Who else found Anakin really annoying?

I agree that not only is he annoying but he is completely unsympathetic. As someone posted earlier, I also do not care anymore that he falls to evil because I don't care for his character at all. I didn't mind him in TPM. He showed redeeming characteristics: his selflessness and his innocence. In AotC he showed no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I could care less now that he falls.

 

Dont say that.
It will be the greatest moment of your life. It will be the greatest thing ever. Youll care then. You just wont feel bad.

 

actually i think it would be cool if Anakin gets his clocked cleaned in Act I of e3 and we have a full-fledged Darth Vaded for the rest of the movie.

not gonna happen, but maybe a clever edit will do the trick.

 

I actually think the Tusken slaughter/confession scene is a bit overrated. Its difficult to feel remorse over the death of a bunch of faceless aliens like the Tuskens.
The Tuskens have always been shown as violent and barbaric. In ANH, they attack Luke for no reason. In TPM, the Tuskens shoot at the podracers for fun regardless of the injury or damage they might cause. In AOTC, we find they've kidnapped Shmi. When Anakin starts killing them, I couldnt help thinking "damn right too, kick their asses!", but then we see him later 'confessing' what he did to Padme.

So he killed a bunch of Tuskens, so what? Luke blew up a space station full of stormtroopers.
Fair enough, Anakin did it in a state of fury ("They're like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals, I HATE them"), but somehow its just not enough. Hayden played the scene out well enough, but I just cant feel horrified over the death of a group of sandpeople, even if it was in cold blood.

If Anakin's anger had caused the death of someone close to him, or if he had ended up killing someone innocent because he let his anger get the better of him, then that would have been truly horrific, but sandpeople?...eh...

Its not so much a criticism of Anakin per se, but his journey to the dark side.

ANH REVISED SCRIPT

Vader: "I have you now!" (Target Locks)

TIE fighter wingman gets destroyed, Vader spins helplessly off into space and the Millenium Falcon swoops in

Han Solo: "Woohoo! Y'all clear kid, now lets blow this thing and go home"

Obi-wan: The force will be with you...always...

Death Star goes KABOOM

Han Solo: "Wow Kid, that was a shot in a million"

Luke Skywalker: "I killed them, I killed them all..."

Audience: huh?

 

i don't know, little anakin in phantom menace wasn't too bad but teenage anakin has too many hormones in his body, i think.

i just can't stand young anakin's character in general because i'm so used to seeing him as darth vader. he doesn't have a human side, a good side.

let's just all hope when episode iii comes out, he'll whine less and kick jedi @$$ more.

 

Amen.

Jake Lloyd I could imagine becoming Darth Vader.

Hayden I couldnt in a million years.

 

"Amen.

Jake Lloyd I could imagine becoming Darth Vader.

Hayden I couldnt in a million years."

What!?So, you couldn't imagine the guy that slaughtered a whole tribe of Tusken Raiders becoming Darth Vader.Please tell me your joking.

 

He has innate skills that require little effort, so he elicits jealousy from his peers.

I saw no evidence of jealousy in anyone except Anakin himself.

He can't be encouraged without feeding his ego, and he can't be chastised without fueling his anger.

This is quite a true observation.

you are yet another jealous fan-boy type who seems more put-off by Anakin's looks than his personality and just can't bring yourself to admit it.

Well how does that explain all the women(like myself) who feel pretty much exactly the same way about Anakin?

I was going nuts for every scene he was in- HOW does Padme stand him?

Blinded by his supposed good looks I guess.

I think someone already said this but she doesn't know they are people. They have always been described to her as mindless monsters. I mean I'd be alittle pissed if some evil people tortured and murdered my mother.

Padme presumably is not an idiot. In fact, generally speaking the Tuskens are probably exactly the sort of people whose lives she'd wish she could improve and that she could somehow make them realize there was a better way, it's only her passion which is blinding her, it's making her act against her normal character and look for excuses for Anakin.


But here it sounds like your almost making a rude statment about them.

No he's not(or at least that isn't how I interpret it), he's making a perfectly valid observation in light of the accusations constantly tossed at "fanboys" that they are only jealous of Anakin's "good looks". If that is the case, then it is just as entirely like that said women are influenced to be all overly sympathetic to Anakin because of his "good looks".

 

Well, Luke was also REALLY annoying...That "power converters" line in ANH just made me MAD! lol. I think it's a Skywalker trait that Lucas was following through with

On another note, Hayden explained that one of the dangerous things about Anakin is that he is immature yet he has so much power. To use a cliche, it's like a kid with a gun. Are they mature enough to decide how to handle a gun? Ask anyone named Clayton in the south and they'll tell you yes but- LOL, jk... So the whiny-ness can be taken as a way for Hayden to convey Anakin's immaturity, thereby driving home the danger of his character. He's not mature enough to handle the great powers and abilities that he has - and that's one reason why Hayden said he thought it was important to have Anakin break down in tears during the confession scene. So whines just help to illustrate Anakin's inherently dangerous dynamics. IMO

 

Well, for the record, I am a woman and a SW fan. Having got that out, I found the character of Anakin in AotC to be somewhat annoying. Let's see: he's arrogant, flouts the rules of the Jedi order though he wants to be a Jedi for the powers that will give him, is publicly disrespctful towards his master, disobeys direct orders and whines incessantly. He is immature as revealed by his political opinions and wants his ego stoked to feel good. He has no control over emotion, be it anger or love. The Anakin of TPM was a trifle annoying but rather good-hearted; by AotC, his good-naturedness seems not too prominent any more.

By the way, I loved Luke despite his two whiny lines, that he outgrows in a hearbeat as soon as he is off Tatooine.

 

Anakin mercilessly slaughterd an entire village, including the women and children. It was purely revenge (and, frankly, the thought of him cutting down children as they ran away in terror gives me chills). To make the analogy of Luke blowing up the Death Star more accurate, Luke would have had to mercilessly destroy fleeing enemy ships and then bomb the homes of the pilots' families in a fit of hatred.

(And I must admit, it bothers me how some of you seem to accept and even condone Anakin's cold blooded murder of an entire village. I guess this is the same mentality that says that Anakin's life as a slave wasn't "that bad" so long as he got three squares a day and wasn't beaten too often.)

 

>>>I guess this is the same mentality that says that Anakin's life as a slave wasn't "that bad" so long as he got three squares a day and wasn't beaten too often.)

I like that you mentioned that. And aren't the swearshops especially efficent when they make women take birth control pills every morning before coming in to work? Can't have them getting pregnant and missing work now. (being sarcastic) Just wanted to augment your comment there.

 

Durwood Posted:
And I must admit, it bothers me how some of you seem to accept and even condone Anakin's cold blooded murder of an entire village.

Sorry, I'll have to rephrase my earlier post. I'm not "condoning" Anakins slaughter. When we see him fire up his lightsaber, there is that adrenalin rush that he's gonna kick their ass, but after the number of aliens, battledroids, stormtroopers etc that have been killed on-screen in SW, seeing Anakin slice down a bunch of Tusken raiders doesnt seem quite as horrific as it should be. The problem is that the Tuskens have always been shown as violent, and having a camp of faceless characters like the Tuskens biting the dust leaves me feeling indifferent.

Your right that the thought of Anakin chasing after the children is somewhat chilling, and the fact that he did it in cold blood makes it a more extreme event than Luke blowing up the DeathStar, but there's an element missing somewhere. Obviously these are Anakins first steps towards the dark side, but after he's told Padme about the slaughter, its off to Geonosis , battle some creatures in the arena, have a quick saber fight with Dooku, then have a wedding as if its just a day at the office.

 

I found the emotional scenes really annoying. the rest was just about fine.

"I will be the most powerful jedi ever!"-GAG!

 

I could sympathize w/Anakin in Ep. 2, in fact he will always be my favorite character.
I like his fervor in everything he does. Funny, I didn't think for a second that he was whiny. IMO he's just really, really passionate and can't hide his feelings.

 

anakin is not annoying. He is immature, there is a difference. He has been isolated in the Jedi Order for 10 years where he trained that it is bad to have emotions or feelings. When faced with the situations he is put in during AOTC his actions and reactions are over the top because he doesnt know how to deal with them. This makes him arragont, boastful, and yes a little whiney. But annoying, no.

 

Anikin was a bit whiny and cocky, but he felt that he was ready for the trials. How would you feel if you thought you were ready but your master didn't notice it?

 

I feel bad for anyone who has the opportunity to have Padme as a girlfriend but is forbidden to.

I also feel bad for anyone bound to a promise he made at 9 years old that he clearly can't keep, particularly when it involves both the slavery and the death of a loved one. (Sure Shmi was freed by Cliegg, but if you were Anakin wouldn't you feel that you'd broken your promise?)

And I feel bad for anyone whose mentor scolds them like a child in front of several people, including Padme, when doing so in private would've been a lot less humiliating.

On a slightly different note, I also feel bad for someone who feels his anger is justified but when he expresses it, it comes out lame, lame, lame.

I reluctantly admit there are a few moments that scream "please make fun of this", but I think in AOTC the Anakin character works 95% of the time.

 

Annoying? Not really. All the whining I got used to since Luke Skywalker! Heheheh. And anyways, it's all in character, IMHO. He's young, he's too independent, he's immature, and he has power.

About the Tusken scene... Jedi have always been wary about taking life. Even their lightsaber fighting techniques are formulated in such a way that they still have respect for life and living creatures even when they have to injure or kill them. IMHO, Anakin feeling remorse over killing the Tuskens (yes, even if they are portrayed as violent and merciless) shows that certain Jedi lessons and values were still engrained in him.

 

I didn't find him annoying at all. What puzzles me is, how everyone says he's so whiny. Luke was way worse, he whines all over the place in ANH & ESB. Check out the scenes with Yoda in the latter; you want to slap him across the face, except that it's so funny lol.

Sure, there are some instances where Anakin is acting like a spoiled brat, but that's what he's become, what with this Chosen One bs, and Palpy fawning all over him. I think it's important that Anakin be imperfect, that he's too sensitive and emotional, and makes bad decisions. If he were all noble and stuff like the bashers seem to want, it wouldn't seem like he could become Vader. In fact, I had a really hard time connecting his character in TPM with Vader, in part because he was so good and selfless. Whereas in AOTC, I had no problem whatsoever making the connection, especially after the Tusken slaughter. (Although if you think about it, if you were a mositure farmer and you heard some guy wasted a whole village, wouldn't you think the guy was a hero?)

Not only did I not find him annoying, I thought he was charming in parts. The scene where he floats the fruit, that is weak-in-the-knees romantic. When he tries to ride the shaak and falls off pretending he's hurt, shows he has humor and a lighter side (tho the subsequent roll down the hill was pretty puke-producing.) The fireplace scene showed him being open and honest about his feelings, which are terribly painful to him. Also, in the arena, he and Padme fight side by side as a team. "you call this a diplomatic solution?" "No, I call it aggressive negotiations."

Having said all that, I could see why some might find him annoying, but I guess I just had this image in my head all these years of how Anakin Skywalker would look and behave, and GL nailed it: I was truly astonished at how close he was to that image. I expected Anakin to be arrogant and impulsive.

Anyway, if you guys find him so irritating, you should get a lot of satisfaction out of the fact that next time out he's going to be disfigured, disabled, and rendered incapable of ever getting any ever again!

 

Jolt-Cola:

Surely, you must be joking.. I mean, come on. Anakin was probably the most highly anticipated character of the PT but every second we have seen him has been a second of over acting or just plain stupidicy.

I'm sorry, and I know this is cheap, but...stupidicy?

I'm enjoying how Anakin's character is shaping up, and, yes, I do think he's realistic. I'm around boys his age (18-19) a lot, and you know what? I see many of Anakin's traits in them. You also see very similar traits in Luke (included the murderous revenge-Luke goes on a wee bit of a shooting rampage after Ben dies and probably would have continued to do so if he hadn't been more or less pulled on) at that age, so even in SW standards he's a fairly normal young man-Albeit one with extraordinary responsibilities and abilities.

He was annoying in TPM and he still is annoying in AOTC. I just hope that kid who plays him learns some acting before Episode 3.

Well, I think we'll just have to chalk that up to differing tastes. I enjoyed his portrayal in TPM; Granted, Jake Lloyd is no Shakespearean actor, but for pete's sake, he's a kid and he played Anakin like the child Anakin was at that point in the story. I'm continually surprised at how many people seem to have a problem with Jake Lloyd, or young Anakin.

I found his portrayal in AOTC to be quite above standard as well. Hayden Christensen takes what is bound to be a hard role-Playing one of the most famous characters in movies, a role that has been played by three people, and not only following in their footsteps, but add something of your own to the mix-Well, that's got to be pretty challenging. It's also obvious the boy did his homework-Look at the way he holds himself, the way he says things; There are many subtle lil-Ani and Vaderisms in there. Not only that, but I think he is a competent actor, especially when he has to work with admittedly occasionally clunky dialogue like "I hate sand." I'm also amazed at how some people feel he did a less than quality job with his role; He, Ewan McGregor, and Ian Mcdiarmid are easily the best actors in AOTC, IMO.

Btw, welcome to the boards.

BoxOfficeMan:

Justifying poor writing by using real world examples is just pathetic.

Why? Anakin IS like a young adult-and he acts like one. Even compared to the SW young adults (Leia, Luke), he is one-Luke is equally whiny, Leia equally passionate. Granted, he is their father, but since he didn't grow up with them, it's not like he's had the hugest fatherly influences on their lives.

They are young adults, and I don't see what's wrong with comparing them to real life young adults.

No, movie-goer wants to see some whiny teenager, regardless of how (arguably) realistic the portrayal is.

Personally, I would rather have the realistic portrayal of Anakin the way he is than have some teenage Casanova who spouted perfect lines, never complained, and was completely at peace; No one that "perfect" would ever turn to the dark side.

If no movie gower wanted to see it, btw, I doubt SW would be making so much money-Even on it's re-release at IMAX it's making some pretty decent pocket change. If people were that bothered by Anakin, they wouldn't bother seeing the movie-and certainly wouldn't bother seeing it again at IMAX.

DarthWeenie:

It is endlessly funny how all women can say is how good looking Anikan is. They never stop talking about it, and never give his personality any discussion. GIVE IT A REST!

Well, I've been a fan of Anakin since he was wearing black leather all the time and seemed to have an unfortunate resemblance to humpty dumpty. And I liked in TPM as well, there he was a 9 year old kid. And yes, I do think Hayden Christensen is attractive, but that isn't-and never has been-the reason I like Anakin so much.

I like him due to his character and his personality. There is no other character like Anakin/Vader in the SW universe, and there is no character that is so human in popular film today that

 

Nice posts, arielthalandra and Sophita.

Anakin really hasn't had much chance to work on his chat-up lines over the years since TPM. He's just very open with Padme, so he's gonna sound a little corny to outside ears. Hayden has the hardest job in the PT, portraying Darth Vader at the point in his life when he turns to the Dark Side. If AOTC is any indication, he should do fine in Episode III.

 

Sophita

You must have read my mind about the resemblance to humpty dumpty(when he removes his helmet in ROTJ).

 

I don't understand why people say that Luke was annoying - yet condone Anakin for being the same, albeit, worse.

First of all, I've never considered Luke to be annoying. He's the coolest character ever. Remember how he blew up the death star, single-handedly (with help from a lightsabre) brought down an Imperial Walker, faced Vader in a duel after only a few months of solid training, and then stood up to the Emperor preparing to die so that he may honour his father's long-lost ideals. Furthermore, I could relate to when Luke whined a bit though I never found it annoying.

With Anakin, however, he has yet to perform any major heroic actions (when compared to Luke's efforts), AND he lasted a minute or two in a lightsabre duel even with TEN YEARS training behind him. On top of this, Anakin whines as well. Sometimes I can relate to his frustrations, but the rest of the time it is just monotonous. Luke barely whined at all, compared to Anakin so I can't understand how people continually bash Luke so easily.

Luke rocks!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Luke wasn't nearly as whiny as Anakin was. He had a few moments, but not that many. I mean that whole big long whine about how Obi-Wan was overcritical and wouldn't let him take his trials and wah wah wah, I think that one passage lasted longer than all of Luke's whines put together.

The scene where he floats the fruit, that is weak-in-the-knees romantic.

Only if you don't consider what it means. I don't find it romantic because he is misusing his powers, he is using them to try and impress a girl with meaningless tricks. It's not better that she falls for it. That shows she is more shallow that I would have hoped she'd be. She's impressed by the surface and not willing to look at the deeper meaning.