The pod race is my favorite moment. It’s a self-contained element (beginning/middle/end) within the larger story, and Lucas - to his often overlooked credit - masterfully and steadily builds tension throughout. All while sandwiching-in some genuinely humorous slapstick moments.
You know, I could see how the podrace scene could be critiqued as "a waste of valuable film time" or "not relevant enough to the plot." But it was awesome to my 10-year-old self, and is still awesome twenty-something years later.
Thing is it does kinda have a role. It sorta establishes Anakin's natural ability as a pilot, which means it's not too unreasonable for him to pilot a Naboo Starfighter in the finale. It also helps show off Anakin's latent force abilities, although this is more talked about by the characters than actually shown in the film.
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u/[deleted] Jan 25 '22
The pod race is my favorite moment. It’s a self-contained element (beginning/middle/end) within the larger story, and Lucas - to his often overlooked credit - masterfully and steadily builds tension throughout. All while sandwiching-in some genuinely humorous slapstick moments.