off a droid head. He spots a tank and runs at it, jumping up on the barrel and breaking the droid that pops out to defend it in half. He then throws an energy ball into the tank, jumping off, and watching the tank explode. A wicked grin crosses his face, and he grabs another energy ball and runs.

The King leads his fighters in, dodging turbolasers and fighters as they attempt to shoot him down. He and his forces launch torpedoes, missiles, anything they have at the ship attempting to pierce its thick hide. So far, in space, they're taking loses but can't inflict much on the enemy. Meanwhile, on the planet, Anakin and Amidala are running with the guards left behind and Obi Wan as they make their way towards the throne. They know they will find the Viceroy there, and force him to surrender.

They are ambushed along the way, and Anakin gets struck in the arm. Amidala is shocked, and helps him bandage it. He looks sheepish, and they share a brief moment before they are drug back to reality and the war they're in. Anakin picks up his blaster and starts shooting, while Amidala takes cover. Obi Wan uses his lightsabre to defend them, but the volume keeps him from directly attacking. It's all on Anakin and the guards to kill the droids.

The Gungans are in disarray. Despite being better hand to hand, they are outnumbered and losing. Jar Jar scowls at the scene, then whistles and calls for retreat. They'd done their part, and now it was time for the humans to do theirs. He rode off and left the shattered battlefield, hoping things would turn out for the best. If not, the Gungans would be in deep trouble here soon, after the droids regrouped.

Obi Wan and team get to the throne room, and inside manage to find and capture the Viceroy. He is shocked and outraged, but before he can give his surrender, all the battledroids that were still fighting went dead. The control ship was gone. Everyone in the room was congradulating each other as they figured it out, and Amidala pressed a button on the throne, "Daddy we did it! We won!"

There is silence, before a man's voice comes on, "Princess... I'm sorry but... your father..."

The room goes silent as the news comes, and Amidala begins to tear up, "No... but he... he..."

She begins to cry. Anakin is at a loss, but he hugs her. She sobs on his shoulder.

Later, the Gungan King waddles into the throne room. Outside, construction is evident as repairs are made, and he bows formally, "I am da King of da Goonguns," he says, and she curtsies, "And I am Queen Amidala of the Naboo. On behalf of all free Nubians, I thank you for your contribution during our liberation."

The Gungan King smiles and says, "Perhaps... it is time for the past to be forgotten. For us to begin anew. I am told your Senator Palpatine has stepped down as Senator to take on the role of Chancellor?"

Amidala nods, "He won the election after Velorum allowed the Trade Federation to collect so many weapons. I take it you have a suggestion on his replacement?"

The Gungan King snaps his fingers, and Jar Jar enters. He looks most uncomfortable in dark blue robes, but he stands perfectly straight. Amidala giggles, but agrees, that Jar Jar would make an excellent senator. Anakin waits for the Gungans to leave, before coming in. He is dressed in Padawan robes, and smiles from ear to ear. Amidala grins too, and they hug. Amidala says, "I'll miss you." Anakin says, "I'll miss you too. Here," he hands her a necklace, "Remember me with this." She agrees, and gives him a tender kiss on the cheek. Anakin blushes, and almost runs from the room in embarrisment. The new queen giggles, then hops on her throne and turns to look out over the blue sky, remarking, "One problem down, a thousand more to go."

END CREDITS.

[Darth Tedious]

*A very good alternative version of TPM*

That's excellent. You should fill it out a little more and put it in fanfics. And then do the next 2 episodes. Really good work.

[The Asiduo]

Reading through all of these, I can't help but think of how I, myself, would have written the prequel trilogy. This is just my opinion, so I'm going to roll with it and let you guys have a shot at the knees with a baseball bat when it comes to plot.

Congratulations. Your plot is a LOT better and makes much more sense that the actual plot of TPM. I found the idea of "Jar Jar" being a "warrior character" was kind of overcompensation for the stupid character he is in TPM . IMHO, Jar Jar, annoying as he is, would serve a lot better in a story with characters more developed. In this sketch, at LEAST we know what the hell is going on, and there is much more drama and tension.

Good work

[Simon_Jester]

But it's not a bad idea to have characters who provide some comedy, that's part of the Star Wars style. In the original trilogy that job mostly belonged to the droids and occasionally to Chewie.

Jar Jar would have served better if (like the funny characters in the originals) he weren't all comic relief. With every aspect of his personality seemingly optimized to make him appear ridiculous, Jar Jar became annoying to a lot of people. Making him prone to comical clumsiness is one thing; making him utterly brainless and useless (and yet somehow trusted to command an army by Gungans who really ought to know better)... not so good.

[Simon_Jester]

Ghetto Edit:

In this topic, it's all about guessing: we have to guess what were Palpatine's orginal plans, because the story won't tell us anything. Of course someone will tell us that "IT'S OBVIOUS THAT PALPATINE/GUNRAY WANTS TO BLAH BLAH", but, what was the plan again?.

- He was trying to create a crisis to gain political power.
- He used the TF as pawns in this plan.
- He was planning to use the TF to invade Naboo and force Amidala to sign the treaty...

... And this will make him gain political power because...

Because he expects to profit from playing a major role in being one of the lead figures in tackling a national crisis in the Senate, when he has control over the bad guys. It's not all that hard, Asiduo. Many politicians have gained fame and support by dealing with some unexpected crisis. It's even easier to accomplish that when you can control the pace and tempo of the crisis. For example, you can order the other side to act in ways that will make everyone afraid a disaster is about to strike, then do something in response, then order the other side to back down- which makes you look good.

So, the evil dude wants to win political power. I don't know why the steps above will help him in this thing, but, ok. The good guys in the movie go from planet to planet in adventures and pod-races trying to... foil the actions of the pawns (TF) of the bad dude. But in the end, the evil dude ends up winning all that he wants anyway...

So, in the end, the whole plot of this movie can be summed up in two words: Entirely Pointless.

...Movies are pointless when the bad guys win?

Honestly, Palpatine's involvement in Episode I is really just foreshadowing, setting up his role in Episodes II and III. The movie's core plot revolves around the Trade Federation; the fact that someone else is manipulating the Trade Federation is just done to set up the sequels. That happens a lot in movies which are explicitly planned to be part of a trilogy; they're not entirely self-contained, nor should they be.

So, instead of building a good story about political tension, or something, it just relies in the fact we KNOW Palpatine is evil as an excuse to really don't present any story, just some vague political references that doesn't make much sense.

I can't shake the feeling that they make more sense than you think they do, because you're not looking at the underlying dynamics.

[The Asiduo]

Because he expects to profit from playing a major role in being one of the lead figures in tackling a national crisis in the Senate, when he has control over the bad guys. It's not all that hard, Asiduo. Many politicians have gained fame and support by dealing with some unexpected crisis. It's even easier to accomplish that when you can control the pace and tempo of the crisis. For example, you can order the other side to act in ways that will make everyone afraid a disaster is about to strike, then do something in response, then order the other side to back down- which makes you look good.

Ok, I guess. That doesn't explain my question. I mean, yeah, he's trying to create a political crisis to gain power: I GET that. But it's so strange in the details: I get that he was basically doublecrossing everyone: stupid senate, stupid queen, stupid TF. But, what if he had killed the two jedis, and the princess hadn't scaped?. What would came next?. The Senate would have recognized the treaty?. If he wanted that the Senate found out about the issue, so he could arrange the vote of no-confidence against Velorum, why the treaty and the communications blockade?. I don't know, it seems odd.

I know that in a movie one doesn't need to know EVERY DETAIL of what's going on. But, come on, all this stuff of taxes, politics, etc. gets BORING, specially if the details are blurred. If Lucas wanted to make a Star Wars movie about politics, then he should have set up a more coherent plot in these grounds. But, he made this weird mix up between an adventure movie and a political drama which, in my opinion, doesn't make much sense.

...Movies are pointless when the bad guys win?

Perhaps not, but I was under the impression that this was a movie aimed for kid... ah, just joking.

It's entirely pointless, IMHO because it feels rather inconsequential. It's like it would been the same if the good guys hadn't been there or not. All their "heroic feats" seem pointless. If the story was really about Qui Gonn meeting Anakin, then why to put all this pseudo-political-economical stuff about taxes, treaties, mumbo-jumbo in the middle of story?.

Honestly, Palpatine's involvement in Episode I is really just foreshadowing, setting up his role in Episodes II and III. The movie's core plot revolves around the Trade Federation; the fact that someone else is manipulating the Trade Federation is just done to set up the sequels. That happens a lot in movies which are explicitly planned to be part of a trilogy; they're not entirely self-contained, nor should they be.

So, the Trade Federation are the main villains in the story... only that their motivation is also, completely unclear and they're boring characters. The main impression is that they're just Palpatine's pawns, and he's doublecrossing everybody, so I find them very ineffective villains.

And the "self-contained" stuff. I think that a good movie should ALWAYS be self-contained. It's a movie, not a TV series. When you're watching a 1:30 - 2:00 movie, and at the end, nothing significant has happened, you think: "So... 2 hours for THIS?". At least it should have an "arc". If not, all the things happening in the movie seems rather dull and inconsequential. Again, if the whole point of the movie was: "Anakin begin his training as Jedi", why won't focus the movie on THAT, instead of all this political-economical stuff?

I can't shake the feeling that they make more sense than you think they do, because you're not looking at the underlying dynamics.

Again: What underlying dynamics?. That Palpatine is trying to get power with strange plots and double-crossing everyone?. That's not an underlying dynamic, that's just a plot-device that abuses the fact we all know that "Palpatine is evil" as an excuse for not explaining anything.

[Darth Tedious]

I think a lot of the political-economic stuff was used to:
A) Explain Palpatine's rise to power and how it occurred
B) Give some characterisation to Amidala (who is a boring character because she was a politician from a young age)
C) Set up the events of Episode II, ie. the dissatisfaction of the TF and others, leading to the formation of the CIS

I would agree that TPM really doesn't stand alone (particularly not in the way that ANH did). It is interesting to note that in the original script of the OT there was only one Death Star (which was fought at the end of RoTJ). Lucas added the DS1 later, partly because he wasn't sure if he would get to do a second movie, and partly because he realised that he needed a battle to end ANH so it could stand alone and be an exciting, self-contained movie.
In the case of TPM, he knew he would be doing the whole trilogy, so he probably wasn't so worried about it standing alone so much as setting up what was to come. He also had the Battle of Naboo to provide at least a small pop for the audience (particularly the kids, who didn't follow all the politics and actually thought that the 'good guys' won ), even though it was of little overall consequence in the long run. Don't forget, it was an important battle for some of the main characters, especially Amidala.

Mike Wong put forward a really good theory as to what would have happened if the Jedi and/or Amidala had been killed (and a few other possible turns of events, if I remember correctly) here. He even had the best shot I've heard so far at explaining what Palpy's original plan might have been.

[Simon_Jester]

Ok, I guess. That doesn't explain my question. I mean, yeah, he's trying to create a political crisis to gain power: I GET that. But it's so strange in the details: I get that he was basically doublecrossing everyone: stupid senate, stupid queen, stupid TF. But, what if he had killed the two jedis, and the princess hadn't scaped?. What would came next?. The Senate would have recognized the treaty?. If he wanted that the Senate found out about the issue, so he could arrange the vote of no-confidence against Velorum, why the treaty and the communications blockade?. I don't know, it seems odd.

I think he wanted the crisis to 'mature' a bit more before using it- he wanted Naboo subjugated under the Trade Federation while the Senate accomplished nothing, so that he could then complain about how the planet he represented had been subjugated by the Trade Federation while the Senate accomplished nothing. Point out that the Republic government was plainly too weak to protect its member states from aggression, get factions (like those that later formed the CIS) looking out for themselves. Point out that the Jedi envoys who were supposed to resolve the crisis failed and died; can we really trust the Jedi to get the job done if they can't handle a bunch of glorified merchants?

That would be my guess.

...Movies are pointless when the bad guys win?

Perhaps not, but I was under the impression that this was a movie aimed for kid... ah, just joking.

It's entirely pointless, IMHO because it feels rather inconsequential. It's like it would been the same if the good guys hadn't been there or not. All their "heroic feats" seem pointless. If the story was really about Qui Gonn meeting Anakin, then why to put all this pseudo-political-economical stuff about taxes, treaties, mumbo-jumbo in the middle of story?.

Because those events are formative experiences for the people involved, because they set up the antagonists who will go on to form the core of the CIS and thus serve as the enemies in Episodes II and III. Remember, unlike the original trilogy, the prequels were plotted as one coherent story; Lucas knew how it was going to end before he started shooting the first one, which meant putting elements in one movie that he was going to use in another movie.

Honestly, Palpatine's involvement in Episode I is really just foreshadowing, setting up his role in Episodes II and III. The movie's core plot revolves around the Trade Federation; the fact that someone else is manipulating the Trade Federation is just done to set up the sequels. That happens a lot in movies which are explicitly planned to be part of a trilogy; they're not entirely self-contained, nor should they be.

So, the Trade Federation are the main villains in the story... only that their motivation is also, completely unclear and they're boring characters. The main impression is that they're just Palpatine's pawns, and he's doublecrossing everybody, so I find them very ineffective villains.

And the "self-contained" stuff. I think that a good movie should ALWAYS be self-contained. It's a movie, not a TV series. When you're watching a 1:30 - 2:00 movie, and at the end, nothing significant has happened, you think: "So... 2 hours for THIS?". At least it should have an "arc". If not, all the things happening in the movie seems rather dull and inconsequential. Again, if the whole point of the movie was: "Anakin begin his training as Jedi", why won't focus the movie on THAT, instead of all this political-economical stuff?

I would argue that Episode I does have an "arc:" the liberation of Naboo. That is not a trivial event even if it doesn't end with Sidious going "curses! Foiled again!" Moreover, I'm not sure if it's reasonable to apply the same concern to other movies intended as part of a series. Take the Lord of the Rings movies: was the first one boring because it ended with the heroes still far away from achieving their goal, having won no significant battles, and with the group's greatest warriors stuck doing nothing but tracking down their companions who'd been kidnapped by orcs?

You have a right to expect a self-contained story with a beginning, middle, and end. You don't have a right to expect the end to tie up all the little dangling threads; that would leave no room for foreshadowing or for an overall structure to the work.

I can't shake the feeling that they make more sense than you think they do, because you're not looking at the underlying dynamics.

Again: What underlying dynamics?. That Palpatine is trying to get power with strange plots and double-crossing everyone?. That's not an underlying dynamic, that's just a plot-device that abuses the fact we all know that "Palpatine is evil" as an excuse for not explaining anything.

I don't know. I see one of the big themes being that the existing order is, in a number of ways, decadent- headed towards a fall. The Senate itself is relatively ineffectual, the Jedi have gotten overconfident, various splinter factions are starting to provoke the Republic because they realize it's a paper tiger.

I think that's an important part of the prequels, something that Lucas devised as genuinely new in them.

[PainRack]

I think I agree with Robert brown on the prequels. They were essentially a Greek Tragedy.

A good "man" who's powerful and ambitious falling to the dark side due to ambition, hubris on the parts of the heroes....

[The Asiduo]

I think he wanted the crisis to 'mature' a bit more before using it- he wanted Naboo subjugated under the Trade Federation while the Senate accomplished nothing, so that he could then complain about how the planet he represented had been subjugated by the Trade Federation while the Senate accomplished nothing. Point out that the Republic government was plainly too weak to protect its member states from aggression, get factions (like those that later formed the CIS) looking out for themselves. Point out that the Jedi envoys who were supposed to resolve the crisis failed and died; can we really trust the Jedi to get the job done if they can't handle a bunch of glorified merchants?

That would be my guess.

That's the problem: it's just a guess. I think a movie that makes us "guess" of what's going on, instead of explain it, it's a movie with an underdeveloped plot.

Because those events are formative experiences for the people involved, because they set up the antagonists who will go on to form the core of the CIS and thus serve as the enemies in Episodes II and III. Remember, unlike the original trilogy, the prequels were plotted as one coherent story; Lucas knew how it was going to end before he started shooting the first one, which meant putting elements in one movie that he was going to use in another movie.

I think quite the opposite: I think in this movie was completly irrelevant in context of the prequel trilogy. At the end, the main points we got from this movie (in the context of the prequels) were:

- Palpatine is EEVIL (we all knew that before watching the movie)
- Obi Wan is going to train Anakin (again, we all knew that)
- A prophecy of "bring balance to the force". I found it forced. I mean, I agree with RLM's reviews when he points: Darth Vader, the guy in robot suit, was "Space Jesus"?. And all that leads to the fact of "Vader in the END kills Palpatine", another fact we already knew.

So, in the end, the movie doesn't develop anything else but all the things we already knew, and some vague plotlines about prophecies, etc. which doesn't make much sense.

I would argue that Episode I does have an "arc:" the liberation of Naboo. That is not a trivial event even if it doesn't end with Sidious going "curses! Foiled again!" Moreover, I'm not sure if it's reasonable to apply the same concern to other movies intended as part of a series. Take the Lord of the Rings movies: was the first one boring because it ended with the heroes still far away from achieving their goal, having won no significant battles, and with the group's greatest warriors stuck doing nothing but tracking down their companions who'd been kidnapped by orcs?

You have a right to expect a self-contained story with a beginning, middle, and end. You don't have a right to expect the end to tie up all the little dangling threads; that would leave no room for foreshadowing or for an overall structure to the work.

The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is a different thing: it's a movie based arround a novel. The books were written as ONE continuous story: it's not like Tolkien wrote "The Fellowship of the Ring", and the book became popular and THEN he wrote the rest of the story. In any case, the director of LOTR movies had the caution of making each movie running through well definite arcs, changing the original story in many places.

So, the main arc was "Naboo Liberation". Right, but the story wasn't well developed, and it's rather pointless: all this stuff feels irrelevant in context of the following movies.

And again, what foreshadowing?. I've already said what were the main points we got from this movie, and all of them seem rather dull, or points many of us already knew before going to the movie. It didn't give us anything new.

For example, we all knew: "Darth Vader used to be a good guy". All right, but Anakin as a character is just a one-dimensional "goody-goody" with stupid catchphrases. It's just a BORING character. And, for worse, in the next movies, he's a completly different character.

I don't know. I see one of the big themes being that the existing order is, in a number of ways, decadent- headed towards a fall. The Senate itself is relatively ineffectual, the Jedi have gotten overconfident, various splinter factions are starting to provoke the Republic because they realize it's a paper tiger.

I think that's an important part of the prequels, something that Lucas devised as genuinely new in them.

Again, why to make a movie around all these "facts" without good explanations or plots more coherent?. If the point is "The republic is in decadence", IMHO in a "space adventure" movie, those should be points explained in the text scroll at the beginning, or at least more explicitly. If you're NOT trying to make a "space adventure" movie, instead a "politically driven" movie, you should focus the movie in these points, not leaving them for the speculation of the audience. In this movie we didn't got either of these: we just got some vague plot points (again, exploiting the fact we already know about them "Palpatine is evil", "Anakin is Darth Vader", etc.), and the rest it's dull and pointless.

I think this movie highlights the weakness in Lucas' writing. He's not a really good writer or a good director. There is a difference between "having good ideas" and "being a good writer". Lucas perhaps had good ideas, but he didn't knew how to developed them.

[Simon_Jester]

That's the problem: it's just a guess. I think a movie that makes us "guess" of what's going on, instead of explain it, it's a movie with an underdeveloped plot.

Since ultimately the movie is not about Palpatine, I don't think imposing a ton of exposition about the details of a plot that he has to rewrite halfway through the story is a great idea.

Please do remember that there was supposed to be quite a bit of characterization and atmosphere in this movie. You aren't just getting "plot points" in the sense of "oh hey we see this happen!" There's supposed to be a sense of what the characters experience, how it affects them, what they're going to evolve into.

Too much of that potential was lost, but turning the whole thing into a dry impersonal political docudrama wouldn't have been the way to solve it.

I would argue that Episode I does have an "arc:" the liberation of Naboo. That is not a trivial event even if it doesn't end with Sidious going "curses! Foiled again!" Moreover, I'm not sure if it's reasonable to apply the same concern to other movies intended as part of a series. Take the Lord of the Rings movies: was the first one boring because it ended with the heroes still far away from achieving their goal, having won no significant battles, and with the group's greatest warriors stuck doing nothing but tracking down their companions who'd been kidnapped by orcs?

You have a right to expect a self-contained story with a beginning, middle, and end. You don't have a right to expect the end to tie up all the little dangling threads; that would leave no room for foreshadowing or for an overall structure to the work.

The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is a different thing: it's a movie based arround a novel. The books were written as ONE continuous story: it's not like Tolkien wrote "The Fellowship of the Ring", and the book became popular and THEN he wrote the rest of the story. In any case, the director of LOTR movies had the caution of making each movie running through well definite arcs, changing the original story in many places.

Umm... you're missing the point.

Lucas wrote those three prequel movies as one story which he would get to make all three films of- Episode III was planned before Episode I hit the theaters. They were, much like the Lord of the Ring novels, a complete arc. That's the point. Each prequel episode has a self-contained plot, in which a threat arises and is dealt with. In addition to this, we have the evolution of the characters through the three movies- which was mishandled, but was still *there.*

So the whole thing was, yes, planned out ahead of time. Hence the fact that the story of each movie isn't entirely self-contained; it's not mean to be.

For example, we all knew: "Darth Vader used to be a good guy". All right, but Anakin as a character is just a one-dimensional "goody-goody" with stupid catchphrases. It's just a BORING character. And, for worse, in the next movies, he's a completly different character.

That's a legitimate point- but again, the solution is to fix Anakin, not to dump in five minutes of Palpatine contemplating his evil master scheme (which the heroes manage to screw up halfway through the story, forcing him to improvise on the fly).

[Darth Tedious]

For example, we all knew: "Darth Vader used to be a good guy". All right, but Anakin as a character is just a one-dimensional "goody-goody" with stupid catchphrases.

What were some of those catchphrases?

[Metahive]

A good "man" who's powerful and ambitious falling to the dark side due to ambition, hubris on the parts of the heroes....

The only reason why Anakin joined Palpatine was that he dangled the carrot of Padme's survival in front of Anakin, nothing about ambition or hybris on Anakin's part despite the (clumsy) setup we got in AOTC with his "benevolent dictator" speech. I would also disagree with the "good man" at least as far as the movies are concerned, the movieverse tends to overplay Anakin's flaws and downplay his heroics to an annoying degree, making him look more like a blight than a boon to the Jedi from the very beginning.
The 2D/CG Clone Wars series did a much better job at characterizing Anakin, which makes the movies' weakness in doing so only all the more apparent.