I was thinking about this the other day. I remember when I first saw "Attack of the Clones." I personally liked the movie but I wasn't a true believer in Hayden's acting as Anakin Skywalker. He came across as a big pussy in certain scenes. I noticed that his scenes really weren't that much better in "Revenge of the Sith." The more I think about it the more I wonder if it was really him that made the role almost unbearable or if anybody that they put in that role and gave those lines to was doomed to failure. I know that a lot of people bash on the prequels but I personally liked them. I think because I view them as their own movies and don't hold them up to the Original Trilogy. I didn't see a topic discussing the problems with the Prequels so maybe I'll post a thread on that later. So post your opinions on what you think about this topic.
I was thinking about this the other day. I remember when I first saw "Attack of the Clones." I personally liked the movie but I wasn't a true believer in Hayden's acting as Anakin Skywalker.
Hayden's acting in Episode II wasn't that good. In fact, he was just plain bad most of the time. He just wasn't believable for the majority of the film, but I think he did a good job of showing anger and emotion in this one scene:
[YOUTUBE]iwZ714dqJ7A[/YOUTUBE]
This scene takes place after Anakin finds his mother, who was taken captive by the Sand People/Tusken Raiders. Anakin's mother eventually dies in his arms, and after this tragic loss, Anakin looses it, and he kills the entire clan of Sand People. In this scene, I wanted to feel for Anakin, because he had just lost his mother. He was heartbroken, but at the same time, he DID slaughter an entire clan of Sand People. It was shocking, and this was a viscous and evil act, but this was another step towards the transformation into Darth Vader, so this whole scenario is understandable.
Which scenes are you talking about? Anakin was a MAJOR rebel throughout this entire film. He was consistently defiant towards Obi-Wan, and he questioned Padme's judgement during her return to Naboo.
I noticed that his scenes really weren't that much better in "Revenge of the Sith."
I have to disagree again here. Hayden was much better in Episode III. His character became a lot more darker, and I think he did a fantastic job with the transformation into Darth Vader. Hayden was a lot more viscous in this film. There were times where he could be cold, and he did a great job of showing some real rage.
The more I think about it the more I wonder if it was really him that made the role almost unbearable or if anybody that they put in that role and gave those lines to was doomed to failure.
His performance in Episode II was mediocre at best, but he did improve a lot in Episode III.
I know that a lot of people bash on the prequels but I personally liked them. I think because I view them as their own movies and don't hold them up to the Original Trilogy.
I've never understood all of the hate for Episode I. I can understand the hate for Jar Jar Binks, because he was VERY annoying in this film, and he can never make me laugh, but everything else in this film isn't bad. Episode II was okay, and Episode III was fantastic, and I think this film is the best of the prequel trilogy.
And yes, a lot of Star Wars' fans like to compare the prequels to the original films, but I don't think this is fair. Personally, I enjoy Episodes IV-VI more, but I don't think the prequel trilogy has one bad film. The originals are classics, and the standards for the prequels were so ridiculously high.
I didn't see a topic discussing the problems with the Prequels so maybe I'll post a thread on that later.
I don't think you can put the blame on Hayden, when it comes to the prequels. Again, I just think the bar was set way too high for Episodes I-III. Fans were probably expecting something epic, because they knew the special effects would be better, and the Star Wars franchise has a legendary reputation, so a lot of people were expecting something epic. Episode II was probably the weakest film in the prequel trilogy, but it wasn't bad.
Hayden did improve a lot in Revenge Of The Sith, and I think this was crucial. This was the film where the Vader transformation had to come full circle, and he did do a fine job in that film. Also, he wasn't pure evil in Episode II. He was still in the developmental stages of the Darth Vader character, so you couldn't expect him to be the true version of Vader just yet.
I was thinking about this the other day. I remember when I first saw "Attack of the Clones." I personally liked the movie but I wasn't a true believer in Hayden's acting as Anakin Skywalker. He came across as a big pussy in certain scenes. I noticed that his scenes really weren't that much better in "Revenge of the Sith." The more I think about it the more I wonder if it was really him that made the role almost unbearable or if anybody that they put in that role and gave those lines to was doomed to failure. I know that a lot of people bash on the prequels but I personally liked them. I think because I view them as their own movies and don't hold them up to the Original Trilogy. I didn't see a topic discussing the problems with the Prequels so maybe I'll post a thread on that later. So post your opinions on what you think about this topic.
I totally agree with you in Attack of the Clones his acting was horrendous; however, I thought he made an improvement (but not by much) in Revenge of the Sith. I always know what you mean about him being a bit of a pussy. I think that that comes from both his acting and the poorly written dialog. George Lucas has always been upfront about the fact that he never intended for these movies to be about the story and the dialog, it was all about what he could do with the special effects (especially with the first three).
Poor writing can make even a great actor look bad. Honestly, I think no matter what whoever played Anakin would have come off a bit of a pussy, but I also think that Hayden Christiansen didn't have a lot of acting experience and that showed. He had a hard time with the emotional scenes in particular. The scene that Mitch posted, I would have to say that I disagree with his comments. When I first saw that scene, it made me laugh. I thought it was too over the top and just not believable.
Actually Mitch I'd almost have to go the opposite and agree with JW. That was one of the scenes I had in mind. It seems like he's trying to hard to come across and angry and sad. His emotions feel forced and not natural. I've seen other actors pull off emotions like that and it seems natural and you believe that they are devastated and just plain pissed at the world in general. When I said a pussy I should have clarified. He does act like a badass in the movie but that is for all the action sequences. When I said a pussy I think I meant more like his lines of dialogue and how they appear very weak like the scene below.
[YOUTUBE]_tV3jpekiec[/YOUTUBE]
btw. I have to admit it's been awhile since I saw that scene and forgot how hot Natalie Portman was in that dress
His lines once again feel forced like he's trying to hard and the lines he uses are beyond corny (I think that's the word that I want to use). I mean if they wanted him to come across as a hopeless romantic that stumbles over his words when confessing his love her then they've done a really good job. I believe the video that you posted and the one that I posted are a series of video showcasing the awful lines of dialogue that he was given for this movie. I think the problem is that they tried to throw a love story into this action movie and it didn't work with the actor that they had. I mean if you look at the way Han puts his moves on Leia and the lines of dialogue that he uses it's completely different. He's more smooth with them. Of course that could also be because Harrison Ford is just that much of a better actor. Although I feel that if even if Harrison Ford were given the dialogue that Hayden was given, I don't think even he could have saved it. I'm going to look through some "Revenge of the Sith" videos and see if I can find anything there. I would probably start with the scene with Palpatine but I'd have to find it first. I'll post later once I find it.
I definitely think it has more to do with the way the dialog was written more than Hayden's acting abilities. If you look at movies he starred in like Shattered Glass (which was only a year after episode 1), New York, I Love You, or Takers where the writing was better, his acting felt more natural. That being said even in his more natural seeming roles he has appeared a bit forced to me. I don't think it's entirely his fault because the writing in Star Wars (as far as dialog goes) was bad, but he made even worse because he doesn't have a lot versitility as an actor.
I love the Star Wars films. When the prequels came out I was just drooling. I thought the first one was okay and the second was alright and the third one was pretty good and my favourite of the three. The films were good if not great visually but in terms of dialogue, like the previous trilogy, it could have been a lot better. Now when you talk about Christensen his acting sucked, the less time he spent on screen the better the films was for me. There was only one scene where he actually seemed believable which is the end when he's burning after the fight with Obi Wan. Other than that he wasn't really too convincing. The lines he was given wasn't much to work with but he was the other part of the equation. I think he was given the role because he was decent looking and would be a lot cheaper than picking up a more established actor.
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