The thing is though is that Episode I and II were so baddly recieved by not just critics, but long time fans as well that even if Episode III sucks... Which, thankfully, feedback from advanced screenings says that it does not... It would still make money if for the fact fans (and non-SW fans) would go to see just how bad it was just to gloat and or see it for themselves. Luckily, this supposedly won't be the case, but GL has to know that this one is going to be the most scrutinized of all the prequels simply because I and II set such a low mark (standard) that everyone is putting their expectations on this one to be better, right or wrong.
The sad fact is movies are now more about getting people into the theater even if the movie itself doesn't warrant it. Case in point: House of Wax. I haven't seen the movie, but a good portion of fans are going to see it just to watch Paris Hilton die more than because they are horror fans. The same is going to be true with Mr. and Mrs. Smith in regard to the gossip surrounding Angelina Jolie being the real reason for Brad Pitt's breakup with Jennifer Aniston. And in the long run, it doesn't matter because a ticket bought is a ticket bought and studios and the MPTAA (Motion Picture Theater Owners Association of America) could care less for the motives behind the public's wanting to see this movie over that.
I bring this phenomena up because A) It is becoming more common these days since a lot of the movies coming out aren't that great and B) it applies to the first SW prequels because they were so baddly recieved and this has put Episode III in the very position we're talking about seeing a movie based on its own merits vs. the hype surrounding the film and not the film itself.
Also, I believe that I and II are just bad movies. I think they are shallow, uninteresting and bascially one big CGI fest after another with very little story to either of them. In turn, I don't like it when directors like GL or the Warchowski Brothers (Matrix) say you have to look at all three movies as a whole. That is a cop-out in my opinion because it means they really don't have the talent to produce good, stand alone stories that are supposed to be able to stand on their own (pun intended) because this is what movies used to be about, but because of the trilogy aspect a lot of directors and producers are taking this as the easy way out when a movie that is part of a trilogy or series doesn't do as well as they initially predicted.