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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

PT Did Hayden do a good job as Anakin?

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by Rotticus, Oct 25, 2012.

  1. Valairy Scot

    Valairy Scot Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2005
    windu4: sorta agree. However, Ian and Ewan managed to do superbly with just a glitch or two each unlike the others (of the "major" actors).
     
  2. windu4

    windu4 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 15, 2008
    Well Ian and Ewan are streets ahead of Hayden and Natalie. They were both diverse and experienced actors before they took on their respective roles. I was a nine when ATOC came out and I already knew Ewan from another movie. Granted knowing about Trainspotting at nine is emotionally scarring but I think you see my point.
     
  3. StampidHD280pro

    StampidHD280pro Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 2005
    Nah. I said USUALLY, and I was referring to jealous guys. Like the Backstreet Boys. Teenage boys HATED them because all the little girls thought they were cute. Hell, Hayden LOOKS like a Backstreet Boy.
     
    obi-rob-kenobi4 likes this.
  4. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 18, 2012
    Blasphemous!

    So you're saying that Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker's father, looked like a Backstreet Boy? He was a very handsome and rugged man if you ask me. Just plain gorgeous. Beautiful. An Adonis. A Greek God.


    Look at his face in that picture. He's the best looking man I ever saw.
    [​IMG]

    Ewan McGregor wasn't that handsome. He was handsome, for sure, but not beautiful like Anakin Skywalker. He was too much of a bearded manly man. Not the smooth and delicate features, no facial hair, and long brown hair of Hayden Christensen, that Adonis, that Greek God.
     
  5. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 18, 2012
    I agree and disagree at the same time. The dialogue in AOTC was horrible, terrible, an abomination to all that is Good, Holy, and Sacred.

    But the melodramatic dialogue in Episode 3 was epic. It was good. People either love it or hate it, something extreme like that. I happen to love it.
     
  6. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 18, 2012
    The Backstreet Boys guys are not cute. Ugly, no, but not cute. Not cute enough to get an infatuation over, like those silly little girls.


    Want to see a cute guy? This is a cute guy.
    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]
     
  7. PiettsHat

    PiettsHat Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Jeez, calm down, Bella Swan. :p

    I do think that there is a certain softness to Hayden Christensen's features. He himself lamented when he was younger that he was "too pretty." And women's tastes differ.

    As to his acting, I thought he did very well. He certainly gave some of the most poignant moments of the Saga, in my opinion.
     
    kainee and THE PortmanLuvva like this.
  8. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 18, 2012
    What do you mean Jeez calm down Bella Swan? What's wrong with being captivated by an actor's beauty? I prefer both opposites-rugged and delicate. Just like I prefer green apples and a nice orange or grapefruit. Ever heard the phrase apples and oranges? What does Bella Swan have to do with this? Padme was pretty, but not godlike. She didn't look like an Athena.

    Robert Pattinson is a very good looking man.

    Hayden Christensen is not pretty. Pretty and handsome are gender exclusive terms. You can call a girl or a woman pretty. A man or a boy is called handsome. Beautiful can be used for both genders. Why did he call himself pretty?
     
  9. PiettsHat

    PiettsHat Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2011
    It was just a joke. Having suffered through reading Twilight, your post reminded me of Bella's much, much too frequent comparisons of Edward Cullen to a greek god or Adonis. I was a tad amused is all. :p

    Errr...I disagree. I'll just leave it at that. I've met many women who I would say have a "handsome face." Pretty often refers to being more delicate and while Hayden is certainly good-looking, I do think (as I noted before) that he has some softness in his features. That's not a bad thing, though. Many women find "pretty boys" attractive, after all.
     
  10. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 18, 2012
    Bella called Edward an Adonis or Greek God? I don't remember that. I don't care much for Twilight's story, just the good looking trio. What exactly does an Adonis mean? Bella called Edward a lion, and herself a lamb, which was a reference to Jesus and/or the Christian God.

    Do You think R Patz is ugly?

    [​IMG]

    What do you mean by "delicate" features? How can a woman have a handsome face? What's a pretty boy? Those are all oxymorons. Please give examples, and I might consider your position. Are you calling Lord Darth Vader a pretty boy? If Anakin Skywalker was a pretty boy, whatever that means, I guess he's very good looking then.
     
  11. PiettsHat

    PiettsHat Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Honestly, I'd rather jab a fork in thigh than continue to discuss Twilight. I regret brining it up and I'll stop.

    But to bring it back to Hayden's performance rather than his appearance, I adored his scenes with Palpatine. In particular, I thought that Ian and Hayden had a great presence together onscreen with Anakin's respect and admiration for Palpatine oozing from the screen. One scene in AOTC that I feel is underrated is Anakin going to see Palpatine. In particular, I liked how he said "your guidance more than my patience" -- it really established a strong contrast to his more strained relationship with Obi-Wan.

    Also, who else would love to see Anakin's conversation with Palpatine about the Constitution reinserted into ROTS? I thought it was absolutely wonderful, personally.
     
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  12. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 18, 2012
    I liked how Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine had a friendship when they were younger. I agree. It was a good plot point. Anakin Skywalker never would've turned to the Darkside if it wasn't was not for that. It was a combination of factors.

    Let's stop discussing Twilight, I agree.

    What about the Constitution? I don't want more boring political mumbo jumbo in Star Wars. The entire saga, not just the PT, but the OT too, was turned into a love story and a political drama and/thriller.
     
  13. PiettsHat

    PiettsHat Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2011
    Well, there were a few lines by Palpatine about how sometimes we have to sacrifice freedom for security, but what I really liked was the interaction with Palpatine and Anakin. Palpatine talking to Anakin about how he's wise and insisting that age is no indicator of competency while Anakin tries to downplay it. Then there's Anakin quiet admission that he has sensed that the Council fears his power. It was just a beautiful scene, in my opinion. Lovely acting on both sides.
     
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  14. -NaTaLie-

    -NaTaLie- Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2001
    You did say "every actor".
     
  15. Plebeian

    Plebeian Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    I think he's an adequate actor, but the scripts did him no favours.
     
  16. DebonaireNerd

    DebonaireNerd Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2012
    I felt his performance suffered from a combination of overly emotive scripting "...the women, the children - I KILLED THEM ALL..." with some generally awkward performance decisions which kind of stemmed from the limited information that the script gave. Keeping in mind that a scene in any film is only as good as its weakest link. With that scene from Episode 2 in particular, you actually have to take into account Natalie Portman's performance where she attempts to console Anakin during his rant.

    Her vocal and physical manner is almost bedside to the extent that she could have been talking to him about overcooking the roast. Point being, the intensity of his performance with the more muted quality of Natalie's performance made for a very inconsistent mood in what should have been a very emotional, watershed scene for the characters. But, the oversimplified dialogue didn't provide enough for the actors. I think the best example of this type of scene would have to be Michael and Kay in Godfather Part 2 where for the first time Michael learns that Kay's miscarriage was in fact an abortion. It's one of my faovurite scenes of all time because of of the build up and that explosive moment where he strikes her. A scene like that is the result of good writing, not just acting. So, I can't entirely blame Hayden for his performance since there were gaping flaws in the script too.
     
  17. -NaTaLie-

    -NaTaLie- Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2001
    Padme served as a sounding board in this scene. I think she was a bit too wooden, but overall calmness is better than overacting in this situation.
     
  18. tuskinraiderfromhell

    tuskinraiderfromhell Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 14, 2004
    I think the acting in I-III are highly underrated. Espiecally Hayden. His performance in ROTS alone is one of THE best in the entire saga. On the other side you have the overrated acting in IV-VI. Over all I feel the acting in I-III was much stronger. You have Christopher Lee, Temuro, Hayden, Ewan, Ian, Liam, just to name a few, where all outstanding/believable. The only stand out performances in IV-VI are Peter Cushing, Alec, Mark (at times) and again Ian. Harrison didn't want to do ROTJ and you can tell. IMO, the weakest preformence in the wholo saga. Carrie was nothing to write home about in VI either. It just goes to show how some people can't see past thier own nostalgia.
     
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  19. Cantina Bassist

    Cantina Bassist Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2012
    Christensen was dreadful. No charisma, no screen presence, no nothing. The dialogue was bad, but he sure didn't help things. The whole approach to the character by everyone involved was just inept.
     
  20. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 18, 2012
    His good looks made up for that......
     
  21. Master Jedi Kenobi

    Master Jedi Kenobi Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2012
    I agree the script held the actors back a little in ROTS but having said that, he shares alot of screen time with the great & distinguished theatre actor Ian McDiarmid. Not many actors are going to shine when up against such a great performance but Hayden didn't do too badly.

    I think those scenes where Palpatine cruelly & carefully manipulates Anakin into to believing his philosophical ideas & seducing him to the dark side are some of the most powerful & well acted moments in both the PT & the OT
     
  22. Cantina Bassist

    Cantina Bassist Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2012
    Trouble is, he was so bad for two whole films that when he did turn a lot of people didn't really care, including myself. It became similar to a bad shaggy dog joke. Not all of that is his fault, because the character was mishandled in general, but he was painful to watch. He was a creepy character from the second he laid eyes on Portman in Episode II and it undermined the emotional impact of his descent to evil.
     
  23. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 18, 2012
    On the bad acting in the first two films, I agree, the "I KILLED THEM ALL" speech in AOTC episode 2 was abominable, horrific, cringe worthy, cheesy, and, in my mind, will forever go down in the worst movie scenes ever. However, "I don't like sand", didn't really bother me. I thought it was a kind of neat quote.

    However, in Episode 1, it was hardly a "heroe's story", with some 8 yr old kid who looked like he had growth problems and looked 5. Luke had 3 films as a young man. His father had 2 as a young man, 1 as some little kid.

    However, I think it was nessecary to portray Anakin as a little kid. There is a reason for that. It has nothing to do with getting kids to watch it, or anything like that.

    If they portrayed Anakin older, probably around late teens, like Luke was, remember how Anakin turned to the darkside and became Vader in Episode 3, when he was in early-mid twenties? Like 23, 24 or something? He was already in the cyborg samurai suit, james earl jones voice, robot breathing, on a star destroyer watching the Death Star, with Tarkin and the german-looking imperial soldiers, yet a few hours earlier he was a young, long, haired, handsome man, with a normal voice. That young. He became the Vader we all know and love and are familiar with (suit Vader), when he looked like this. "A young Jedi named Darth Vader", to quote Obi-wan kenobi...

    [​IMG]



    A few minutes later, Vader will be a cyborg, hanging out with Tarkin, on a Star destroyer, with imperial soldiers, with the Death Star. Sounds familiar? He's so young now. When he becomes the Vader we are all familiar with, he;'ll still be young, just look above.

    If Anakin turned to the darkside around the same age he did in ROTS (early twenties), and wasn't a little kid in the first movie, he would have a few years as a hero before becoming evil.

    The way they portrayed Anakin as a little kid, gave Anakin years of being a good guy, before turning evil in his early twenties.

     
  24. Force Smuggler

    Force Smuggler Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Hayden was amazing in ROTS. His voice had matured from AOTC.
     
  25. Lord Tyrannus

    Lord Tyrannus Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 18, 2012
    His voice was annoying and sounded nothing like Anakin skywalker in AOTC. In ROTS, it was perfect, legendary. Without hayden christensen, SW just wouldnt be SW. We truly lucked out. Thank you, George Lucas....