Star Wars is just a formulaic fantasy story with a sci-fi coat of paint on it. The original trilogy was groundbreaking because of the special effects, and the story was entertaining enough to not distract from that. The other six films in the main storyline bring nothing new to the table, and are thus boring cashgrabs.
Good point, that was the beginning of the decline already.
Those speeder bike scenes, though. >chef’s kiss< The rest of the film could’ve been Han Solo throwing up into his helmet and I still would’ve watched it.