I think this all boils down to what questions are being asked prior to and during the movie-making process.

Pre-1977 George Lucas: How can I use the resources at my disposal to put what I'm seeing in my head on film?
Disney Today: What will make the most money?

Usually the former results in a good character-driven story and the latter results in lots of flash with little substance.

Anecdote: I met what I'd consider to be a big-but-not-insane Star Wars fan at a book store recently and we got to talking. He told me that his favorite of the prequels is Episode II because he "finally got to see Yoda fighting with a lightsaber" (verbatim). 'Nuff said? I think so.