Is it that surprising that a bunch of old guys don't have the same energy and excitement as the new ambitious up-and-comers?

George Lucas seemed pretty satisfied when filming the Star Wars prequels to plop himself down in a chair in a room with a giant bluescreen set where he didn't have to walk around and direct in a hot, sandy desert for hours like in the original films. But the movies looked a lot worse for it.

"guy with bad knees recommends we all take the gondola down"

And yet, the prequels are still miles better than the sequels!

Episode III was pretty good despite filming in 2K.