It could have been truly great: the solitary moaning of a childhood Star Wars fan

I hated Star War Episodes I-III.
I haven’t been a big Star Wars fan since I was young, but I always appreciated the novelty and the sincere belief that the original Star Wars movies had in themselves. The movies were clever and exciting without trying too hard. They succeeded in drawing you into a unique and engaging world of light sabers and Jedi.
When the prequels came out we all knew the ending. We all knew that Luke was Darth’s son, and that the empire fell in the end. What those movies offered instead was a personal and dramatic story about one man. It was the story of the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker.
The beauty of the story lies in its brutal irony. Anakin was the Savior who failed. For millennia people prophesied and anticipated his coming. He was conceived immaculately and gave up everything to serve others. Ultimately, however, it was inverted Christ symbolism. Anakin is corrupted by his need to help others, his profound love for humanity, and his incomprehensible power. Instead of transcending human nature he falls to it; and with his mighty fall he cuts down the very pillars of all that is right and good. He damns the galaxy to an eternity of oppression under a satanic emperor. His son saves the world and through his death he redeems only himself.
This story could have been deeply compelling. Instead we watched Hayden Christensen whining like a teenage who can’t get the keys to his dad’s car.
I would have made Anakin mighty. A human of tremendous dignity and valor. He would have bent to help those hurt on the battlefield, friend or foe. He would have been personal and human, but at the same time possessed of a deep and abiding love for humanity. He would have changed the face of a battle by his very presence, as if all that was right followed in his wake. At the same time he would have flaws ingrained into who he was. But we would love him all the more because he suppressed his pride and ambition. He would fight his vice. But slowly he would become frustrated with others’ weaknesses. He would see the hypocrisy of his superiors, and slowly, he would falter. Eventually, he breaks and turns on all that he once upheld. He is consumed by hatred, lust, and self love.
People would have wept to watch it. Instead Anakin was petty – worse still, he was annoying. When it came down to it we all wanted him to be evil so we had an excuse to hate his whiney attitude and his self righteous drawl. The whole series turned on us loving Anakin Skywalker, but Lucas was too caught up in his special effects.