Star Wars: The Phantom Menace - Caravan Of Garbage

[@connermcmillin807]

James wheezing in the background as Maso talks about his vitriolic hate for this movie is absolutely incredible.

[@heelmoxley365]

You could feel it coming when he was complimenting the most minuscule things 😭

[@sadchild9478]

Positively outrageous

[@it-tp1pn]

Genuinely hilarious

[@corvus2512]

Watched that bit 3 times!

[@MonroeRepublic]

@@heelmoxley365 heel Moxley is the best Moxley.

[@CrowTRobot]

When Nick Mason hates something, it’s powerful. It’s like watching 1989 Michael Jordan make the shot in Game 5 against Cleveland. I just feel inspired.

[@MrFaceNumeroUno]

I give that a jumping triple fist pump

[@wonkywaddlingwaterwingedwriter]

I'm ready to run through a wall for Nick Mason after hearing his hatred.

[@myohmyDesign]

And that's why he's the Jurassic Snark!

[@MrTrick.]

I can feeeeeel Mason's anger...

[@MrFaceNumeroUno]

@@MrTrick. Qui gon apparently feels nothing lol

[@benbermanghan2913]

god I love the: "they couldn't have found someone with Harrison Ford's charisma, it's impossible, nobody -" "Brendan Fraser" "oh I would have liked that"

[@pauldavis6232]

1999 Brendan Fraser was awesome. But if he did Phantom Nenace he wouldn't have done The Mummy and nothing he would have done in Phantom Menace would have been as great or iconic as his performance in The Mummy.

[@wolfgangbrooks]

I honestly don't get people's love for Harrison Ford, he's only good in a couple of movies, and only one of them is a Star Wars movie.

[@JordanMgordan]

@@pauldavis6232 But if he hadn't have done the Mummy, his body might not have gotten wrecked in the stunts department.

[@travisspazz1624]

@@wolfgangbrooks JFC what a shit take!!

[@wolfgangbrooks]

@@travisspazz1624 Actors should actually try to do their jobs instead of thinking it's all beneath them is all I'm sayin'.

[@dragonite77]

"What an awful pack of nerds" is my all time favorite description of the Jedi Council I've ever heard.

[@thecustompropper1279]

As a Trekkie that’s what I think about star wars fanboys

[@killmota]

🎉😢😢😢😢😂😢😢😢😢 I’m so tired of 🥱 this being the worst feeling thing ever to to be see you again in the my my my and your my my brothers and brothers in the future I hope you

[@killmota]

@@thecustompropper1279😅 it’s a joke this

[@killmota]

😢❤

[@killmota]

😢😢😢😢😢😂

[@christofzadofski]

"I hate this movie" was delivered perfectly - I actually laughed for about 3 minutes straight

[@ThreadBomb]

Yep, and I could see it coming a mile off!

[@HOTD108_]

@@ThreadBomb Well we can't all be as smart as you, your majesty.

[@BoleDaPole]

Sure , it's easy to jump on the prequal hate bandwagon, but it makes you look like an idiot considering most of these " criticisms" are easily rebuttled and can be explained by simply paying attention to the films.. but if that's too much for you then you can find any one of the hundreds of videos defending the prequals and see just how idiotic this hate bandwagon has become.

[@jimmyjohn1684]

@@BoleDaPole Yeah man Jar Jar’s complex humor really went over people’s head back in the 90’s. I’m glad we can finally understand it’s amazing writing for what it is.

[@sadchild9478]

@@BoleDaPole well he was more saying things he didn’t appreciate, not just factual criticism. You can’t rebuttal someone’s opinions my man

[@steveheronofficial]

I like that Obi Wan used his Padawan Force powers to make his rattail grown on different sides of his head at random points throughout the film.

[@HappyCynic]

And make his shaven head grow thicker hair from time to time.

[@kanyewestlive6905]

Ah, the power of reshoots...

[@burkehinton5017]

I'd love if the rattails were just canonically pinned on, it makes the knighting ceremony so much funnier

[@timothymcnaughton531]

Yet another new force ability, its just getting ridiculous now.

[@rockyseverino9230]

The dark side of the force is a pathway to many hairstyles some consider... Unnatural

[@DionicioRT]

I’ve been watching people talk about the Star Wars Prequels on the internet and outside of it for years and at this point it feels impossible to say something that hasn’t been said before but the guys were able to keep it fresh alongside the great work from the editors Really excited to see the next two Caravan of Garbage on the other two films

[@jackdailey5238]

Genuinely same but still these guys manage to do some things I haven’t heard. I think that they aren’t the biggest Star Wars Guys is what makes this as fresh as it is

[@PittsburghSonido]

They’re gunna do TDK and TDKR next two CoGs. 🤣

[@mahoutsuguy863]

@@PittsburghSonido beat me to it 😅

[@whysitthat3515]

My thoughts exactly. They always keep things fresh. I haven’t really thought about that analysis of Duel of the Fates, so that was interesting for me. Obviously I know that Kenobi didn’t want to train Anakin, but thinking that the duel itself changed everything is cool.

[@JamesG1880]

Damn, well said. I don’t think I could ever tire of hearing what these two have to say about different entertainment media😌

[@sideswipev2]

Mason's hate twist is genuinely incredible. Hook it to my veins.

[@gabe_ed]

The timing was phenomenal

[@shortmixedkid]

Warwick Davis's character from e1 showing up in Solo is one of the coolest SW continuity things that I never knew about. Thank you Mr. Movies

[@ThreadBomb]

That character needs his own movie!

[@Sintra4]

Just wanted to thank you guys for making this. My GF and I took about an hour and a half to watch the whole thing because we kept having to stop to discuss the things you brought up, and to laugh at some of the jokes, too. This was a great discussion, and we're looking forward to the next one.

[@mrsundaymovies]

Very much appreciated, thanks Elijah!

[@Gabelebabele]

That is so ineffably cute!

[@pasteghost428]

It's stylistically designed to be that way. But we can diminish the effects of it.

[@donaldo141194]

This may be controversial but I'm gonna say it. of all the 12 Star Wars feature films this one is definitely and without a shadow of a doubt one of them.

[@sindelretconpolice1630]

My god what a hot take

[@Rich88James]

Is it though? 🤷

[@hammurds]

It’s more of one than the last 3

[@Burner-o8k]

Bruh how tf is this video 1 year old already..

[@logandh2]

It blew my fucking hair back reading your comment and realizing there are 12 Star Wars movies

[@williammitchell5201]

This is one of the best CoG in a while. I feel like my generation (I'm 40) heard about this movie for ever and ever and it didn't feel like there was much else to say. However, you guys totally kept me engaged the entire time with new fun information and your terrific chemistry with each other. Can't wait to see the next two.

[@jam92es]

Best CoG since they did the Nolan Batman trilogy!

[@DanArnets1492]

Mister Plinkett did this much better

[@johnnybensonitis7853]

Holy shit! I always feel like I'm the oldest guy the audience of most channels I frequent so it's good to see I'm not alone out here lol. I'm 38, and I feel like you're right about people hearing about this movie without knowing much about it. While I do agree this was a great episode of CoG, I have to say I feel like each episode they do is fantastic. I reckon it depends on what you look for or what aspects you most enjoy/find interesting, but for me I think the energy overall makes this one of the podcasts I most look forward to seeing. The editing is fantastic and as you said, the chemistry of the two gentlemen makes all their interplay a treat. Gotta say, I dig your tasteful thumbnail pic. An inspired choice!

[@johnnybensonitis7853]

@@DanArnets1492 We can only hope to asipre to live in the shadow of one so great as Mister Plinkett. Plinkett's vids are some of the all-time greatest ever put up on KZbin, but they are also lengthy as hell that probably took a great deal of time to research and produce. These guys make weekly (or bi-weekly) podcasts with different goals, so I feel like comparing the two, or comparing Plinkett to anyone really, does the other party a kind of diservice, ya know?

[@seangalvin4582]

The editing of different takes from different characters in the same shot was a crazy concept and probably took years off the editors lives from stress. It's now a very common thing. David Fincher does it in almost every scene.

[@seangalvin4582]

@@DaviniaHill your incorrect. He pastes different takes together. If he likes a line reading in one take, but not the other actors performance he will digitally manipulate the frame. He has been working digitally for years. These are tools and tricks he learned directly from George off of these movies.

[@partydude388]

@@DaviniaHill Not every great director is Kubrick

[@bjarkisteinnpetursson9736]

Not quite the same thing but I love hiding cuts to seamlessly use the first part of one performance and the second part of another. It’s incredibly easy and effective and people never notice.

[@DaviniaHill]

@@seangalvin4582 was pretty easy to get you to Well Actually, and *you're

[@CaptainFordo21]

@@DaviniaHill So you have no argument whatsoever and deleted your message like a wimp. Interesting.

[@kitkompo]

this the closest to Statler and Waldorf that James and Maso have ever been, and i love it! “this movie not half bad.” “no, it’s all bad!”

[@jmurray1110]

Upisnt that quote finished with “It’s not half good either”

[@davidbowles7281]

OH HOHOHOHOHO

[@risdio51]

The No Dialogue thing explains how this plot works much better in the context of Lego Star Wars.

[@uosdwiSrdewoH]

I think Mason sums up what I think about Phantom Menace perfectly in his build up and tear down of the film at the beginning of the video. This is why I love the guy. I like you too James. I don't want you to feel left out.

[@youtubeaccountlol4942]

And Ben

[@youtubeaccountlol4942]

And Lawrence

[@Lynch2507]

realizing how much work the Clone Wars animated series did in retroactively improving the prequels in my mind.

[@davidbowles7281]

I think this is why Zoomers misguidedly defend these movies. They have mapped the Clone Wars cartoon onto these awful movies.

[@nope5657]

Nah. The films are still shit. Shit with a decent spin-off attached.

[@eighteen-naked-cowboys]

@@davidbowles7281 that + memes, for sure.

[@burn3978]

@@davidbowles7281 no, people born in the 90s just grew up watching these films. They were made with us in mind so we liked them growing up. The clone wars is for new, younger kids. They weren’t born when these films came out. Having watched the clone wars as an adult, it’s pretty shit too tbh. Great world building and universe, but they haven’t made any good content in decades. RO was decent, mando was okay series 1, but the rest is shockingly bad.

[@Daniel-Cruz]

@@burn3978 except Andor

[@andromidius]

You know... that trivia about 'Anakin's Soul' makes so much sense. And explains Obi Wan's pain so well, because he clearly would have realised what happened later.

[@RapidFireApple]

I think that’s especially true when, in Rebels, he kills Maul and holds him and he’s like “the soul of this next kid truly needs me to care and watch out for him”

[@TheSchaef47]

When they started to talk about that and then got sidetracked talking about the characters' weird accents, I was horrified that they would forget about it and move on. I was glad to hear that explanation.

[@MaxWelton]

22:18 what finally made Obi-Wan a Jedi Knight was the fight with Maul. The Council heard about his duel and went “damn. That’s pretty impressive. We’re gonna treat that fight as a Jedi trial and you passed. Time to cut your braid and develop a hairstyle!”

[@joemolnar3]

And maybe even a personality if you're lucky

[@chazblank2717]

Anakin was easily the most valuable “thing” Watto owned… never mind the financial implications of him accepting worthless Republic Credits from Qui-Gon or getting robbed of the highly specific hyperdrive they needed… the next time we see him in Episode 2 Watto is absolutely destitute from having lost the free labor of Anakin Skywalker.

[@swfcocs1]

Ah so you're outraged about a slave owner being deprived of his property and main earner? Good luck with that lol...

[@swfcocs1]

@@chazblank2717 I clearly wasn't making a serious comment lol

[@Davey647Returns]

The prequels in a nutshell. "If you were just nice to him, he wouldn't have killed you all. And you know what? I'm glad he did. Quite frankly, I'm glad."

[@whodatninja439]

that is the failure of the jedi council.

[@CriticsCupofficial]

Perfect quote

[@BoleDaPole]

Anakin was clearly going to do anything in his power to try and stop Padmé from dying, and the only way was to help Palpatine become emperor. The Jedi council could've made him a Master Jedi and he still would've joined the Dark side in the end. Seeing his mother die almost killed him, he wasn't going to let that happen to Padmé. But I wouldn't have to explain this if you had simply watched the films and paid attention to more than the shiny light sabers and " pew pew" action sequences but then again most prequal haters seem to be filmographically illiterate and need everything spelled out for them. Or maybe you've suffered an unfortunate brain injury which has crippled your memory, in which case I apologize and wish you a speedy recovery.

[@hdns4]

@@BoleDaPole Damn man. I wouldn't be talking shit about "needing things spelled out for you" when you're defending "Tell Don't Show: The Movie." And it seems like even after all that, you still didn't get it. Because no, if the Jedi council hadn't been a bunch of arrogant assholes, Anakin wouldn't have turned to the dark side. That's not a "hater" theory, that's literally a major point of this trilogy which has been emphasized in ancillary material like The Clone Wars tv series. Anakin's mistrust in the council and his disillusionment with the Jedi order is why he wasn't very conflicted in the end about purging them to save Padme. Again, the movie literally spells this out for you: Anakin: "I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over." Obi-Wan: "Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil." Anakin: "From my point of view the Jedi are evil." Obi-Wan: "Well then you are lost." So it seems like you can't understand anything even when the movie actually is spelling things out for you. That's pretty impressive.

[@dinkledonker801]

Another layer to the duel of fates thing. Anakin called Obi-Wan his father. Obi called him his brother. They wanted different things from the relationship. And that lack of a father figure, what Qui-Gon would have provided him, was a role filled by Palpatine. Allowing him to he groomed to the Dark side

[@luiscedeno7856]

never thought about it like that, kind of eye opening. damn

[@dinkledonker801]

@@luiscedeno7856 Even deeper: Ani and Qui-Gon both disliked the council and the othrodox Jedi ways, Obi-Wan was a loyalist who ended up on the council He would of justified Ani's doubts and helped his reconcile them with his faith in the Jedi teachings, not just given him shit like Obi-Wan did. He'd feel less afraid to speak up about things and ask his master for help. Like when he got a girl pregnant was having visions of her dying and had no idea what to do

[@pvrplesticks1939]

I listened to the extended audio version a few days ago but part of me still thought this video was going to be a trick.

[@Kango234]

Same here.

[@stevenlannister184]

Is the extended audio on bigsandwhich?

[@ivangambino4135]

Same

[@ivangambino4135]

@@stevenlannister184 yes

[@heelmoxley365]

They’re mean wet boys aren’t they ?

[@darienschnucker7354]

"If you were just nice to him he wouldn't have killed you all and im glad he did!" i love this line!

[@Robert-hz9bj]

I still think the greatest plot-hole of all time, which was pointed out brilliantly in "How it Should Have Ended" was the moment at that scene in the Senate where Amidala just finished accusing the Trade Federation of invasion, their representatives object by saying "there's no proof." At that moment, why wasn't she like "Uh, wtf are you talking about? There's a ton of proof, including an eyewitness account from the two Jedi you specifically sent to Naboo to settle this whole thing." I remember seeing this movie when I was 10, and even as a kid I was like "Uh, wait. Where are Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan? Shouldn't they be here for this?"

[@WreckageBrother-rd5zf]

They were sent in "secret".

[@Robert-hz9bj]

@@WreckageBrother-rd5zf They were secretly dispatched there so no one would know they were coming. Once they had already gone there and gotten the information, what possible reason was there for them to not come forward publicly before the Senate and announce what they saw? Everyone knows who the Jedi are. It's not like they were trying to keep the Order secret...

[@kingroosta]

Just so we're clear. I was very happy with the run time of this video. When the content is this good, it's allowed to be this long.

[@ThreadBomb]

Or longer!

[@johnnybensonitis7853]

I agree so hard right now I could fuckini' snap in two! I enjoy long content on KZbin and have watched a few videos that were up to 7 hours in length. When something is great it's always nice to have more of it! And this channel makes such amazing, hilarious stuff that just makes the time fly by! Like with this vid, I swear it did not feel like 36 minutes had passed.

[@k-dawgwestmore4643]

16:59 I think the reason why they gave the role to Qui-Gon instead of Obi-Wan is so that Anakin can get a chance to bond with Qui-Gon as a potential father figure, just for that to get stripped from him in the duel of the fates. Anakin really needed a father in Qui-Gon but instead Obi-Wan clearly only saw him as a brother, as he says in Revenge of the Sith

[@directorforplastic7929]

True, but I don’t think Qui-Gon needed to be arguably the main protagonist of this movie. He’s the only Star Wars character who is the protagonist of a film, but is also the mentor figure (ever other character is a young adult: Luke, Ep. II & III Anakin, Rey, Jyn, and young Han). I do agree that having him be a father figure to Anakin then having him die at the end forcing Obi-Wan to take him in is a good idea, but compared to Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan isn’t really that developed in TPM and has way less screen time than him. Which is weird considering he’s one of the main core characters for this trilogy while Qui-Gon was only gonna stick around for one movie. I think Anakin and Obi-Wan only say like 1 or 2 lines to each other in this movie, which is kinda silly given that their relationship is supposed to be part of the core of this trilogy.

[@k-dawgwestmore4643]

@@directorforplastic7929 I agree

[@philfitnesspt6139]

It's pretty obvious liam is a major star and you dont have a major star not be in much of the movie..he is the star! They needed a big star to bring people in liam was far bigger than ewan McGregor at.this time and it shows as liam is brilliant actor and saves this dull movie from being terrible! Ewans acting here was pretty wooden

[@Burner-xc2wq]

@@philfitnesspt6139Liam is still a bigger star than Ewan even though I love Ewan

[@timscott2819]

I love how Mason did that 180 from praise of the movies production and technical achievement to then go with that being said I definitively hate this film. I couldn't stop laughing and that's why I love Caravan of Garbage.

[@jimjam7928]

It's a very apt description of how many feel about the Prequels as films, honestly. Yes, of course, they pioneered a lot of new technology in cinema, and should be commended for that. But they're also poorly written, poorly acted, and poorly directed big messes of movies, and should be rightly criticised for that also. Conceptually fascinating, poorly executed on almost every level. That's the Prequels.

[@andrewjudge6990]

My reaction as a 17-year-old seeing this on opening night was basically “there wasn’t enough Obi-Wan” and I still think simply replacing Jar Jar with Obi-Wan during the Tatooine scenes would have significantly improved it for me. Also, they shouldn’t have killed Darth Maul. What a waste of a good villain.

[@dylanfagan8677]

Maul came back as a villain after still and was even more of a character than silent killer

[@Yougotcaged102]

Who's gonna tell him?

[@zachanikwano]

Do I have a show for you

[@willh2690]

@@zachanikwano 2 shows.

[@bshaddo]

Somehow, Maul returned.

[@allofthepoints9636]

The way Mason says “we’ll fudge the numbers” adds years to my life whenever I hear it.

[@daaaah_whoosh]

Aw man, as much as I like Qui-gon I kinda love the sound of a film where Obi-wan is out on his first mission alone, and it goes pear-shaped, and he's just floundering around teaming up with anyone who'll take him in and doing whatever it takes to get home. And hell, it'd be a great film for a new generation, with a solid trio of young people (Obi-wan, Anakin, and Padme), each with their own personal stuff to overcome.

[@Dilmahkana]

Yeah you're not wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if one reason was because in the opening scene, they need people talking to each other to talk exposition

[@JordanMgordan]

I agree. I also think there seems to be some subtext in the final encounter in Episode 3 where Anakin thinks she's betrayed him. I got the sense he thought maybe Obi-Wan was banging his wife or something. Just in his delusional rage. That might've cut deeper and had more impact if that trio had been the three of them from the start. Would also make that whole moment a lot more full circle and devastating.

[@dansharp2860]

@@JordanMgordan It's not about them banging it's that Anakin thinks she is part of some plot to stop him taking over and that she has brought Obi-Wan there to kill him. That's a slightly bigger betrayal than a bit of side action.

[@hasthehighground8560]

You could’ve still had Qui Gon in the movie but he shouldn’t have been the protagonist of the film

[@JordanMgordan]

@@dansharp2860 Oh definitely, that's the primary motivator there. But I still thought that there was at least a slight hint of suspicion in Anakin's hurt at that moment. Like at that moment he's so drunk and arrogant on his new power that he's absolutely stung by the fact that she would not be 100% on his side, especially when he's done everything up to that point FOR her. "Liar! You're with HIM. You brought him here to kill me!" And I think just that slight implication might've been amplified if they'd been some kind of tight-knit trio from the start.

[@scratch2086]

Dammit. I’m not a Star Wars fan but this video really makes me appreciate the detail and effort that went into the series while also highlighting where the major shortcomings popped up.

[@Aubron]

Literally anything, from the Phantom Menace to Frog Fractions 4, could have been the topic of this video and would not have been shocking at this point.

[@wendypierce5621]

Anakin should’ve been 12 or 13. The romance between Anakin and Padme will eventually destroy the galaxy, but in this movie the bond is maternal. The idea of romance is just icky. The trauma of being pulled away from his mother would’ve worked, a tween/young teen might front that they are okay on their own, but they’re not

[@ColeBresnehen]

I think it being maternal is very deliberate. Even as fully grown adults Padme “takes care” of him in almost a motherly way. Anakin loses his mom, and seeks the guidance and peace she delivered, through Padme. This is quite common in the real world, and I don’t believe we’re meant to view their romance as “healthy”. Perhaps it coming across a bit icky is intentional. Anakin is hardly the first fictional character to have an Oedipus complex.

[@MaxWelton]

27:31 James: you gotta nail it Collings: *Han points at Leia* C-3PO: How rude!

[@jimjam7928]

13:15 We literally went through this all over again quite recently, when Kelly Marie Tran and Daisy Ridley decided to leave Twitter from the abuse they were getting. Star Wars fans haven't learnt shit. Some of the most toxic people on the internet you can come across, and all for mostly poor to average films outside of the originals.

[@Verebazs]

Kelly Marie Tran has outright denied that.

[@qwertymanor]

That's a complete fucking lie.

[@BoleDaPole]

Yup , the prequal haters spewed so much toxic venom at an 8 year old boy that he grew up with deep emotional pain for most of his teenage and young adult years. And all Jake Lloyd did was follow George Lucas' direction. Then Hayden Christiansen got it, but thankfully he was older and could handle the criticisms.

[@AlMoSiCe210]

We just seen Reva's actress just going through it...

[@ChronoKatie]

Maso's opening monologue sums it up so beautifully: It's an incredible production of an absolutely terrible movie.

[@jimjam7928]

Exactly. That's the Prequels in a nutshell; conceptually fascinating, awful execution.

[@ThreadBomb]

Despite the technical achievement, I find it visually offputting. Ugly colors, too evenly lit, bland frame composition. To fix it you'd have to reshoot it.

[@alih122]

@@jimjam7928 you don’t know anything. Most of you all are 🤡’s

[@lewanbroski504]

@@jimjam7928 I can see why people hate the first two they're not exactly my favourites either, but revenge of the sith I loved and it's my second favourite star wars movie

[@chaddaddywarden4349]

Same can be said for Avatar

[@tumsfestival8027]

21:00 so on point. Never even thought of it that way. The Jedi council is completely unreasonable. George didn’t make it obvious enough that the Jedi were a decaying org. They should have added a conversation between qui gon and obi wan where he’s complaining about the Jedi

[@hdns4]

The concept of the Jedi being a decaying organization really has been retroactively pushed into people's consciousness thanks to The Clone Wars, but rewatching the prequels, they honestly don't even touch on it until ROTS, and even then, it's really half-assed by that point. I think it's something Lucas sort of had in the back of his head sub-consciously but hadn't been able to really bring it to the forefront of his mind yet. Each of the prequels desperately needed to have like three or four more drafts with proper feedback from other writers. There's something really good in there but it's buried so far underneath a tangled mess.

[@alexthegrape1000]

@@hdns4 Pretty much how I feel about the prequels. Say what you want about them but the whole ‘politics in space’ stuff is so cool as a concept, just sadly poorly executed. Space politics is fucking cool, but somehow they made it tedious and dull, and the Jedi council definitely needed to be expanded upon in terms of understanding what it actually is they do, and how & why they are in decline. The central theme is Anakin will ‘bring balance to the force’, which he actually does when he destroys the council, but these themes go over most people’s heads as it’s not expanded upon enough. Really is a great shame. The world building is also great, but again, I’d would’ve loved to see even more of these types of things in this trilogy

[@Jackson-xl7sv]

@@alexthegrape1000 anakin did not bring balance to the force until he killed Sidious stop with that nonsense.

[@alexthegrape1000]

@@Jackson-xl7sv You don’t think he did by purging the jedi, thus reducing the great power imbalance?

[@retsaMinnavoiG]

@@Jackson-xl7sv 1,000's of Jedi to one(ish) Sith became two(ish) Jedi to two(ish) Sith... Sounds like he absolutely brought balance.

[@luckyasmr1374]

Mason’s hatred for this film honestly surprised me. He’s such a chill guy, so seeing him react so intensely genuinely threw me for a loop! Also: 7:17 Also I think James nailed it on the head when it came to Star Wars and politics.

[@maxxor-overworldhero6730]

I still disagree on certain points. I can (begrudgingly) accept that maybe George was doing more than using inspiration for stuff. But the Sequels don't even use Allegories, they just blatantly state stuff in-universe (which don't even get me started on how nonsensical some of it is), and it's painfully obvious that they're really just mouth-piecing their IRL views nearly ad verbatim.

[@elliotkouame3849]

@@maxxor-overworldhero6730 there is a difference between “in-universe political drama” and “real life politics inserted into the universe”. The latter is what people are complaining about.

[@maxxor-overworldhero6730]

@@elliotkouame3849 Didn't I say that?

[@elliotkouame3849]

@@maxxor-overworldhero6730 yep

[@burn3978]

Well George was very clear that he saw the empire as the US military and the rebels as the Vietnamese. He has been so openly against the US government’s actions for his entire life. I know to uneducated Americans that’s treason then, but to level headed individuals, it’s a sane mindset. The US is no paragon of goodness. You just grew up in (post) Cold War America. Propaganda is your favourite meal. The Russians Chinese and Koreans think the same about their country.

[@Migski]

That last point pretty much sums up the whole movie, and it's why it's called Duel of the Fates. It's a duel that will forever steer Anakin into the path he's headed towards

[@whodatninja439]

Dave was mentored by George, he knows Star Wars better than anyone (creator aside)

[@WreckageBrother-rd5zf]

Uh, sounds like nonsense

[@ToomanyFrancis]

Replacing Qui-Gon with Obi-Wan in the first 2/3 of the movie would actually make this a far better movie. As a kid I would get all of the characters in the prequels mixed up constantly and I don't think it helps that there is never a clear focus on a single character throughout an entire movie.

[@ElveeKaye]

This is supposed to be the story of Anakin Skywalker, but he is hardly ever the focus of this film. He's just a kid, so he cant do anything. All he can do is follow the grown-ups around like a lost puppy, looking vaguely confused or just plain wooden.

[@joshhunt4146]

Havnt watched the vid yet so not sure if they mentioned this… but we don’t even learn qui gons name until half way through the movie when he introduces himself to Shmi… which is mental!

[@ElveeKaye]

@@joshhunt4146 Red Letter Media goes into some detail about Qui-Gon and his questionable morals. With all the trickery he has to resort to in order to get what he wants, he might as well just knock Watto unconscious and steal whatever parts he needs.

[@johnnybensonitis7853]

Well, it's very dense. it's like poetry. Boring.

[@scottwerner279]

The worst part is that Anakin getting separated from his mom wasn’t powerful, and was only brought up in a meaningful way once Anakin was an adult. Edit: I don’t think I made myself clear. This comment was in response to them taking about Anakin being a child. George casted a kid because he thought the emotional weight of the decision would be heavier for a child. I don’t think it was a good decisions, and aging Anakin up even 3-4 years would have made a world of difference

[@LorenzoDoesntExist]

You just described the setup and payoff that make it meaningful lol

[@TerminalRequiem]

@@LorenzoDoesntExist I don't really agree. The fact that it wasn't addressed in Episode 1 in a dramatic way doesn't make it a setup, and the "payoff" that happens in Episode 2 doesn't have the same impact because of this lack of proper setup. It should have had more emotional punch than was depicted in this movie.

[@LorenzoDoesntExist]

@@TerminalRequiem Even the original comment agrees it was brought up in a meaningful way. If the emotional punch didn't work for you, that's just your response to it.

[@andresashura5550]

What are you talking about? Anakin fail the exam of the council because he was afraid of loosing his mom in episode 1...

[@birdcar7808]

@@LorenzoDoesntExist The emotional punch doesn’t work for people because Anakin and Shmi were barely given any time to interact in TPM. The movie relies on the audience filling in the parent and child relationship gap while putting in almost no effort to actually show it. Not to mention, Shmi is pretty poorly characterized anyway.

[@Grafferty]

Here for Mason’s second point causing several solid minutes of laughter

[@Not1UsernameLeft]

That George Lucas wrote this without a writer's room reigning him in really explains a lot, especially with the dialog. On a recent rewatch I was struck by hearing kids shout the word "yippee" like 6 times in the span of 20-30 minutes, and I remember wondering how this got past even one additional set of eyes on it. Now I know. Oh well, the whole of Star Wars has always been greater than the sum of it's parts.

[@zzodysseuszz]

That’s is by far the most useless complaint I’ve ever heard of the movie. The dialogue wasn’t even bad, significant improvement from the original trilogy at least. The dialogue in those movies was so deadpan or robotic

[@triple1dot]

@@zzodysseuszz It’s Because I’m So In Love With You

[@directorforplastic7929]

@@triple1dot So Love Has Blinded You?

[@Verebazs]

@@triple1dot Riiight, because "My hands are dirty" is such a great romantic dialoge...

[@triple1dot]

@@Verebazs bad dialogue is bad dialogue

[@VonDiesel3768]

I come back regularly to hear Maso’s bait and switch. Comedic brilliance.

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

For a moment I was like "oh yeah, Michael Jackson did audition, I wonder where I heard that piece of trivia before" until it hit me.

[@georgetrapp6666]

Coincidentally, Joseph Fiennes has portrayed Michael Jackson, however unflatteringly. Also to the argument of many who believe miscasting a white man as Michael Jackson was wrong.

[@maxhydekyle2425]

"Jar Jar is the key to all of this" was Lucas saying that in reference to special effects? Because if so, he was 1000% right.

[@manuelrodrigues5996]

I think it's because he was supposed to be a secret lord of the sith, ever seen the Darth jar jar theory? Basically a counter part to Yoda, pitty George didn't see it through

[@chrisw6164]

My takeaway when I saw this movie in 1999: This was the first movie I’ve ever seen that was totally awesome and totally sucked at the same time.

[@CrowTRobot]

Nailed it. I skipped school to see this and had a blast. Discussing it after with my friends we realized how much of it we actively disliked, but still wanted to see it again in the theaters. It was confusing.

[@chrisw6164]

@@CrowTRobot They had the flavor of Star Wars baked into that movie so perfectly. But at the same time, it was a nightmare. I’ve never seen anything like it.

[@Maladjester]

Yes! That's it exactly! Maul vs Jedi is choreographically awesome to the point where Vader vs Obi-Wan looks totally embarrassing....but then we realize the old scene's emotional weight utterly crushes the new. Pod race is a legit thrilling spectacle and a testament to the potential of lavish CG budget....but it's also hugely overblown, not strictly necessary, and we still hate the absolute crap out of Young Anakin. And so forth.

[@baerenonkel]

@@Maladjester Pod Racing is redeemed by the tie-in videogame, which is a blast to this day. Just an amazing game.

[@devonhilt9389]

I think the duel of the fates thing perfectly demonstrates my opinion on the prequels and why they're so bad but people online love them so much. They're good movies on paper. The plot and ideas in the movie are interesting, but the execution is just not there. The idea of duel of the fates is really cool, and if you read a plot summary or a wiki page about it, it seems like an awesome movie, but the issue is the direction and the editing and the moment to moment dialogue just does not pull the idea off at all. the idea of a relationship of "we work as brothers and friends but I don't know enough to teach you" is too nuanced to work with the writing in these movies. That's why I think so many people like these movies, because all they do is talk about the movies, they rarely sit down beginning to end and watch the movies without interruptions.

[@isaacgogna9856]

It’s one of those movies that is somehow so memorable while simultaneously not being good

[@Dynomafia139]

It's packed with a lot of creativity and great production design

[@seano4977]

I was laughing my head off when Maso revealed his hatred for this film and hearing James's genuine laughter was brilliant. Later the talk about the fighting scenes. There's a game I'm sure lots of you are aware of called Star Wars The old Republic. The cinematics are incredible. For me, it's the Star Wars combat I always wished for but never got. Here's a link. m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJfNiHSEp82fa8k

[@hatuletoh]

I was in hs when this movie was released, and the theater on opening night was one of the most joyful, excited, happy atmospheres I've ever been in with a big group of people. Strangers dressed in various character costumes reenacted scenes while were queued up waiting to go into the theater, and others staged lightsaber battles in the aisles as we waited for the movie to start. The roar that went up when that first note of the score played was defeaning--people gave the movie a standing ovation before it even started...and it's probably good they did, because it was an entirely different crowd that left when it was over. People weren't unhappy or angry by any means, I wouldn't even say they were disappointed yet. Mostly, everyone just seemed confused. There had been a new Star Wars film, the first one released in 30 years, and it had had some great moments like the lightsaber duel, but for some reason the audience who had just seen it felt unsatisfied, and at least with the fans who cared enough to see it on opening night, this was an extremely confusing feeling. We were totally expecting the movie to kick ass, and it totally didn't, and we didn't know how to process that. For a day or two, I think most people tried to tell themselves the movie was good, but eventually someone would say, "yeah but jar jar was fucking annoying," or "the kid who played anakin was fucking annoying," or "the dialog in this movie was even worse than the original Star Wars movies," and it would be the catalyst for people to admit the truth: the film is a visually beautiful piece of crap. It managed, for the first time, to make Star Wars boring. Unfortunately, it was a portent of things to come.

[@Spaced92]

Honestly might be the most disappointing movie of all time. Alien 3, Matrix sequels, Batman Forever, Spiderman 3, Hobbit is up there but the cinemas post Star Wars prequels were like a bunch of people dealing with concussion, even as a kid I was aware of it. And I had all this merch we'd bought before the movie even came out that I didn't want to look at!

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

II and III are worse in my opinion, but you're right in that the disappointment of Phantom Menace has sort of reverberated through the ages

[@dragonlogos1]

Always liked this one more then most people because One pretty and two I actually like the story because I inherently love the idea of qui-gon as someone who is not ambitious or unrealistic. He doesn’t care about getting on the council and he knows he can’t save everyone but he is going to do what he believes is right. Also I didn’t realize until I was older but I actually love political maneuvering and even the lead up to pod race were qui-gon is manipulating things to get Anakin is using the culture and politics of this gamble heavy backwater to get what he wants.

[@ChumblesMumbles]

The screen rant pitch meeting reference when discussing the false necessity of so many plot points was spot on.

[@katiquebc]

Haven't seen anyone mention it but the fact that the lads accidentally figured out how Watto flies is incredible since toydarians to basically have a big gas bubble in their stomach that make them float!

[@SAPProd]

I love the zeitgeist around this movie moreso than the movie itself, tho of the prequels it’s probably my favorite (I don’t get a real sense of friendship between Obi-Wan & Anakin in the other two, tho the Clone Wars cartoons have helped a bit). The anticipation for the new film, especially after the hype of the rereleases, was so palpable that watching the trailer on QuickTime in a small window was worth the time it took to download it over a dial-up connection, even if you had to reset because a call came in and you had to disconnect to answer. Paying full price for a movie just to watch the trailer and then walk out certainly helped the box office for Meet Joe Black. But yeah, the 90s served to revive the franchise after the draught and backlash of the late 80s thanks to all the expanded universe content via comics, novels, and video games, and The Phantom Menace was the cap-off to all that goodwill. It was arguably the last time the fandom was United in anticipation and reverence. From there, the fans became divided and in some ways it’s never recovered. I will say that while they’re not favorites of mine, I’ve grown to appreciate them thanks to new perspective of children and supplementary material like the Clone Wars series, and the much more controversial Disney era has given this era a reassessment & reevaluation.

[@jimjam7928]

"The much more controversial Disney era"... Having grown up alongside the Originals and Prequels as they released, I honestly think the Prequels would have been far more poorly received then they already were if the reach of social media was as far as it is today.

[@MrAwesomebassplayer]

In my opinion, the prequels are infinitely more interesting to discuss than to watch.

[@jamesdouglas220]

Absolutely, I REALLY enjoy the prequels but almost in a fully conceptual sense. Cool and poignant themes, and honestly so much hard work, especially in terms of design and prosthetics, put in with a good team and cast but ultimately just didn't really come together like it should have

[@frostyfrenchtoast]

This is because the lore of the prequels is infinitely more interesting than the actual films. It’s why the Clone Wars works lol

[@HOTD108_]

What movie isn't?

[@Bdubsky]

Yeah but don’t undermine the fact that the prequels have a very strong re-watchability trait to them although not so much the phantom menace I guess. I always find myself binging the prequels annually just because they are pure eye/ear candy even at their weakest and ROTS is just an amazing tragedy

[@M2Mil7er]

A rare occasion when someone spells 'than' wrong but sort of works out OK.

[@largepurplemonkey]

Mason's heel turn there was textbook, absolute masterclass of how to set up a joke. I think the fact that so many people have 'come around' on this terrible movie is proof that everyone has lost their damn minds over the course of the pandemic

[@a.t.3192]

I feel like a good deal of the renewed love for this movie comes from a sort of kneejerk reaction to the sequel trilogy, which is bad in its own right, but not really any worse than this garbage.

[@philcorrigan5641]

@@a.t.3192 the prequels are infinitely worse. They’re just objectively bad movies in every way - script, acting, story, direction, etc. Even from a technical perspective, they looked dated within a few years of release, and only serve as an example of what no to do in terms of visual effects. The sequels aren’t perfect, but they at least work as movies (apart from the last one)

[@a.t.3192]

@@philcorrigan5641 I think the prequels are worse in every way aside from the overall story. The narrative works decently as a trilogy, which isn't the case for the sequels. But yeah, pretty much everything else is better in the new ones.

[@arthand7672]

Just like the hate for the prequel trilogy, I feel like it's people who grew up with star wars loving the star wars they grew up with and hating the new stuff for not living up to how star wars felt when they were kids.

[@rohegarcia2802]

@@a.t.3192 Exactly. In a few decades, when the kids who grow up with the sequels are old enough, the consensus will shift on those movies, just like it did with the prequels.

[@MinimumEffortMedia]

Just like every conversation I have ever had about this film. It ends with them rewriting it after the fact. It goes to show how much potential the premise had.

[@wwCs49]

also to defend qui-gon's role/existence, he was the type of Jedi that SHOULD have been leading the order. also ties back to duel of the fates cuz its not just Anakin, its the fate of the whole order

[@toadmasterfilms7691]

to be completely honest, the politics is part of my favourite parts of star wars, especially the clone wars.

[@lutherheggs451]

I have always thought it was hilarious when people cried about politics being "shoved" into Star Wars, when it was literally always there. People love to ignore also that Lucas didn't want to be beholden to a studio so HE self funded all of the Star Wars films from Empire to Revenge of the Sith. Had Empire not been successful he would have lost everything and he knew he could go to Fox for money but would have had to given up some control..He also paid bonuses everyone who worked on the films after they released.

[@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

34:48 I cannot believe you've subjected me to Ashens' horrifying Jar Jar lollipop recreation.

[@manofocean]

I recently binged all three of the prequels, and the first two were so abysmal. You'd think that I'd be sick of watching by the third film given I was binging it, but the third was just so much more engaging and fun than the first two that it's incredible. Even after slugging through those two, ROTS was leagues more entertaining and had many more great moments flying by than the first two prequels had. That being said I do like the political explanations the films give, the domino effects leading to the creation of Darth Vader, and the plots/concepts are interesting, but the execution just kills me.

[@jackoneill4404]

I think it’s a trilogy with heaps of awesome plot points, that when you think about it flow well together and connect well. However like you said they were poorly executed most of the time in the film making side. As a Star Wars fan, I still rewatch and enjoy them. The clone wars definitely helped with this as well. I love the prequel era characters and action

[@akai1up]

I think majority of the prequel memes came from Episode 3: Do it, Another happy landing, Hello there, Ironic, Have you heard the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise, I am the Senate, It's treason then, Unlimited Power, Execute Order 66, Younglings, I have the high ground, etc...

[@joeandrew8752]

@@akai1up a few did come from ep 2 for sure but I can't really think of anything from ep 1. Nothing as memorable as "I hate sand", "techno voice man" and "a million more well on the way".

[@akai1up]

@@joeandrew8752 Ep 1 had "Now this is podracing", "Now there are two of them", and a few others. My favorite from ep 2 is "visible confusion", but I think ep 3 really wins in terms of meme count.

[@MaxWelton]

7:37 having rewatched this video at least 15 times, I’m amazed at the onscreen text that’s been there this whole time

[@thisisfyne]

21:00 "I wanna get back to the Jedi Council. What an awful pack of nerds!" Bro I spit coffee everywhere hahaha

[@teadragonkanji9381]

Caravan of Garbage has become such an amazing series over the years let’s be honest

[@felphero]

Ah man Phantom Menace wasn't as bad as I remember... "Are you an angel?" **throws up**

[@georgetrapp6666]

"Yippee!" **double vomit**

[@SilkySkill]

Watching this was super easy, barely an inconvenience

[@CrateChallenge]

Commented already? - But I have to say it anyway; The VFX team on LOTR credit, and had direct help for Gollum, from the VFX team that did JarJar. Two teams pushed their craft forward - and they should never be used as contrasting examples. One doesn’t exist without the other, and that’s awesome.

[@garinsparks7041]

You Guys, the kid Grant, who plays young Luke in Obi-wan. I worked with on FNAF and hes the most grounded kid you could ever meet! GREAT Parents and a great kid. plus he is a really good actor too.

[@justinstovall7465]

I was a very young child who loved star wars when I first seen this so I've always been lenient with it. I thoroughly love this movie. That being said i never heard that obi-wan was sposed to be the lead instead of Qui-gon and I kinda wish that version existed

[@Dilapidated_Dilo]

When I was a young child I loved this movie but now I'm a young adult and after watching again I frickin hate it now

[@justinstovall7465]

@@Dilapidated_Dilo I watch it every time I do a rewatch and i still love it 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@mr.dr0bot731]

A billion dollars in the late 90s is an achievement all it's own.

[@ThreadBomb]

But not an artistic achievement.

[@fritzophrenia3146]

Acknowledging that the prequels are silly and weird and have goofy dialogue and CGI choices, I really do have an enduring love for the prequels. I love the major beats surrounding the Jedi, the deep decay of the order and the stagnation of its leadership cloaked in the a veneer of wisdom, the complacency that comes with being so close to the levers of power with little to no oversight, and the idea that they were so self righteous that they couldn't fathom that "bringing balance to the force" might actually mean that they might have to go I also love the trade federation, banking clan and techno union as villains, this acknowledgement that capitalism requires a parasitic relationship with the state, abusing democratic processes to legitimize their actions and protecting themselves from the reprisals of the people they exploit. But even further than that, exploring a situation where the state that was protecting them becomes so ineffectual that they decided it was more beneficial to secede from the thing wholesale, effectively burning their old host in an attempt to find a new one, and fucking over absolutely everyone in the process in their desire for greater profits But yeah, the actual movies are kinda scuffed. Pretty fun watches though

[@sadie9728]

The only reason people started "coming around" to the GARBAGE PREQUELS let me not minds words, it because Disney started a hardcore campaign to get every and any entertainment media outlet to start writing articles like "rethinking the Star Wars sequels" and "10 reason you should rewatch the Star Wars sequels" Why? Because they BOUGHT THE FRANCHISE and want to reinvigorate it for $$$ The TRASH GARBAGE sequels didn't get better with time or more attention. Disney just tried to gaslight us that they did.

[@fritzophrenia3146]

@@sadie9728 Dude I don't know how to tell you this, but these themes, and my love of them, existed way before Disney bought the franchise. As I said, they're incredibly goofy, but I love them for their quirks Also, chill

[@denniscalero9396]

theres some really good ideas and spectacle here. unfortunately, the sad reality is Lucas was completely immune to any constructive criticism.

[@fritzophrenia3146]

@@denniscalero9396 As a slight counterpoint, I will die on the hill that auteurism, at the very least, creates more interesting movies. Say what you will about Disney propaganda or whatever, but how often have you seen this type of discussion about the sequels? Sure, a lot of people hate the prequels, but a lot of people also love them, because they're *interesting*, and they're only interesting because some idiot gave George Lucas One Hundred Million Dollars and told him to go bananas, and I love it

[@denniscalero9396]

@@fritzophrenia3146 But then there's Casablanca, an absolute masterpiece that holds up to this day that was a complete collaboration. Neither approach is better, and a bad film made by an auteur may be interesting, but it's still bad. The only idiot that gave Lucas a 100 mil was Lucas, lol.

[@TheSchaef47]

They made a board game out of the final act of this movie, and yes, you conduct all four aspects of the battle at once. But it's an amazing game. It's definitely a better use if two hours than watching the actual movie.

[@thienbaongo7997]

May I ask how it worked?- There's no videos of it on YT. Like, what are the win/lose conditions? Is this a one player game? Are there dice? I must know, lol

[@TheSchaef47]

@@thienbaongo7997 kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3bFeYdsiqmKr6s

[@AKUNJIG]

Begged my Mother Heavily to see this Movie as a Kid and it's how I feel in Love with Star Wars. Loved how Filoni took Maul and made him a Definitive Character in his TV shows.

[@McIversMovies]

I will love the prequels forever despite fully recognising how poor huge aspects of them are. So many parts are just objectively bad. But I love these three films more than 99% of cinema as they were 'my' Star Wars movies as I was born in 97. This video is amazing, hilarious and I cannot wait for the next two. Mason's fury is incredible.

[@Bearical]

i think they had great ideas and executed them poorly. still, the story is good imo.

[@Clay3613]

Terrible tastes.

[@Clay3613]

@@Bearical The story is a hot mess with major gaps in logic. Anakins character arch was okay, but needed more fleshing out.

[@Bearical]

@@Clay3613 Then the OT sucks too

[@sarveshnathan7559]

@@Clay3613 Name some of these gaps

[@hydrakn]

Absolutely love these 2 gents talking through this film and what a couple legends Ben and Lawrence are.

[@DanPeters182]

I was 16 when this came out and had recently watched all the special editions when they were in cinemas and was hyped AF. All I remember from after was realising it was the first time I'd ever been disappointed watching a movie.

[@cl114c0777498d]

Same experience. I remember leaving the cinema just confused -- wondering if the movie was actually good somehow, but I had just not understood it. It was maybe a day or so before I really internalised that it was just a bad movie. After growing up with only the original trilogy as context, the idea of the first new Star Wars movie since Jedi had me so hyped.

[@ThreadBomb]

Edgar Wright told a funny story about a Star Wars fan coming out of a showing of Phantom Menace and saying "I've wasted my life!"

[@clintmcbride7830]

The first time in my life where I ever noticed the soundtrack enhancing the action on screen was during duel of the fates. I was nine and it was the beginning of my love of motion picture soundtracks and appreciation of how they interact with the visuals to enhance storytelling.

[@FoxLenar]

Are you telling me that glass isn't frozen air? what a twist of events happens in this amazing movie.

[@WR-si8wu]

“Your allowed to like this bad movie” is how I feel about 60% of this franchise.

[@SolidPain6624]

Originals remain king.

[@henrychinaski5938]

I've never quite understood the obsessive love for this franchise . It feels like the large majority is usually pretty shit .

[@WR-si8wu]

@@henrychinaski5938 still one my favourite franchises just don’t like a lot of the movies but enjoy most of the tv.

[@VioIetteMolotov]

@@henrychinaski5938 That's exactly the hilarious part my dude. NOBODY hates Star Wars more than Star Wars fans themselves. These elitist losers keep telling themselves how the originals are so superior, yet associate half their personality with spewing hate on the internet about the prequels. Trust me, they play the games, they keep rewatching the movies and tv series. "Oh ma gawd 60% of the movies suck yet I will completely devote my time to this universe".. like what? These weirdos are a mystery.

[@sindelretconpolice1630]

@@henrychinaski5938 speaks to how much the og trilogy is loved

[@nerdwarp112]

It was interesting to hear about some of that behind-the-scenes stuff. On a side note, I’ve never been bothered by Jar Jar, and I think that’s because I was the target demographic for his kind of slapstick comic relief character when I saw it as a kid.

[@BoleDaPole]

Jar Jar Binks is supposed to be the good hearted but foolish politician who seek to do good by their people but end up causing them misery through thier sheer incompetence, like we have seen many times throughout our own history. Yes he is a comedy relief character but he also serves a dual purpose in the films and ultimately causes the most grief to the galaxy by calling for Palpatine to become emperor.

[@choreomaniac]

Things I love: Duel of Fates. Darth Maul’s look, sound and fight choreography. Natalie Portman. The Naboo Starfighter. Things I didn’t like: everything else.

[@JunFan777]

The above, minus Natalie Portman (come on, there was nothing to like OR dislike there) and the Naboo Starfighter.

[@choreomaniac]

@@JunFan777 she was a first crush and I got the levitating toy in a happy meal before the movie came out so both are ideosyncrstic and have nothing to do with the movie.

[@ThreadBomb]

I don't think the fights hold up.

[@choreomaniac]

@@ThreadBomb not as realistic fights but it kinda makes sense as the end of an age where they go through complex katas. Kind of like lots of martial arts when they stopped using them in the real world. Yoda ridiculous though.

[@MaxWelton]

17:25 to be fair, the Force permeates all living things, which excludes droids. Also, I think detecting poison with the Force would be a lot harder than looking into the server’s memories and learning about the poison that way.

[@petekwando]

Phantom Menace is full of good ideas that are executed in an incredibly wooden and ineffective fashion (and sometimes, recalling racial stereotypes from his youth.) A big reason why The Clone Wars animated series worked is that Lucas' ideas were filtered through creators with a far better understanding of characters and dialogue.

[@davidbowles7281]

I don't think they are even good ideas for a Star Wars movie. To do politics, you need a TV show like Babylon 5. The rise of the emperor needs to be 30 hours minimum.

[@chrisburns514]

Empire of Dreams is so good. I find myself watching it once a year it’s just so much fun to see the process of making the saga

[@Justin_GFM]

It's weird to think that in 5 years, TPM will be a 30 year old movie

[@jocelyn3390]

What????

[@jocelyn3390]

This is really the turning point when it's recent but it starts to become old

[@trevorgerardfrederick]

"If you were just nice to him, he wouldn't have killed you all. And you know what? I'm GLAD he did."

[@danielgray869]

The harassment that the actors (who gave George exactly what he asked for, btw) have had to endure is messed up. End of the day, this is George’s baby, and I believe the main problem is that there wasn’t a single person at Lucasfilm that was giving him honest opinions on the story and the very stuffy performances. This is what happens when you are surrounded by yes men. He really should have had someone else direct and write the screenplay. It would be intimidating, but I’m sure they could have found someone that could take this story (which is a good story) and make it into something that would have been a much more enjoyable film. This movie is full of great actors, so we know it’s possible. In the end, this led to The Clone Wars animated series, which is the best thing to come out of the Prequel era. I hope the Disney+ Obi-Wan show will be great and give Ewan, and Hayden as well, a real chance to shine. I’m looking forward to it!

[@sebastianchavez577]

Yeah, the original trilogy worked so well because George had a crew that regularly pushed back on him and the cast constantly ragged on his writing but the prequels didn’t have that and it’s obvious.

[@SuperMookles]

So you're blaming everyone except Lucy's himself - amazing.

[@danielgray869]

@@SuperMookles, how are you supposed to know if what you’re doing is going to be liked or not if no one is being honest with you during the production? Yes, George Lucas is ultimately responsible for everything that was good or bad with the prequel trilogy, but during the original trilogy he had Gary Kurtz, his wife, and others, including the screenwriter, to take his ideas and make them better. It was a collaboration. He didn’t have that during the prequels. He was surrounded by people telling him how great everything was. Was this by choice? Probably, but I find it hard to believe that not a single person pulled him aside before or during production to say, “George, this isn’t very good. It’s too slow. Too stiff. All the political science stuff in an adventure film aimed at kids? You’ve got a great cast here and you haven’t directed a feature in nearly two decades, maybe let someone else do that part, and you edit the final films?” He’s actually very good at that, editing. Most actors that had worked with him said he’s not good with actors. Like I said, the basic story is sound, but maybe he should have just provided the story outline then executive produce the films, like he did with Empire and Jedi. They probably would have been better received.

[@peterclarke7240]

Having read up on the making of the original films, and also being there when Lucas released the hated "remasters," I get the feeling people were leery about working with Lucas, because he had a reputation as being a total twat who you had to fight with constantly to get him to realise his ideas were stupid.

[@bronze-hawk6914]

This movie has the best lightsabers out of the 9 movies. The effect never looked so good again, AotC and RotS they're too bright, the color is kinda wrong.

[@ThreadBomb]

Eh, I think the prequel sabers lack weight and texture.

[@chrislorusso433]

I've always said that The Phantom Menace was the "best" of the prequels. Not because it's good, because it's not; but because there was actually some in-depth thought and design concepts. Not all of it worked, but enough did that I can appreciate those elements. TPM was a mix of good ideas done poorly and bad ideas done terribly. The other sequels were entirely bad ideas done terribly.

[@skibot9974]

What didn’t you like about ROTS

[@HabitualJoker]

Thank you. I have also always said TMP was the best Prequel. Nice to see someone else share the sentiment.

[@chrislorusso433]

@@skibot9974 Um, all of it.

[@nathanmitchell295]

“BuT RevNge Of SITH is DArK!1!” “OrDa 55” “HELLO THERE LOLLLLL OBI WAN MEME”

[@PR0MAN01]

@@skibot9974 Not the same guy, but for me alot of ROTS is full of trilogy wide payoffs as you'd expect from a long epic, but they spent 3 movies treading water so they carried no narrative weight. Obi-Wan and Anakins duel means nothing because they spend most of the trilogy separated or actively hating eachother. Order 66 is not tragic because we as an audience have no reason to care about any of the Jedi because they were never given any likable character traits. Anakins fall to the dark side is kinda cool, but its hampered by the terrible dialogue. And to top it off, from a production standpoint it just felt so lazy of Lucas' part. The characters are just standing on a greenscreen for 90% of the film and occasionally swinging at eachother. At LEAST in TPM they're on physical sets and performing complex fight choreography.

[@chrissullivan6572]

They did it.....THEY REALLY DID IT!!!

[@BON3SMcCOY]

I loved this. The boys really digging into a movie and having actual discussion is fun to watch. Top 3 CoG episode for sure. Good edit Ben.

[@MrMCN1963]

i’m a mad yank and i love the videos these two guys pull together. snarky, insightful and they go great with a sandwich!!!

[@PineappleLiar]

This movie and Attack of the Clones sit in an awkward middle ground for me between ‘sets up a time and place in the Star Wars universe I find very compelling and love to read spin off novels/tv shows about’ and ‘oh geez oh man these movies needed at least ten more minutes in the oven this is a difficult watch for me’. So I quite like the prequels, but in a way where I don’t actually want to watch them in a sit down format. Phantom Menace is especially rough as all the flavor dialogue is given to fucking *Jar Jar*, and everyone else is on text-to-speech levels of emoting. Attack of the Clones has a bit of an idiot plot where you really wonder how no one is noticing that Dooku was totally involved in the Clone Army’s creation, and thus the entire war should be highly suspect. Revenge of the Sith can be pretty fire, though, ngl.

[@misterturtle3073]

This right here, is almost exactly my sentiments towards the prequel material. Spot on description

[@orinanime]

I feel that way about the prequels in reverse. All of your observations about TPM, I feel about RotS. I thoroughly dislike that movie. AotC is the awkward middle built around an idiotic plot. And I think TPM can be pretty fire.

[@PineappleLiar]

@@orinanime I’ve gone and rewatched the first and second films since commenting this. TPM has nice separate components but is structurally flawed and tied together with Jar Jar string. I.e. Every character arc in that film is really messy, even if I like the beats on their own. (Qui-Gon just drives the plot until he dies, Anakin takes 30 min to show up, but does have the most complete arc, and Obi-Wan gets the big Character moment of Qui-Gon’s death, but was awol for half the film and didn’t have much of a story prior to that. Oh, Padme also got an ok arc, but just in a very pragmatic way). AotC meanwhile really needed to treat Padme like an actual autonomous character and not just Anakin’s comfort pillow. The action was fun, and I like every time Obi-Wan is a bitch. I do think that the plot does create this interesting looming horror vibe, almost, particularly in the case of the clones. It’s still annoying though that Dooku straight up says ‘There is a Sith Lord in the Senate’ and that’s never followed up on. Havent gotten to RotS yet, so I don’t yet have any new takes on that one.

[@orinanime]

@@PineappleLiar I've rewatched TPM - RotS in May. Every May I try to rewatch at least the majority of the franchise. I fucking hate AotC and RotS. AotC is my least favorite of the entire franchise. Though I do enjoy a few moments of it. And have fond memories of seeing it in theater with my dad. And I have never been more disappointed in a movie than I was with RotS.

[@jakegreen2409]

I guess I somehow MISSED the trailers for this movie as a kid, because when I was in the theater and that second blade came out of Darth Maul's lightsaber I LOST MY MIND.

[@jimjam7928]

2:58 Bravo, Mason, bravo. You had me worried there for a second!

[@mattwithoutfear]

Love the extent that Maso managed to surprise James with his second take! 😁

[@jacksonvega7751]

The behind the scenes dvd extras are easily the most enthralling aspect of the prequels.

[@robynroyale5823]

I remember seeing this in cinemas as a child and being completely oblivious to the fact that Anakin would go on to become Darth Vader, my sisters clued me in on this afterwards and I flat out refused to believe them, it turned into an argument and my parents had to intervene to set me straight on the matter and my little 8yo heart was mortified :'(

[@onemoreminute0543]

Seems that Lucas's intentions worked. You were meant to look at 9-year old Anakin in TPM and think 'how could such an innocent kid turn into an icon of evil?' Of course, many of the fans missed the bloody point and were like 'omg Lucas has ruined Star Wars forever by making Vader a child! I wanted to see him cool and badass , not innocent!!1!1!'

[@robynroyale5823]

@@onemoreminute0543 100% in my case anyway, I had seen the original trilogy before seeing TPM but when you're that young you don't absorb much past the action scenes and cool lights haha I think if my sisters had not told me, the twist in Revenge of the Sith would have blown my mind o.O imagine seeing the temple scene with no previous knowledge of Anakin becoming Vader o.O

[@onemoreminute0543]

@@robynroyale5823 Oh yeah, that would be chilling. I have seen a few reactions to SW in chronological order on YT and it's always a pleasure seeing their faces drop in ROTS: "Henceforth, you shall be known as......Darth, VADER!" :)

[@robynroyale5823]

@@onemoreminute0543 I still occasionally get a lil bit emotional over his turn to the dark side. Even though I'm a grown arse adult and SW is complete fiction, a small part of me will always be sad for Anakin's fate :'( 'You were the chosen one! it was said you were to destroy the sith, not join them!' :'( that being said though, very interested to see what happens in the Obi-Wan series and if Vader has a big role to play in that. As sad as I am for Anakin, a fully suited and booted Vader on the war path is always a sight to behold o.O

[@onemoreminute0543]

@@robynroyale5823 Yeah. The whole of ROTS feels like a gutpunch. I know some people say that the prequels aren't exciting as we know what will happen but... that's kind of what makes it so tragic. You know that no matter how hard everyone tries, Anakin will be trapped in the world of evil, Obi-Wan and Yoda will be forced into exile, Padme will die, and the twins will be separated. It's inevitable. I'm cautiously optimistic about the Kenobi series. On the one hand, I can't wait to see Christensen and McGregor return after 17 years to reprise their roles. On the other hand though, I feel that having a duel between Vader and Kenobi between ROTS and ANH kind of diminishes their dramatic reunion in ANH. :)