I feel like I'm going insane
Everyone seems to have forgotten that the Star Wars prequels used to be universally agreed upon to be complete and utter shit. From the years of roughly 1999-2016/2017, you could ask any Star Wars fan in existence what they thought of the prequels, and they would tell you in no uncertain terms that episodes I-III were a pack of absolutely horrendous films. Maybe they would admit that they had some small bit of nostalgia for them since they came out when they were a kid, but they would still completely own up to the fact that they were awful movies with poor dialogue, non-existent pacing, terrible CGI, characters flimsier than a sheet of A4, and plots so heavy-handed and uninteresting that they put the OT to shame. Not to mention the COUNTLESS plot holes they introduced, as well as the absolutely non-sensical and flat-out dumb things they added to the canon. It may sound absolutely INSANE (again, see title) to some of you, but just ten short years ago, this was not only a widely accepted opinion, but one that was shared by more or less THE ENTIRE FANDOM, and not just the fandom, but the casual watchers, and the Star Wars haters, too. It was so baked into popular culture that you could make a quick joke about how famously bad the prequels were in practically any company and it was guaranteed to get a laugh. That was how UNIVERSAL this collective understanding was.
But then, something changed. Whether it was the surge of prequel memes, the backslide in good faith on the sequel trilogy, Clone Wars hype, out-of-hand childhood memories, or maybe just a gas leak that attacked every living person on the planet Earth, but whatever it was, it completely flipped the perception of the prequel trilogy. So much so that it's impossible for me to even have a conversation with anyone about the prequels without them trying to talk me into how it's "misunderstood", and "a secret masterpiece", and "so much better than the sequels, give me a break." Some people even claim that the prequels are (get this) BETTER than the original trilogy. Excuse me????? What???????? How???????
And sure, it might sound like I'm overreacting here, and maybe I am, but please, if someone, anyone could assure me that there was a time where everyone unilaterally agreed the prequels were bad, I would be eternally grateful. Cause I do sometimes feel like I'm the only one in the world who remembers the time of peace before prequel apologists took over the fandom. You all just act as though it's always been this way.
And if anyone comes at me asking me what on Earth I could possibly find wrong with the prequels, here is your warning: I have a list, and I am not afraid to use it.
