PT In your opinion, was Samuel L Jackson the right choice to portray Mace Windu?

I'm going through, like, all of Mace's dialogue in my head, and I just have no idea what people are talking about. He just doesn't have a lot of lines, and many of them are just exposition.

Okay, his disbelief at the return of the Sith in TPM. Okay. It's ridiculously minor, especially in a trilogy with characters like Anakin and Palpatine, but okay.

When he says assassination isn't in Dooku's character? Nope, not seeing that outrageous arrogance, rigidity, and dogmatism.

Is it when he says "this party's over" and "I don't think so"? Isn't that just banter? And of course, he has no idea how outnumbered he really is.

Is it when he tells Anakin to "take a seat" when Anakin is acting like a jackass in the Jedi Council chambers? Ohhhh, how dare he tell a pouting child who has just been forced onto the Council by an outsider to "take a seat", how outrageous.

Is it when he says it's dangerous to put Palpatine and Anakin together? What's arrogant about that? Being 100% and obviously correct? Was it when he said he didn't trust Anakin? Why the hell should he?

Was it when he was annoyed when the Chancellor was continuing to interfere with Council affairs when he requested Anakin lead the campaign to Utapau? Bit of an overreaction to be sure, Anakin was just the messenger.

Was it when he sensed a plot to destroy the Jedi? Painfully unsubtle the dialogue may be, I don't see how it's arrogant, dogmatic or rigid. Was it when he suggested they might have to take control of the Senate? He's considering taking things into his own hands...but it's about time, isn't it? Isn't this basically what people want the Jedi to do anyway? Defy the Senate and the Chancellor? But then he's wrong just to suggest it.

Was he being arrogant, dogmatic and rigid when he humbly admits "then our worst fears have been realized"?

Was he arrogant for telling Anakin to stay out of it because Anakin was confused, even though Anakin absolutely was confused, and betrayed him when he got involved? Was he arrogant for reassuring, yes reassuring, that Anakin had done a good thing once Mace confirms Anakin's accusations to be true?

Was he arrogant for suggesting the Senate will decide Palpatine's fate, and then concluding that he's too dangerous to keep alive? I mean, he wasn't wrong there at all.

I just don't get it. That's, like, two examples in the entire trilogy, compared to plenty of lines where he isn't arrogant or whatever, and compared to the likes of Anakin Skywalker and Palpatine.

 

LOL he didn't defeat nobody! Palpatine was playing him like a dim witted fool...he could have blasted him with lightening from the beginning... you really believe that Palpatine was "beat"by Windu? WOW. seriously...Wow

so from your point of view Palpatine should have simply killed Mace then when Anakin shows up he was suppose to say "what's up buddy! Want to join the darkside because I say so?"

Palpatine pretended to be beaten so he could make Anakin feel cornered into making a choice...he had to make Anakin feel like he was the only avenue left to save padme and that if he dies she dies too...palpatine had to PRETEND to lose...Mace didnt beat anyone...the fact that you and anakinfansince1983 perceive the scene like this infers that your interpretation of the scene is very poor to say the least...so much so that there's really nothing to argue here because you are simply...wrong

maybe a quote from Ackbar will help you folks out..."It's a trap!"

 

Wasn't the character created specifically because SLJ wanted a part in the PT? No SLJ, no Windu.

 

No, the character existed long before SLJ spoke out.

Here's concept art of Mace Windu.


Of course, this Mace Windu character goes back to "Mace Windy" from George's earliest drafts.

 

Gary Coleman would be my second choice.

"What you talkin' about Obi-Wan?"

 

I really enjoyed SLJ's performances. I thought he brought another dimension to my own ideas about the Jedi Order and what Jedi, generally, are like. He embodied how a strong, straight talking man might be a Jedi. Without SLJ in that role I wonder if the Jedi Council would have seemed too soft? In the same way Obi-wan seems to radiate goodness, fairness and measured grace, SLJ as Mace radiated power and fierce protection for the Republic.

 

I didn't even know this was an issue. I like Samuel Jackson as Mace.

 

I thought Samuel L. Jackson was horribly miscast as Mace Windu. His line delivery in Revenge of the Sith is (in my opinion) the worst of the entire Prequel trilogy.

 

The problem with Mace is that there's just not much to his character. I loved him as a kid because he had a bloody purple lightsaber. But as a character he has no real personality whatsoever, primarily because he is a side character and didn't get much screen time. Taking that into consideration, I don't think it really mattered who played him. SLJ did a decent job.

 

Yeah, Sam Jax is a no BS Mofo. He was perfect for it. Given his past roles, he was relatively the same except in SW he doesn't get to curse LOL

 

Yes yes yes yes yesssss, SLJ is GREAT as Mace!

 

Yes. I know some people thought he was out of place in the film but I was fine with him.

 

The one reason I liked SJ as Windu was ebcause without him we would nto get purple lightsabers and I would not have a purple Force FX lightsaber on display in my dining room. Otherwise the character is no big deal.

Behold Mace Windu!

 

Mace Windu is Samuel L Jackson, can't see anybody else in the role.

 

There was an article online that surfaced recently saying that Tupac Shakur was up for an audition for the role of Windu, obviously he died, and the role went to SLJ.

I would've loved to see 2Pac in Star Wars, even if it was as Captain Panaka or Captain Typho, though I am a fan of Hugh Quarshie.

And in regards to SLJ's performance, I thought he brought a lot of gravitas to the role. Yes, he was monotonous, silent, and didn't do much for the majority of the trilogy, but he had a certain presence that I don't think ANY other actor could've captured in that role. I especially love his role in Episode 3, and I wish they would've given Mace a spinoff set in the Clone Wars era

 

I think a sock puppet could have pulled off a better job. Sam Jackson seemed like he was just reading words off a cue card every time he was on screen and came off so wooden it made Hayden Christensen seem like a Oscar contender at times.

 

Well, lots of people were wooden in the Prequels...I think that has more to do with green-screen and directing than the actor's capabilities.

I think there's a lot of room for diverse personality types in the Jedi Order, and I think SLJ made a believable Jedi Master...a fallible one, sure, but believable nonetheless.

 

He´s a MINOR character. There doesn´t have to be much in his character in the first place.

 

To be honest, whenever I think of SLJ in a movie, I imagine him in a badass outfit, wielding two pistols, chomping on a cigar while shouting the 'M-F' word every five minutes. Seeing him as a calm, passive, stern Jedi can be a bit jarring at times. I wouldn't blame him if he felt uncomfortable with that role, as it's literally the exact opposite of the hot-headed badass he's used to playing. He managed to pull it off in any case, I think.

 

Yep, I did actually write that in my comment if you read it properly.

 

Ultimately, Mace's role was that of a redshirt. His character was written into the story in order to be killed off. But the twist on the redshirt role is twofold: You're supposed to care about his death, and his death is meaningful to the plot of the movie. And in that, Jackson succeeded admirably.

 

Yes, he was just fine as Mace.

 

The casting was fine... the performance was less so. You look at something like Pulp Fiction, or A Time To Kill and you get a bloody good actor once you dig beneath the memes and type-casting. He could have had the same kind of impact as Christopher Lee as Dooku: not a lot of screentime but a good performance and people still debating Dooku's real motives and character. Instead you get 'badass with purple lightsaber and a cool death scene' - take those two things out and he's a pretty generic 'stern teacher' type. Jackson's decent enough but he's done a lot better.

There is the standard caveat of course that Lucas as a rule is not renowned for drawing great performances from any actors. The ones who give the best performances in Star Wars are old pros like Lee or Cushing or enthusiastic ascended fans like McGregor. There are plenty of fine actors in SW who give much better showings in other films.

 

This is an issue?Wow.Are we that desperate for something to complain about in the prequels?