10 Cringiest Moments In The Star Wars Prequels

9. Anakin's Pilot Catchphrases

Hayden Christensen Anakin Skywalker Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Disney

As with most actors in the prequel trilogy, Jake Lloyd didn't exactly have the greatest dialogue to work with, which is one of the reasons why young Anakin Skywalker mostly comes off as annoying.

Some of the worst of this dialogue can be heard towards the end of The Phantom Menace, when the future Vader uses an N-1 starfighter to destroy the Trade Federation's droid-controlling ship. "I'll try spinning, that's a good trick", and "Now this is podracing", he exclaims, with a level of cringe so pronounced that it almost physically hurts.

It's bad enough that that second line makes no sense whatsoever (Anakin, mate, you had a proper podracing experience earlier in the film, so what are you even saying?!) but even worse, these scenes of Anakin in the cockpit are intercut with that incredible duel between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul, which only makes them feel even more irritating.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.