the problem is that the characters are not easily identifiable, and the only reason to me to watch them is for completeness' sake. the way i see the prequels is that they are action films with the star wars brand on them. action films do not have to make sense, and if you go into them without knowing much of the original trilogy, i can see how they could have some appeal.

but the way the prequels were presented basically scrapped all of the mythos and history that made the originals amazing in favor of action and merchandising. there is nothing wrong with having the action in the prequels but much of it doesn't seem to make much sense except to have a big action sequence.

if you haven't watched any of the videos i linked to in the first post, go back and watch parts 6 through 9. those are some of his best points about episode 2 and the series in general. i'm pretty sure you're not going to be convinced of what he's saying but at least you can understand why so many people do not like them.