PT Did Hayden do a good job as Anakin?

You are not in error, d_arblay and thanks for clarifying...

I wasn't sure what you meant and was just trying to stay ahead of the digression curve.

 

Hayden did an okay job. Of the two Prequel Anakin's, his is the only one I like.

Although after watching The Clone Wars, I wonder how great Matt Lanter would've been.

 

I thought Hayden did okay in AOTC, and in general, I like his performance in ROTS. He really had a tough job to try and pull off in ROTS. In one movie, he's supposed to go from Jedi sworn to protect the republic to WILLINGLY joining the sith and actively killing mentors, collegues and small children alike. I still have trouble during that scene when he turns. I can buy the cutting off Mace's hand, but I still can't make the leap from that to having no issue with slaughtering jedi at the temple.

 

I've thought about the possibility of having Lanter as well. Wish we could have seen something.

 

He did a decent job.

He had this creepy look only for about 99% of the time.

For better or worse, he is the Anakin Skywalker that will be remembered.

The kid from APM, nobody really cares about, and Sebastian Shaw is unknown even to many fans.

 

I just see it as when the name, Anakin Skywalker, comes to mind or when someone says it, Hayden's face will pop up in my mind. There's no stopping that. Whether we think he was a bad or good Anakin, he will be the Anakin. He left his thumbprint.

 

I've never like PT Anakin. The combination of outwardly large ego and brashness coupled with inward insecurity and neediness has never been something I've particularly admired in a person. But that's just me. The passing of time, however, has led me to conclude that Hayden was chosen to create a certain impression of the character and he played the character out pretty much as intended. So overall, I'd say Hayden did a decent job, my opinion of Anakin notwithstanding.

 

I can respect your reason for the dislike of PT Anakin. It's reasonable, not just "he's whinny and annoying".

 

'I don't like sand' That's the scene which sticks in my head, I think as said above anyone would of had a hard job portraying Anakin, I mean action films aren't designed to get Oscars for the actors. I think his scenes involving Padme were very cardboard for me, I just didn't believe it at all. However there are parts of him that I really like such as his general skrimish with the Jedi council. I think Hayden did a decent job overall

 

I feel like when he needed to be rebellious, forward, and angry, Hayden was a perfect fit.

 

I think he did. I liked Shaw too, but his portrayal was very brief but I loved the emotion in the scene. It had a big impact on me because he was the first face of Anakin.
But Hayden is the one I usually associate when I hear the name. To me he is Anakin in that sense.
.

 

While not trying to defend Hayden too much but I think the general ACTING issues that plagued the Prequels came mostly from the direction of George Lucas. If GL had got, say, Irving Kershner to direct the Prequels would have been a much better experience. My reasoning behind this is based on what I perceive as "half assed" direction towards the less-experienced actors in the movies....such as Hayden and Natalie at the time. You'll note that there wasn't too much of the a problem with Samuel or Ewan or Ian in their parts. Why? They all had much more acting experience than the kids did so it was tougher on them. Plus the fact the "kids" were the heart of the movies and the acting falls flat in many places, especially in the first two prequels...overall made the movies seem kinda of bad...at least many people believe so.

It's the same theory I've had in why the "love story" behind Padme/Anakin never really works (except maybe in ROTS)....it's just not directed well, IMO.

jom

 

That's exactly how I've always seen it Jom. Its the direction more than anything imho.

The balcony scene in RotS is just cringworthy and I'm still staggered it made the final cut of the film. It makes me squirm to this day in what, on the whole, is a great movie.
But just compare Anakin and Padme's "I love you scene" to the Carbon Freezing Chamber with Han and Leia. The dialogue is poor and the delivery . . . . I'm getting cold shivers just thinking about it. . . .

Although Hayden wasn't bad overall for me, he wasn't helped in certain scenes where he needed direction.

 

I'm not certain what "balcony scene" you are referring to (off the top of my head) there Hando. Most of the stuff in ROTS isn't bad. At least you get a sense that the two characters at least had some chemistry which was badly missing previously. In fact, compared to the earlier two movies most of scenes are at least up to par with the original trilogy....which I might add...aren't exactly "Lawrence of Arabia"-like acting either. LOL

I find the Naboo scenes in AOTC being the worst cringe worthy stuff in the Prequels...between Nats and Hayden. In TPM the little boy was bad and he needed Spielberg BADLY...who was always very good with child actors.

I really wish George "That's great! It's a take!" Lucas had given up a little bit of control to a real director....IMO the prequels would have been looked upon far better than it is now. They were, frankly, a better story than the originals by far but GL crapped the bed unfortunately with his questionable direction. He was a good story guy but he lost much his director ability 35 years ago.

jom

 

Now I think about it it may not be a balcony as such . . . . My bad, its very late / early here it could well be a bedroom scene in RotS . . . . and it really does rot. Its certainly up there with the classic naboo scenes I know Padme states "So love has blinded you" and Haydens laugh response is just shocking for me.

 

Fair enough, its only my POV.

There's not many things I find fault with when it comes to SW so you can forgive me this one.

 

Are you referring to:

"You are so beautiful"
"It's only because I'm so in love"
"No, it's because I'm so in love with you."

as sweet?

Spoiler: My opinion of the scene

 

"You are so beautiful"
"It's only because I'm so in love"
"No, it's because I'm so in love with you."
"So love has blinded you?"
"That's not exactly what I meant."
"But it's probably true."

wut

 

You already know what it is...

Spoiler

 

Actually I think it's Padme's pick up lines that caused the problem there.

Just take the compliment, don't try to twist it into high school romantic improv.

 

i like that scene, infact their scenes together are a so much better in Sith then they are in clones. Hayden in particular may not have been experienced enough to take one of the biggest roles in fantasy cinema when he first got the role but i find myself liking his peformances in Sith better each time I watch, while i still find parts of him in AOTC cringey - mainly the love scenes but that adds to the mad B movie feel of Clones in a way