PT Is Hayden's Anakin iconic?

Whether or not Hayden did a good job portraying the character and whether Anakin is a favorite character, is not the question.

The question is was Hayden's Anakin iconic.

These are separate questions.

As WAC-47 says:

Anakin is not iconic

 

Oh my, then let's lock the thread. End of discussion everyone. Apparently discussion on if someone or something is iconic appears to be purely objective and not subjective at all. My bad.

 

What images do people associate most strongly with Star Wars? Darth Vader, Luke, the ANH movie poster, the Star Wars logo, Yoda, even Darth Maul... These are the images that seem to adorn the most t-shirts, lunchboxes, etc. I'd say that these are all certainly iconic. I've never seen an Anakin Skywalker t-shirt on sale in a supermarket. I think his face may have featured on some toy packaging, but that's not really my scene. His face features on the single film DVD packaging, and on some of the single series Clone Wars/TCW boxes, but...

Vader is the dominant feature of the latest DVD release of the OT. The PT cover features Yoda. Maybe that's just Disney/LFL wanting to scrimp on likeness rights, but probably not. The complete saga BR box features Anakin on the cover, but not Hayden's Anakin. The Clone Wars box of series 1-5 features Ahsoka in prominence, with Anakin stood behind her.

 

Oh great another new member who doesn't want to add anything constructive to this thread why don't you just stick to the pathetic IMDB!

 

Oh, great. Another self-appointed moderator. Who are you again? I can post whatever the hell I want and there is nothing you can do about it.

Thank you. Glad to be here.

 

Calling Hayden "disgraceful" is downright disrespectful, far from a "constructive contribution". This kind of post shouldn't be allowed.

 

You do realize, however, that just like you I am entitled to my own opinions and if I think the prequels were bad I am allowed to say so, as long as I do not personally offend anyone. If you like the prequels, fine. But I don't and I do think they're terrible movies. I do not have to agree with you or with anyone else. Jeez… Nazi Germany was defeated in 1945, by the way. And unless you're related to Hayden Christensen, which I doubt you are, I do not understand why you'd be offended by me saying his performance was disgraceful. Maybe you are taking these movies way too personally. I suggest you lighten up.

 

V-2 already said it, but...

Personally, I think it's pretty obvious that he's not. All I have to do is look around me as I walk through life. Hayden just isn't in it.

Vader, Luke here to rescue you, Yoda's speech... it's everywhere. People are still lining up thirty-five years later to get JEJ to do "the voice". I haven't seen Hayden on The Big Bang Theory, I haven't even heard him mentioned. Hayden has all but disappeared. Anakin Skywalker has entirely disappeared. There is only Vader.

 

But like I said before, can you really fault Hayden for his subpar portrayal of Anakin Skywalker?

 

T-R- said it best already. The question is not if Hayden portrayed Anakin in a good way, but if he is iconic.

Of course - the answer is no. He's largely been forgotten since these movies. The only time I heard anyone mentioning him in connection to the PT is when someone wants to talk about his awful performance. At best, he is infamous for the role.

 

Iconic? Then, no. It is not iconic. Darth Vader is iconic. ESB Yoda is iconic.

 

No, I don't think he's iconic.

 

You actually saw it 10 times? what? In 6 months I hope.

 

Recently, I have been scouring the web, in search of particulars on how to best construct a novel that I am currently working on--one portion of analysis having to do with creating the ultimate villain. A veritable constant amidst my studies on the subject(s) is the finding of listings on the greatest villains of all time, and those--more often than not--include deconstructing the variables that shaped them into such key figures. Darth Vader is darn near close to appearing on every list. The character is iconic, nay, legendary. A position shared by few, most notably Yoda, Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, Han Solo, Jar Jar Binks, Princess Leia, etc. as well as Luke Skywalker, whose mainstream relevance stems largely from his characters' relationship with the antagonist Darth Vader. Whilst Luke is the paragon of virtue, Darth Vader answers back as the perfect foil to his heroism... the archetypal villain.

Hayden... played a solid hand, so to speak, with the cards he was dealt--in terms of his performance as Anakin. Underrated, perhaps; iconic, not so much imho. If anything, perhaps, it is The Clone Wars cartoon series Anakin that may stake a future claim as iconic.

 

i don't think its iconic but i don't think he deserves all that flak he gets

 

Hayden Christensen deserves much more credit for his portrayal of Anakin than he gets, so while I wouldn't say his performance is currently considered iconic, it deserves to be and hopefully will eventually become so.

 

It's iconic in the sense that it'll be remembered for decades to come for being an embarrassingly bad performance and a butchering of a potentially excellent character. Much the same way Sofia Coppolla's performance in Godfather Part III has been remembered only not as fondly.

The sad thing is I don't think it's all Hayden's fault. I wouldn't mind seeing what he could do as Anakin with better written material and competent direction.

 

I disagree.

 

I agree.

 

Hayden was everywhere for Episode II and III promotions, especially the latter. I wouldn't undermine him that much.

Btw Anakin is Vader

 

WAS everywhere.