Ah, the prequel. Long a mainstay of the Hollywood release schedule, they've become increasingly popular in recent years, as studios continue to wring out as much juice from their most lucrative intellectual property as they can. When Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga releases next week, it will be the third prequel in cinemas, along with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and The First Omen.
It's only when you peruse the list of the many prequels released over the years that you'll realise how bad of an idea prequels are, as most turn out forgettable at best, rarely adding anything of value to a story that likely didn't need a look into its past.
Some, however, have been excellent. Curiously, some of the best ones were disliked at the time, perhaps because they reframed a beloved film in a way fans were not yet ready to grapple with.
And without counting films often considered prequels on a technicality, such as Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom and The Godfather: Part II, here are five of the best released to date, including one set for release in the coming days.
5. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
George Lucas's Star Wars prequel has watched its stock grow in recent years. Even the much-maligned Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the first film in George Lucas’s prequel trilogy, has many defenders. And while that film has been a punching bag for years, there was never any doubt of the value of Episode III.
Titled Revenge of the Sith, the film answered one of the most important questions in the franchise: how Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker turned into Darth Vader, the brutal and murderous Sith lord. The first two episodes could be accused of having too much politics and not enough action, but there are no gripes about Episode III, an action-packed film from start to finish.
The duel in the film between Anakin and Obi-Wan is masterfully choreographed and edited; not only is it exciting, but sad as well. The disappearance of innocence and a master’s difficult choice in defeating his misguided student. Hayden Christensen excels as the young Anakin, portraying a character embattled and conflicted but too corrupted to make the correct decisions.
4. Prometheus
Sir Ridley Scott returned to the Alien franchise in 2012 with Prometheus, set before the 1979 original, which had already spawned three popular sequels.
With the franchise needing to be revived after the fourth film proved a critical and commercial failure, Scott went back to the origins of the story, setting up the scenarios that led to the creation of the xenomorph alien we met in his original. And unlike most prequels that focus on the beginnings of a singular character, Prometheus goes back to the birth of the world itself, positing a wider connection between humans and xenomorphs.
Prometheus does just about everything right: it answers lingering questions while asking even more ponderous ones. It ticks the sci-fi, horror and action boxes, creating a thrilling big-screen experience. The film sets up a sequel, which arrived in the shape of Alien: Covenant in 2017. This also set up another sequel, which probably will never happen, as the franchise heads for a reboot of sorts.
Nevertheless, the film is an excellent example of a prequel that takes interesting elements from an origin film and expands them to create a dense and philosophical film.
3. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Fans of Mad Max: Fury Road are an easy target for Furiosa.
The film, releasing in UAE cinemas on Thursday, has all the chrome-breathing, fire-spitting, gas-guzzling thrill of the 2015 instalment. Furiosa may start with an unsettling CGI feel, but from the get-go, the story offers a strong enough hook to see through the sheen. The CGI component no longer becomes a buffer as the film picks up pace, with high-octane scenes that will have audiences hailing the V8 along.
Performances across the board are strong. Anya Taylor-Joy offers a memorable take on Imperator Furiosa, as does Alyla Browne, who plays the character’s younger version. Chris Hemsworth is hypnotic as the film’s antagonist, the aptly named Dr Dementus. In fact, there are no small actors in Furiosa, with every role working in favour of the world building’s machinery – so much so that viewers may even end up envying the extras in the film – whether they’re a maggot-tending bottom-feeder or one of the crew of the prestigious War Rig.
2. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes takes place a decade after Caesar and his band of highly intelligent apes barrel through the police force on the Golden Gate Bridge for the safety of San Francisco’s forests.
In the time between, a Simian flu has swept around the globe, decimating the lion’s share of the human population, its resources and technology.
The apes, in contrast, have thrived in the forests, building a community with Caesar as its leader. However, tensions rise as a group of humans tread into the forest, looking for a hydroelectric dam in hopes of restoring electricity to their community.
The tensions are not exclusively interspecies. Power struggles are rife between each group and, like any good Planet of the Apes film, it touches on larger political dynamics. However, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is arguably not only the best instalment within the Andy Serkis-starring prequels, but perhaps the franchise as a whole. The film boasts stellar performances by Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell and perhaps most delightfully of all, Toby Kebbell, whose portrayal of the war-mongering Koba is a layered look at trauma and offers one of the most memorable film villains of the past decade.
1. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
For years, Fire Walk With Me was widely considered filmmaker David Lynch's greatest failure. Booed at its Cannes premiere (though some in attendance dispute this), slated by critics and ignored by audiences, the prequel to Lynch and Mark Frost's phenomenon series Twin Peaks has steadily seen its reputation grow in the decades since, thanks in part to its influence on the widely praised 2017 revival series.
Watching it now, it's clear why many were put off. It's still one of the most disturbing films ever made, following Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), the murder victim whom audiences met as a corpse in the opening of the show's pilot, in the week before her death. Much like Lynch's other work, it creeps under your skin on a subconscious level, making it difficult to articulate why exactly you think you may think you hate what you're witnessing.
It's possible that we just didn't have the societal framework to understand what Lynch was depicting at the time but viewed in the current social context, it's clear as day. The film captures the tortured mind of an abuse victim vividly and horrifically, portraying her as deeply flawed yet still deserving of empathy.
The most potent truth depicted here is in Palmer's alienation. She desperately needs help and yearns to be understood, but no one around her can grasp what she's going through. That's the true horror here – the feeling of being utterly alone, isolated even from those who supposedly love you the most. Powered by Lee's tour de force performance and some of the best imagery Lynch conjures up in his filmography, it's that feeling that lingers long after it ends. The rare follow-up that enriches what came before it.
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Cofe
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 80-100
Amount raised: $13m
Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
The%20Roundup
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Lee%20Sang-yong%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Ma%20Dong-seok%2C%20Sukku%20Son%2C%20Choi%20Gwi-hwa%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
More on animal trafficking
UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%20v%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3Cbr%3E%0DSaturday%2C%208.15pm%2C%20Al%20Ain%20Amblers%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-final%20results%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDubai%20Exiles%2020-26%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%0D%3Cbr%3EDubai%20Tigers%2032-43%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETable%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1%20Dubai%20Tigers%2C%2033%20points%0D%3Cbr%3E2%20Dubai%20Exiles%2C%2024%20points%0D%3Cbr%3E3%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%2C%2018%20points%0D%3Cbr%3E4%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%2C%2014%20points%0D%3Cbr%3E5%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%2C%2014%20points%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE%20Warriors%20fight%20card
%3Cp%3EMain%20Event%0D%3A%20Catchweight%20165lb%0D%3Cbr%3EMartun%20Mezhulmyan%20(ARM)%20v%20Acoidan%20Duque%20(ESP)%0D%3Cbr%3ECo-Main%20Event%0D%3A%20Bantamweight%0D%3Cbr%3EFelipe%20Pereira%20(BRA)%20v%20Azamat%20Kerefov%20(RUS)%0D%3Cbr%3EMiddleweight%0D%3Cbr%3EMohamad%20Osseili%20(LEB)%20v%20Amir%20Fazli%20(IRN)%0D%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%20161%20lb%0D%3Cbr%3EZhu%20Rong%20(CHI)%20vs.%20Felipe%20Maia%20(BRA)%0D%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%20176%20lb%0D%3Cbr%3EHandesson%20Ferreira%20(BRA)%20vs.%20Ion%20Surdu%20(MDA)%0D%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%20168%20lb%0D%3Cbr%3EArtur%20Zaynukov%20(RUS)%20v%20Sargis%20Vardanyan%20(ARM)%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%0D%3Cbr%3EIlkhom%20Nazimov%20(UZB)%20v%20Khazar%20Rustamov%20(AZE)%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%0D%3Cbr%3EJalal%20Al%20Daaja%20(JOR)%20v%20Mark%20Alcoba%20(PHI)%0D%3Cbr%3ELightweight%0D%3Cbr%3EJakhongir%20Jumaev%20(UZB)%20v%20Dylan%20Salvador%20(FRA)%0D%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%20143%20lb%0D%3Cbr%3EHikaru%20Yoshino%20(JPN)%20v%20Djamal%20Rustem%20(TUR)%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%0D%3Cbr%3EJavohir%20Imamov%20(UZB)%20v%20Ulan%20Tamgabaev%20(KAZ)%0D%3Cbr%3ECatchweight%20120%20lb%0D%3Cbr%3ELarissa%20Carvalho%20(BRA)%20v%20Elin%20Oberg%20(SWE)%0D%3Cbr%3ELightweight%0D%3Cbr%3EHussein%20Salem%20(IRQ)%20v%20Arlan%20Faurillo%20(PHI)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Medicus AI
Started: 2016
Founder(s): Dr Baher Al Hakim, Dr Nadine Nehme and Makram Saleh
Based: Vienna, Austria; started in Dubai
Sector: Health Tech
Staff: 119
Funding: €7.7 million (Dh31m)
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
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info-box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Happy Tenant
Started: January 2019
Co-founders: Joe Moufarrej and Umar Rana
Based: Dubai
Sector: Technology, real-estate
Initial investment: Dh2.5 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 4,000
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