Movies by Decade: 80s

A breath of fresh air with the 80s.  The biggest difference for me with the 80s is fun.  Much of the 70s is “gritty,” or really more dour, but the 80s is fun, and it’s a much better decade for it.  I truly believe that Spielberg/Lucas are the biggest reason for this, and, therefore, are even higher on my list of favorites.  Basically, the 80s are a massive bounce back decade, and sets up (spoilers) the greatest decade in film history.

Science fiction is really big in the 80s, again thanks to the success of Star Wars.  Even fantasy has a significant corner in the decade.  We see an even greater move towards blockbuster movies.  And, with Stallone and Arnold among others, the rise of action movies (culminating in the greatest of them all in ‘88).  Disney has another down decade, though The Little Mermaid kicks off the “Renaissance.”  And, of course, John Hughes is massive, which means Chicago is everywhere.  And he is part of a much larger collection of movies based around children/teens (it’s clearly the best decade of movies to be growing up).

Before my list (remember this is “best,” not necessarily “favorite”), a few notable movies not mentioned, because I have not seen them: The Elephant Man, Raging Bull, Gandhi (seen parts but not all), Terms of Endearment, Amadeus, Platoon, The Last Emperor, Driving Miss Daisy, Born on the Fourth of July. Add to this Ordinary People, which is incredibly depressing, Out of Africa, which is not good, The Color Purple, ditto, Blade Runner, which is overrated, or Full Metal Jacket, which is half a good movie, half tripe.

 

Honorable Mentions: First Blood, The Blues Brothers, Silverado, Rocky IV, Chariots of Fire, The Man from Snowy River, The Terminator, The Breakfast Club, Aliens, Stand by Me, Lethal Weapon, The Untouchables, Predator, The Princess Bride, Empire of the Sun, Willow, Big, Batman, Henry V, Glory, The Little Mermaid

 

Top 10 Countdown:

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

            Wow wow wow, a really good decade for movies, it’s really difficult to pick just 10.  Ferris in some way represents all of the teen comedies of this decade as the best of them.  It was also perhaps the first movie where you had to stay until the credits ended (got to see it in a theater once in college, and it caught off just as Ferris came back on the screen, people were NOT HAPPY).

 

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)

            A little more adult John Hughes comedy, and probably the best road trip comedy ever made.  I watch right around Thanksgiving every year, because it is the best (only?) Thanksgiving movie.  If not for one scene, it’s a remarkably clean comedy as well.

 

The Natural (1984)

            So much better than the novel.  I have had a roller coaster of thoughts about the Kim Basinger character.  I hate her, and for a while thought she shouldn’t be in it.  Then I realized that, if this story is a Greek hero’s journey just set in baseball (it is), then she does a great job as the siren you are supposed to hate.  I’m shocked when baseball people don’t like this movie.  “A father makes all the difference” gets me every time.

 

Die Hard (1988)

            Now we are really getting into the best of the best.  It’s not an overstatement to say that this movie set the mold for action movies for over a decade (Die Hard on a plane! Die Hard on a bus! Die Hard on…).  It’s fascinating to think that at the time people laughed at casting Bruce Willis because he was a “comedy actor.”  And Hans Gruber is one of the greatest villains of all time.  Yes, it absolutely is a Christmas movie.

 

Field of Dreams (1989)

            Probably the best baseball movie ever made.  Somehow it lost Best Picture to Driving Miss Daisy (no I haven’t seen it, but does anybody care about that movie any more, or make pilgrimages to see where it was filmed?).  Any red-blooded American man who can make it to the end without getting emotional is a psychopath or sociopath or something for sure.

 

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

            It’s not my favorite Star Wars movie (Return of the Jedi), but it is clearly the best.  On the one hand, you have a perfect hero’s journey taking place, on the other hand you have non-stop action of The Chase.  They brilliantly expand the universe to make you really feel like it’s a universe.  There’s iconic dialogue.  One of the greatest twists of all time.  And, it has a perfect cliffhanger.  Of course, there’s also John Williams continuing to be a genius by adding the best villain theme of all time.

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

            It is so hard to put this so low, because it is basically a perfect movie.  The cast is perfect, introducing the greatest movie hero of all time.  The story is phenomenal.  The score is amazing.  The cinematography, stunts…  Honestly, the sequences from the fight at the airplane through the desert chase may be the greatest action sequence ever.  There’s nothing to criticize.  That means the top three must be pretty special.

 

Back to the Future (1985)

            If anyone were to ask me to pick the “quintessential 80s movie,” I would pick Back to the Future.  It’s got science fiction, comedy, the main character is a teen, it takes place in the 80s and 50s, a great score and songs, pretty much everything you think of when you think “80s.”  It also has one of the greatest scripts of all time.  And while both Robert Zemeckis and Alan Silvestri had some success with Romancing the Stone the year before, this movie essentially made them as one of the great directors and composers (as a set and individually) ever.

 

The Mission (1986)

            Undoubtedly this is the least “popular” of the top 10, but it is a beautifully haunting movie about the Jesuits in South America.  Jeremy Irons and Robert De Niro are fantastic, and they continue to make me think “which one am I more like”?  It’s not an easy watch, but it is truly one of the most important religious movies ever made.  Especially poignant is the scene of De Niro carrying his armor up the waterfall, which is the perfect example of penance and forgiving ourselves.  And while I often struggle with Ennio Morricone, this is his masterpiece.  This is yet another Best Picture nominee that was robbed.

 

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

            It’s debatable whether or not this is Spielberg’s best.  I don’t think it is debatable that it is the best movie of the decade.  Once again, it was nominated but did not win Best Picture, but supposedly even Richard Attenborough, who director the winner Gandhi, said that it should have won.  The genius of Spielberg is filming it from a child’s perspective, which really allows the audience to enter into the story and get swept up by everything that happens.  It’s funny, sad, exciting, and most of all uplifting.  And again, John Williams is there to make it even better.  We just won’t mention the botched 20^th anniversary “update” that was smartly thrown away.

 

Extra fun: the best movie scores of the decade (Once again, John Williams dominates this decade, and James Horner gives him a run for his money, I am going to choose just one to represent them.  The 80s also sees a number of other composers breaking out: Alan Silvestri, Hans Zimmer, Michael Kamen, Danny Elfman, Basil Poledouris, and even Patrick Doyle.  The only big problem with this decade is the overuse of electronics in scores, even when they don’t fit – Chariots of Fire.)

 

Indiana Jones trilogy (John Williams) (also: E.T., Star Wars V and VI, Empire of the Sun)

Field of Dreams (James Horner) (also: Aliens, The Land Before Time, Star Trek II and III, Cocoon, Willow)

Batman (Danny Elfman)

Die Hard (Michael Kamen) (also: Highlander, Lethal Weapon, License to Kill)

Conan the Barbarian (Basil Poledouris) (also: Red Dawn, RoboCop)

The Mission (Ennio Morricone)

Predator (Alan Silvestri) (also: Back to the Future, The Abyss)

Silverado (Bruce Broughton)

 

 

Other music from the decade: I love 80s music, and there’s so much to point to, from hair bands to metal to pop to hip hop.  Like the movies, the music is fun.  Lots of “one hit wonders.”  But also some truly iconic bands come out of this decade like U2 and Metallica and Beastie Boys.  The other thing to point out is that unquestionably the greatest soundtracks of all time come from the 80s: Top Gun, Rocky IV, Back to the Future, Dirty Dancing (though that’s greatly aided by the 50s).

Movies by Decade: 70s

Moving onto the 70s.

Ugh.  

A lot of critics claim that the 70s is the greatest decade for movies.  It’s not.  In fact, I think it’s the worst.  It’s certainly the most overrated.  And that goes for music, too.  We see an influx of sex, drugs, and profanity, thanks in large part to “gritty” “urban” movies.  New York is all over.  Disaster movies are another big thing.  Oh, and Disney animation has probably its worst decade, but a solid decade with “live-action” movies (most of which are unknown today: The London Connection, Snowball Express, The World’s Greatest Athlete, The North Avenue Irregulars, and even Freaky Friday, which I finally watched, was pretty good).  Bond also has his worst decade by a mile (I can’t stand Roger Moore).  But…we have the first blockbusters, the rise of Spielberg, and some massive franchises are born, so there is some good among all the drivel.

Before my list (remember this is “best,” not necessarily “favorite”), a few notable movies not mentioned, because I have not seen them: MASH, A Clockwork Orange, The Last Picture Show, Cabaret, Chinatown, Barry Lyndon, Network, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, Kramer vs. Kramer, Apocalypse Now. You also won’t see any Scorsese (most I haven’t seen, if I have seen it, it’s not worth mentioning) and you definitely won’t see The Godfather (the single most overrated movie of all time, it’s really, really bad).  Also, I finally watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  People actually find that funny?  I didn’t even chuckle once.

 

Honorable Mentions: The Muppet Movie, Big Jake, The Wind and the Lion, Robin Hood, Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Andromeda Strain, American Graffiti, The North Avenue Irregulars

Top 10 (counting down):

10. The Thirty Nine Steps (1978)

            This isn’t a bad movie, obviously, but you can tell how little regard I have for the decade when this is in the top ten.  I’m guessing few people today have seen it.  It stars Robert Powell, i.e. Jesus from Jesus of Nazareth (which, if I were considering miniseries, would definitely be on this list).

 

9. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

            Again, it’s a good movie, but probably not in the top half of Spielberg movies.  Thanks to it, however, I did go out of my way to visit Devil’s Tower when I went to Mount Rushmore (it’s pretty cool to see in person).

 

8. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

            Here I am blatantly cheating, because it’s actually a collection of short Winnie cartoons that were originally released in the 60s but packed together in 1977.  But it is wonderfully fun.

 

7. Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

            Now we get into movies that deserve at least consideration for any decade’s Top 10.  One of the greatest musicals of all time, and it’s even more beautiful when you know the historical context.  A timeless (at least for recent generations) struggle over tradition vs. change.

 

6. Patton (1970)

            George C. Scott is nothing like the real Patton, but he’s an amazing cinematic Patton.  And it gets the disdain for “Monty” right, he was a loser.

 

5. Alien (1979)

            The top 5 is almost impossible to pick between.  Here we have the greatest scifi horror film of all time, introducing us to one of the greatest creatures of all time.  When Ridley Scott is on, he is amazing.

 

4. Superman (1978)

            The greatest superhero movie of all time.  There’s no debate.  Don’t even try to argue for any of the recent movies.  The whole sequence from saving Lois in the chopper through his first night of heroics is perfect.  And the entire movie is elevated by a perfect score by John Williams (no surprise there).  Christopher Reeve will always be Superman.  The only knock on it: Marlon Brando, who is clearly phoning it in for a paycheck (not even trying to pronounce Krypton correctly).

 

3. Star Wars (1977)

            To watch the original cut of this movie is to fall in love with movies.  George Lucas was a genius of story telling (dialogue…maybe not).  Darth Vader is the greatest villain of all time.  Jaws created the blockbuster, but this created the cinematic event with all the tie-ins.  It remains the most important movie ever made.

 

2. Jaws (1975)

            Speaking of the movie that created the blockbuster.  Some people today knock it because “the shark looks fake.”  Talk to audiences in 1975.  But it’s also much more than just the shark.  It is the perfect example of slowly introducing the monster, horror through inference, and a perfect payoff.  And, of course, it truly introduced the world to Spielberg and Williams, the greatest director/composer combo of all time.

 

1. Rocky (1976)

            All that being said about Jaws, it doesn’t take the top spot because Rocky is the perfect underdog tale.  Again, people knock it because of Stallone, but if you really pay attention he is incredible in this movie.  And don’t forget that he wrote it, too.  It is one of the few examples of the gritty 70s movie done right.  All of the top 5 created franchises, some bigger than others, and most of them work.  And again, any one of the them could take the top spot, but Rocky and its triumph through adversity, the true American story of grinding to the top, and the genius move to have him win without winning, puts it just over the top.

 

Extra fun: the best movie scores of the decade (John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith absolutely dominate this decade, so rather than listing theirs individually, because it would only be them, I’m listing theirs collectively)

 

John Williams (Star Wars, Superman, Jaws, Close Encounters, Midway, Towering Inferno…)

Jerry Goldsmith (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Alien, Patton, MacArthur, The Wind and the Lion…)

King Kong (John Barry)

Robin and Marian (Barry)

Big Jake (Elmer Bernstein)

 

Other music from the decade: Again, the music is so overrated, and not just terrible disco.  I like a little bit of classic rock, the problem is a little bit of classic rock means roughly two songs for 15 minutes. 

Rogue One Review and Star Wars Franchise Ranking

I finally got to see Rogue One for a second time, which means I can finally give it a proper review.  The problem is I have changed my placement of it in the series (see below) many times, so it’s a very fluid process.  But, first, the movie.  Obviously, many spoilers ahead.

To start with, the hype.  After the first trailer, I was very much looking forward to this movie.  Then I heard about the re-writes, and I was worried.  This was supposed to be a gritty war movie.  Was Disney destroying it?  The trailers still looked good, but I went into the movie with muted anticipation.

Let’s start with the beginning (a very good place to start).  No scroll: I guess I’m okay with it.  It’s not part of the main story, so something different is not a big deal.  And for people who said they were lost without it?  Give me a break.  You don’t need to read the book leading up to it to know exactly what is happening.  (Similarly, some people said they were surprised about the story, they didn’t know it was about the first Death Star.  Are you kidding me?  Did you watch any of the trailers?  It was quite obvious.)

I love the universe expansion.  That has always been one of the greatest things about Star Wars: the ability to visit innumerable places.  They did a really good job of showing a new side of the universe.  For the most part, the main characters are not in it, and where they are it works (except the droids, which are just kind of thrown in to say they’ve been in every one).

Speaking of main characters, DARTH VADER!!!  I knew he would be in it, but did not expect as much as we got.  I loved finally seeing his castle.  And that scene!  You know which one.  Wow!  That leads to one of my other favorite parts of the movie.

I feel like we finally saw the Empire being the Empire.  No-holds-barred evil.  Destroy a couple of cities?  No problem.  But it’s not for no reason.  I actually for once found sympathy for the empire, they’re doing what they think needs to be done to bring order to the galaxy.  That seems plausible.

What about the new characters?  I found them to be a mixed bag, and not necessarily in a good way.  The strength was definitely in the supporting characters, where there are a number of really great additions.  Chief among them is Chirrut, who has quickly become one of my favorites in all of Star Wars.  His blind faith made him quite the kick ass fighter.  His friend, Baze, is pretty cool as well in his reservedness (and his “little sister” comment is one of the great moments.)  Then there’s K-2SO, who is already the best droid (sorry R2) in the galaxy.  Not surprising since Alan Tudyk is the best character actor going.  Krennic was a pretty good villain as well.  He seemed to have a cool head and was driven, exactly what you would expect from his position.  I will also add I really liked most of the cameos (as mentioned the droids excepted) but especially liked Red and Yellow leaders and really liked seeing Bail Organa again.

Unfortunately, I was not as impressed with the main characters.  Jyn was just okay.  Maybe it’s bad comparing her to Rey, but she’s clearly not as interesting.  For someone who’s supposed to be strong, trained by a military expert, she doesn’t do that much (except one scene in Jedha).  Cassian has the problem of peaking early, like his first scene.  I felt like there was great potential for a character there – a good guy who is willing to do whatever it takes to succeed, even killing a “friend” – but it was not fully explored.  I wanted to like both of them, and it’s not that I did not like them, just that I wanted more.

This leads me to one of my biggest problems with the movie.  I really did not like the CGI Tarkin and Leia, and thought they distracted from what was going on.  When at first they only showed Tarkin from behind, I thought it would work well.  As soon as they showed his face, I thought it looked bad, like those bad Zemeckis CGI movies.  I really wish they had not gone with it.

Let’s talk about the music.  I was kind of bummed when they replaced Alexandre Desplat.  After his Godzilla, I was interested to hear what he came up with.  I wonder if he recorded anything that we can hear?  That being said, they found the perfect replacement.  In fact, from the beginning I had assumed that if Williams didn’t score Star Wars, Giacchino would be the best replacement.  After all, he became famous by being a Williams-lite with the video games of The Lost World and Medal of Honor (which sounds very much like Saving Private Ryan).  First listen in the movie, I was a bit underwhelmed.  But then again, I said the same thing with The Force Awakens.  After a second viewing and listening to the score, I will say it’s a good addition to the best scored franchise.  He throws in the famous Williams themes at appropriate moments, and I really liked the transition of the original Darth Vader theme into the Imperial theme when Krennic meets Vader. It's especially impressive since he only had just over a month to compete it.

Now, the two biggest positives.  First, it ended up being what I hoped it would be.  For the first time, I felt like I was watching a war in the stars.  Some people say it lagged a bit in the middle.  I did not think it was that bad, and anyways the final act is fantastic.  In some ways, it reminded me of Return of the Jedi (that’s a good thing) with the relentless final third of action.  And it wasn’t just action for action sake.  It also thankfully avoided a trope I really dislike; I call it going “Phantom Menace”, where everyone seems to be done at the same time before they all turn it around and save the day (see also: The Avengers).  Oh, and I was really looking forward to the AT-ACT beach scene, and while it wasn't long it was good.

Which leads me to my second biggest positive: they did not hesitate to kill everyone off.  I was worried about this, especially knowing Disney had a hand in it.  Not everything has a have a happy ending, in fact the best Star Wars movie (see below) obviously did not.  Not that Rogue One has a “sad” ending, but it’s certainly not happy for everyone.  I’m very glad they went that route.

Some people are upset with the very end, saying it makes the beginning of A New Hope not make sense.  He just saw them leave, why is Vader questioning them then?  Two points: I doubt A New Hope happens right afterward (after all, Tatooine is probably far away from Scarif).  Also, the Corellian Corvette is not a unique ship, in fact there are many, so it would probably take them awhile to track down the right one.

So, the movie is not perfect of course.  There are a few somewhat major faults.  Overall, the greatness definitely outweigh the problems.  I give it a solid 8 out of 10.

And now, let’s look at the franchise.  The definitive ranking of the Star Wars movies, which could very easily change as soon as you read this:

1.      The Empire Strikes Back

No surprise here.  Everyone knows it’s the best, the most perfect.

2.      A New Hope

Picking the second best is actually the most difficult choice.  I have this #2 because it’s the one that made it all happen.  If it wasn’t this good, we wouldn’t have the rest.

3.       Rogue One

I really have changed this ranking at least 6 times since I saw it the first time, everywhere from #2 to #5.  I’m pretty happy with it here, though again it’s pretty flexible.  The biggest thing is, as I said, the strengths greatly outweigh the weaknesses.

4.       Return of the Jedi

Proving I have no bias, this has always been my favorite movie, because it showcases my favorite character (Luke) in the best way.  It still does not get any better than the fight at the Sarlacc Pit.  The ewoks (and Han not flying the Millennium Falcon) are the only thing keeping this from being #2.

5.      The Force Awakens

I really like this movie, and it’s hard to have it this low.  I have no problems with it being a “rehash” of A New Hope.  In fact, I thought that was a good thing.  I liked all the new characters.  It left me wanting more (I’ve always said if Episode 8 was in the next theater I would have immediately gone there).  The only real problem with it is that terrible rathtars scene.

6.      Revenge of the Sith

I really like this movie, and nearly had it higher.  The Obi Won/Anakin duel is one of the best scenes in the franchise.  Unfortunately it comes right after “Anakin, you’re breaking my heart.”  I also really like the ruthless Anakin in the Jedi Temple.  Also, the opening space battle is the best space battle in the franchise.

7.      Attack of the Clones

Some people have this as the worst, but I cannot do that.  This is the most extreme of the movies.  On the one hand, I love the Kenobi spy storyline.  On the other hand, that love story.  Ugh.  The Kenobi story and Yoda’s lightsaber fighting make this clearly not the worst.

8.      The Phantom Menace

Jar Jar, young Anakin, politics, just bad.  Then there’s the final battle, where two-thirds of it is atrocious but the Darth Maul fight is the best in the franchise.  So it’s not all bad.

Happy 84th Birthday Maestro Williams!

Today is John Williams' 84th birthday.  In honor of the greatest living composer, I whipped together a quick list of his 25 greatest themes.  And believe me, it could have been at least twice as long.  As note that I did this quickly, so I may have missed one or two, or I may change it later.  Also note, these are only themes from movies.  So no NBC News theme, no Olympics theme, no Summon the Heroes, no Lost in Space, etc.

25.  The Adventures of Tintin (2011) - an underrated jazzy piece

24.  Marion's Theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - a nice, understated theme

23.  Theme from Sabrina (1995) - beautiful piano

22.  Exsultate Justi from Empire of the Sun (1987) - one of his most exultant themes

21.  Rey's Theme from The Force Awakens (2015) -  this one grew on me slowly, but now I really like it

20.  Catch Me If You Can (2002) - Williams began as a jazz musician, and you can really hear it here.  This just sounds like the 60s to me.

19.  Theme from JFK (1992) - political intrigue galore

18.  Hatikvah (The Hope) from Munich (2005) - kind of like a Schindler's List light

17.  Yoda's Theme from Empire Strikes Back (1980) - full of the Force, this is

16.  Across the Stars from Attack of the Clones (2002) - Williams makes even this bad a love story sound good

15.  Hymn to the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan (1998) - solemn remembrance

14.  Home Alone Main Theme (1990) - the sounds of Christmas

13.  Theme from Schindler's List (1993) - might be the most beautiful and haunting on this list

12.  Wild Signals from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) - can you hear those five notes and not think of this movie?

11.  Hedwig's Theme from Harry Potter (2001) - a classic fantasy sound just nearly missing the top 10

10.  Battle of the Heroes from Revenge of the Sith (2005) - action packed choir full of urgency

9.  1941 Theme (1979) - about the only good thing about this movie

8.  Star Wars Main Title (1977) - the main theme from my favorite movie series this low?

7.  E.T. Theme (1982) - the perfect theme to explore the playful kid side of Spielberg

6.  Theme from Jurassic Park (1993) - as we can see throughout this list no one does more with fewer notes than Williams, and this is another fantastic example

5.  Midway March (1976) - maybe I'm biased for this due to the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band, but this is one of the greatest military marches ever

4.  Jaws Main Title (1975) - as Jack Black says in The Holiday "Two notes and you've got a villain.  I don't know what to say about it.  Totally brill."

3.  The Imperial March from Empire Strikes Back (1980) - perhaps the most iconic theme in movie history, yet I have it 3? 

2.  Raiders March (1981) - nothing says adventure quite like this

1.  Superman March (1978) - the greatest superhero theme of all time, and it's not even close.  Others have tried to copy it, but now they unfortunately have decided to go the complete opposite way and almost ruin superhero score (I'm looking at you Hans Zimmer) but that's a rant for another day.

My Big Star Wars Post

I finally saw Force Awakens for a second time (this time in glorious IMAX 3D), and I wanted to make an omnibus post of sorts for Star Wars.  Without a doubt, Star Wars is my favorite movie franchise.  Besides baseball, it's my favorite anything pop culture-wise.  What's funny is, I did not see any of the movies until I was about 10 years old.  But once I watched the original trilogy, I was immediately hooked.

I came upon Star Wars at what happened to be an opportune time, right around when it got a resurgence in the mid-90s.  The Thrawn trilogy, easily the best Star Wars expanded universe, was published between 1991 and 1993, and that really got the Star Wars thing going again in a big way.

  Then came a host of video games, toys, the release of the special editions, and of course the prequels.  I joined Star Wars Insider with the first edition.  I have read around two dozen of the novels, many of the comics, and played most of the video games, not to mention my large toy collection.  Star Wars speaks to my geekdom.

There's not much to say about the original trilogy.  It's nearly perfect.  Even Return of the Jedi, which many people feel is not worthy of the first two, is my favorite.  You see, I'm a Luke Skywalker guy, and that's the movie he really shines.  Before getting into my ranking of the movies, I wanted to write a little defense of the prequels, and perhaps a few legitimate complaints about them.

YES, THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!  IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN FORCE AWAKENS BY NOW, WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?

Defense of the Prequels

Some of these points have been written about before, but I think they need to be repeated.  The prequels are not that bad.  Yes, compared to the original trilogy they are, but they still have quite a bit going for them.  Here's a few main points:

Jedi

Probably the biggest thing going for them is that we get to see the Jedi in full action.  In the original trilogy we get two old Jedi who cannot do much, a menacing Darth Vader who has seen his best lightsaber days pass him by long ago, an Emperor who does little more than talk and shoot lightning, and a young kid who's trying to figure out the whole Jedi thing.  In the prequels, we get to see a host of Jedi doing pretty great stuff.  From the beginning, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are kicking droid butt and using force powers we hadn't seen like force push and speed runs.  All that is great to see on screen.  The prequels also have easily the three best lightsaber duels in any of the movies.  As much as we love to hate on Phantom Menace, the fight between Darth Maul and the two Jedi is one of the best fights in any movie.  And I really do not get why people even hate on the climactic fight in Revenge of the Sith.  It's pretty powerful, seeing two old friends try to kill each other.  If nothing else, enjoy seeing Jedi do their stuff in the prequels.

World Building

Taken literally, we see twice as many worlds in the prequels than we got in the original trilogy.  And they're all pretty fascinating to see.  The Star Wars universe looks more like a universe thanks to the prequels.  We also get to see more of how the universe works.  We get to see how a republic can change into a tyranny.  We get to see how the Emperor manipulated everyone to gain power, proving just how powerful he is.  So much more of the universe is fleshed out.  That has to be a good thing.

The Cast

Hate who you want to hate, the prequels have a loaded cast.  Natalie Portman, Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson, are all big name stars.  Then you have some pretty impressive bit players from Brian Blessed to Terence Stamp to Christopher Lee to even Dominic West, Joel Edgerton, and Richard Armitage.  Oh yes, I have not even mentioned Keira Knightley, Sofia Coppola, and Rose Byrne, all attendants for Padme.

  There's some pretty impressive actors here.  I know what you're saying: what about the Anakin boys?  I'm not going to defend Jake Lloyd, but I can defend Hayden Christensen.  Yes he's annoying, but he's supposed to be.  He's supposed to be a whiney teenager who's having an identity crisis.  I think he does pretty well.  In fact, when looked at more closely in light of Luke (especially in the first movie), it makes even more sense.  And I will always say the look he gives after his mother dies is one of the most chilling I've seen.  While we're at it:

The Road to Vader

The prequels had one job: show us how a normal kid who's supposed to save the universe ends up being the epitome of evil.  I think they do a pretty good job of this.  We get to see the conflict in Anakin.  We get to see major events that set him on the course.  We get to see Palpatine acting as puppet master.  It's not perfect, but you can definitely see that it make sense how he turns.  In some ways it makes the original trilogy even more powerful, because we see how somewhat similar events Luke lived through but he rejected the Dark Side.  This is where I hope they continue to go with the new movies.  See Rey, and maybe even Kylo, get tempted and how she (they) deals with it.

Visuals

No, I am not defending the overuse of CGI.  I am saying that despite that the movies are very beautiful to look at.  This goes back to the world building, the planets and the scenery are stunning.  Like the original movies they are beautiful, but in a different way.  Yes they are a bit too "clean", not as gritty as the originals, but that's ok because things are a bit newer.  They get worn down as the rebellion kicks in.  I'm ok with it.

Legitimate Beefs

Phantom Menace

Let's get the big one out of the way.  The Phantom Menace is not a good movie.  Darth Maul is great.  Naboo is beautiful.  That's about as far as I can go supporting it.  It was made even more obvious trying to watch it with a 6 year old.  How in the heck do I explain a trade dispute with him?  Why is there so much politics?  Jar Jar is pretty bad.  The pod race, while I appreciate the nod to Ben Hur, goes on a bit too long.  The stuff with Anakin flying the fighter is way too convenient.  It started the problem (at least in my mind, since it was the first time I noticed it) of many big event movies where there are multiple sides of a battle going on, everyone starts to lose at the same time, everyone is going to die, then something happens and it's all resolved quickly.  This, what I call "Phantom Menacing", is the main reason why I did not like the first Avengers movie nearly as much as many people.  Watch it again, it's basically an identical end battle.  And then there's Jake Lloyd.  He's not good.  Anakin is way too young, and it makes the romance in Attack of the Clones that much worse.  I still maintain the prequels could have been even better if it started with Attack of the Clones, there was a full on Clone Wars movie, then ended with Revenge of the Sith.  In fact, I like to watch the Clone Wars cartoon that came out between the movies in just this fashion, and it works pretty well (and it's just over 2 hours).  We don't need to see baby Anakin.  It's hard to defend Phantom Menace.

The Writing

There's a considerable lack of that "something" that made the original trilogies so much fun.  Very little good banter between the characters.  Forced relationships, of course most notably the dreadful romance between Padme and Anakin.  So much talking to explain politics and economics.  Even though there's a good amount of action in the prequels, they still drag quite badly at points.  Just get on with it.

The Music

This is one that most people probably do not get.  I love John Williams.  I am not blaming John Williams.  This is squarely on George Lucas and whoever edited the movies (I don't really want to blame the wrong person).  The second and third movies are very poorly scored, especially during the action sequences.  Most of it is tracked from Phantom Menace or earlier scenes in such a way that it is obvious and jarring.  I would love to hear what Maestro Williams intended for those scenes, particularly the huge fight on Geonosis.  Why mess with the best?

CGI

Way too much of it.  Some of it looks ok, some of it is pretty bad.  This went far from one of the things that made the originals so good.  We could see this coming with the special editions, but the prequels were way over the top.  Luckily Abrams has largely fixed this problem with Force Awakens.

There are probably other things, but those are the major points.

Defense of Force Awakens

Star Wars fans can be impossible to please.  They don't like the prequels because they're too different from the originals.  They don't like Force Awakens because it's too similar.  What do you want?  I left the Force Awakens, both times, being pumped and ready for the next one.  How could there be a better reaction than that?  I'm here to dispel some of the issues some people have mentioned, while admitting a few issues I have.

Lightsabers

            One of the biggest complaints I've heard, and honestly one that I had, was the ease with which Finn and Rey used the lightsaber.  And how easily they defeated Kylo Ren.  I went into the second viewing to pay attention to this in particular, and I have to say I was wrong the first time.  If you watch closely, they both struggle.  Finn in particular is kind of flailing around and Kylo Ren is playing with him.  You also have to remember that he got shot by Chewbacca's bolt caster, a hit that knocked others way out.  So he's hurt, but he's still playing with Finn, like a cat with its prey.  That is until Finn gets a lucky shot in, then Kylo gets made and puts him down quite easily.  After Rey gets the lightsaber, she too is not fighting very well, until she summons the force.  So you can chalk up her skill from a.) her use of her stick as shown in the beginning of the film and b.) her use of the force.  It all makes sense when you think about it and watch it again.  The one issue I do still have is where the heck did they get Luke's lightsaber?  Maz Kanata does say that's a story for another day, so maybe we'll find out some day.

Lack of Emotion

            This is especially surrounding the death of Han Solo.  I will answer that in two ways.  First, each character does get their moment to react.  Second, they don't get much time BECAUSE THEY'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR!  When you're in their situation, you don't have time to pout, as Han himself said, "Escape now, hug later."

It's Just a Copy of the Originals

            My first reaction to that is, so what?  My second reaction to that is, you're not looking at the movie enough.  Yes, there is a circularity to the story, but is that not because it's a timeless story?  And anyways, it's not exactly a copy.  An orphan, who is strong with the force, meets up with an older mentor who dies, and that mentor must face an evil guy in black.  Yes, there are more similarities, but there are also a lot of differences.  Honestly, I don't really think this is something worth discussing.  People wanted to be reminded of what made them love a galaxy far, far away, and that's what they got.  The alternative was the prequels.  And we got some interesting new characters whom I want to follow.  There's nothing wrong with that.

The Starkiller Base Was Weak

            Alternately: it's just a bad copy of the Death Star.  This again is a no-big-deal for me.  It's not supposed to be a major center of the story.  It's a big bad weapon that destroys some planets and must be destroyed.  The true focus of the story is Rey, Finn, BB-8, and the search for Luke.  The Starkiller is a fairly good setpiece for the final battle.  It had to happen somewhere, and any way it makes sense since the Empire was always trying to build the ultimate weapon as we see in IV, VI, and going back to III.

CGI

            This is actually a plus and minus for some people.  Yes, there's relatively little CGI, more like the originals.  But yet Snoke and Maz, the two biggest CGI characters, are not done well.  I actually don't have a problem with Maz and don't really see why people do.  Snoke I can understand, but remember all we're seeing is a hologram.  Give them time.  It's not like the original Emperor in Empire Strikes Back looked great.

The Characters (Poe, General Hux, Captain Phasma) Weren't Fleshed Out Enough

            I think we had plenty of character development for one movie.  We can (and will) see more of them in the next movies.  The one that I really want to know more about is the "old friend" Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow).  Surely we'll find out more about him?

There Weren't Any "Iconic" Scenes

            I beg to differ.  What's better than Han and Chewie back on the Falcon?  How about that awesome dogfight on Jakku?  And then there's my personal favorite, Rey winning the lightsaber with the music going in the background!

A Lack of Variety

            All we see are X-Wings and TIE Fighters.  Where are the A-Wings?  B-Wings?  Y-Wings would have been perfect for the bombing run!  Where are the TIE-Interceptors?  What about new star fighters since Return of the Jedi?  This is probably my biggest problem with the movie.  The first time around I did not really mind it, but after hearing someone else complain about it, this really stood out to me the second viewing.  They really need to fix it, and explain it that this wing of the Resistance only had X-Wings, but others have more?  I don't know, but they do need to address it.

The Ending

            I have to admit on the first viewing I thought the movie went on too long.  I thought it should have ended when Rey and Chewie departed in the Falcon.  Now, I guess I can see it's ok to end it the way it did, since the movie was all about the quest to find Luke so you had to put a bow on it.  I did think it was cool that Luke was hiding out in the real life monasteries of Skellig Michael off the coast of Ireland.  Jedi are, after all, Catholic monks.

Again, overall I found the movie to be engaging, fun, with some really interesting characters.  I'm excited to see what happens with Rey and Luke and if they're really related like so many people think.  I'm excited to see if Kylo Ren continues to be pulled by the light side (like an anti-Luke).  I'm excited to see more Finn and Poe. 

That's not to say it's perfect.  Again, I want to know how Maz got Luke's lightsaber.  The rathtars were legitimately kind of dumb.  Finn seemed to know a lot for someone who worked in sanitation.  But these are relatively minor qualms.

Now, the ranking, worst to best:

The Phantom Menace

            Can there be any doubt?  I are pointed out most of the major issues with it.  Definitely should have been skipped.

Revenge of the Sith

            There are quite a few good things going for this movie.  But it all seems a bit rushed, particularly Order 66.  This is where a full on Clone Wars movie could have helped the pacing as the first half hour or so could have been in another movie.

Attack of the Clones

            I will not defend the romance.  I will say I love the detective stuff with Obi-Wan (he's almost a better Batman than Christian Bale).  I particularly like the space battle in the asteroids and love the seismic charges with the delayed sound blasts. 

The Force Awakens

            See my above comments.  Any movie that makes me immediately want to see a sequel has done what it's supposed to do. 

Return of the Jedi

            As previously mentioned, my favorite.  The Pit of Carkoon is my favorite scene (and favorite score) in any of the movies.  How can you argue against a movie where the entire last hour is one giant (good!) battle with three high-stakes parts to it?  And c'mon, the Ewoks aren't that bad.

Star Wars

            A revolutionary movie in many ways.  The beginning of the great new mythos.  It's not perfect, but it's darn exciting.  I still say Luke staring into the sunsets is the most iconic image in any of the movies, and one of the most iconic in film history.  Lucas knew what he was doing.  Han shot first.

The Empire Strikes Back

            Not only the greatest Star Wars movie, not only one of the greatest science fiction (though I hesitate to call Star Wars science fiction-it's a space western or space opera) movies of all time, one of the greatest movies period.  Very nearly flawless.  The introduction of probably the most famous theme in movie history.  One of the greatest lines in movie history ("I know").  One of the greatest shocking revelations in movie history.  The best cliffhanger ending in movie history.  Somehow it took me until about the fourth or fifth viewing of the trilogy to realize it is the best, but now there's no doubt.