The pod race in The Phantom Menace was actually somewhat cool compared to most of the movie, but let's face it, young Anakin Skywalker had no business being there, and the whole thing wound up being something of a farce as a result. It no doubt looked like a really cool scene when scripted, and it did have potential, but by the end it had become slapstick. Young Jake Lloyd's lack of acting experience really shone through in what should have been a riveting scene, but that wasn't the only problem. You can't blame it all on Lloyd - the scene would have worked with an older character, but not with a kid, no matter how much of a prodigy in the Force he was (and no matter how good an actor the child portraying him was).