I wanted to love the prequel trilogy, which is why I bought my midnight tickets for all three films as soon as they went on sale, lined up for hours before the showing to get the best seats and always went in hoping to feel some of the magic of Star Wars again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t there to be found.

In trying to understand my disappointment and discover if I was alone in it, I asked many people–friends, family, even strangers–searching through online forums, reading through countless posts and trying to understand the best context to appreciate the prequel trilogy in. I’ve gone back and watched them multiple time, seeing if the sting of Star Wars-level expectations would have added to my initial disappointment… alas, they had not. The films still suck and, no matter how I try to frame it, they always will for me and countless other folk.

I say countless other folk because the community backlash against the prequel trilogies is a big thing and it’s a big deal. It’s not filled with a minority niche of angry old-school Star Wars fans who are so stuck in their ways that they haven’t tried to understand the place for the prequel films. Instead, it’s filled with angry, hurt and downright frustrated folk who feel as though their childhoods have been tampered with… and then there’s those who have no love for Star Wars but thought the prequel films were dodgy of their own merits.

Star Wars is and always will be a cultural phenomenon, but the hatred of the prequel trilogy has become a phenomenon of its own. You don’t have to look too far online to discover that it’s very easy to find the bitter taste of purists.

If your post is serious, it implies that you love both the prequel and sequel trilogy. If this is true, then I envy you, as I’d truly love to share the sentiment. If this is true, then I also pity you because of how you chose to highlight this: through a trollish comment that was clearly designed to start a fight instead of inspire debate.

Again, assuming that you truly aren’t just a run-of-the-mill troll, I leave you with this final calm thought. It reads as though you’ve mistaken the term purists for elitists. In the context of the original Star Wars trilogy, purists refers to those who adhere to the source material (a la, Episodes IV-VI) and feel that the prequel trilogy has strayed away from this.

Again, you don’t have to look too far online to discover the many threads and websites dedicated to discussing the many plot holes created by the existence of the prequel trilogy as they currently stand. If you delve a little deeper you can discover George Lucas admitting that much of the prequel trilogy was made up on the fly, with the story (NOT the films) tightened up in subsequent re-shoots.

What I see here could have been an exciting discussion between two different viewpoints on a passionate topic, but your tact (or very obvious lack thereof) and trolling tactics makes me feel more like I just wasted my time.

If you want to contribute in the future, I’d advise signing up with a different name and trying to be more constructive in your criticisms.