PT Little kid Anakin vs Jar Jar Binks

Equally as bad

 

Jar Jar is worse. Anakin sort of has an excuse as he's a kid.

 

They're both excellent!

 

They're both quite funny, too.

"I actually saved the pod -- mostly."

"You saved my again!"

 

I prefer kid Anakin to Jar Jar, but I don't have a problem with Jar Jar besides in the final battle in TPM. The slapstick stuff is a little uneven put in between "duel of fates". Anakin on the other hand acts like I think he should at that age, and when you see where the character is heading in the next films it makes a lot of sense. Certain elements seem directed at kids - Anakin flying a fighter for the first time for example - but there is nothing wrong with that in light of the entire PT arc.

With Jar Jar I think Lucas was trying to keep a fairly serious story accessible with humour, but the style of humour is quite contrasting to the serious side, so seems a little out of place. He does make me chuckle at times, and (as many people seem to say) he plays off the contrasting demeanor of the Jedi well. Generally I feel people use him as a scapegoat for their general disappointment in the film.

TPM is a personal favourite of mine, I put it up there with the OT. I love the interplay of a seemingly simple and innocent story with hidden depth and meaning, and a perhaps ominous feel that some unseen force is gathering strength. (Perhaps you can help me out by expressing it better Cryogenic).

 

I think you just expressed it perfectly.

 

Anakin. I think they should cast a better and old actor for the role. I remember to watch the TPM extras from the DVD and the boy who was discarted in the end was more interesting than Jake Lloyd.

 

They were equally portrayed in an ineffective and annoying manner.

The bigger crime in many ways was little Ani since he was to be the main character in future installments. Jar Jar was just extremely annoying (and I wished his death at the hands of Darth Vader in ROTS but never got it lol).

 

I felt Young Anakin was just fine. He was a carefree 9 year old boy. I've never seen a 9 year old all brooding and serious. Every 9 year old I know (and I know quite a few) act JUST like Anakin in TPM. I've never understood why he gets so much criticism.

Jar Jar however, I will say he could've been done better. I actually quite like the IDEA of him, and I think having a fully CG/early mo-cap character in SW (from 1999 no less) is quite a respectable accomplishment. Especially in the Blu Ray version, the way he moves/interacts with others and the texture and realism of him is quite convincing (again, for 1999). What I really dislike about his character is his accent, and especially all the bumbling slapstick. WHY does someone need to step in poop and be farted on-especially in a SW movie!?

Like I said, Jar Jar as a CONCEPT I have no problem with-but I think they made huge mistakes with how he acts and sounds...

 

Its NOT that I want a 9 year be brooding and serious.

Its I don't want there to be a 9 year old Anakin in TPM.

I don't like have a little kid pilot or a little kid blowing up a ship, being the hero of the battle.
I really dislike the space scene the most where you have a little kid fooling around, not knowing that he's doing and is the one to blow the ship up.
It's not that I don't see a nine year old fooling around, it's I don't want a 9 year in the movie to do it.

I want the battle scene to be more serious. I'd rather have 12+ year old Anakin.

Also with Jar Jar. I think it was dumb for him to be made a general and have so many lives entrusted to him.

Luke's age introduction was way better than Anakin's.
Can you imagine if Luke was a little 9 year old who blew up the death star by happy accident? The trench scene wouldn't have been as good in my opinion.

 

Interesting view, I would say that the younger Anakin is, the more impressive his feats become.

 

I don't dislike them strongly, but they didn't benefit the plot as well as most characters in the OT or even the other PT movies did.

 

Ramza Edit: Bye.

 

O_______________o

 

I picked Jar Jar, but after thinking about more, I don't really mind either character.

 

Both benefit the plot, I think. Even I, however, a Jar Jar fan, have to admit that some of Jar Jar's comic relief parts might have done well to be removed. And I counted he only has one serious moment to balance out the comedy. I like the character, but I think he is done better in most later media where he appears.

But Anakin, I think, is fantastic in that movie. People say Jake Lloyd was not good at acting, but I think he was. It was amazing for his age and I doubt anyone would complain about a child's acting abilities in any other franchise movie. I suspect some people just are opposed to seeing Anakin Skywalker as someone who is innocent, but I think that his innocence is what makes his fall much more tragic. We have to see Anakin at his peak before we see him fall so low, which is why the Anakin in The Phantom Menace is my favorite iteration of the character. I grant, of course, that the dialogue could have been better, but I challenge people to name a single movie by George Lucas without clunky dialogue.

Then again, these are both personal favorites of mine, so there is that. To be honest, I think these were two of the most interesting characters in the movie. The others' dialogues especially felt slightly deficient in personality in my opinion.

 

I really like them both as is.
If I had to pick which one is worse, I'd say Anakin. Not from a performance standpoint but, I think the age gap between Anakin and Padme really hindered the love story in the next movie. If they were closer in age, you would not need to overcome the "she sees him as a little boy" obstacle. I get keeping Anakin young enough that being taken from his mother is traumatic, so we need to keep him young. So then, the problem is actually Padme.
I say it a bunch but the one thing I would change in the prequels is make Padme inherit the throne when her parents are killed in the droid invasion of Naboo. The "elected Queen" thing is dumb. Electing a teenager as Queen is dumb. I know the message is democracy=good dictator=bad, so they wrote that she was elected. It's still dumb. I'd fix this by having her inherit the throne. This makes leadership a sad burden that is thrust upon her. It also makes her more tragic. It also shows us the danger of the Trade Federation. THEN, after the good guys beat the Trade Federation, we say that Padme dissolved the Monarchy and made Naboo a democracy. This makes her an even greater champion of democracy. In Episode 2, the new ruler of Naboo asked Padme to become Senator. With this scenario we could age down Padme just a bit, and maybe age up Anakin like a year. So he's like 10 and She's like 12. When we do the 10 year jump ahead she's a young Senator, but no younger than Leia was so it fits. Anakin and Padme are the same age so they can begin a more equal relationship in Episode I and the romance plot of Episode II won't feel so rushed.

 

I might have rather made Padmé younger as well. It would make her harder to be queen, of course.

Yes—I'm not a huge fan of the democracy message in the Prequels, but that is another issue. I've heard a number of people wish the story was set on Alderaan to explain why Bail and Breha adopted Leia, so alternatively, I was thinking maybe Breha could be queen and Padmé could be their niece or something, which could also solve the age gap. I might, however, have made them both older, not because of the story, but just because I would be hesitant about the effects that would be caused by opening up children to the criticism of the Star Wars fanbase.

 

The fanbase was not so critical back then. That came after the prequels when the internet decided it was hip to bash them prequels. You got people who went to see the Phantom Menace 8 times suddenly saying they immediately hated it after the joyless curmudgeons over at RLM made that 3 hour hipster rant.

 

It is true that a lot of people watched The Phantom Menace a lot of times. Disliking it was probably a fad.

 

No, elected monarchy is a real thing, according to this:

Elective monarchy - Wikipedia

You may not like it, but it exists and is as reasonable as hereditary monarchy, by normal human standards. Who decides it's not?

 

No, it's not at all "dumb" per se. In fact I see some logic and wisdom in that. Yoda said "size matters not", so I might as well add "age matters not".
Padmé being young doesn't necessarily make her inexperienced, a bad leader or less sensible or wise. Wisdom doesn't come with age. Maybe it should, but it doesn't always work that way.
Just look at Earth. How many old geezers are tyrants who wouldn't think twice of ruining their own or other countries? Is China's premier Xi a better leader because he's older? I could name lots of others but better not get into politics.
Frankly, I'd rather have Padmé running a country than some of the politicians in power today, or the past for that matter. Plus, younger people are often more likely to be concerned about the survival of humanity or planet. They get to spend more time in the future dealing with problems those power-hungry geezers created. The old ones can afford to think "Who cares? I won't be around when X or Y happens anyway". The younger generation can't afford this kind of attitude.
I have no problem at all with a 13-year-old queen in TPM. Her mind was probably a lot sharper than some 80-year-old's.
Also there is no "versus" for me regarding Anakin and Jar-Jar in TPM. They both have their places in the story and roles to play. Fine with me!

 

Jar Jar is one of my favorite characters. I like to pretend he’s an undercover sith.

 

He's actually in control of Sidious from beginning to end. Just like Sheev created Snoke, Jar Jar made Palpatine.
Just you wait. Trilogy 4 will reveal all of it!