I'm sorry but could you be more specific. In what way do you need to have read the ancillary material and have seen the original trilogy in order for the prequels to make sense.

And also, yes I do watch the movies in canon order. I also watch them prequel free. I'm as much a fan of the vintage material as I am the new material so it really all depends on my mood.

I grew up watching the originals trilogy. I went to see the Phantom Menace at 13, saw Attack of the Clones 3 or 4 times in theaters, and went to see Revenge of the Sith the week I graduated high school. I've watched them many times since on DVD and it's even gotten to the point where I quote them.

And I am willing to admit that the films are far from perfect. There is some really stupid stuff in there but to say that they fail as movies is taking it a bit too far IMO. Gili failed as a movie. If they completely failed then they wouldn't have made so much money. They wouldn't have spawned toys and merchandising that still sell to this day. There wouldn't have been a spin off cartoon series currently entering it's 4th season. Lucas isn't forcing people to buy this stuff. People are buying it because they want it. That's how capitalism works.

It really sucks that this is what fandom has devolved into. It seems like everyone is either a total hater or a total gusher and it really sucks to be floating in the middle drifting back and forth like a plastic bag in the wind from TFN to OT.com helplessly trying to find a place to fit in as the polarized world of Star Wars fandom rips itself in two.