A great deconstruction of The Phantom Menace

If you haven't watched this already, take a look at this seven-part, 70 minute video review and breakdown of The Phantom Menace. Despite the crazy voice-over and the crude humor (some parts NSFW), there are some genuinely insightful bits of commentary and critique in this video series.

Before watching this, I had my own (mixed) feelings about Episode I. I enjoyed it in the theater, but I found disappointment on subsequent viewings, although it's not as bad as Attack of the Clones. I liked the opening scene with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon on the Trade Federation ship, the sneaking into the Palace on Naboo, and I enjoyed the pod race scene. After years of waiting for another Star Wars movie, I really wanted to see a film which showed the Jedi at the height of their power, what Obi-Wan called "a more civilized age" in the original film. I wasn't sure if that's the movie that we got.

This video critique nails most of the obvious points, but it also made me rethink some of the scenes and plot issues that I had previously glossed over. It's worth the hour of your time to view these videos. The filmmaker also has video reviews for some the the Next Generation movies and it appears that he's started a series on Attack of the Clones. Watch these and think about what could have been...