some people are hyperbolic, but george lucas isn't a good film maker and when he went to make the prequels he completely didn't understand SW fans or what those fans liked about those movies.
I'm sure the JJ abrams movie will be far better, since he's not george lucas. That said, JJ has shown he's quite capable of making a bad mov--- ehh, I won't sidetrack. XD
I think American Graffitit and Star Wars beg to differ.
The problem is that fans interpreted things differently. Objectively the prequels are still good films, its just they weren't what fans who are now in their 40's and 50's wanted them to be.
Up until the 2012 Disney buyout I was a HUGE Star Wars fan. Im talking about all of the Celebrations(in the US) and $5,000+ of Hasbro/Kenner figures. That series was my life. That being said I have no reservation saying Star Wars fans(particularly the older ones) are some of the most entitled fans out there. The Prequels were never going to be what some fans wanted them to be, honestly, that's for the better. My fear with these new movies is that they are essentially going to be an example of slightly different Star Wars being passed off as new and shiny but largely staying the same. Several rumors up to this point have been confirmed by the trailer, which is a shame because the rumors imply we are essentially getting ANH all over again. I don't want to see that movie, I've seen it hundreds of times before already.