mfastx said:

The prequels were doomed from the start. We already know what happens. We already know who lives, and who dies.

It's hard to get in to a sequence with, say, Obi-Wan Kenobi, because we know that he lives, so he can't die. It's hard to get into a movie when you already konw what happens.

But we didn't know what happens. We didn't know what the Clone Wars were. We didn't know the important characters of the PT who didn't make it to the OT. The problem was that the PT failed in its own right, as well as being inconsistent with the OT.

We all basically knew Luke wasn't going to die as we watched the OT for the first time. But that never hurt the enjoyability. And in the PT we would similarly know that Obi Wan wouldn't die. While we would know that Anakin turns to Vader, we really had no idea why/how.

Solid character development, introduction of new characters, witty and engaging dialogue...these are what draw us in.

There is a thread (in Off Topic) about a recent study which suggested that knowing the twist of a story increases its enjoyability. One "member" disputes the breadth of the study's applicability and/or its methodology (or something), but in any event, its not necessarily a constant mortal threat that makes a story enjoyable. I hope it's not your contention that all prequels are failures.

More succinctly:

xhonzi said:

THERE IS MORE TO DRAMA THAN WHO LIVES/WHO DIES!