My only actual grievances with the prequels (aside from the way George forced Hayden to act) are mainly two things. First, I don't like Naboo. Not one bit. Its basically spring-time Alderaan with an incredibly terrible political system that even allows teenagers to run in an election to pick a monarch, and yes I know there have been explanations that state that Naboo used to be a monarchy, but due to corruption they became a democracy with the title of monarch simply remaining for the sake of tradition (even though she still acts like one), but Naboo will always feel unnecessary, stupid and a missed opportunity to introduce Alderaan's landscape and culture to the casual non-comic reading audiences, which they don't get until ROTS. The second issue I have is that, in my opinion, the films should've taken place a little bit further back in the past from the OT. I mean, its kinda hard to imagine that the Empire was easily able to gain complete control and shift galactic society to an imperial trusting one while erasing all history in less than 17 years, despite that people in their 30s or over should be able to remember the Jedi who were probably all over the galactic news and the holonet, yet it seems everyone's all but forgotten (and the shorter timeframe and Padme's death during the birth raises the question as to how Leia knew what she looked like, but one could dismiss that as her seeing her mother in a vision or confusing her step-mother with the person Luke wanted to know about). Although admittedly even within that short time frame one could argue that the Empire had some really strict enforcement and censorship going on which is established in some prequel books and comics, and it was all easily made possible due to Palpatine having been given completely control of galactic economy just prior to the Empire's founding, so it works (and there are probably some real world examples of swift cultural and political change in a country within a short time frame). Unlike with TFA where there's no censorship or oppression going on since the First Order was technically working in the shadows yet people forgot about Luke, the Jedi, the Death Star and the Force, only remembering them as the stuff of legends, yet they remember Han Solo and his blasted 12 parsecs even though new media says there's been no censorship going on, but I guess JJ really wanted to do the whole ANH 2.0 to a tittle.
However I still prefer the pre-prequel explanation which had the Clone Wars take place 35 years before ANH (and that the clones were actually used by the anti-Republic faction) and thus the Empire would've been in control for 30 years rather than 17, but that's just minor. Another issue I see over the PT is complaints that it all looks too futuristic for the setting, but one has to remember that the OT took place on backwater worlds with the exception of Bespin (as well as Rebel bases which were built in desperate times), and Bespin's overall aesthetic matches up well with what we see in the PT (specifically Coruscant and Kamino), while the backwater planets in the PT, like Tatooine, Geonosis and Kashyyyk match up well with what we've seen in the OT, EU and the Holiday Special.
In the end, the PT has many problems, but most of them aren't as "OH NO! THIS DESTROYS MY CHILDHOOD!" as some people like to exaggerate, especially after the RLM review and the
constant jabbing by media. The problems are just stupid or forgettable at worst, and I say this as someone who would've preferred something different (way different), but was never vocal about it. And on a similar note, while Jar Jar himself can be obnoxious, I've seen that such a character can actually be done well, as seen in the
Shakespearean adaptation of Episode I. All they needed to do was give a hint that he was more than just a fool. And no, he's not a sith, just a clumsy but fearful idealist who is cautious yet distrustful of the humans who claimed his home planet, and it doesn't come off as preachy (or an example of the noble savage trope) since in the end he realizes there's more to humans than he thought.
The sequels I won't watch now, if I do I will download, as I am not in the habit of rewarding the stupidity of the producers who greenlit the flaming turds that they stuck Star Wars tm on. They've been shockingly tone deaf in their handling of the series, with the safe remake of a New Hope for the first episode with some of the worst plot holes I've ever seen in a franchise, to that abortion TLJ which killed any enthusiasm I had as a casual fan for the series.
The prequels in-and-of-themselves are alright in their own way, but I can't help but watching them now that they were a missed opportunity for something better, and I think part of the reason that they weren't as good as the original trilogy is simply a matter of George Lucas being unchallenged as the director and script writer.
George has produced some amazing scripts, and even some of his directing efforts have been good, so if anything we know from his other properties outside of Star Wars that he is able to write effective and fun movies that were up to a point formuliac. There is always thematically a hero, usually a mentor figure, the token comedy characters, and you can see this throughout Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Willow, and it works. Where I think the failure for the prequels really lied is in the fact that George didn't have anyone who would challenge him on any of the ideas, and thereby cause some self examination, instead it was purely what Lucas wanted and as a result it didn't really take off.
The Phantom Menace should have been the corner stone of which to launch the three prequels, but it wasn't utilized in this way.
Instead it was a very generic Star Wars themed film, that could have easily been a separate entry, and I view it as such. It has aside from tenuous connections to the characters no recognizable effects on the other two films and this is poorly handled writing.
If you know that you have a guaranteed set of sequels, and you are going to get those films made, then you need to start crafting the story from the first scene of the first film, and it needs to carry through to those sequels.
In Phantom that is just not the case. You have the comedic characters, but also comedic characters, don't bring C3PO and R2D2 into the story, while you have Jar Jar. It's too much. Jar Jar could have had a really great character development, instead he is just a comedic relief tool the entire film, and that's why audiences find him grating, and he was phased out for other films. People don't just like idiots, they like love-able idiots, Jar Jar was just an idiot.
You have an overarching plotline that could have been made interesting, but just becomes boring as everything that the trade federation does is tied down in political minutae. While it should be a massive threat to the republic period. And it should have been invading Alderaan and not Naboo, which would have tied it in to the franchise quite nicely.
You have a sinister rise of the Emperor plot that is boring, and the big bad guy in the film it wholly under utilized. The Emperor should not have been a persona in the film, he should have been a voice from the darkness, and Palpatine should have only made an actual appearance at the end of the film, hailed as a hero who rose above the rank and file of the Senate to liberate Alderaan. His Julius Caesar moment.
Everything we know about Darth Maul comes from later additions to the story, not the film itself, and so the character really has no motivations ever other than he has a flashy light sabre and he's ohhh scary. Maul should have been the big bad and have that carry over to the second film where he is then defeated by Kenobi. His death and Qui-Gon's as a result were meaningless.
Finally Anakin should have been older, a teenager and already showing signs that he would likely stray to the dark side if not. They also should have established the relationship between him and Padme early as it adds to the story and doesn't make it awkward in the next episode when Padme looks like a cradle robber.
Instead you have the two other films that try to tie into each other and as a result don't mesh very well, there isn't enough time between action sequences to have character development, and honestly Anakin's fall to the dark side is probably still on of the most lamest heel turns for a major character that I've ever seen and literally de-legitimizes his redemption in ROTJ because of how flippant it is.
