imperialscum said:

TPM I could still enjoy while I did not really like it that much. In ATOC Anakin was an annoying jerk right from the start so I was immediately annoyed by the film. But when on top of that he started to whine in a love scene, I knew that there is a zero chance I will ever enjoy this film.

The other thing is that (IMO), the Jedi look really stupid (I mean their appearance) in the prequels. Sure, everyone in ANH looks a bit seventies, but being of its time is to be expected, and that aesthetic is even fairly cool now anyway. But in Menace, child Anakin has the default "movie kid" haircut, Qui Gon and Obi Wan both have terrible hair, and it doesn't really get better until Sith, when at last it stops being about mullets and crew cuts with rat's tails. The more I think about it, the more it seems they couldn't get anything right at all in the prequels*. Compare this to Obi-Wan in the ANH, where he has a simple, dignified appearance. He'd never Phantom Menace style Jedi hair!

*Actually, to be fair, the sound in the prequels is really good, IMO. Star Wars has a very unique sound style to it, and the prequel sound designers did a good job of creating new sounds that felt like they belonged within the Star Wars universe, unlike much of the visual design, which (for me) didn't really feel at all like it was part of the same world.