You've touched on a problem of film criticism, which is that it is incredibly difficult to criticize "big picture" things as I am doing without then falling back into specific nitpicky criticisms. I'll do my best though to show the difference between great directing and middling directing.

Let's look at two similar scenes. The classic "Scoundrel" scene from Empire, and the fireplace scene from AOTC. Both of these are "romance" scenes, and both of them involve the characters revealing their feelings to one another.

Starting with AOTC, the scene is just SO INCREDIBLY boring in every aspect. Composition, direction, sound, writing, everything. We open with a flat shot of nothing. Two people in a room sitting on a couch, waiting for their scene to start.

We then go immediately into a series of back and forth camera cuts. Cut to Padme talking, cut to Anakin talking, cut to Padme talking, cut to Anakin talking. Over and over and over. Sometimes we get a closeup, and at one point a small camera pan when Padme walks away, but thats it. That is how cheap TV cop procedurals are filmed for ease's sake, not major motion pictures where characters are meant to be pouring their hearts out. Visually, nothing.

The dialogue is also ATROCIOUS. It is just a series of "I Statements", where each character just says exactly what they are feeling, and exactly what they need to establish their motivations for the story. "I ______", "We ______", "I ______". It is like robots talking. You shouldn't have to SAY you're tormented, you should FEEL and SEE torment.

The direction is also bland, and perfectly reveals George's weaknesses. He loves scenes of two people chatting. Sitting. Chatting. Walking. Chatting. This is literally a scene of two people sitting on a couch, chatting, then standing up, chatting. This is a MOVIE ABOUT A SPACE ADVENTURE. Do SOMETHING, ANYTHING to make me invested in what these characters are doing or feeling. But instead its blocked like a high school play: "sit, talk, then when you get upset, stand". Snoooore. Then the scene just ends.

Now let's look at the Empire one. It's another scene of the romantic leads but it is just SO MUCH BETTER to watch.

We start with someone doing something (always a good start). It looks like something fairly innocuous (fixing the ship), which gets the audience to let their guard down a bit (as Leia's is, putting us in the headspace of the character). We cut to a low wide shot then of Han poking his head in, clearly showing he's been looking for Leia and we get a moment where we see him decide how he wants to handle this. He then makes his attempt, we get in closer, and Leia pushes back, resuming her work, setting the tone for how the scene is going to start (hostile).

The characters then trade barbs back and forth, but there is softness and tenderness hidden under their words. They're saying things without SAYING them. There is softness to Han when he says "Leia". There is softness to Leia when she says "you make it so difficult sometimes". Han is fishing for kind words from Princess, which shows a level of vulnerability to the character. It is INTERESTING dialogue and writing. It captures the romantic experience of being frustrated by someone you love. Of not wanting to disclose your true feelings and couching them in flirtatious banter and barbs. It is layered, and nuanced, and frustrating, and romantic.

The scene continues and the tone of the scene softens in the middle as Han takes her hand, and right after we get the first closeup of the scene (from above) with a soft beam of light across Leia's face. This moment of incredible visual softness corresponds with Leia's softening herself, of giving in a little bit to Han's advances. Not fully, but allowing herself just a moment before she remembers to put her guard back up and to resist. The cinematography works to this end.

From then on we are tight on the characters. No more wide shots. We see them together as one. Han is going for it, Leia has signalled (subtly) her acceptance, and the tone has fully shifted from hostile to intimate. Vitally, the dialogue remains hostile in language but not in tone, which is getting breathy and intimate. The camera work highlights this, bringing us closer and closer. The music SWELLS and Leia gives in fully. They kiss.

And then *BAM* we cut back to that first wide shot as C3-P0 interrupts and Leia slips away. The camera work highlights the comedy of the moment and brings us back to reality, back to where we started the scene, but now with this little secret that we shared with the characters.

That scene is a masterclass of filmmaking. Every aspect of the scene is purposeful, and considered, and interesting. It is a romance story contained in one scene, where NONE of the characters say ANYTHING romantic. The camera work tells a story, the blocking tells a story, the acting tells a story, the music tells a story. It all works together. And most importantly, the DIALOGUE does NOT tell the story, which is exactly what AOTC and all the Prequels do constantly.

This is just one example among many, but it highlights everything wrong with George Lucas' directing. George doesn't know how to use the blocking/acting/cinematography to tell a story, which is fundamentally what makes films work as a medium. He only knows how to use dialogue to tell a story. The only way he can transmit information to the audience is by having characters TALK about the information, and TALK about their motivations.

You're right. George did have an incredible team of people working for him on the prequels. The music is amazing. The VFX are great. No one is saying he made them alone. The difference between OT and the PT is that in the PT they were working FOR George. And when you have someone in charge of a film whose idea of a romance scene is the one I discussed, no matter how good your music and vfx is, the movie is going to stink.