Pod Race!

Knight Joined: 13 Apr 2011 Posts: 397 Location: western NY

Which of the racers did you like? Which did you not like? Which is your very favorite? Which did you wish had lived to race again?

Was the pod race enjoyable to you? If not, why not? Are you glad the second lap of the race was added to the DVD or was it too much? How do you feel about the announcers Fode and Beed? Was seeing the Tuskens and Jawas again a rush or not? Did you enjoy seeing Jabba oversee the Boonta Eve race? Is there anyone who wished they race in the movie could have been even LONGER?

Lastly which aspect of the scene did I not cover in these questions that I should have?

I've always had ambivalent feelings about the pod races.

First of I didn't enjoy little Ani much in TPM so for me he put a damper on both the pod-races and the space battle above Naboo which are both potentially awesome scenes. I just don't like small kids in action movies that much, especially when they don't ever act like a normal kid would.

Next the pod races themselves. All in all I loved them, but they had some things that I didn't like too. I'll divide my thoughts about them in the good, the bad and the ugly Wink

The Good:
- Crime Lord Jabba organizing the biggest race in the Outer Rim was awesome. For me at that time it was so cool to see Jabba again and see what he was up to before the OT.
-The race pods are ubercool! The idea of a small cockpit just dangling behind two giant engines was a great one and their designs made them look real bad *ss.
-I loved that the sandpeople where taking pop shots at pods thet passed by trough their territory again it was great to see these characters appear on the screen again

-Sebulba the Dug. You got to love the way this species moves and how great a bully Sebulba is. A racer after Jabba's heart i can imagine
-The exhilarating podrace itself and the way they made it look on screen... well, that just blew my mind back then. the high speed races and chases through Tatooine...

The bad:
-As cool as their pods looked the opposite was often true for the racers. Except for Sebulba and Anakin and a few others the idea I get seeing most of them is that they where made just to look funny for the small kids or just looked plain silly and rushed.
It's the only time in both the OT and PT that I really had the feeling the character design wasn't that good. They even managed to make a Gran look less cool than in the OT.
- Shmi Skywalker and her worried face.... boring! I mean get over it, you allowed your boy to race so deal with it already.... No, seriously, I can dig that she's worried, but act a little better or else worry a bit more off screen. Let Qui-gon concentrate for Pete's sake!
-Ani's emergency repair. Probably has something to do with my dislike for little Ani (as stated above), but it seemed like too much to me.

The ugly
The ugly consists of two characters/species who in my opinion where created just to be funny for kids, but go way over the top and end up just being ridiculous. They are the worst designed species IMHO and I do my best to keep them deeply buried in the back of my mind!

I'm talking about this/these ugly jokers:

and Humpty Dumpty here:

To me these characters are wrong in so many ways that I won't even start on it.
_________________
"Strong you are with the dark side, young one. But not that strong.
Still much to learn, you have. Surrender, you should."

"You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."

http://www.reedius.deviantart.com/

Knight Joined: 30 Apr 2011 Posts: 222

I didn't care for the podrace scene to be honest, I feel it detracted from what could have been a better storyline. I liked the look of Ode Mandrell (if I even spelled that correctly). I didn't care for the alien guy that had the mustache. I feel that if it put on by Jabba, then some of the participants could have been a bit more shady, same with the crowd, as if the whole thing were illegal, you know? I did like the fact that we got to see Aurra Sing, even if it was just for an instant. I'm sure there could have been a better way for Qui-Gon to acquire Anakin, but I feel it was easier for them to just throw in a race instead of something a bit more complex. However, I may have to create my own chance cube!

EUC Staff Joined: 09 Nov 2011 Posts: 1204 Location: Nirn

Sorry, but I really disliked the podrace scene(s). If it wasn't for the podrace and Jar Jar, TPM would be a great movie. TPM only really existed to show how Ani came under Obi Wan's tutelage, but to make it a feature-length movie, they had to wham in a generic action scene (without much interesting action) and the podrace was born.

Even Maul was important because OWK needed a reason to be on Naboo and Tatooine, and that reason was his Master (QGJ) but that was really QGJ's only main reason for being in the Saga (apart from teaching Yoda and Obi Wan the Force Ghost power) so he needed a reason to not be in the rest of it. And that reason was Maul.

I suppose it serves some purpose as to where Luke gets his knack for flying and technology but it it is literally just shoehorned in to make the movie long enough and appeal to people who weren't really into Sci Fi and Fantasy.
_________________
There's always a bigger fish - Qui Gon Jinn.

You shall learn that history is an intricate weaving of many events. No one thing can be understood without the proper context.

The best techniques are passed on by the survivors.

I watched the re-mastered version of Ben-Hur in theatres (it was my first time seeing that movie) and the chariot race was very similar to the podrace. I'd be surprised if it wasn't an influence. Only the chariot race was much better because it served a real purpose unlike the podrace like Dannik said.
_________________

Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter east.

Excellent movie by the way. Wink

_________________

Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter east.