PT Hayden Christensen's acting at the end of Episode III?

I realize Christensen's acting overall was pretty bad, but I thought he did pretty well at the end of Episode III. Yeah he had some pretty crappy lines but I thought he managed them pretty well.

Thoughts?

 

I think he did a solid job throughout II and III. Is it the world's most spectacular acting? No. Is it quality Star Wars acting? Yes. I think if people looked at what Anakin is supposed to be and how Hayden portrays him, as opposed to how they want Anakin to be portrayed, they may find Christensen's performance isn't nearly as bad as they thought.

 

I've always said that Hayden played angry and upset Anakin far better than any of his other moods. He portrayed that "high on the dark side" look pretty well. It was some of the dialogue that didn't help him I think.

 

at least you can't blame the sound of the "noooOooOoooO" on him

 

Other than some romance lines, what exactly was so bad about him in ROTS?

 

Deleted - Wrong thread

 

Since I was 5 when AOTC came out, I didn't give a damn about his performance in the same way I don't give a damn about Mark Hamill’s less than spectacular acting in IV.

 

I think Hayden´s acting was good in episode 3.

 

In AOTC he was terrible. Here he is mediocre. Does a good job with facial expressions etc. but a lot of the lines come off flat. Lucas, of course, deserves a lot of the blame for this as well.

 

Oh look, more armchair critics!
It's not flat, he's just trying to imitate JEJ to some extent. It actually makes the scenes where he's angry stand out more.

 

I actually don't blame Hayden very much... I mean there were plenty of bad performances by very good actors in the prequels (Sam Jackson, Natalie Portman, heck even Ewan and Liam weren't great the whole time).

I think it's pretty clear the blame lies with the script and direction. Personally one of the things that I find most unfair when I see negative prequel review videos is how much hayden is bashed. I personally think he probably did what the director wanted him to do.... and really that's his job right?

Edit - I should also add that I think a lot of the actors probably had trouble with all the blue/green screen work.... in particular those that had less experience with it

 

I now realize that HC's acting overall is probably the best in the entire saga.

I can't think of anyone who had a more difficult part and pulled it off so beautifully.

Really there are only 2 main character parts in the saga and they are Anakin and Luke.

There are terrific performances all over the place from Qui-Gon to both Obi-Wan's, etc and EM going from young Obi-Wan to the end of War Obi-Wan does a excellent job but Anakin has a far more complex emotional journey.

I didn't think that at first. I just thought he was really good playing the part.

In light of the new movies it seems highly unlikely that anything as difficult and deep will ever be tried anytime soon.

One can hope that Rey might follow in Anakin and Luke's footsteps as a character and become far more interesting in each movie.

 

I actually saw a movie he was in, Life as a House, which I think he did before AOTC and really enjoyed him in it.

Natalie Portman had terrible delivery and we know she's a very good actress. I think a lot of it, or most of it, had to do with the way they were being directed.

I personally find all of Hayden Christensen's nonspeaking parts in ROTS highly emotionally conveying. He comes off so broken to me when he's looking out window, debating about chasing Mace. And when he's contemplating on Mustafar:




Heartbreaking.

 

I have no problems with him anywhere really. If you stop and analyse every line then one or two will fall flat, but that's the same with Harrison Ford who sometimes delivers lines like he has just got out of bed.

But overall - as a gestalt - a character - I really like him. The picnic scene with Natalie is nice and natural, his moment in her apartment is nice the way his anger is tempered by Padme - he's listening, trying all the time. He's fine in ROTS - can't think of a bad scene. Harrison Ford, in fact all of them were better in ESB. Practice.

I think people ironically undersetimated what the dark side was really all about. All this 'kick - ass Vader bad - ass' nonesense tempered peoples expectations.

Nope. The Sith really are evil. Not cool. It's about a deep dark poisoning of the mind. Difficult job. Lucas was canny as well to think back to how the truth came out in ROTJ, that actually he was only in that position to a large extent because he was weak - Sidious wanted a powerful apprentice, but also a sub-ordinate. Sure Vader was 'a badass villain' we can all enjoy guilt free dark side fun vicarously through, but he had also been tricked and duped - so the part to play was quite complex because Lucas had to take into acount Vaders full story arc to come as well, and come up with a character that could end up in that position.

Lots of other ways to do that I guess of course - but the redemption arc for him was more important than the 'badassery'. There you go. Take it or leave it.

 

I think Kylo has a really interesting Arc when it comes to the same complexity of Anakin. Adam Driver is definitely someone to pull it off, too.

 

I think this all "Hayden's acting was bad" is just a big bandwagon of anti-hype that comes from 1.: misunderstanding of the character he plays (geez, Anakin Skywalker is NOT Luke Skywalker, what a surprise there), 2.: general jealousy (why he?! Why he was chosen for this role?! Why was it not ME??????). Unfortunately for the guy this "convenient" attack position is repeated so many times by reviewers who cannot explain, admit to themselves either or both point 1. and 2. and that now it is even repeated by those who has no idea/ doesn't care about acting in any other movies, or just want to look "knowledgeable".

 

Very well said! I personally never had any problem whatsoever with Hayden's acting, and that definitely includes AOTC. I never got the "creepy" thing either, not once during his whole performance. I may not have found the correct word, but "intense" is the one that probably comes closest to what comes to mind when I watch his performance. He seems to be always tense, on the edge, seldom really relaxed or easy-going. Is that what the guy who turned into the saga's #1 super villain could have been like in his youth? Absolutely! This is exactly what a young Vader should have been like. I will say it again, I can't think of another actor who would have been better for the role, not one. He was just as perfect to play Anakin as Ewan was for Obi-Wan. Good job Hayden!

 

I think he done reasonably well considering how poorly his character was written.

 

HC was great in Shattered Glass, so the blame lies mostly with how the character was written. Take the line "From my point of view the Jedi are evil!". That line an many others made Anakin seem extremely gullible. Anakin was written as big man child in AOTC and ROTS, and HC accurately acted like one.

 

Personally for me, in ROTS he comes off as how I would picture Anakin Skywalker and a young Darth Vader. His visual acting really sells it, but there are a few bad deliveries here and there (example; Padme confronting Anakin on Mustafar has some quality acting to sell he has changed for the worse, but when Obi-Wan appears and he gets angry, the deliveries aren't as good).
It's a complex role, and I think people don't give him enough credit for the contrast yet eery similarity in his two personas. I believe him as the good man who is lost (AOTC I'm not so hot on), and there is really a significant shift when he turns that makes you believe he is truly gone, or that his good personality is subdued into the background as he tries to cement his loyalty to Palpatine.

 

I think you know less than diddly-poo about acting.

 

This is the major point though.

It wasn't poorly written at all. It was done rather brilliantly all the way through from JL as Anakin in TPM through HC as Anakin and Vader in AOTC and ROTS.

The "problem" was that it wasn't want some fans wanted.

Many of them wanted this:

Rey is a great case in point in terms of the lead of the third trilogy. She is Luke as well as an older version of Anakin from TPM. Make her simple and good and powerful (and hot) and all is well.

What is one thing that comes up again and again in geek culture especially when it comes to a number of the core male audience?

They cannot stand "boy geniuses" or "special boys" with girls the same sort of thing is fine because there are sexy and beautiful.

I ask people did you find Anakin awkward in AOTC? Ungrateful, angry, petulant, whiny? Then he totally succeeded in all he was supposed to do. You are not supposed to do that in movies of course. Anakin should have been all smiles and cuddles like Luke and Harry Potter and Frodo and all the others.

I often compare the difference between Luke and Anakin like Peter Parker and Flash Thompson. Luke/Peter are the shy guy nerdy kid who likes the girl and hopes she notices him. He's honest, earnest and modest. They are very est-y guys.

Anakin/Flash is the Big Man On Campus. Confident to the point of arrogance, it's in part a cover for other issues but you have to dig deeper to get that out. They see what they want and go after it. It's awful isn't it that Anakin actually goes after a chick and gets her? Doesn't he know he should be shy unassuming guy and she will come to him but then he won't know what to do and she'll end up with another guy before finally realizing that it's him she wants all along?

Nah! He would rather get the girl himself. Funny thing is that Anakin really is a young Han as opposed to Luke in ANH. In fact Han is far more "creepy and stalkerish" on Leia by far. He "knows" Leia wants him. Anakin only hopes Padme wants him.

These fans loved Darth Vader so much in ANH and TESB because he was seemingly in control. In TESB in particular in total control.

The core issue which is that while fans loved the evil Darth Vader that we saw first in ANH and then the remade version in TESB it can't be overlooked that so many of those hard core PT despisers also aren't exactly in love with ROTJ and the more hesitant and confused Vader and his reveal as a pathetic old man who made the wrong choices.

The prequels are about the man not the guy stomping around doing evil things. There is a face behind the mask and know we know how he got there.

A young Darth Vader would be either bad at the core from the start or if he is another "Luke" then he is just a Luke that made one wrong turn down the dark path like Luke could have in ROTJ.

I guess to them Star Wars should be about easy answers and a complex emotional journey of a character over 3 movies just isn't Star Wars to them.

 

I couldn't disagree more. Anakin had barely any development, We barely saw how powerful he was. He was "the chosen one" after all. His path to the darkside should have been more subtle but more drawn out from EP1 to the end of EP3. He wasn't anywhere nearly conflicted enough or it wasn't presented very well. He is THE Iconic Vader, But his Character had less depth than a glass of water.

I don't think anyone wanted him to be Luke. I'm not sure if you're serious with the Jealousy thing? Trolling?

 

I agree with your last sentiment, but Anakin had more depth than you realise. It doesn't fully translate to the screen, but there is a lot to read between the lines. Watch the movies consciously thinking of 1-6 as all believably part of the same series and you will find they were pretty meticulously structured. The whole saga, if you buy it as the story of Anakin Skywalker, fluctuates and progresses with his character. It's just symbolic more than character-based like in the OT.