Empire rules, but it's the only one in the original trilogy I actually watch these days, and I'm a fuckin' mega Star Wars nerd. Episodes IV and VI just piss me the fuck off. They make Stormtroopers look like bumbling retards that can get ruled by a Princess, an un-trained farmboy and a bunch of teddy bears that use rocks and sticks to penetrate their armor. What a joke.
The entire indoor Death Star chase in IV is so absurd it's hard to watch and the same thing with the final battle. The problem with these two films is that it's so "good vs. evil" that it's pathetic. The Empire that spans the entire galaxy, has the elite of the elite as soldiers, pilots etc. and has for rulers a couple of fucking Sith Lords gets consistently owned by a ragtag band of people who probably weren't talented enough to make it at the Imperial Academy and can somehow outfly, outshoot and pretty much rule forces that shold be greatly superior to their own. It's childish.
The opening sequence of VI is slow, pointless and drags the movie down. Perhaps if Han died, it would have made some sense rather than being utterly predictable and the second Death Star, built over a couple years rather than 20 now, was a wonderful re-hash of an idea. You'd think the Empire would be smart enough to put one more giant bar in the way so that the rebel fleet couldn't fly in and blow the damn thing up again, but that would be beyond comprehension. Nien Nunb, Ackbar, Ewoks, all annoying as fuck. The only shining moments: "You rebel scum" and the Final Duel. Though Luke's character seemed a bit un-developed to suddenly unleash this darkside barrage and defeat his father. RotJ makes Palpatine, the evil genius who spearheaded ALL of the major galatic events in the Saga look like a putz who loses his empire because he didn't factor into the picture ewoks in the ground battle, the possibility of the DS being destroyed *again* and more understandly, Vader turning. Whereas everything in the prequels happens according to his masterful design. It's a nice offset to show that he had to fail for the Empire to fail, but it wasn't done very well.
The prequel trilogy isn't perfect, but the story is better and applied to film better than the original trilogy. The Phantom Menace is not a stand-alone film and many people disliked it because IV is, but after you watch ROTS there are quite a few great ideas introduced and tied up by ROTS. A lot is left up to the perception of the viewer. There is no side to root for in the prequels, by the end, there is no good or evil, only victory. Palpatine's machinations are brilliant and Anakin's turn is a lot more subtle than people think. It didn't all happen in III, remember the sand people? That's why the prequel trilogy is great, because all of the events tie into each other extremely well where the original trilogy seems fragmented. Anakin is SUPPOSE to be whiny, Luke sure as hell was and that's why it was acted that way. They are suppose to be a lot alike. What Luke does is suppose to mirror what Anakin does, but Luke does the right thing. The only problem with that, is that in the OT he is NEVER confronted with any reason as to why he should turn to the darkside. And his newly revealed father, who he previously hated the hell out of asking him, is not reason enough. Anakin was born a slave, never had a real family in the Jedi, who seemed to look down upon him, had his mother die in his arms and had good reason to believe his wife would too. I'd want to kill something if I was him too. Also in relation to Anakin/Dooku, Luke/Vader and choosing whether or not to kill him, it's a nice parallel, but come on, Luke isn't going to kill his dad, especially when he has no reason to join the Emperor. Luke's entire character was written, directed and acted poorly and his development is not believeable.
Has anyone actually ever thought about some of the deeper things presented in the prequels? I mean, it's basically implied that Palpatine is Anakin's father by way of creating him through the force (we know Anakin was born from it), but has anyone even thought that he, or Plagueis, might have done this and thus Anakin has another reason to be aligned towards the darkside. That is why he was born a slave in the Outer Rim, so the Jedi wouldn't find him. Shit like this is EVERYWHERE in the prequels while EVERYTHING is spelled out for you in the OT. In the Clone Wars, there is no good side or bad, both have heroes, both have reasons for going to war and it is a legimate war, but also a complete ruse to sack the Jedi order. Qui-Gon learns to maintain his identity through the force after death and after Yoda is humbled by the Sith, he humbles himself before a greater Jedi in Qui-Gon to learn this secret. That is why Yoda is an arrogant prick in the prequels and is amazing in Empire. His philosophy has changed. Now he and Obi-Wan can live eternally to help train Luke and all hope is not lost. The PT was at the very least crafted with an amazing story that absolutely blows away the OT and I think the fact that people are too distracted by CGI or "bad acting" to actually examine the films for what they are is absurd. I also think it's weird that for instance JK hates all the goofy crap that happens in the PT, but those are the bits that remind me of the OT the most, because that's essentially what the first and last films of that trilogy are to me.
I grew up with the OT too, saw them all in theaters as a kid and had them for years before I saw The Phantom Menace, but I was also only 12 when TPM came out, so I was never able to develop the bias I feel a lot of people have, not because the PT films are worse, but because it doesn't fit their perception of Star Wars. Both trilogies came out when I was a kid and I got to experience them with that thought process and now as I'm old enough to think deeply on all of the aspects of each film, it's EASY for me to place the PT on a much higher level and that is why I enjoy them more and defend them from OT nuts.
Also, I know you guys don't have anything to do with the expanded universe, but if you ever wanted to delve even deeper into the events in SW, especially the PT, the Clone Wars comics and TV show are a great resource and there is actually a lot of really interesting reading there. A book came out recently detailing how Vader psychologically became the man we know him as in the OT, following the events that happened around him a few weeks after the end of Sith and there are quite a few books and comics out or coming out that detail more of his hunt for the Jedi that remain, etc. If there was one failing in Sith, it's that Lucas decided to show Anakin march to the Temple, then show him draw his saber on younglings and that's fucking it. We see him kill three Jedi, including a Master in the hologram Obi-Wan watches in about 1 sec, but we're not allowed a glimpse of that in the real film. Bullcrap. But, there are novelizations of each film plus a whole library of EU books out there and I find myself reading Star Wars, more than watching it. That way, you get the basic story, but with the freedom to construct it visually as you please instead of having the restrictions of watching it through someone elses eyes. The novelization of Revenge of the Sith is phenomenal as well, so I'd recommend anyone who didn't like the film that wants to enjoy the story to read it and it's prequel and sequel books Labyrinth of Evil and Dark Lord.
Oh, and the painful to watch "NOOOOOOOOO" was suppose to be the last real gasp of Anakin, the last real gasp of humanity, before Vader started to actually become Vader. Just because he's in the suit, doesn't mean he's the suited Vader we all know. It's the misinterpretation of things like this that make people think "well that was crap", simply because they don't understand the basis behind what's going on. That's just an example, but it happens everywhere with the PT.
