Post by 500metrictonnes on Aug 17, 2014 16:29:42 GMT -5
Ah...The Phantom Menace. I haven't seen that movie since it came out, and since I was just a dumb kid at the time all the political intrigue probably went completely over my head.
That said, I still recall numerous things that bothered me, even as a kid (keep in my mind memory of the film is a bit hazy, so I might be remembering a few things incorrectly):
- Padme's ship is forced to land on Tatooine, and they need some part to repair their hyperdrive. They speak to Watto, who tells Qui-Gon that he'll have to deal with him alone to get the part, claiming that no other dealer has the part they need. And Qui-Gon believes him! Even as a kid I could see that Watto was using a sales tactic that's one of the oldest tricks in the book.
- Watto won't take Qui-Gon's currency, and he's immune to the Jedi Mind Trick. So why doesn't Qui-Gon just find a money changer that he can use the mind trick and get his currency exchanged there, instead of hatching that whole elaborate scheme with Anakin and the pod racing?
- Or, if Qui-Gon is willing to lie and cheat (with the Force, no less) during that whole pod racing business, then why didn't he just steal the part? He hasn't shown himself to be above such actions.
- Or why doesn't he simply trade their ship for one that would have been less luxurious, but would have still gotten them to their destination?
- Anakin and his mother are supposed to be slaves...yet from what I saw, their living conditions don't seem all that bad as far as life on Tatooine goes.
- Why would Anakin build a protocol droid for his mum? What possible use would a slave have for such a thing? Wouldn't it have made more sense to have a droid that he can help her with work and chores and all that?
- Being dumb kid, I didn't realise that they were setting up Padme to be Anakin's love interest in the next movie. I kept thinking, "Padme looks to be in her late teens to early twenties, and Anakin's maybe nine or ten years old at most. She's going to be too old for him by the time he grows up." Then AOTC comes out an Anakin's aged about ten years and Padme hasn't aged one bit.
- I can't remember the exact line, but after Darth Maul makes his first attack on the Jedi, either Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan says something like "I think it was a Sith." Wait, "it"? Sith are referred to it as "it" now? I realise the Jedi would have an extremely negative view of the Sith, but calling Maul an "it" like he's some sort of animal strikes me as very bizarre.
- Yoda says "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." I'm thinking "...and waking up leads to me getting out of bed, getting out of bed leads me to walking down the stairs, and walking down the stairs COULD lead to me falling and snapping my neck. OH MY GOD I SHOULD NEVER GET OUT OF BED EVER."
That said, I still recall numerous things that bothered me, even as a kid (keep in my mind memory of the film is a bit hazy, so I might be remembering a few things incorrectly):
- Padme's ship is forced to land on Tatooine, and they need some part to repair their hyperdrive. They speak to Watto, who tells Qui-Gon that he'll have to deal with him alone to get the part, claiming that no other dealer has the part they need. And Qui-Gon believes him! Even as a kid I could see that Watto was using a sales tactic that's one of the oldest tricks in the book.
- Watto won't take Qui-Gon's currency, and he's immune to the Jedi Mind Trick. So why doesn't Qui-Gon just find a money changer that he can use the mind trick and get his currency exchanged there, instead of hatching that whole elaborate scheme with Anakin and the pod racing?
- Or, if Qui-Gon is willing to lie and cheat (with the Force, no less) during that whole pod racing business, then why didn't he just steal the part? He hasn't shown himself to be above such actions.
- Or why doesn't he simply trade their ship for one that would have been less luxurious, but would have still gotten them to their destination?
- Anakin and his mother are supposed to be slaves...yet from what I saw, their living conditions don't seem all that bad as far as life on Tatooine goes.
- Why would Anakin build a protocol droid for his mum? What possible use would a slave have for such a thing? Wouldn't it have made more sense to have a droid that he can help her with work and chores and all that?
- Being dumb kid, I didn't realise that they were setting up Padme to be Anakin's love interest in the next movie. I kept thinking, "Padme looks to be in her late teens to early twenties, and Anakin's maybe nine or ten years old at most. She's going to be too old for him by the time he grows up." Then AOTC comes out an Anakin's aged about ten years and Padme hasn't aged one bit.
- I can't remember the exact line, but after Darth Maul makes his first attack on the Jedi, either Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan says something like "I think it was a Sith." Wait, "it"? Sith are referred to it as "it" now? I realise the Jedi would have an extremely negative view of the Sith, but calling Maul an "it" like he's some sort of animal strikes me as very bizarre.
- Yoda says "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." I'm thinking "...and waking up leads to me getting out of bed, getting out of bed leads me to walking down the stairs, and walking down the stairs COULD lead to me falling and snapping my neck. OH MY GOD I SHOULD NEVER GET OUT OF BED EVER."