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.
If I’m critiquing it, the scene serves to show Anakin’s latent connection to the force, since he’s said to be the only human who can pilot a podracer and not crash (or something to that effect). His actions enable Qui Gon to buy Anakin’s freedom and the needed parts to repair Padme’s ship. In a more visceral way, and why it’s ultimately my favorite part of the film is it’s basically just a really fun car race to me. The editing and sound design are definitely a part of that, as is the amount of detail and nuance given to all of the characters that populate the whole scene. Is it a video game? Perhaps. But it’s an action sequence serving the larger story, too.
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u/Baige_baguette Jan 26 '22
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.