The Phantom Menace Review

Before I start this, I feel the need to reflect and marvel at the very concept of what I am currently doing with my life. I am currently writing a review... about a review... by a fictional character... about a fairly flawed (and real) film.

Wow. I can safely say my mind has been thrown for a loop.

Created by Mike Stoklasa of Red Letter Media, "The Phantom Menace Review" is a thoroughly informative, in-depth look at George Lucas's "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace." Mainly focused on exploring and explaining the various issues behind the film and its production, and delving into why it was such an unsatisfactory experience for many movie-goers and fans of the "Star Wars" franchise. However, unlike many internet-based reviews, this one comes with an intriguing and generally hilarious set-up- the review is being performed by the fictional character "Mr. Plinkett." (Voiced by Mike Stoklasa) A disturbed elderly individual who embodies all sorts of "colorful" quirks, including murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, an affinity for pizza-rolls... you know. The usual.

The charm and appeal here comes from this character, and his logical deconstruction of the film alongside of consistent hints of his psychotic nature. The review is filled to burst with not only valid arguments against the film, but plenty of gut-busting humor thanks to Stoklasa's expert delivery of dead-pan dialog and witty writing. It's really no wonder that Stoklasa's take on "Plinkett" (a character who also appears in other incarnations, and even portrayed by a different actor, in other Red Letter Media productions) has become such an icon of the internet age. He's a well-defined character that is endlessly likable and enjoyable to watch, even when he's such a ludicrous, perverted, violent nutcase.

The review itself is also incredibly solid from the standpoint of healthy debate and reasoning. Every point brought up has a purpose, and there's always plenty of logic behind the arguments put forth. Whether it be pointing out the ridiculous nature of Jar-Jar Binks as a character, to the deconstruction of the way specific scenes are shot, to in-depth explorations of dialog and scene-order, this review really gives the audience a sense of not only how the film went wrong, but also how films function in base, fundamental ways. I easily see this review (and its two follow ups) becoming essential viewing for indie filmmakers, first-time writers and even experienced directors, because the information contained is not only valid- it's valuable and gives great insight into the very idea of "filmmaking" as an art form.

What Stoklasa has done here is commendable and quite genius. While internet critics are quite popular these days, and there is a lot of wonderful humorous work being done in the area of film and television reviews (just look at the brilliant work of people like "The Nostalgia Critic"), Stoklasa does things his own way, and it makes the final product all the more important and valuable for it. There's nothing else out there quite like Stoklasa's Plinkett reviews. And I'm glad I discovered them, as well as Red Letter Media's other content.

This is easily a perfect 10. And it's worth seeing for many people, for many reasons. It has and will continue to draw debate over the film, and the art of filmmaking as a whole. And it has and will continue to supply some of the best laughs available online to audiences again and again. Phenomenal.

Now, I just gotta get me some of those pizza-rolls. Those things look pretty good.

Although there is a lot of humor, which can often been extremely dark, you can tell very clearly that the main goal of the review isn't to make you laugh, it's to inform you. The humor serves as an effective way of keeping you interested and engaged for 70 minutes.

Stoklasa clearly has a great knowledge of film and he displays it here by thoroughly breaking down every element of the film to convey why he believes it was so awful.

It's entertaining and informative.

These are of course the infamous documentaries that truly put into words in pretty good fashion what the problems with the prequels were.

It might appear odd to review a Youtube documentary on IMDb, but I feel that it went a bit beyond that and actually delved more into the professional docu/mockumentary area.

It can of course appear to be a little too spiteful, which I don't really condone - but at the same time, Redlettermedia brilliantly made it a character so that they could really maximizd the satire and go overboard with the hate - whilst still providing some good points.

I would not say it reallt showcases any things I didn't already believe oe know about the problems in the film, but that shouldn't be the point. Make up your own mind.

All in all, however, Stoklasa provides some very entertaining commentary mixed with mockumentary and satire.

Like other views on the subject, it can get a bit extreme, but if you like me are not a big fan of the prequels - I suggest you give this a watch anyways. It's well crafted and all around pretty funny.

Mr. Plinkett is a film-fluent yet socially-ignorant critic whose obsession with cinema is totally contrasted by his take on reality and his hilariously out-of-touch perspective on society and respect; it's made funnier when we see how his knowledge on stories and beats gives him certain wisdom that he willingly ignores in life. He picks this infamous film apart: right to the bone, everything ranging from the story to the characters and development over the movie's run-time are analyzed and dissected to the nth degree.

I love this review: it holds a single film up for judgement against modern cinema itself and clearly shows how The Phantom Menace simply doesn't hold up to its cinematic predecessors, Star Wars or otherwise. While I enjoyed the movie when it came out, even I can admit and willingly point out things wrong with the movie. That's the fun of criticism; you can still be critical regardless of whether the targeted work is good or not and still say something meaningful in the end. This review is one of the most entertaining, sincere and outright hilarious things I've ever seen. It's a masterpiece not just of internet culture and fandom itself, but also film criticism and how self-awareness, and awareness of other's mistakes, leads to learning stuff you never knew you wanted to know at all: in this case, how a fictional serial killer knows more about story structure than late-90s Lucas did when he made the prequels.

I LOVE this review and the series which follows is equally brilliant. It's fantastic filmmaking, criticism and a thorough analysis of cinema that even Roger Ebert (a man who rated The Phantom Menace 3.5/4 stars) praised for its open-ended dissection of 'The Hero's Journey'.

Mr plinkett is a hack who ruined online criticism to satisfy his unexplained hatred for George Lucas. This video is nothing more than a pretentious, slandering hit piece designed to ruin George Lucas' reputation and make the film sound worst than it is. He nitpicks the littlest things, has gross segments in between his reviewing and insults people for liking the movie which I cannot stand. His sense of humor is so unfunny and obnoxious I don't know how anyone can laugh at this crap. Most of the stuff he says are blatant lies that anyone can look up to see the truth about. All he does is pander tot he popular opinion and tells haters what they want to hear instead of being nuanced. The fact that people like Critical Drinker, Mauler and Nerdrotic worship him like a god and believe everything he says astounds me. Honestly, I will never understand how this review became popular as it is a total hateful hit piece that should not be taken seriously at all.