"You can obviously tell the generational gap here by who actually saw Star Wars when it came out and who didn't.
I think I can accept the bad effects although someone of my generation can be forgiven for expecting a lot more.
Personally, I think the FX (models and rotoscoping) in Star Wars are still far superior to what you see in films today. The CGI FX are so obvious as to ruin the suspension of disbelief, whereas the model work in SW was incredible.
Example: That opening shot of the Imperator in SW still kicks ass over most FX you see today.
You'll also have to forgive us older guys for being a little enamoured with the original Star Wars. We saw it as kids (I was 11) and there was nothing that had come even remotely close to it in terms of FX. It was classic space opera. The first time Darth Vader appeared was mind boggling. Every villain up to that point on the big screen was now officially a pansy in comparison. "
Give me real world special effects any day over CGI. CGI can work (jurassic park) but requires massively dedicated people and a hell of a lot of money. Lucas is old and totally out of touch... computers seem innovative to him because they weren't around when he was younger but the way he puts them to use isn't in any way innovative. His CG is pretty stock stuff and doesn't even gel with the live action, you'd expect that from cut rate Xena fare, but to see that on the biggest movie events in the US means the poor guy is pretty out of touch. Someone should go to skywalker ranch bust up his computer renderfarm and maybe free George Lucas from the matrix so he'll make a good movie again.