I have to say that between TPM and AOTC I think Menace is the closest to a "Star Wars" movie. Aside from the "new" look(colours, textures,...etc) of everything, it has the feel and mood of the trilogy. Acting sometimes seemed to lack the emotion of the originals but it seems to stay in the time period it is set. When the mood is present, I could feel it. I agree that the story is solid aside from not having a defined hero. My guess is that "jedi's" are the hero here....defining them and their place in the SW universe.
As for AOTC, it seems to lack the fire and passion in the acting as well but does deliver special effects galore via CGI. I am not a fan of total CGI and this movie reeked of it. Yoda kicking some "dooku arse" was quite nice to see though.
It seems more rushed than TPM and everything that is supposed to be (prequel) old seems newer than the OT.....and to me that didn't make for a great invitation for excitement. Readout panels in the ships are just one example. The one particular killer for me was "The Love Story". Han and Leia didn't need this to make it work and they didn't stifle the rest of the story with it. This one did. Even the "Theme Song" for it was just wasted on this moment when they could have been busy fixing the mood and making it more natural.What both these movies needed was to have looked more like the originals so that the flow and the mood stayed intact. The CGI seemed more like a "mass marketing tool" than it did a support device for an obviously complex story. The OT managed without it(aside from the SE which I still enjoy regardless), why did the prequels need it? They didn't!!
Thanks for lettin me air my opinion.
The OT RULES!!!!