So, first. "Kid movies." Yes, they are. However, the fans of the original series grew up, and have more mature tastes. Maturity in story, characterization, all of it. This doesn't make them bad people. And, considering that Lucas was talking about how he wanted the original trilogy to be darker and more complex, it doesn't seem unreasonable to hope for some of that to show up in the writing.

But, whatever. It's for kids, that's fine. I disagree, and I think the fact that Lucas had the reservations you mentioned about Empire speaks volumes, but whatever.

But if they're for kids, what's with all the political/economic stuff? It's not something they're interested in, and it's not handled in an interesting fashion.

And if those scenes are for the "adults," then that opens the film up to other criticisms. The main one being that it is entirely possible to write stories and characters that are enjoyed by both kids AND adults. There are plenty of examples of books and movies that are enjoyed on one level by kids and another by adults. The original trilogy, from what I've heard (I'm 26, so wasn't around when it first came out), was one of them.


Finally, a lot of the suggestions from the Youtube video aren't about it being a "kid" movie, other than maybe the snide remarks about Jar Jar. Phantom Menace DID suffer from a lack of a main protagonist. The space battle at the end of the movie WAS kind of stupid ("Oops! I accidentally fired a missile down a hallway and blew up an entire ship!"

(For the record, people talk about Darth Maul as a potential villain not because he was so amazing, but because there aren't many alternatives. Dooku and Grievous don't stir the imagination nearly as much as Maul did)