The prequels aren't nearly as good as the original trilogy, but it does throw in the ties of the background-- this whole shpeel about Palpatine's play to power by manipulating the senate and such-- it's the who story arc of the rise of the sith again in the galaxy through Palpatine (Darth Sidious) and the rise of the Galactic Empire from the "ashes" of the Old Republic. If you can overlook the crappy CGI bits, Jar-Jar Binks, and Anakin's dumb romance with Padme (Luke and Leia's mom), Anakin's immaturity and consistent whining about Obi-Wan Kenobi.. then the story itself is really interesting.
I actually thought that Palpatine didn't get enough screen time, and his maniuplation process could have been exposed more to the audience... But, beggars can't be choosers. Lol.