The Matrix is an often used example, but for me it’s the Alien Prequels - especially Alien: Covenant really makes the Original Alien much worse. When the original was released in 1979 it had the perfect Monster. A dangerous killing machine of unknown origin. The missing background of the alien is a big part of its scary mess. It’s a blank space in its mythology that the viewer can fill with many explanations. As these explanations are not precise they don’t have to be logically coherent.
Covenant (and to a lesser degree Prometeus) wanted to fill this blank space and tell us the aliens origin. But once you fill out this missing piece of information it is fixed and can only be one piece. There exists now only one singular explanation. And its a boring: The Xenomorph is basically a creature with it’s origins on earth (because David, who’s origin is on earth created it).
I find this hugely dissapointing. The biggest dangers of deep space are all human in origin is extremely small minded.
(Star Trek: Beyond had the same boring plot - the mysterious villain turned out to be a human after all. As if only humans are capable to pose (or create) a serious thread to humans.).
What are your examples for franchise-movies that somehow made the original worse?
Some examples on top of my head:
Midi-chlorian - totally unnessary explaintion for the force
Anakain construction CP3-O in his room - why? This model is obviously already mass produced by some company … and he builds it to help is mom around the house? He’s a fucking protocol droid, not a maid. It makes no sense.
Giving Yoda a lightsaber - His character used to a wise, calm mentor, above using physical weapons, even mocking them. Now he’s just another yedi NPC flipping around witha lightsaber and having a 100% to jump power or some shit. Also Yoda just is just acting stupid in general during the prequels. Totally ruined his character.
Anakains / Vaders entire story, really. - The original quote from Obi-Wan remembers Vader as “a good friend”, yet, we never see any real friendship in the prequels. Quite the opposite really, Anakain went from being totally irrelevant in E1 to being a bratty dickhead that that dislikes Obi-Wan in E2. He has no real arc, he basically has always been kind of an asshole.
To add to your Anakin comments, the idea that he was some chosen, that the Jedi we’re looking for some Messiah seemed lame to me. Just make Anakin a regular guy who becomes a Jedi and then falls to the dark side. It’s been talked to death but Ep1-3 should have been from Obi Wan’s perspective.
I see. To me it’s really just Vader. In the og trilogy, he is feared simply because he’s the last Sith and there’s no more Jedi(as everyone thought) to fight him. He got that whole pure black armour and breathing sound, making him the coolest bad guy. then all the game show him as some super powerful tank that walk slowly to his enemy to kill them, and all the jedi is so powerless against him for some reason. but a new jedi trainee defeat him somehow 😐
In episode 5, he beats Luke easily but didn’t kill him because he wanted Luke to join him to overthrow Palpatine.
In episode 6, Luke is no master but also no slouch, and Vader’s conviction isn’t as strong. Plus Luke uses the dark side to beat him while Vader didn’t have the same emotional drive to beat him, so Luke might have had a stronger connection to the dark side in that moment and surprised his father who was used to dominating any conflicts he had. Gotta keep in mind that in that moment, while Vader was using the knowledge of Leia to taunt Luke, he also just learned he also had a daughter. And one of the main themes of the OT was that even a villain like Vader wasn’t completely beyond redemption, even though the Jedi themselves believed the dark side was a black and white thing that one couldn’t come back from.
Not to defend the franchise overall (honestly, fuck them for not giving the guy that brought Vader to life a cent for Return of the Jedi), but I don’t think Luke beating Vader is one of the problems with it.
I’ve been watching The Clone Wars. I’d say that, if taken as part of the prequel trilogy, they repair a lot of the damage caused by Lucas deeming character and plot development unimportant to a film. Especially, your last point, which, I still absolutely agree with (along with the others).
It also greatly improved the characters of General Greivous and Count Dooku, who in the films are really kinda just there with little reason to actually care about them beyond SFX and fight scenes (and Christopher Lee).