Don't get me wrong, I love the originals, but I just don't see what they do so much better than Episode 3. With a little bit better acting in key roles (Vader himself is the glaring flaw, really), which could also be helped by a bit of a better script ("You're breaking my heart!" Portman is a good actress, but nobody could do anything with that dredge of a line) I see no reason why ROTS shouldn't be up there with the originals. Those movies had some retarded lines in them too, and Return of the Jedi had an entire segment (Ewoks!) that made me want to stab somebody. If anything, ROTS makes up for a few of its shortcomings with some memorable scenes, visually and emotionally, that blow most of the imagery in the originals out of the water. Namely, Anakin's immolation on Mustafar, the Order 66 scene, and maybe a few others. Granted, some of these scenes are nearly ruined by ATROCIOUS dialogue/scripting ... :chuckles: I mean, the banter between Anakin and Obi Wan before their epic duel would have been so much cooler with a better actor playing Vader (not going to hate on him too much since I know he can act, I just dont like him in this role at all) and with better lines. Also: Vader suiting scene, fucking awesome....why ruin it with, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" ?
I'm not a big enough Star Wars fan to really go too deeply into it, but I am definitely a casual fan who enjoys the universe and it always bothers me a bit when this debate comes up.