Well I'm of the slightly older generation and I actually don't hate the prequels. I admit I fantasized about episodes 7, 8 & 9 for a very long time, until I read some EU books and they suddenly didn't seem so attractive anymore. Though to see Boba Fett explode himself out of the sarlaac's gut ranks pretty high on my list of "what if" visuals.
I tend to approach the prequels in a retrospective way. It's easy for me to imagine Episode 1 being made around the time of Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey, which is kind of ironic considering the title and release date (on dvd maybe?) of the respective movies. Of course if it had been made in the late 60s, it would have just blown everyone's mind beyond comprehension! In the modern era, it's just "meh" to a lot of people. People are much more discerning these days and are spoilt for choice with the blockbusters and special effects. But I do understand that some fans are just annoyed with the direction it took. I had no preconceptions at all about what the films would be like, so had nothing to be disappointed about for the most part. I just took it as it came.
As for AOTC, I am fairly impressed by most of the film. The speeder chase, the asteroid chase, the arena scenes and of course the huge clone battle and the lightsaber duels were pretty good, though not as cool as Episode 1. I do remember walking out of the cinema feeling like I'd just seen something made for selling toys though. I was probably right. Though after seeing it several times, I tended to appreciate the details more and more.
Just get rid of the that horrid fireplace scene and fix Obi-Wan's beard in the pick up shots! That is all.
