Earlier today I ran across this link to a seven-part video review of The Phantom Menace and immediately dismissed it due to it’s length. But later on my boredom got the best of me and I thought that I’d give it try. Little did I know that I would end up eagerly clicking on each subsequent video until I had reached the end.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
If you can stand the silly, mumbling voice of the narrator (Makes it even funnier in my opinion) you’re in for a treat.
In addition to being a merciless expansion and deconstruction of every aspect of the film, it explores how far it’s story structures deviate from the successful formulas present in the original trilogy. The witty humor, visual gags and recurring jokes about the reviewer actually being a murderer caused some embarrassing laugh-out-loud moments for me at work. The behind-the-scenes clips with Lucas that I bet most people have not seen added a lot as well.
My favorite aspect of this though is how he uses every opportunity to have a more general discussion about the basics of plot and character development. The analysis of the difference between the openings of Episode I and IV being the highlight in my mind.
If all seven are out of the question, don’t miss the first two. The character description challenge at the end of part 1 is great.
OK I wrote way to much about a stupid YouTube thing…
I’ve only watched through part 4 so far, but I’m really enjoying this review. I always find it heartwarming when fellow geeks find the ways to put into words the frustration that I feel towards certain failed properties (Transformers is a big one). The whole “describe this character” approach is really effective, and says a lot about the differences between the classic and new trilogies.
At some point, I want to do an episode where we get to the bottom of why Nelson doesn’t like Star Wars. I look forward to using this as ammunition against his claims.