PT Anakin Skywalker MEGAthread - Don't talk to him about sand, it makes him uncomfortable

Most complex character in the saga. Certainly cant be duplicated.

 

He was a very complex character. I love the character of Anakin bc he was badass, however I did have some faults with him. I feel as though he truly had some mental deficiencies, largely bc of his upbringing as a slave. He grew up as a deprived individual that later longed for recognition and elevation from the lower existence he once lived. His actor Hayden often portrayed him as whiny, but i feel the lousy script and directing for the actor are at fault there. Hayden is not a terrible actor, rather an okay one. Even an oscar winning actor couldn't pull off that lovely sand line to pick up a woman. Furthermore, I find Anakin's transition to the dark side a little too quick for my tastes. I understand that he was desperate to save Padme, and that he was a very emotionally driven person, but the steps he took to ensure her safety were extreme and flat out stupid considering the compassion and intelligence he displays in the tv series Clone Wars. Watch the video at 1:44 lol

 

He's whiny because he legitimately has a lot to whine about.

 

I mean, to be fair, if my loved one and my unborn child(ren) were for sure set to appear as if they were going to die, we'd all do anything in our power to try to prevent that....and then Space Hitler, who btw has been deceiving us since we were 9 years old and catering us, tells me that if I commit some heinous acts, that all will be well? Not to mention my growing distrust of the people I've been around for over half my life? My family would win as well.

 

It's not just that his whininess can be justified logically. I legitimately like how characters like Luke and Anakin are depicted as being whiny at times, just like real young people would be. It's an idiosyncratic choice Lucas makes for his characters, and not one that works for everybody, but it's exactly that kind of risky, gonzo sensibility that makes Lucas and his films stand out among the dull beige backdrop of conventional Hollywood protagonists. He's not afraid to give us an unvarnished look into some of the less marketable aspects of his protagonists' youthful personalities. This is something I liked about Ahsoka as well. She was a fourteen year old girl, and she was kind of a brat. I loved it.

edit: IMO, this is somewhere where the influence of the films of James Dean really shine through in Lucas's work. No one else to my knowledge has really replicated the James Dean sensibility in their portrayal of their characters nearly as faithfully as Lucas has. In fact, if James Dean were to have come onto the scene today, I truly believe he'd be laughed off the screen by audiences. It's just not what people want in this day and age. People aren't looking for James Deans and Holden Caulfields anymore. They don't like them. It's their loss.

 

Yes, there are many reasons for that, but one of them is that they loose and also that they don‘t fit it, i.e. they are weird. Is not something new, I would say is even mithological. People want to see the feats of Hercules, not the struggles of the tragic hero.

 

What I like most about Lucas's work is that he manages to give us both. Anakin Skywalker is both a mythic and a deeply, humanly relatable figure (to me and many others, at least).

 

"I'm depending on you..."
"For what? I don't understand."
"To be the eyes, ears, and voice of the Republic."


First in-story words of the "Star Wars" drama:

"Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic."


"It was not written as a movie. It’s basically a character study and exhibition piece about politics–two things that are not dramatic."
-- George Lucas, 2005
http://foreignpolicy.com/2005/05/16/the-confessions-of-george-lucas/


Anakin as the human being under examination and the piece being exhibited:

As the Republic crumbles, so does Anakin.

An enlarged metaphor. Anakin is the sprawling, improbable system; the thing being engulfed.

Disparate images:

Anakin burning up on the shores of Mustafar at the stark conclusion of the saga's "last" lightsaber duel, the Millennium Falcon making it clear of the explosion that almost engulfs it as the Second Death Star meets its end at the climax of the "last" space battle sequence.

It's like everything is carefully linked. And the latter image signals victory over the consuming fires of creation. Anakin escapes the system in the end. Or does he? Does everything keep cycling back indefinitely? Well, it's something to think about, isn't it?

 

The tragic hero is also kind of mythological figure. What I emphasized on, was that today cinema shows the myth of heroes who win (Hercules type). Anakin is not that type of hero, as Cryogenic explained he is one who suffers things (in different ways). He is not the winner, he is the prodigal son who comes back (in ROTJ).

 

He's definitely a complex character, although I don't necessarily see him as untouchably the most complex in all cinema or anything like that. And let's see what happens with Kylo and Rey over the next few years, for one thing.

I agree that Darth Vader isn't really a badass, which is partly why while I enjoy the action beats, I didn't find the sight of him cutting people down with a lightsaber to resonate with the character's emotional core. Even in A New Hope, when those of us who watched the films in release order didn't know who he was under the mask, he seemed wistful and above being a mere brute (although certainly, intimidation was a big thing for him).

Anyway, I do however feel that Anakin Skywalker is...closer to being a badass, or at least a self-possessed, mature person. That's why The Clone Wars resonated with me in a way that the prequels never have. The fact that he is a deeply trouble man is fine, and I have no objection to the portrayal of that, inasmuch as I feel that it works with the character. But I do feel that the 'whiny brat' aspect is a bit incongruous with what we see of Darth Vader and what Luke was led to believe about his father, because it to some extent prevents him from being realized as an adult. (If not in theory, then in practice.) And I think that the tragic nature of his downfall is much more powerfully realized if we can see him as a great man with hairline cracks in the facade.

 

To address the opening question of this thread:

...I'd have to go with the last option. In fact, his character was so complex in that film that I didn't even realize he was in it!!

 

Sneezy, Sleeepy, Dopey, Happy, Bashful, Grumpy... and Whiny.

 

For SW Dwarves, in the OT, there's always Isaiah Stephens's "Leia as Snow White, Dwarves as Ewoks" concept:

 

Guys, you know that in hours this would sound not as funny as is now, right? I'm glad that Taylore revived the thread, but I think its content is not exactly appriproate to discuss in Fool's day.
I'm not playing it moderator here , is just thread that I created for completelly different and more serious reasons. You know, the constant complain and bashing towards these Episodes. So that's why I care what would be left here after today.

 

Just go with it. Don't take it so seriously.

 

Since SWCO is slated to see the appearance of a certain Skywalker associate (who isn't Mark Hamill), I wondered if it was time to dust off this thread?



Prisic Duskleap I think by ROTS Anakin's power in the force had long outstripped that of his mentor, Obi-wan's strength was his ability to remain calm and focused, while Anakin was more inclined to take rash actions, such as the leap that got his legs severed. So in answer to you question a more level headed Anakin probably would have beaten Obi-wan.

 

MJ

 

Anakin was born a slave. He was freed as a boy, but he was enslaved again as a man.
What a tragic character. I love it.

 

As a straight male, I'm comfortable to totally say that Anakin is bae.

 

He is supposed to have faults. More importantly faults that he can't ever totally overcome until everything has fallen apart and only through his love for his son the child of Padme who he reminds Anakin so much of.

I'm not sure how that applies to mental aspects in some lack of sanity sense?

I don't think that really works well in the sense of the stories. It's about emotional and attachment deficiencies as such.

I don't see this incessant whine that others do. I think it's all in quite good proportion in AOTC. What I do notice is those who perceive that it's constant throughout the movie. The script and direction are right on and as Lucas intended. There is no "fault" at all except for those who simply didn't want it to exist at all it seems.

I don't really follow the actors much outside of Star Wars and the acting methods used in Star Wars are hardly in great demand outside of what Lucas did in his movies. They are archaic. So for the realm in which the actors need to perform in these movies HC is one of the very best if not the very best actor giving the performance he needs to bring Lucas' vision to life.

As I said I think HC does totally pull if off. I just accept that is what Star Wars is and needs to be. Not something it isn't.

I don't find it quick at all. Just about perfectly paced. In TCW TV series it's a different time with different decisions and he isn't convinced that Padme needs saving from a certain fate that he sees.

 

The actual moments Anakin ultimately turns were quite fast paced admittedly, but there is an underrated depth and relevance to aspects of his entire six movie arc if you pay attention.
The turn doesn't exist in a vacuum, it is a delicate balance over six films. For example Vader/Anakin's self-reflective and regretful characterisation in ROTJ serves as a brilliant answer to what led up to it in the PT. And Anakin's desire to help anyone in need in TPM foreshadows his warped perception in believing he must take the weight of the galaxy on solely his own shoulders, something crucial to his actions in ROTS.

 

I think part of the issue with Anakin seeming too gullible was at least the result of editing and restructuring of his turn that took place in post-production. Supposedly his original motivations were more diverse than just saving his wife, and included a genuine belief that the Jedi were untrustworthy and power hungry. Hence the BTS pics of Anakin in Sidious Office at the moment Windu makes his entrance.

I'm under the impression that Lucas decided to make the changes in order to make the Anakin character more sympathetic, after showing an early cut of the film to a friend. (possibly Steven Spielberg?) Anakin's other motivations such as mistrust of the Jedi, and basic lust for power are still present in the finished film, but do not come across particularly strongly.
IMO While not perfect, the version of the fall we get in the finished film is superior to the original. But that's just my opinion.

 

is absurd how many people do not understand Sebastian Shaw does not WORK as Force-ghost of Anakin Skywalker he was too old he was 78 old I watched the original version Anakin look more old than Obi Wan

Anakin died in his 40s him looking him Younger in age than the time of his death Makes more sense then looking thirty years older