Quackula said:

That's one huge post for being entirely about the little things you enjoyed in the PT.

...and I agree with a lot of them too. Guess it's those little moments that don't make the PT entirely unbearable. Probably why many fanedits work. Too bad they really don't make up for the bigger problems.

I think the thing with Anakin is simply that Lucas thought the best way to write a 'troubled Jedi' would be to write him as an angsty teenager. I sorta doubt that many actors could've pulled off Anakin as written and make him remotely bearable, so I kinda feel that Hayden gets a lot of undeserved flak for that performance.

...anyhow, I liked all the little continuity nods and jokes and whatnot. Obi-Wan's "you'll be the death of me" line always makes me smile a bit.

I'm pretty much in the camp of finding most "continuity nods" and visual homages to the OT cheap and artificial nostalgia exploitation (they're basically reusing of imagery without any of the dramatic impact - like the throne room from ROTJ and ROTS, for example), but yea, there are a few good ones among them, especially when there's a healthy does of irony involved :D

There's the one you mentioned, then another one I love is when Grievous launches off all escape pods to conceal himself from the Jedi. Could R2 have launched "all escape" pods back then to simulate a "short circuit"? I dunno, but it sure was weird when the Imperials just ignored it! So that was kinda funny, and pretty subtly done as well ;)

There's others I guess - the green enemy crab monster (wait a minute... AOTC has a fucking GIANT ENEMY CRAB in it!! how can a movie be all bad if it's god a GIANT ENEMY CRAB??!) biting through the bone is so cribbed and cheap, it borders on the "Wolverine sticks out his middle claw in Epic Movie" brand of funny - but funny all the same.

Hmm, maybe someone should write up a list of the successful / funny continuity nods / homages / whatever from the prequels? ;)

I know I'm too tired for that :DD