By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic)
Happy Star Wars Day, and May the 4th be with you! With The Force Awakens a big hit and plenty of exciting developments coming out of Disney/Lucasfilm, it's a good time to be a Star Wars fan. Of course, everywhere one turns, people say things like “Hopefully this all redeems the franchise from the prequels,” or “Now we can pretend the Star Wars prequels don't exist.”
It is unavoidable that the prequel trilogy lacks the camaraderie, dramatic heft, and humor that made classics out of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. The newer trilogy also is not as well-written or acted as the originals. I will never love the prequels as I do those films. What's more, I think that most of the other criticisms against the prequels are valid. However, I hope to demonstrate that the cinematic rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker deserves more praise than it gets. As Obi-Wan might argue, it all depends on your point of view.
Why I like them
John Williams provided terrific new music. “Duel of the Fates” is fast-paced and phenomenal. “Across the Stars” is a gorgeous love theme that sold me on Anakin and Padme’s tragic romance even when the dialogue failed to do so. Williams’ Revenge of the Sith music is his most full-bodied and emotionally-stirring score in years, highlighted by the epic “Battle of the Heroes.” The soundtrack smartly cherry-picks themes from the entire saga while providing wonderfully dark, haunting, and heartbreaking new material to match the film’s subject matter.
Why I don't love them
Unlike the original trilogy, which displayed creative and iconic music in almost every scene, the first two films of the prequel trilogy contain mostly placeholder material that sounds virtually identical to most everything else Williams has done in the past 15 years. Aside from the aforementioned “Duel of the Fates” and “Across the Stars,” it’s mostly filler. But again, Sith‘s score is tremendous.
Why I like them

Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid. McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi is charismatic, cool, and emotionally engaging. His heartache over Anakin’s fall is terrifically played. Plus he does a spot-on Alec Guiness impression. He actually seems to be having fun in the role. Ian McDiarmid gives an expert portrayal of big-screen evil, making the transformation from subtle wolf-in-sheep’s clothing to scenery-chewing baddie with total commitment and aplomb.
Why I don't love them
Every other performance is inconsistent at best, cringe-inducing at worst. Hayden Christensen, for example, is terrific in the scenes of his mother’s death and his confession of the subsequent bloodbath, but elsewhere his performance ranges from solid to laughable to flat. Natalie Portman is too often monotone, while Samuel L. Jackson mostly looks bored.
Why I like them
The light-saber duels rank among the best swordplay in the history of cinema. Fast, furious, and aggressive, with impressive choreography.
Why I don't love them
Watching all six in order, the duels from the original trilogy now feel slower and more staged, with less pf an element of danger. That said, I understand the counterargument that in the original trilogy Luke was in training, Vader was half-machine and out of practice, and Obi-Wan was old and his powers weak, so it's not totally inconsistent. But the difference is noticeable.
Why I like them
The visual effects are phenomenal. From the massive city-planet Coruscant to the clone wars battle field to the space dogfight that opens Sith, the prequel trilogy is a feast for the eyes and an impressively realized fantasy universe.
Why I don't love them
No matter what “improvements” Lucas grafts into the original trilogy, the contrast between shiny CGI in the prequels and old-school model work in the originals is jarring. The six films don’t flow organically into one another. A more judicious use of CGI combined with practical effects, real locations and sets, and costumed creatures would’ve lent greater consistency to the series.
Why I like them
The Jedi are imposing warriors; seeing them in combat absolutely lives up to my childhood fantasies.
Why I don't love them
Most of the Jedi are one-dimensional characters for whom we’re given no history or motivation. We never see them grow or change. As a result, their demise doesn’t pack the emotional punch that it should (this is patched-up somewhat by Williams' excellent music and fully rectified if you watch The Clone Wars TV series). Plus the self-serious prequels are in desperate need of some civilian spunk, attitude, and humor. In other words, they need Han Solo and Princess Leia.
Why I like them
We only had to put up with Jar-Jar for one film. In the second film he has all of three minutes of screen time, while in the third he’s down to about 5 blissfully silent seconds.
Why I don't love them
We had to put up with Jar-Jar in the first place.
Why I like them
Yoda pretty much becomes the action hero of the new trilogy and is given a lot of crowd-pleasing moments.
Why I don't love them
The goosebumps-inducing scene where Yoda lands on Dagobah was cut from the final version of Revenge of the Sith. It is perfect and should have been left in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLEJ5m2PN60