George Lucas had to face very strong criticism from the Star Wars fandom when he returned to the franchise with his infamous Prequel Trilogy. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which started the Prequels in 1999 is often regarded as the worst in the epic space-opera franchise.
However, out of the numerous infamous aspects of The Phantom Menace that have raised the eyebrows of fans to date, nothing can beat the podrace scene. Despite being marketed as one of the primary set pieces from the film, George Lucas failed miserably in making the scene likeable.
Fans worldwide have often hailed the podrace sequence as an unnecessary mess in the Star Wars universe. The sequence not only gave us one of the worst racing scenes ever but also left the fans with several unanswered questions.
George Lucas forgot some key details while making the podrace scene
In the Star Wars Original Trilogy Obi-Wan Kenobi hired Han Solo to fly them off from Tatooine on his ship, Millennium Falcon. When Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the others were stuck in a similar situation in The Phantom Menace, they had to take the help of a 9-year-old slave Anakin Skywalker, to win a podrace so they could get the desired resources to fix their ship.
While the viewers can never stop talking about the bizarreness of the poorly-made podrace sequence, it also left some serious questions. It seems that George Lucas wanted to induce a high-octane race scene so much that he missed some crucial details. Given what Obi-Wan did in Episode IV, it is tough to believe that two of the greatest Jedis had no other alternative to get off the planet.
It cannot be denied that Jake Loyd’s child Anakin Skywalker was one of the most annoying parts of the film. He, being the center of the pod-racing sequence, negatively impacted as the viewers always want a hero they can root for in an entertaining set piece.
A Redditor MiedzianyPL also pointed out that it is surprising how the entire Tatooine forgot and never cared about the sudden disappearance of the 9-year-old podracing slave who defeated a bunch of experienced racers. Such a feat was likely to make him a sensation of the desert planet.
Podracing was not the only flaw in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
When the Star Wars Original Trilogy ended with Return of the Jedi, the fans expected the franchise to return with a bang. This was also reflected in its record-shattering box office results. Unfortunately, the inner content was far from great and even turned out to be a nightmare for the actors.
While it is too difficult to believe that George Lucas put in a lot of effort and tried to keep a huge chunk of the pod-racing sequence authentic, the film also had poor CGI work. Although some elements were praised, it was an outright debacle.
The CGI character Jar Jar Binks received immense hate due to his cartoonish portrayal, annoying nature, and racist undertones. The experience was so horrendous that actor Ahmed Best, who gave the voice and motion capture almost considered killing himself (as per BBC News).
Besides CGI, George Lucas also failed to utilize the massive star power in the film. It was a major screenplay disaster and forced stars like Liam Neeson and Natalie Portman to deliver some of the weirdest dialogues. Some countable pros like Darth Maul’s badass lightsaber duel and Ewan McGregor’s performance were not enough to save the film.
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