Having Fun: watching great YouTube movie reviews

RedLetterMedia has put some excellent scifi movie reviews on YouTube. Last week, I went through most of their Star Trek movie reviews (spot on, even if I didn't always agree) and today watched one on Avatar and another of Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith.

I myself liked the Avatar movie, but even those loyal fans could see (and laugh at) the obvious story "borrows" from other films, like the animated Fern Gully or as RedLetter says, Dances with Wolves in Space.

His critisms are fair and many. The emotional components of the movie didn't bother me like they did him, but I loved his "disection" of the movie components. I just wish he had compared Jar Jar Binks's people with the Na'vi.

Generally, the worst things he could say is that the movie was light on story and character depth and heavy on digital effects and spoon-feeding (which I might call effective marketing, sadly enough).

It was really brilliant to compare the Avatar movie experience to a theme park ride.

The Sith criticisms were far less flattering, although just as fair. And many of them are unavoidably clear to all but the diehard fans. I personally mostly just had my own thoughts confirmed, although he did make quite a few points I had not considered. Like how a boy Han Solo was not in the movie, when every other Star Wars icon seems to have been sodomized for all it was worth. And RedLetter made comparions to the action in the Star Trek (new actors) movie which were very favorable...to Trek. I had not thought about what I took for granted in that movie.

His one omission that comes to mind: he failed to note that Jar Jar Binks (in the Senate) was instrument of the downfall of the whole Jedi society. Everyone seems to miss that fact, which I thought delicious irony.


Now, Star Wars is a "safe" subject for me, because it's not dear to my heart. His Star Trek: First Contact review was more challanging, personall, but not by much. In truth, his criticisms only pointed out things worth mentioning. It was fun to watch. So even when potentially insulting, RedLetter seems to deliver.

It reminds me of watching the Daily Show.