AlaskanAg99 said:
I was 1 when Star Wars was released and I saw Jedi with my dad in the theater. It's the intersection of timing, politics, special effects and storytelling. There's nothing unique about the story but the setting is amazing.
"A Long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...."
That's effing epic! Especially as we were learning about the vast universe at the time. It's also why Ep 1-3 are so reviled. It was a huge letdown.
You are free to hold whatever opinion you want on the prequels. It's not a universal opinion. There are several on this site who will defend the prequels. And my opinion, probably shared by many on this site, is that the prequels are far superior to the sequels. The prequels tell an important and coherent story in the saga. They were never going to be viewed in the same way that the original trilogy was. I believe that if George Lucas had started with The Phantom Menace in 1977, there likely never would have been an Attack of the Clones or Revenge of the Sith, nor any other Star Wars movie.
And that's not an attack on The Phantom Menace. It just didn't have that same sense of adventure, clearly defined villains, and wow factor that Star Wars had (yes, A New Hope, but I don't like referring to the original movie with the subtitle that was added in
1978 or 1979 1981 during a re-release
prior to after The Empire Strikes Back). The Phantom Menace is a worthy addition to the saga, setting the stage for all that will come. It is political, which many find dull; I did not, as I identified with parallels between that galaxy far, far away and Germany circa 1933. Yes, Jar Jar Binks. I get it. That character is an idiot. But without that idiot, do we get the Senate request to grant unlimited power to Chancellor Palpatine? Oh, and I can point out that Ewoks are terrible in many of the same ways that Jar Jar is - put there to appeal to young children and sell toys.
I rank these movies as The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars, Rogue One, Revenge of the Sith, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens, Attack of the Clones, Solo, The Rise of Skywalker, and The Last Jedi.