Clearly, most people who are accepting of the prequels are or were very young upon their release. Thus, it was the Star Wars of their childhood.
Having watched Star Wars, Empire, and Return of the Jedi in theaters when they came out, I had a much different opinion of them. They were incredible, as there were no other options or things to compare them to. Most Sci-Fi movies back then were slow and overly science based or they were cartoonish. Very few movies at the time treated this genre like it was a real thing.
As far as ranking them goes:
1. Star Wars - Didn't need another movie, it did everything it needed to.
2. Empire Strikes Back - Probably still the best sequel I have ever seen.
3. Revenge of the Sith - Just wish this was the low point of the prequels and they had gotten better from here.
4. Return of the Jedi - Even though it tied up a number of the plot points, it was aimed
5. Phantom Menace - Boring for the most part, but hey they have Jedis and lightsabers!
6. Attack of the Clones - Another boring movie and terrible love story
It is near the end of the end....
