In the two decades or so since they were initially released, the Star Wars prequels have seen a massive change in public perception. Though they were initially looked down on by fans for their poor dialogue, overuse of green screen, and improper pacing, many fans have come around on them, even going so far as to consider them the quintessential Star Wars movies.
Nowadays, it's not uncommon at all to find someone with a whole lot of love for the prequel trilogy. While they certainly aren't perfect movies, there are many things that fans have argued that they do right, especially when compared to the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
1 John Williams' Brilliant Musical Score
John Williams outdid himself with the Star Wars prequels. The soundscape for them is so unique and yet entirely appropriate for Star Wars and is nothing short of incredible. Tracks like Duel of the Fates and Battle of the Heroes have become iconic pieces of Star Wars music, and yet were it not for the prequels, they never would've been created.
Much like the visual style, this musical direction helps to make the prequel era feel distinct from the original trilogy. Even returning themes like the emperor's theme or the imperial march feel much bigger and more complex. Many fans have lamented the sequel trilogy's lack of a really identifiable musical style like the prequels have. If anything, the quality of the music of the prequels is just about the only thing most Star Wars fans agree on.
2 Rock Solid Casting
The cast of the prequels has certainly proven to stand the test of time. Despite the fact that many fans found some performances to be a bit suspect at the time (such is the case with the infamous "I don't like sand" line), when it came time for some of the actors to reprise their roles in projects like the Kenobi series, fans embraced their return wholeheartedly.
Seeing Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, and even Liam Neeson on screen together again for the first time in 15 or so years ended up being a genuine highlight. For many, these actors are the quintessential versions of characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, which speaks to the strength of these actors in their respective roles despite Lucas', at times, very rickety dialogue.
3 Out of This World Special Effects
The prequels may have overused digital effects, but it can't be denied how great many of those effects looked at the time; let alone how well they've aged over the years. Jar Jar Binks, for example, is actually a more impressive effect than one may realize when taking into account the fact that he is the first entirely computer-generated character in a live-action movie. Without Jar Jar, there might have been no Gollum or Thanos.
It isn't just the CGI characters that benefited from the technology of the day either. Ships and space battles looked better than ever at the time and still hold up today. Not everything holds up perfectly, but enough of what's on-screen (particularly in Revenge of the Sith) may indicate that the prequels were reasonably ahead of their time when it came to special effects.
4 An Engaging and Emotional Story
It's been said that George Lucas needed an editor on the prequels due to his many creative ideas, but he lacked the ability to express them properly at times. In this case, however, George has often been lauded for his ability to create an overarching narrative with the prequels even though the dialogue he wrote or the performances given were less than stellar at times.
The actual story of the prequel trilogy - the idea of a seemingly righteous democracy eroding into fascism, or the idea of a young man making a deal with the Devil to save his dying wife - are fundamentally sound ideas and are just part of what forms the basis of the prequel trilogy's unmistakable ethos.
5 All New Planets
One of the complaints many Star Wars fans have voiced since the Disney acquisition of the franchise has been the lack of new and interesting planets in the shows and movies. Now, there are "new" planets, like Jakku, for example, but they lack the sort of creative flair that many of the prequel-era planets have.
Planets such as Naboo, Utapau, and Kamino are some of the most memorable in the entire franchise not only for their terrain, but also for their architecture, people, and cultures. The prequels made a point of demonstrating that the story they were telling actually took place in a galaxy far, far away, on truly alien-looking worlds populated with all manner of strange creatures. It's these kinds of planets that help to make the prequels so visually striking.
6 Unique Artistic Direction
While the original trilogy featured a more weathered and utilitarian design (a look that was somewhat common in sci-fi movies of the day), the prequels, for the most part, feature a cleaner visual style that fits with the "gilded age" in which the movies take place. The distinctive grit of the imperial era has yet to set in, with the smooth and organic looking designs of the prequels indicative of that fact.
Interestingly, across the prequel trilogy, the art style does slowly begin to resemble that famous "used future" of the original trilogy. Clone trooper armor goes from resembling Mandalorian armor to resembling that of the classic Stormtrooper. Republic cruisers eventually lose their color too, taking on the sterilized look of the Star Destroyer. This is a visual representation of the transition between the two eras.
7 Intricate Expansion of the Lore
The prequel movies added a metric boatload of lore to the Star Wars universe. Aside from just the movies themselves, all the tie-in material such as books and video games based on them not only features this lore, but, in many cases, expanded on it in interesting ways. Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the incredible 2003 micro series from Genndy Tartakovsky are both excellent examples of this.
They tell stories within the confines of the prequel era using material from the movies, whilst also providing plenty of new material on their own. It's safe to say that the prequel movies are as influential on the Star Wars universe as the original trilogy was when it was first released.
8 Epic Lightsaber Fighting
Prequel trilogy lightsaber fights are simply unmatched as far as intricate choreography and special effects are concerned. Not even the sequel trilogy was able to match them in terms of pure spectacle. Original trilogy lightsaber fights are wonderful in their own right, but with the prequels, Lucas set out to show force users in their prime rather than old men and crippled cyborgs.
This change is immediately apparent in the battle between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, and Qui Gon Jinn, in which all three characters fight simultaneously. Of course, the battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan in Revenge of The Sith is the true highlight of the trilogy, with it having all the emotional stakes of the original trilogy's lightsaber fights but with the added speed and acrobatics of the prequel era.