My hatred for the prequels mainly comes from how close they were to being competent. You have the framework of a good story with believable motives. But the guy who cast for the movies clearly got his priority list delivered backwards as he cast the worst actors for the most important parts and the best actors for the least important. Except for the guy playing Obi Wan who actually seems to be trying his best to salvage the scenes he is in. The writing is clumsy and stiff and so many convoluted concepts are introduced and never explained. I also hate the fate of the Gungans not in universe but in a meta sense. The Ewoks were and are a useless race in the mythos that alternated between mildly amusing and irritating. The Gungans however are a legitimately cool race forever condemned to the cruel fate of being a race of Scrappies all because their first representative to show up on screen is one of the most annoying creatures ever created in the history of film.

So back on topic, Empire Strikes Back and New Hope are very close, probably tied for me at the top. Return of the Jedi comes in a close third. The prequels are a ways back. Not bad as popcorn flicks but way out of the originals' league. The order for those is Revenge of the Sith on top, Clone Wars ate second, and Phantom Menace ate dead last. Mainly because as the prequels went on the talented actors got more screentime and at least some big action sequences offered spectacle.

1. Revenge of the Sith
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Return of the Jedi
4. Attack of the Clones
5. A New Hope
6. The Phantom Menace

I find ways to nitpick at both the first and second trilogies, but I ultimately love watching every one of these six movies. And I don't really have nostalgia one way or the other. I watched the original trilogy first, but I also got into it a lot later than some people did. I also happen to love the political aspects of the second trilogy, while the original trilogy was definitely shallower in that regard. That said, the prequel trilogy has some silliness to it.

But I ultimately just love the series.

I will also say that I am very optimistic about the future of the films. c:

Oh, and I want to give a shoutout the the amazing Clone Wars series! Everyone should watch that. I really need to jump into Rebels, but I've been pretty busy lately.

For me personally:
1)Empire Strikes Back/Return of the Jedi (both 10/10, both are on equal levels IMO)
2)A New Hope (9/10)
3)Attack of the Clones (8/10)
4)Revenge of the Sith (7/10)
5)The Phantom Menace (6/10)

I think The Force Awakens looks good, but will obviously have to wait to see it before passing any judgement.

This is my list (I understand it's quite different from the norm, but hey we like what we like):

1.) Revenge of the Sith
2.) Return of the Jedi
3.) A New Hope
4.) Empire Strikes Back
5.) Phantom Menace
6.) Attack of the Clones

6. Clones - just an awful film overall
5. Sith - too much action imo.  really stupid plot points.
4. Phantom Menace - gets too much hate imo, not that i'm saying it's good.
3. Jedi
2. New Hope
1. Empire

don't have much to say about the original trilogy, i think that's more or less the universally accepted ranking for the original trilogy.

A New Hope 8/10 - what started it all and was just so amazing for the time
Empire Strikes back 8/10 - a great follow up, better in most ways than the first, but the first wins because it started it all.
Return of the Jedi 6/10 - I liked it a lot when it came out, aside from the Ewoks. But it doesn't really stack up so much now.
The Phantom menace 4/10 - Qui Gon Jin dying, because it's always good to kill off a good guy fro time to time. Reminiscent of Obi Won. Darth Maul, though he didn't do much aside from look scary and kill Qui Gon.
Attack of the Clones 3/10 - Can't think of much to say, except I didn't like it.
Revenge of the Sith 3/10 - Didn't like it much either, only saw it once so i can't remember much about it, except for the making of Darth Vader of course.

I expect the 7th movie to be a 5 or 6/10. It won't be very good, but it should be better than the last 3.

1. Empire Strikes Back
2. Return Of the Jedi
3.A New Hope
4.Revenge Of The Sith
5.Phantom Menace
6.Attack Of The Clones

Really excited to see Episode 7 The Force Awkens on chirstmas eve and really curious to see how the spin offs like Rogue One turn out.

I understand people have differing opinions.  I like that in discussions, main reason engaged in this is consensus of prequels being garbage to people liking or preferring them over originals.  How did this happen and why do people think this way?

Star Wars: A New Hope is not a complex film.  It knows throwing aliens and space at people is a lot to swallow so it stuck with archetypes as short cuts for the audience.  Empire was the film that added depth.  On that note Obi-Wan in A New Hope comes across as kind and measured in his advice and understanding of the world they inhabit.  He sees the futility of his struggle when he is mocked by smugglers (Solo) about his beliefs and the fact his physical strength has largely left him when he fights Vader.  He has no chance to win against his younger and stronger ex-pupil.  His time has passed him by, so he willingly dies in sacrificial gesture to spark Luke on.  It is sad to see someone decent be seen as a relic and only value is in wisdom he could pass along before death.

Qui-Gon in A Phantom Menace never showed himself to be particularly wise or endearing.  His fight with Maul has no weight because we know nothing about Maul and he has no relationship to Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan.  He is the equivalent of fighting a beast.  You can argue the fight was well choreographed, but it also lacked any emotion, which matters more to me.  

Acting is part of a performance, direction and script play a major role as well.  Actors do multiple takes of about any scene based off the script they are given and the suggestions of the director.  In Empire Han was supposed to say "I love you too" to Leia, but Ford changed it to "I know" because it fit the character better.  What would have been an average line of dialogue instantly became pretty iconic.  So, in the prequels Lucas shows he doesn't really get dialogue in terms of characters and natural flow. People feel wooden in part because the dialogue is not natural.  I don't think Portman, McGregor, Jackson, Neeson or others are bad at acting, I think they were put in a green or blue room and told to give exposition in monotone.  Christensen wasn't great, but he didn't write that line about sand and I bet if he objected Lucas wouldn't listen.  People were so wrapped up in "Ooooh, Star Wars!" they forgot that it is still a film made by people and Lucas is not some cinematic genius beyond criticism.

You referring to Luke on Cloud City saying "No" in response to Vader?  I always found that raw and showing how Luke was beaten and weak in that moment.  Vader's "No" at end of Revenge of the Sith came across as melodrama that lacked real emotion because never bought his love story with Padme.  I've seen people reference that seen for comedic effect, never seen same for Luke done.

Goal is not to change opinions, I loved Star Wars so I do enjoy discussing it given a new film is coming soon. Hopefully it will be enjoyable.

1 - Empire Strikes Back 10/10
2 - A New Hope 9/10
3 - Revenge of the Sith 8,5/10
4 - Return of the Jedi 8/10
5 - Attack of the Clones 6/10
100000000 - The Phantom Menace (I absolutely HATE it) -10/10

REvenge of the sith 10/10

Return of the Jedi 9/10

Attack of the clones 8/10

Empire Strikes back 8/10

Phantom Menace 7/10

A new hope 7/10