The prequels had a few bright spots, but overall it was a dark time and I didn’t see an end it sight. The special editions and prequels had turned the Star Wars I loved into a big campy slapstick fart joke. Some complain The Force Awakens has too much in common with the Original Trilogy. That makes no sense to me. After 40 years had passed, the special editions, and the prequels, something that much like true Original Trilogy is exactly what was needed. I’d take TFA over any of the special editions any day.
Now that we have TFA and R1, I went back and revisited the prequels. I found I was able to enjoy the few bright spots a little more because at least I knew Star Wars has a brighter future than unnecessary CGI troopers and horrible dialogue. Still, I cant call the prequels good movies, but I do not feel the need to ignore their existence anymore.
Prequels becoming cool? Never. I think they would be great on the new Mystery Science Theater 3000. That would be cool.