Re-evaluated after 12 years

Rating: 7/10 (25 January 2011)

I saw this movie in the theater, not on opening night, but shortly after. I was friends with folks who knew the original series by heart, played Star Wars games, and read Star Wars books. They were horribly disappointed with this movie, and I took all that negativity to heart.
I just rewatched it for the first time since the theater (perhaps there was one other viewing in there). I watched it with someone who didn't know anything about Star Wars; and I expected us to hate it. Actually, we loved it.
It's not a flawless movie. Some things were definitely missteps: racial stereotypes, midi-chlorians, some flat acting. But overall, the movie was incredibly fun and intriguing. Nothing I hated before was nearly as bad as I had thought, including Jar Jar; in fact some things were enjoyable that I disliked before.
The original trilogy was no polished work. It had a lot of bad acting (e.g. Luke) and more than it's share of kiddy jokes (e.g. Yoda when we first see him, Ewoks). But it also was incredibly linear. The plots of all three original movies were fairly simple, straight-forward adventures. The only curve-ball was Darth Vader being Luke's father. In contrast, the new trilogy has a much more in depth and intriguing plot. Figuring out who is what and exactly what is happening turned out to be half the fun - and once it was figured out (it actually does make sense if you focus on Palpatine), it's much more ingenious.
I kinda think of it like this: if you like great characters, a romping adventure story, and a happy ending, the original trilogy is better; if you like political intrigue, mystery, and tragedy, the new trilogy is better.