There are many people who love the Star Wars prequels, I am not one of them. I don't find them to be the worst films on the planet, but I do feel that they are pointless. The frustrating thing about the prequels is that they had the potential to be good, if not great. But instead, what we we got was a mediocre series. There are so many problems I have with the prequels, but rather than list them all, I will select a few. If I listed them all, this blog would go on forever.

1) The lack of villains in Episodes I and II.
I admit I enjoyed Episode III, mainly because of Senator Palpatine. He was a great villain in my opinion. I enjoyed his villainy to the fullest. However, in Episodes I and II, the villains are nowhere to be seen. In Episode I, we get a few brief glimpses at Darth Sidious, but nothing memorable. Darth Maul has at best about ten minutes of screen time. The Trade Federation hardly count as villains, because when ever they meet any sort of resistance, they back in a corner. And don't get me started on the battle droids. It's hard to take them serious as villains, because they are given lame one liners like, "Roger, Roger!" There was literally no sense of urgency at all in Episode I. In fact, when Qui Gon and crew arrive on Tatooine, they are given plenty of time to meet Anakin, find spare parts for their ship, and watch Anakin win a pod race. There's no sense time is running out for them at all. That there might be consequences to pay if they don't hurry. In fact, Qui Gon's first encounter with Darth Maul happens just as they are leaving Tatooine, his presence doesn't motivate their leaving, he just happens to show up. His presence in that scene doesn't progress the story, it's there fore the sake of being there.
In Episode II, Count Dooku isn't introduced until an hour and a half into the film. For the most part all he does is talk, talk, talk. He is a rather boring character despite being portrayed by Christopher Lee. We learn he was a jedi, but we are given very little information as to why he turned to the Darkside. There was no urgency in this film as well until the last thirty minutes. Prior to that, Anakin is given lots of time to wow Amidala with his incessant whining and creepy stares.

2 Padme - Anakin relationship
They dialogue is bad in these sequences, yet that's only half the problem. The main problem with the Anakin-Amidala romance is how poorly Lucas sets it up in Episode I. In the Phantom Menacne Anakin is a ten year-old boy, Padme is supposed 14 years-old. There's not one moment in Episode I that implies Anakin and Padme have formed any sort of bond. For the most part, she is an older girl that he finds pretty. Just because Anakin thinks she is an angel, doesn't mean he is necessarily in love with her. There's nothing in Episode I to suggest that Anakin would be thinking about her non-stop for ten years. He doesn't seem interested in Padme, rather is all about becoming a Jedi. His whole goal is to become a great Jedi, not make love with an older woman. All of a sudden in Episode II, we find out that he has obsessed over Padme for ten years straight and is upset when she gives him the cold shoulder. Padme herself is inconsistent between movies. In Episodes I and II, she is a mature, strong willed woman who will do anything to save her people. In Episode III, she is very weak willed. When Anakin turns to the dark side, she loses the will to live, despite giving birth to twins. Her death feels forced, like it HAS to happen so the original trilogy can exists. But in the context of the prequels, her death is unconving. Padme has survived through so many terrible situations, yet to suggest she would just lose the will to live once her whiney husband turned evil is ridiculous. Some where between Episode II and III, Padme became less a fighter and more Betty Crocker. Her death should have been more dignified than it was.

3) Lucas' unwillingness to let the visuals speak for themselves.
The prequels are anything but subtle, Lucas must always reinforce the visuals with dialogue, just to make sure the audience understands what is going on. Therefore, it is not enough to show Darth Vader destroying a room after learning about Padme's death, he has to shout, "NOOOOOO!" as well, just so the audience is aware that Vader is upset by her death. In Episode II, the audience is shown Count Dooku's war room, in the background is a hologram of the Death Star. However, it's not enough to keep the hologram in the background, Lucas needs to give it a close up to make sure the audience knows it's the Death Star. Then to emphasize that it will play a pivotal part in future Star Wars sagas he has a character refer to it as "the ultimate weapon." This sequence has no reason to exist. It doesn't progress the story in any way, and it mainly there to give the fans something to talk about. "Did you see the Death Star?" However, it is distracting from the main story that is being told. Why even introduce the Death Star when it won't be introduced until A New Hope.
Then there's that annoying sequence in Episode I, in which Yoda and Mace Windu are talking about the Sith. Mace asks, "Which was killed the master or the apprentice?" The camera then pans over to Palpatine, who is singled out from the rest of the crowd by given a sinister close up. This scene is not needed. One, any one who is familiar with the original trilogy knows Palpatine is the emperor, therefore we don't need Lucas to reiterate the point for us. Secondly, for people who have not seen the original trilogy, and this is their first Star Wars film, this is a dead give away. We are told far in advance who the evil Sith lord is, and therefore are baffled why the Jedi ( who supposedly have great powers) are so blind that they can't figure out until Episode III.

These are three points, if I am so inclined I will post more reaons why the prequels are pointless. I don't think the prequels are awful, all three have a few good moments thrown into the mix, but they really weren't needed.