Haley Joel Osment should have been Anakin in TPM. He was of the right age, and had the acting chops to support such a pivotal role.
Hayden Christensen gave a great performance in Life as a House, so the boy can act. I guess he just needs real sets and real scripts, but the blame is definitely still on him as much as anyone else.
Everyone failed. Even Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, Liam Neeson, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, and most of all, George Lucas. Jonathan Hales couldn't even save the damage done by the time of AOTC. I call bullshit on the claim that there was a backstory back in the 1970's that was "shelved" until later in favor of the "meat" of the story. The prequels felt like they were written in haste starting in the 1990's.
I also believe that things just might have been better if the whole thing started with Episode I back in the day. A more logical progression of filming technology, aging of characters, tools used in filmmaking, ships and locations, etc. would be shown in the films. Things wouldn't be so damn jarring to the eyes and ears if the films were produced in order, and who knows what might have been. A first episode concentrating on the story, imagine that.
There are also many things done within the films that are just wrong and disappointing on so many levels. Characters died or no longer appeared, and I didn't give a shit. Just think if both Maul and Jinn survived and went on to the events of Episode II. What if, in a battle to establish who becomes Palpatine's right hand man, Maul and Tyranus/Dooku have a duel to the death? THAT I could believe. A Sith APPRENTICE taking out a Jedi MASTER like a punk, I don't believe. Instead of dying in such a cheap, predictable, horrible way, how about a more noble death for Jinn on Geonosis, protecting his comrades? By that time, the audience just may have started to care about him a little and it might have made an impact.
Woah, sorry for the novel. I just get so mad about the blown opportunities.