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I found Red Letter Media’s Mr. Plinkett prequel reviews very interesting and eye opening. Curious to know what “Orthodox” Star Wars fans think of them.
My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX
Plinkett's Prequel reviews
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I enjoy them a lot, though it’s not like you can recommend them to casual viewers. But at this stage I think the conversation has gone beyond them because the internet has changed so much. They did a good post-PT/partial TFA review but struggled to say anything useful about TLJ for example.
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I enjoy them a lot, though it’s not like you can recommend them to casual viewers. But at this stage I think the conversation has gone beyond them because the internet has changed so much. They did a good post-PT/partial TFA review but struggled to say anything useful about TLJ for example.
Yeah, it feels like the Plinkett style “character reviews” where the reviewer creates a persona for themselves with tons of skits and stuff have become yesterday’s fad. People just want to see someone breaking down a movie, good or bad, without any distracting gimmicks. RLM themselves ended up transitioning into that format with Half in the Bag, and it resulted in much more insightful commentary than they were ever able to achieve with Plinkett: I still use the phrase “passive progressive” that they coined in their TROS review.
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I found some of them extremely funny - particularly the whole bit going over Anakin’s approach to romance.
It’s often forgotten that the Plinkett reviews were somewhat novel at the time, being among the first “long-form” reviews with an hour or more runtime. They came out at a time when Youtube videos had a length limit (I think maybe 10 minutes max or something), and so they were initially released in 10-minute segments. At the time the Phantom Menace review was released, I remember the length of the review being commented on frequently. Of course, nowadays there are tons of extremely lengthy movie reviews on Youtube.
Also, there is a lot of “lost context” going on with these reviews. The reviews themselves formed something of a meta-joke, playing around with the idea of an obsessive sci-fi nerd that would make such long reviews about a science fiction franchise. The fact that the obsessive sci-fi nerd is also an insane serial killer is for the sake of an absurdist exaggeration of the stereotypical basement nerd. (The meta-joke is probably more evident with the Star Trek reviews than with Star Wars.)
However, this meta-joke is now somewhat obscure, and likely lost on a 2023 audience, because the “obsessive sci-fi nerd” stereotype has mostly disappeared. Formerly nerdy stuff is mostly mainstream now, and being extremely enthusiastic about Star Wars is generally not correlated with “weird obsessive basement-dwelling nerd” anymore. So the whole Silence of the Lambs/serial killer schtick has lost a lot of social context, and probably comes off as inexplicable to many viewers.
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Channel72 said:
So the whole Silence of the Lambs/serial killer schtick has lost a lot of social context, and probably comes off as inexplicable to many viewers.
Absolutely. Without that context, the serial killer shtick just comes across as tasteless. Also, that kind of humor that prioritized shock over wit has really fallen by the wayside. It’s why shows like Drawn Together have become “nonmedy” (another word poached from RLM).
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Mike Stoklasa’s transition to a more professional review format is the reason I believe a Plinkett review of TROS will never happen. Besides RLM has thrived since they started branching out.
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They’re still doing it when they feel like it (Halloween Ends) but the schtick is probably done unless something particular comes around.
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If the prequels are the Soviet Union, the Plinkett reviews are Joe McCarthy. The Plinkett reviews are so nitpicky and make such stupid complaints about the prequels that they make constructive criticism of the prequels harder.
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I think like 80-90% of their Prequel criticism is valid.
I remember the most contentious point brought up in the reviews (back like a decade ago when there was a lot of discussion about this) was that the plot (to Phantom Menace mostly) is hard to follow, incoherent, or under-explained.
People that disagreed usually reacted by saying something like “What? I understood the plot when I was 10! Why are you so stupid???” or “Is RLM so stupid they can’t understand the plot of a kids movie??” or whatever. Regardless, I agree with the overall point RLM makes regarding this issue.
I do think the famous “character personality test” is a bit over-rated and requires some cherry-picking to really make it work. It’s pretty easy to describe character traits for Qui-Gon, for example, besides just “stern”.
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If the prequels are the Soviet Union, the Plinkett reviews are Joe McCarthy. The Plinkett reviews are so nitpicky and make such stupid complaints about the prequels that they make constructive criticism of the prequels harder.
This.
«No one is guilty of being born a slave. But the slave to whom not only aspirations for freedom are alien, but who justifies and paints his slavery in rosy colors, such a slave is a lackey and a brute who arouses a legitimate sense of indignation, disgust and repugnance.»
— Vladimir Lenin
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But the whole reason they resonated so much with people is that they articulated very large problems with the films rather than nitpicks. Just look at the whole Jango Fett subcontracting meme someone posted recently. Or the way the Clone Wars is started under such incredibly weird and suspicious circumstances. The whole trilogy is like that; strange and massive logic holes. But each to their own, nobody has time to argue like it’s 2009 these days y’know.
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But the whole reason they resonated so much with people is that they articulated very large problems with the films rather than nitpicks. Just look at the whole Jango Fett subcontracting meme someone posted recently. Or the way the Clone Wars is started under such incredibly weird and suspicious circumstances. The whole trilogy is like that; strange and massive logic holes. But each to their own, nobody has time to argue like it’s 2009 these days y’know.
My philosophy is the following:
I personally manage to appreciate and enjoy the Prequels for what they are, and I understand the plot quite well. Sure, there are some things I’d like to change, but nothing so radical. So, they’re mostly fine for me. We have been discussing these movies for over twenty years now, and in my opinion we have reached a point where it’s no longer even worth discussing, because everything and its opposite has already been said. All sorts of opinions have already been abundantly expressed, therefore there’s no need to say anything anymore. Giving that internet has given us the possibility of making fan edits and rewrites, let’s just use them. You don’t like the Prequels? Fine, then rewrite them. You like the Prequels but you want to improve them? Fine, then fanedit them according to what you want to see. Don’t waste even a single minute discussing about the movies, just take them and modify them the way you want, or rewrite them completely. To each their own. When we’ll die and go to Heaven, then God will tell us who was write this whole time, and who wasn’t.
That’s it.
«No one is guilty of being born a slave. But the slave to whom not only aspirations for freedom are alien, but who justifies and paints his slavery in rosy colors, such a slave is a lackey and a brute who arouses a legitimate sense of indignation, disgust and repugnance.»
— Vladimir Lenin
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I’d cherry-pick what many have already said in here about the Plinkett Reviews: 80-90% of the criticism is still valid, there are many funny points made, it articulated many of the large problems many fans had with the films rather than nitpicks, and the whole trilogy massive logic holes. And it resonated with many people as it was probably the first popular video or article to put all these fan criticisms and issues together in one place, along with even more attuned insights and views from Mike.
Someone on here posted recently about the Star Trek tactical guy appearing in Plinkett’s TPM review and the ST guy “calling out” the entire bizarre battle plan, and the “without the Viceroy they will be lost lost and confused” line. It is still valid, and still makes me laugh when you watch it or it gets referenced, even this many years later.
I agree the Halloween/Nadine murder subplot is now quite dated, and a bit weird without context. At the time it was a regular thing they were trying to make happen, a spin-off story continuing into their other preview videos? Sort of like a “like, subscribe and come back to watch more of our content” before it was “a thing” for YouTube channels to do?
The HD remaster of the Plinkett Reviews on YouTube:
TPM: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-syXiGG5jVLgvcsDHJvsJYG8DaIfn4Dh (7 parts)
AOTC: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-syXiGG5jVKoUIVuWxfNmYjRrCdaahwo (3 parts)
ROTS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYWAHuFbLoc (already in HD from Plinkett/RLM. 1 part)
If I was asked to suggest a comprehensive review for the Prequel Trilogy for a new fan, then I’d still recommend this.
The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.
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Another problem with the Plinkett reviews is that they made people forget about the suppression of the original versions and think that the prequels were fans’ only grevience with Lucas, so Disney felt a lot of pressure to make sequels that didn’t resemble the prequels and no pressure to release the original versions of the movies. I wish Plinkett reviwed the Special Editions in additon to the prequels.
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I do wish Mike was more willing to do live-action Plinkett. Rich Evans has more talent with pratfalls and physical comedy, but Mike has the classic voice down more than Rich Evans. Like, look at this moment of Rich Evans hysteria:
That whole video still gets me smiling at their satire.
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Took me awhile before I watched the reviews. First time I tried, I was put off by the Plinkett voice; I even looked around for a transcript of the reviews so I could get straight to the criticism without having to sit for hours on end listening to that voice, but couldn’t find any. I eventually did get around to viewing them, a couple years down the line.
One of the more minor bits of insight they provided that I always strongly agreed with was that Jedi should wield individualized weapons tailored with their biology in mind. Kit Fisto swinging around a regular lightsaber is stupid when any of his head tentacles could hit up against the blade at any moment.
Gods for some, miniature libertarian socialist flags for others.
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I despise them.
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I despise them.
The reviews?
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Yes.
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I think the critisism and breakdown of the films are still really rock solid. The whole “describe a character” section is absolutely great, and shows why the film doesn’t work. Largely TPM has no protagonist and that’s one of its biggest flaws. Plinkett/Mike was able to articulate why he didn’t like it, and it largely resonated with people beacuse it put in to words how they felt about it.
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I’d cherry-pick what many have already said in here about the Plinkett Reviews: 80-90% of the criticism is still valid, there are many funny points made, it articulated many of the large problems many fans had with the films rather than nitpicks, and the whole trilogy massive logic holes. And it resonated with many people as it was probably the first popular video or article to put all these fan criticisms and issues together in one place, along with even more attuned insights and views from Mike.
Someone on here posted recently about the Star Trek tactical guy appearing in Plinkett’s TPM review and the ST guy “calling out” the entire bizarre battle plan, and the “without the Viceroy they will be lost lost and confused” line. It is still valid, and still makes me laugh when you watch it or it gets referenced, even this many years later.
If I was asked to suggest a comprehensive review for the Prequel Trilogy for a new fan, then I’d still recommend this.
and
I think the critisism and breakdown of the films are still really rock solid. The whole “describe a character” section is absolutely great, and shows why the film doesn’t work. Largely TPM has no protagonist and that’s one of its biggest flaws. Plinkett/Mike was able to articulate why he didn’t like it, and it largely resonated with people beacuse it put in to words how they felt about it.
Those are pretty much my thoughts on these Prequel reviews for me as well.
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I despise them.
Why?
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Another problem with the Plinkett reviews is that they made people forget about the suppression of the original versions and think that the prequels were fans’ only grevience with Lucas, so Disney felt a lot of pressure to make sequels that didn’t resemble the prequels and no pressure to release the original versions of the movies. I wish Plinkett reviwed the Special Editions in additon to the prequels.
I don’t think we can be sure that the popularity of these reviews led to the ‘play it safe’ nature of the TFA. Mr Plinkett did state in his Star Trek 2009 review that J.J. should direct them though. Disney probably just read the general mood of the fandom at that stage. To test this theory he needs to do a 70-minute video about the state of the Special Edition changes, and we know he’s not a fan because of that interview with Alexandre Philippe.
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It’s important to note that the main value of the Plinkett reviews was they were essentially a compendium of salient critiques about the Prequels. I don’t think Plinkett actually introduced a single original point of criticism. I don’t say that to disparage the reviews at all - rather, I say it to refute the oft-heard claim that widespread dislike of the Prequels resulted from the viral popularity of the RLM reviews, or that Prequel criticism could be reduced to parroting a list of Plinkett points.
A 1999 movie review of Phantom Menace articulates almost every main Plinkett point about TPM, a decade before Plinkett.
And multiple 2004 posts from this very website bring up the “no main character” criticism.
And anecdotally, most of Plinkett’s Prequel criticisms are things my friends and I talked about privately throughout the 2000s, before the Plinkett reviews. A lot of these criticisms are just obvious - especially the CGI stuff and the overall “feel” of these movies in comparison with the OT.
The main value of these reviews was that (1) they compiled all the most salient criticisms in a single video, (2) the criticisms attacked the fundamental problems with the Prequels, rather than the more common mainstream “Jar Jar is stupid” critiques, (3) they used a unique, comedic framing to express these criticisms, rather than the typical 2000s “rage critic” where the reviewer just screams and rants about how the movie sucks, and (4) they employed some really hilarious editing techniques, like cutting off a rambling point mid-sentence to move on to another segment.
Of course, regarding point (3), it seems a lot of people were put off by the “Buffalo Bill” serial killer voice. I personally found it pretty funny (I thought the comedic device of exaggerating the obsessive sci-fi nerd stereotype by merging it with a deranged, pizza-roll eating serial killer was brilliant at the time). But I’ve seen many people say the reviews were unwatchable due to the voice, which perhaps somewhat limited their audience appeal.
However, as I said, we’ve arrived at a point where these reviews need to be watched with some historical context in mind. Nowadays, Youtube is a career and countless movie reviews with 1-hour or more runtimes exist. But in 2008/2009, the idea that someone would actually make a 1-hour movie review about Star Wars or Star Trek would register as insanely anti-social to many. Only an extremely anti-social obsessive sci-fi nerd - a real-life incarnation of “Comic Book Guy” from the Simpsons - would ever do something as anti-social as that. The reviews therefore leaned into this by employing dark humor, making the narrator a deranged psychopath who watched Star Wars movies with his victims, and casually discussed Star Wars action figures while one of his victims was tied up in the background.
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I appreciate everyone’s thoughts. Overall I’m a fan of the Plinkett Prequel reviews. I’m also impressed with how RLM has developed… smart guys with how they’ve branched out and such.