I always thought that the biggest problem with the prequals was that there was too much story and convoluted threads of backstory, and not enough emphasis on the characters to keep it interesting, TRADE BLOCKADES, POLITICAL NEGOTIATIONS AND WRANGLINGS, MIDICHLORIANS, SEPERATISTS all add up to a case of too much information, it wasn't until the last haf hour of AOTC that the prequal trilogy finally kicks into gear, everything up until that point just seems like a prolonged lead-up.

I think somewhere along the line George got so wrapped up in the whole backstory of the star wars universe that he forgot the basics of good movie-making/story-telling, and that is to "Keep it Simple, Stupid!' , look at the original trilogy, it's a very simple story of good vs evil, with a small band of really interesting characters put through a series of challenging and interesting situations and most of all it was FUN!!!

After all the interviews with GL in the 80's and 90's where he talks about being inspired by Joseph Campbell's Power of the Myth and 'The hero's Journey' It seems that once he got around to writing the prequals, he was more heavily influenced by CNN and Parliament question-time.

Politicians don't make good Action Heroes and vice versa,

Just ask the Governator!