I would rather have the 1983 return of the jedi and its minor flaws instead of connecting it to the awful 1997, 2004 special editions changes or the prequels.
The most dumb thing of all was adding Hayden who was 2 years old when Return was released in '83. Oh and of course Gun gans and jar jar. Naboo a later invention and coruscant straight out of the EU. The prequels and special editions are more connected to the current EU than the real trilogy circa 1977-1983.
The prequels should have fit those versions of the films and not gone the video game graphics cartoon route the special editions are directly repsonsible for. Adding EU things like the outrider and the motorcyle from shadows of the empire was stupidity. A Jabba the Hutt in 1997 who looks more like the cutesy cartoon version of slimer on the real ghostbusters instead of the big overgrown sluglike gangster we saw in return of the jedi.
I too would have preferred a wookiee battle but the one we got in revenge of the sith was pathetic over the top cgi and bad computer matted in trees and huts instead of the beautiful matte paintings done on return of the jedi.
Most of Mayhews performance appears to be via a cgi double except maybe for one or 2 shots. That was just another over the top and unecessary use of cgi. Necessary only to cuts corners and spend less money by not having all the actors costumed or build sets. When it can all be greenscreened and done fake in a computer.
It is a foregone conclusion that i hate what the prequels did to star wars a once great and mythic saga for our times.
Though you can never really go home again when it comes to revisiting these franchises even Indiana Jones was destroyed in 2008 by overly comic goofyness and over the top cgi and a bad script. It was like old home weak prequels style,lol.
The Clone Wars movie was just a mediocre nothing and did not elicit any emotional outrage. It was "meh" more than anything. The same with the series on tv. The spark of life star wars once had has been snuffed out a long time ago Return of the Jedi should have been the last film. Sometimes less is more. Intead of beating a dead horse for money only. That is what star wars has become a merchandising empire only. The idea of making a good story ended some time i don't know during or after the original trilogy.
The downward spiral was already in evidence on return of the Jedi with Lucas basically writing the story himself. And all but directing the film. The absence of a real Lawrence Kasden script like empire strikes back, a good director like Kershner or a producer like Gary Kurtz.
The real problem most people had with Jedi was it was a rehash of 1977 star wars, much like the same critcisms were made over the last crusade being a rehash of raiders of the lost ark. Once you got to Crystal Skull you got a rehash of a rehash, lol. The only film that tried to do something different temple of doom met with harsh crticism, unlike empire strikes back the dark second act of star wars which was received with high levels of praise.
Return of the Jedi was a more kid friendly film and more fun than empire. It was a more popcorn action flick and did not take itself too seriously. In the end it made more than empire strikes back. So Lucas added even more kiddie content to the phantom menace and that made even more money than before.