Saga Most Overrated Star Wars Character?

For me, it would definitely be Boba Fett. Never got the appeal of the character. He just some bounty hunter that has no dialouge and does absolutely nothing throughout the OT. Plus he had the lamest nad most unnessary death ever out of all the deaths in the Star Wars Universe.

And in the EU, they brought him back him to life and tried to make more than he really is.

 

Padme

Boba second place

 

Yeah, it's gotta be Boba Fett.

If I had to pick a second, I'd actually say Palpatine, believe it or not. Not that he isn't awesome (he is), but like a lot of things, the praise heaped on the character and actor can get blown a bit out of proportion.

 

Any of the 'looks badass, doesn't actually do much, dies' characters.

So Bob A. Fett and Darth Maul.

 

I normally don't approve of this sort of thread, but I've been saying this for years, so I have to jump on the bandwagon: Boba Fett.

 

Boba Fett, then Han Solo

 

First, Han Solo.
Then Boba Fett.

 

Leia
I thought she is by far the weakest main character in the Saga and is (especially in comparison to Padmé) overrated.
She was okay in ANH. Her non-reaction to the destruction of her home planet, her family and friends and her royal identity was deeply irritating. Apart from that, though, she was alright and there was enough potential for the next films. Unfortunately, TESB condemned her to be nothing more than a love interest for Han. Even worse, she was portrayed as an initially resistant girl that - of course - ultimately melts in front of the guy (which is, in part, a reason why their "love" story is so much more accepted in geek culture than Anakin/Padmé, I think). In ROTJ, the movie with the most potential for the character, she was most remembered for wearing a metal bikini. That says it all.

I wouldn't call Boba Fett or Darth Mail necessarily overrated. Their fame is based on an idea, on a look or aura. I don't think their fans would call them "best characters ever" in a complete check. But they are certainly recognizable villains, so I'll give them that.
My pick however, Leia, is always regarded as a "strong character" and I just don't see it. Deadhearted, perhaps, but that's not the same.

 

Boba Fett...Luke is also one that comes to mind. I like him and all it's just I prefer Han and Leia.

 

Han Solo. He's a major character, no doubt, but he's not the be-all, end-all of SW. Pretty much all complaints about the PT can be summed up as permutations of one statement-- "It didn't have Han". Well, too bad. Moving on.

 

Boba Fett, although he is cool, he is most certainly overrated.

 

Anakin Skywalker, PT era. I don't care for angst or emo. Or creepy stalkers. Or self-centered arrogant know-it-alls. Or mass murderers.

I'll stop now.

 

Boba and Maul. They get talked about when better characters should be talked about.

 

Han Solo.

One of my problems with him is that I tend to see him less as a character and more as "Harrison Ford playing a badass" -- which makes him similar to a thousand other generic characters. I just don't feel there's much to distinguish him by. Sure, he's a lovable rogue and a great pilot. But beyond ANH, he doesn't have much of a purpose in the films. I consider him the "Jar Jar of the OT" in that he has a very clear and specific purpose in the first film, but after that, his role in the story is rather minimal.

That and I just don't feel he's a particularly complex character. What do we know about him? That he's a smuggler and used to work for Jabba. But that's about it. We don't really know much about his background or motivations. Some people might say the sense of mystery makes him more intriguing and exciting and that finding out more about him would diminish the mystique, but I disagree. I've always preferred characters that an author fleshes out. It's why I'm not fond of the Joker from Nolan's Batmanverse (and think he's horridly overrated) but I love the (more obscure) character Johan Liebert. Well, that and the fact that the Joker is basically Johan-light anyway.

 

Check out the Brian Daley novels for some major character development for Han.

 

Yes, Padmé was taking a backseat in ROTS, unfortunately. Leia was already hidden in the trunk at that point in her trilogy, though. That was my point.

I don't expect her to "make a scene". I would have been perfectly happy if she she had gotten a small moment of grief in the way Luke had (after Ben's death, on the falcon). Instead I was told that they had "no time for sorrows". She was probably be right, yes, but I'd expect this from a robot and not from a human being. 3PO showed more emotions in the same film.

 

The movies are only 2 hours, and the fact that Luke is the real star of the OT, where would Lucas find time to flesh out Han's character? And if he did, I bet you would complain that it was wasting time on the real story of Luke/Vader redemption plot. Sometimes mystery is a good thing in movies and TV because we don't need to know EVERYTHING about every character. I would argue the opposite that Lucas didn't need to flesh out Boba Fett in the PT, simply because he is the type of character that is mysterious and should stay that way.

Han Solo is what he is, he is the oppositie viewpoint of Luke for the first two movies, and eventually comes around to his side by the end of ROTJ. Lucas even says in the 'The Annotated Screenplays' (paraphrasing): 'Every character in a movie needs an opposite, and opposing viewpoint to balance the movie and give the viewer both sides.' Han Solo accomplishes that by being cynical to Luke's optimism, but in the end, HE is the one who ends up agreeing with Luke.

And as for Han Solo's purpose, he is relevant in ESB and ROTJ. He and Leia are the bait to get Luke to Bespin, so he is essential to the plot. The whole dagobah scene is Luke disagreeing with Yoda/Kenobi about leaving his training to save his friends, which is the first hint that the Jedi order's priorities are a bit stale, which was later fleshed out in the PT. Then in ROTJ, the first act is all about saving Han, as Luke put his friends first again over his Jedi training. Han saved Luke's butt twice in the first two movies, so Luke was not going to forget about that, and it is the theme of the whole OT: Friends, Friends, Friends. Then Han is the leader on Endor to disable the Shield, so Lando can blow up Death Star II. Remember when Lando says to Ackbar, "We gotta give Han more time!" as Ackbar wanted to abort the mission.

I can't convince you to like Han Solo, as that is all opinion and taste for each viewer, but to say he is not relevant to the OT movies, I have to respectfully disagree.

 

I've acknowledged that many people enjoy the sense of mystery in Han's character. That's fine. I don't think they're better or worse for it -- I just disagree. That's all really. I think there were a lot of directions that Lucas could have taken Han's character in --> such as by showing his increasing devotion to the Rebellion (instead of his romance with Leia) and how seeing the atrocities of the Empire contrasted with the good that the Rebellion does for civilians would really make him believe in their principles. One of the things I always wanted was for ESB to feature Leia and Han doing something relevant for the Rebellion --> they could still be used as bait by Vader for Luke, but it would allow for the development of a Rebellion plot line and Han's character in addition to his relationship with Leia in a way I would have appreciated more.

If you prefer it as it is, you're not alone. But as it stands, I just find him overrated.

We all have personal preferences. I, conversely, am really happy that Lucas chose to flesh out Boba. Seeing him holding his father's helmet as a child was a truly sad moment (and quite poetic in terms of showing the costs of the war). It also helped to make sense of his otherwise ridiculous death -- that he would throw himself angrily in a melee without watching his surroundings due to his hatred of Jedi for killing his father.

That's a fair point but, again, Han being an opposing viewpoint to Luke doesn't make him a flesh-out character (in my opinion). It gives Lucas some great material to work off of for Luke, though.

Luke could have just as easily been lured to Bespin simply by Leia's capture, though. More importantly, though, Han and Leia are (in terms of the plot) basically reduced to MacGuffin's -- objects to for the heroes to want to come and save. It's similar with Shmi in AOTC where her capture is essential to the plot through Anakin's characterization, but her struggle does not really develop her to any great extent. It's not about her, it's about Anakin. I would argue the same is true for Han and Leia (to a lesser extent) in ESB. Leia, at least, gets to go back and rescue Luke in turn (which is a good moment for her). As for ROTJ, that entire opening sequence is not relevant to the plot. What does it have to do with the Jedi vs Sith conflict or the Empire vs Rebellion conflict? Nothing. I've always thought Han should have already paid off Jabba in ESB since he was given the money in ANH and am at a loss to explain why he didn't. I've never liked that diversion, to be perfectly honest. Yes, it develops the theme of friendship (no doubt about that) but I would have preferred for it to be done not at the expense of the Empire vs. Rebellion plot, personally. That, and it seems like a bit of a retread of ESB --> Luke rushing off to save his friends. I understand that it's important to show Luke's faith in his friends for his confrontation with Palpatine (which is a truly great scene) but this really only helps Luke's character rather than Han or Leia's, in my opinion.

 

Han Solo. I like the character and understand the role he plays. I just don't see the point of people making him something more that he is (or deserves to be).

 

Boba Fett

 

Qui-Gon

 

you would have to blame all the fanboys of the ot for that, I think the fetts would be great in their own video game. As far as the 6 fox films, there wasnt really much. A fist fight between han n boba would have been great, but they wasted the opportunity. For me the most overrated characters is han solo.