On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being fantastic (ANH and TESB) and 10 being awful (Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek: Generations, Avatar, and any other movie that is so badly written that it can’t even be considered a cult classic), I rate the prequels something like 4. Rotj would be a 2 and TFA would be a 6 (due to bad writing). I always feel more akin to the story as written than some of the specific directing or acting (some of the biggest complaints about the PT).

I love the glimpse into the Old Republic. The original role of the Jedi, their organization, the weight of their presence. I don’t particularly agree with the timeline. I think the Clone Wars should be longer than 3 years - maybe more like 10. There really isn’t anything in ROTS to indicate how long the war has been going on and then they did the two Clone Wars animated series. But that is outside of the films themselves. I love the way Palpatine is portrayed and I love the influence he has over Anakin. It makes his fall to the dark side inevitable. I love the subtle things Lucas did with his story telling to give the PT the flavor of another era. In many ways it was like watching one of the 50’s epics. The scale, the grandeur, the scope of the story. Being a fan of some cult films as well as the Hollywood classics of the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s (I find it hard to watch most 60’s and 70’s films) I may be immune to some of the things that get the frequent complaints. The love story is very reminiscent of a Hollywood classic.

So yes, I have a lot to like about them, but they are no where near as good as the OT. I rank the OT up there with some of the greatest movies ever made (in fact I only rank 1 movie higher than ANH and TESB). But compared to some of the other science fiction films out there, such as Battle Beyond the Stars (a cult favorite of mine), the PT are superior.