The shoe-horning of the Lars into AOTC = Bad Writing 101

None of the deleted scenes included on the DVD were neccessary for the finished film and I think GL made the smart choice in excising them.

However, I do believe that the coruscant car speeder chase, the Obi/Jango fight scene, and finally the asteroid sequence all should have been trimmed down signifigantly in order to make room for a few of the exised scenes (not included on the DVD) involving the Lars.

Bottom line--Owen and Veru were so useless to the plot of AOTC, with their shoehorned presence needed only to maintain continuity.

I really believe that GL has done a piss-poor job with the connection between the Lars and the Skywalkers. It's almost like he completely forgot about it when writing EP1. The second act of TPM (45 minutes set almost enirely on Tattooine) would have been the perfect time to at least introduce the Lars.

In fact, I've always thought making Anakin and Veru siblings would've been a marvelous way to connect the dots. Veru could have been Anakin's older sister (from Shimi's first and only marriage) and Owen Lars could have replaced Kitster as Ani's childhood best friend (although we would know that Veru would eventually take Owen's name as his wife).

As it stands now, Owen merely showing up for a minute in AOTC to say "I'm you're step brother and this my girlfriend Veru" sounded more like GL saying, "Oh yeah, I forgot about them...better squeeze Luke's aunt and uncle in here somewhere or things wont make sense".

It's a prime example of bad writing and juist bugs me to no end everytime I watch AOTC.

 

If your problem is that the Lars' cut scenes should have been added in, then your problem is not with the writing, because those scenes had been written.

And so what if the characters don't impact the story? They don't impact the story in ANH either, until they DIE. They actually do more with the story by dying than be around.

And Chewbacca doesn't impact the story in ESB, either. Nor does Threepio. Are they kept around just to maintain continuity? Perhaps. But maybe Lucas thought we'd just enjoy seeing them again. It's not like their presence in the movie is bothering anyone.



Rick McCallum loves you!

 

From reading your post, Aura, it's obvious you mean bad editing, and not writing.

 

I kinda wish they would have left the scenes in, but that's partly because Beru is kinda cute...

Seriously, though, more could have been done with these characters, but I don't know that it was really very necessary.

 

I don't see what else they were supposed to do. And as Adam said, they weren't a big part of ANH. In fact, the Lars do more in AOTC then they do in ANH.

Cometgreen

 

I think its interesting the way Anakin and Padme just leave after R2's message when C3PO talks about "an Obi Wan Kenobi" after Shmi's funeral. That's the first time any of the Lars and Beru hear of Obi Wan. Then if we just speed up to ANH, the name Obi Wan causes jitters to Owen.

Now the most exciting aspect of the above, is that when Anakin and Padme leave, we as the audience see that the Republic as it were, is in its last legs. Anakin has just brought back his mother, after eradicating the Tusken camp and when Anakin leaves to meet Obi Wan, the Republic is in a mess. In ANH we see Stormtroopers roaming around Tattoine and find their way to Owen's farm basically destroying them and their belongings in the process.

 

And Chewbacca doesn't impact the story in ESB, either. Nor does Threepio. Are they kept around just to maintain continuity? Perhaps. But maybe Lucas thought we'd just enjoy seeing them again. It's not like their presence in the movie is bothering anyone.

That's a little different... ANH kind of implied there was a bit of a backstory with Lars and co. and we haven't really seen anything like that. What if Obi-Wan was only in the movie for ten minutes?

 

"That's a little different... ANH kind of implied there was a bit of a backstory with Lars and co. and we haven't really seen anything like that. What if Obi-Wan was only in the movie for ten minutes?"

Comparing his role to Obi-Wan's is just not right. There was nothing to imply a major role for Uncle Owne. The only thing that was implied was that:

A. Owen had strong feelings about Anakin and his failure.

B. Owen saw Obi-Wan as the cause of Anakin's problems.

C. Owen doesn't want Luke to follow Anakin's path, and lies to him to protect him.

(Everything else you thought you knew was from watching the movie too many times. And no, there's no line implying that Beru had a sex change. Seriously, it's all just you. Okay, and the actress.)

We learn in the prequels that:

A. Owen spends time around Anakin's mom, surely learning about him and appreciating her love for her son. He learns about Anakin's roots, his current reason for being gone and his promise to him mom. Owen certainly sounded like he was waiting for Anakin to show up at any time.

B. Owen and Beru meet Anakin, witness Anakin losing it on the Tuskens and bringing back his mom. This is not the boy they've been told to expect. He is twisted by his experience in the big, bad galaxy.

C. Obi-wan brings Luke to Owen and Beru, telling them of the woeful state of Anakin's current situation.

Now to me, it seems like all points connect to a well-rounded little minor character. We see Owen witnessing the events of the prequels, then commenting on them in ANH, giving himself a perspective on what Luke should become. And Beru, frankly, means about as much as Hammerhead in the Cantina.

 

I liked the actor that played Lars. I could sense his weariness and he just sounded natural. I even think he was better in his four minutes of screen time than Natalie.

 

Are you talking about Cliegg? Yeah, I really liked him too. His funeral speech almost made me cry once.

 

Bad Writing 101 ???

Owen has to be in the prequels if his character is to work in the OT. Otherwise his reluctance to let Luke leave the farm, his concern that Luke is too much like his father along with the looks he gives Beru, don't work at all...

 

Can we really take this opinion into account when the author can't even spell the characters' names right?

 

No kidding. You'd think someone writing about the writing would get the character's NAMES right!

It's BERU, B e r u!

Not Veru!

 

That in itself doesn't discredit his opinion.

But a lot of other things do. It's a nifty piece of writing.

It ties up the plot-hole of Shmi never being freed by anyone in TPM. It puts her in the care of a loving husband and family. It introduces Owen and Beru to Anakin and Padme. It places Owen and Beru in a familiar setting.


You could argue against a lack of screen-time, but everything else plot-wise is pretty clean, and a hell of lot less contrived then other alternatives I've seen on this board.

 

Sithman, that's not what I mean. In mean in the context of the entire PT. The reason AOTC is so overstuffed is because GL hasn't planned all this out well enough. So--bad writing.

and...

Jedirandi, you are missing the point. It's the way GL has written the Lars into the PT that is the bad writing here. Cant you see that? More of a foundation needed to be laid in EP1 for the Lars (and many other things) rather than literally waiting until the last second to shoe-horn them into EP2.

and...

Ganwick, you're a geek, if you think the spelling of a characters name has any baring on well written drama.

 

Ganwick, you're a geek

... said one STAR WARS INTERNET MESSAGE BOARD PARTICIPANT to the other. In other news, an area pot recently made strong allegations regarding a local kettle's coloring.

if you think the spelling of a characters name has any baring on well written drama.

No, but it certainly has BEARING on a well-written criticism. If you can't check your posts for spelling, how can we be expected to take them seriously?



Vick VcVallum loves you!

 

>Comparing his role to Obi-Wan's is just not right. There was nothing to imply a major role for Uncle Owne.

Compare his role to Padme then - she's only mentioned once, briefly, in ROTJ, and all we know is:

1) She's pretty

2) She's sad

We don't even get a name for her! Now, there's nothing continuity-wise that says Luke & Leia couldn't have been the product of a one-night stand with Padme not showing up until Episode III and then getting 5 minutes on screen, but that still would've been a bit of a cheat.

>Owen spends time around Anakin's mom, surely learning about him and appreciating her love for her son. He learns about Anakin's roots, his current reason for being gone and his promise to him mom. Owen certainly sounded like he was waiting for Anakin to show up at any time.

Things you thought you knew from watching the movie too many times...

The poor guy got stuck with a walk-on and we're stuck filling in the blanks mentally.

 

Adam, that was just breathtaking in it's transparency.

I didn't spell her name wrong, I mistakenly thought it was Veru. So sue me.

And...I didn't just say "You're a geek" and left it at that. Did you catch the "if" in there? "You're a geek IF...". Dont cut and paste a part of my comment so that you can then manufacture an argument or insult. In regards to message board conduct, there is no behavior weaker than that. I simply cannot believe you used such a lame tactic.

*sigh*

 

I htink we were introduced to Owen And Beru in E-2, much as we were Bail Organa... there's still one more story to tie up the loose ends...

 

I agree Aurasingstheblues, bad writing indeed. Its too bad that Luca$ put out such a half-assed effort on story and character developement. I think the Lars and the skywalkers should have known each other starting in TPM. The actress that played Beru just hung around like she didnt know what to do next. Bad writing and bad direction.

 

Writing Lucas with a $ is seriously the saddest thing i have ever seen. very very pathetic.

And the Larses time in AOTC isn't a representation of the time they will have in the overall PT(that's all i'm going to say).

 

"I mistakenly thought it was Veru"

The movie where we were introduced to
AUNT BERU has been circulating through
the culture for 26 years. The movie
was in theatres for five releases in the 70s and 80s, was re-released in 1997 for the Special Edition, has been shown on both broadcast and cable television numerous times and has been released repeatedly on VHS.

Luke clearly says her name and it's listed in the credits. It's also in the novel.

By this point in time, you ought to know the NAMES of the characters!!!!!!!

Good God.

 

We don't even get a name for her! Now, there's nothing continuity-wise that says Luke & Leia couldn't have been the product of a one-night stand with Padme not showing up until Episode III and then getting 5 minutes on screen, but that still would've been a bit of a cheat.

So your argument is that having a big role in one trilogy requires an equal or larger role in the other? Because Owen had more story in the OT, he therefore needs more story in the PT. That's just wrong. Some of his character is in ANH. Some is in AOTC. That's just how it is. The very fact that Padme wasn't mentioned in the OT gives us need to know her more in the PT. There's just no logic to the connection you're making.

Things you thought you knew from watching the movie too many times...[b/]

And there's nothing wrong with filling in the blanks on characters, as long as there's enough there to work with. And there is. We know that Shmi was his stepmom. We know that they knew who Anakin was when he finally showed up. It only makes sense that she would tell her new family about her amazing Jedi boy who won the podrace. Right?!?! Of course Owen would know about Anakin. And his feelings for Ani would become concrete after having to adopt his son, and seeing the boy grow up without a mother or father. Damn straight Owen would have issues with the Jedi and Obi-Wan, the only Jedi he probably ever met outside of Anakin!

The truth is that no one had problems with Owen's character when there was no such thing as a PT. So why should you suddenly feel gipped when this "potential" was wasted. Oh yeah, it was all in your head from seeing the movie too many times.

He was always a walk-on, forcing us to fill in the blanks.

 

Karma, get over yourself. That's just triffling.

 

Don't think so.

There's an interesting double standard,
flat out hypocrisy on the net where people
publicly attack a person for not getting something right, when they themselves
make mistakes. Is this difficult to understand?


It's also not your place to be telling me
to "get over myself."