When I heard that they were rereleasing the Star Wars movies in 3D, I was only planning on going to see the original trilogy. I did not want to give another dime of my money to the people that were behind The Phantom Menace, The Attack of the Clones, and The Revenge of the Sith. My plans changed when, after seeing a commercial for The Phantom Menace 3D, my son asked if I would take him to it. Despite my plan for a personal boycott, the love I have for my son outweighed the hatred I have for the prequels. I agreed to take him under one condition: we make a trip to the bathroom and concession stand during the Podrace.

Star Wars has played a significant part of my life. I remember seeing Return of the Jedi in the theaters in 1983. Every time they would release a new VHS version of the original trilogy, I had to get it to see the extra 30 seconds of added footage or to hear the re-digitized audio. I owned most of the original vintage Star Wars figures and all of the reissued Power of the Force figures from 1995 and beyond. Needless to say, when they announced the production of Episodes I, II and III, I was more than excited.

After the midnight showing of Phantom Menace, I was disappointed. A few days later I went to see it again. Nope, I still didn't like it. Then came Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Again, I went to the midnight showing and was disappointed. Learning my lesson from The Phantom Menace, I did not see Clones in the theater a second time. Finally Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I remember saying to my friends, "Lucas has to provide a lot of answers in this last movie." Unfortunately he left us with more questions than answers.

So now my children are growing up with the prequels being the Star Wars of their generation. I grew up with model ships being exploded in a studio; you know, creative filmmaking. My children are being flooded with CGI and a cartoonish look. When I saw the movies, Jabba the Hut and Yoda were puppets. For my son, they are pixels. The makers of the prequels took the easy way out by using computers for everything. This is obvious when, seven minutes into The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn drop down from the ventilation shaft on the Trade Federation ship. Any second-rate stuntman could pull off that ten-foot drop. Instead, the filmmakers take the lazy road and poorly use computer graphics to show them dropping. Despite the fact that George Lucas was able to compile an all star cast for the prequels, the acting pales in comparison to the "nobodies" that starred in the original Star Wars trilogy. Samuel L. Jackson is a phenomenal actor, but for his role in the Star Wars movies, he did a subpar job because he was handicapped by poor writing and directing. In contrast, the superior writing and directing in the original trilogy help make the acting shine.

It is clear that George Lucas made a conscious decision to make the prequels appealing specially to children. Colorful characters, cheap gags, and a Podrace are all added to the movies for the benefit of seven year olds. In the original trilogy, there was little use of comic relief, but when it was used it helped move the story forward. In the new movies, most of the comedy is just annoying. We should have seen the trend of appealing to young viewers coming, when in 1997, they actually went back and changed some parts of the original trilogy. I'm sorry, but Han will always shot first!

What am I going to say to my son when after seeing Attack of the Clones 3D, he asks me why the droid was coughing? I don't know how General Grievous got a bronchial infection, but I am sure it has something to do with his midichlorian count. Speaking of midichlorians, the prequels add elements to the lore of Star Wars that are simply unnecessary. If they were so important as George Lucas wants us to believe, why didn't Obi Wan take Luke's midichlorian count when he had him in his hut? "It's your fathers lightsaber... but it will cost you a sample of your blood" I am honestly shocked that there wasn’t a Midichlorian Crunch cereal in stores when the movie was released.

 I firmly believe that George Lucas knows that he has ruined the Star Wars movies for future generations. This is evident at the end of Return of the Jedi when he substituted Haden Christensen’s depiction of Anakin Skywalker’s ghost in place of Sebastian Shaw. It almost seems like this was done as one last "up yours" to the fans who have criticized him.

Star Wars: A New Hope recently celebrated its 35 year anniversary. When I put it up against the last three Star Wars movies, I need a to take a bath because I feel dirty comparing them. CGI, poor acting, poor directing, and most of all: poor writing are the reasons why the prequels have ruined Star Wars for my children. But of all the reasons mentioned, the most compelling one is this: I grew up thinking Darth Vader was a badass, my kids will grow up thinking he was a whining brat.