I first saw Episode I in the movie theater when I was 8, and Episode II when I was 11. I liked them both at the time, but as I got older I decided they were nowhere near as good as the original trilogy, which I had been watching since I was four years old. The acting was pretty terrible, and I found myself wishing more and more that they had refrained from the CG until they had developed it to a more realistic level.
Then Episode III came out. My sister and I waited in line at the theater for at least six hours waiting to see the midnight premiere, and aside from a couple of little quirks (why precisely did Jar-Jar have to be in there, even for 2 seconds?!), I was very happy with it. It filled in a lot of the plot holes, and the best part is that a lot of the scenery on Mustafar was not computer animated (watch the DVD documentary to see how they did it).
I agree that Lucas went too far with the merchandising aspect, but he had to finish the story he started somehow. I’m disappointed that he didn’t do it well, but I have learned of a respite: the novels, expanding the story beyond the movies. I know they’re more of the merchandising, but as long as you stay away from the comic books and the kids’ versions, they’re actually quite engrossing. A group of 3 veteran Star Wars authors actually got together a couple of years back to write a 9-book series about Han and Leia’s kids (yes, they got married); I just finished the final book yesterday, and it’s excellent. (No shameless plugging here; I like the books and I’m proud of it.)
