I felt similarly, actually. Everything felt a little…forced? to me. The plots didn't seem as structured/solid as they were in 5 and 6, and people's motivations felt kind of tenuous. I was able to tune out most of it and just enjoy seeing Paul on screen, though, and of course enjoyed the tribute to him at the end.…

Oh yeah, I'm not trying to say that they're on the same level or anything! The Prelude isn't even a film, it's just a series of clips. I'm just a big completionist about stories so I appreciated the gap filling, silly as it was.

Honestly, it makes my heart swell that Vin Diesel & others in this franchise are so committed to the story that they made this and the Turbo-Charged Prelude to fill in plot gaps/explain stuff. This series might be pure indulgence but it's genuinely nice to see that kind of commitment to a story. I love the people…

I agree - and thankfully there's at least a version of the Star Wars prequel reviews with all that awful shit cut out of them. Makes it much easier to show to friends (and rewatch myself). I don't have the link handy right now but when I find it I'll come back and post it.