Chefelf.com Night Life: mysterycycle - Viewing Profile

I like the fact that Vader is as much a victim of the Dark Side as he is its willing thrall. I like that, ultimately, Anakin is the tragic figure upon whom everything turns; that he is unable to handle this burden, which drives him to corruption, but also makes his redemption that much more heroic. I don't have any problem at all with Vader being shown as a tragic figure here - we really need to see the last vestiges of Anakin being stripped away in those closing scenes. For example, I loved that look of fear that crosses Anakin's face as the mask begins to descend. The sensation of claustrophobia was excellently done.

It's just the way the scene was shot that ruins it for me, and the writing/delivery of the line, because it was so very cliche. As the scene began, I thought to myself, "He's gonna go 'Noooooooooo!' " and kind of chuckled to myself...and then he did it, true to telegraphing.

I would have preferred Vader falling to his knees with racking sobs, honestly. Something a little more original in the presentation of that despair.

This is a good point - the theater was packed with young kids when I went to see Episode III, and I was perturbed that the theater I went to showed some rather risque and violent previews ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith") before the movie.

Still, there's a lot of killing in Star Wars, and killing of children in Anakin's story, at least as it stands now. Granted, sex has been generally avoided as a topic (though Leia still got put into a slave outfit and collar...ahem), and sexual violence has been verboten, as far as I can see.

Perhaps Anakin's father was a good guy, killed early on? Maybe a fellow slave? Maybe Shmi's husband before the Sand People raided their village and sold them to slavers, killing him as he tried to defend them?

I like most of the suggestions so far. I especially think that the idea of Anakin as a Han Solo-type is a wonderful idea. He becomes far more likable to the audience, and his corruption becomes that much more tragic and emotional. Imagine Episode III being a tear-jerker!

So here's what I've just wasted the last two hours doing: my thoughts for revision of the new trilogy...

General Overview -

- Some of Lucas’s naming conventions work really well: Tattooine, Ord Mantell, Grand Moff Tarkin, etc. Stick with that; lose the “character explanation” names: Greedo, Darth Sidious, General Grievous, Salacious Crumb, Rancor Beast, etc.

The Phantom Menace -

- I’d make specific mention that the reason the Seperatists use a Droid Army because the Jedi can’t affect their minds or sense their presence; it’s also quicker to raise than trying to train a biological (“human”) army (I don’t recall if the movies mentioned the latter, but I know the former was never brought up). Also, make the Battle Droids operate with a hive mind. I would have wanted ILM to make the Battle Droids look scarier, maybe more skeletal and less like a legion of Crow T. Robots.

- Lose the Virgin Birth. Anakin’s biological father was a minion of Jabba the Hutt who Watto was mixed up with (owed him protection money?). Watto, trying to placate him, invites him to take his liberties with his slave, Shmi, for the night as a gesture of goodwill. Anakin never knew him, and has no desire to...until he learns the truth later in the trilogy, and seeks revenge (standing in for the "Killing Sandpeople" scene in Attack of the Clones which really begins his fall).

- Lose Midichlorians, and restore the Force to being a mystical religion rather than a scientifically-quantifiable form of energy. Tone down the leaping about a tad - it’s cool for them to do some high jumps and flips, but if it gets too cartoony then it tends to make Force abilities look sterile and feeble as portrayed in the original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI). The lightsaber fighting is pretty sweet, though… Hmm - I’d need to come up with some happy medium that allows us both to see the Jedi at the height of their power without making the original films’ fight scenes look decrepit.

- While we’re at it, make the Jedi philosophy internally consistent. Remain unattached to physical things like riches and base, selfish motivations like power, because they will pass, but be compassionate and sympathetic toward other beings, because they will live beyond their physical husks (“luminous beings are we, not this crude matter”). Jettison the “only the Sith deal in absolutes/If you think the Jedi are evil, then you‘re lost” hypocritical relativistic nonsense. The Dark Side of the Force isn’t an equal and opposite power existing independently of the Light Side, but a corruption of the Light Side. I think this idea was suggested a bit in the first trilogy, but I’d want it to be more well-grounded.

- The Jedi have become arrogant, a bit pompous and somewhat taken with their position of authority in the Republic. The Prophecy regarding “balance” has the Jedi Council a bit nervous, as they don’t entirely know what that would mean, though many Jedi who actually know of it probably think of it as a good thing, due to the aforementioned decline in orthodoxy. As a result, they watch Anakin closely, and try to keep him from becoming too powerful (which I think they were suggesting in the movies)…which contributes to his resentment of and inevitable betrayal of the Council.

- Darth Sidious (whom I want to give a better name)/Palpatine has been aware of the prophecy for some time, and has been searching for this ‘Chosen One’ to make into his apprentice before the Jedi can. He is annoyed when he learns that the Jedi may have found him, but he begins to make plans to get close to him.

- The Council won’t do anything to liberate Shmi, because they claim they don’t want to get involved in local politics, claiming some stricture against interference in the Outer Rim, worrying about disrupting the local balance of power, etc. This frustrates Anakin to no end, and he begins to see the hypocrisy behind the Jedi veneer. The Council discuss it behind his back, additionally concluding that Anakin needs to be kept in a fairly controlled environment, and his attachment to his mother could prove a distraction to his already-delayed training (after all, Jedi training begins as early as possible).

- Senator Palpatine shares a moment with young Anakin at the end of the movie, as the boy mourns the death of Qui-Gon. He takes him aside, telling him that he understands what it means to lose someone close to him. Anakin confesses to him that everything keeps changing around him, and he feels like no one ever asks him what he wants. Palpatine sympathizes with his feelings of powerlessness and his desire that things should never change. The Senator/Sith Lord assures Anakin that, should he ever need a sympathetic ear, he is always available.

Attack of the Clones -

- I don’t mind the idea of Obi-Wan using the Force to mind-control someone into doing something he thinks is beneficial (telling the “deathsticks” guy on Coruscant to stop selling and reconsider his life), but I’d like Anakin to witness it and begin debating Obi-Wan about free will. Obviously, lose the “deathsticks” nonsense, but a suitably *alien* equivalent would be fine (spice, for an already-existing example). This allows us to see both the Jedi’s decline in adherence to orthodoxy and Obi-Wan’s inadequacy to be Anakin’s Master. It also gives Anakin additional reason to side with Palpatine in Episode III and consider the Jedi enemies of freedom and democracy.

- Speaking of which, this movie should begin Obi-Wan's train of thought that perhaps the Jedi have lost sight of orthodoxy, and while the Sith represent freedom without responsibility or compassion, the Jedi have become rigid legalists who are afraid to allow for personal attachment or emotional exp​ression...?

- There needs to be more shown of Senator Palpatine’s involvement with Anakin, becoming more of a father figure to him than Obi-Wan is capable of being. Obi-Wan is still young, and was never really prepared to raise a son, much less train a Padawan. His behavior is that of a friend and a partner, not a father: he utterly fails when it comes to disciplining Anakin - he doesn’t really want to - and when forced to by the Council, he does so clumsily and in ways that makes Anakin think he’s becoming a jealous rival.

- Develop the friendship between Obi-Wan and Padme. This would come to a head in the next movie.

Revenge of the Sith -

- The friendship between Padme and Obi-Wan has grown deeper over the past few years, and Obi-Wan struggles with his attraction to the Senator. Anakin witnesses them together, and begins to suspect that the child Padme is carrying is not his, but Obi-Wan’s. His resentment of Obi-Wan grows into full-fledged hatred when Obi-Wan is named a Jedi Master, but Anakin is deemed unfit by the Council (who see the flaws in his character, though it cannot be denied that he has been mistreated by them over the years). Anakin, as a result, increasingly turns to Palpatine for advice, telling him that he considers him his true father.

- I wanted to see the Seperatists evolve into the Rebellion; I liked the irony and the poetic justice of the puppet military opposition manufactured by the Emperor becoming the force that would eventually defeat him. Good prevails while evil sows the seeds of its own destruction.

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Well, there's my thoughts for now. I could go on, especially if I had copies of the new trilogy to watch right now, but it occurs to me that I'm spending my summer vacation posting on forums instead of going outside and enjoying the beautiful day!

I would hire a decent screenwriter who has an ear for dialogue. I think that would solve about half of the problems right there.

Okay, less snarky, more creative...I had a list at one point. If I can get the energy up, maybe I'll sit down and draft my version of the new trilogy, if I were the Lucas.

Not to mention that the way in which it's shot is incredibly cliche: As the camera pulls back, he leans back, his arms splayed open and his face toward the heavens, yelling "Noooooooooo!" in a long, drawn-out lament.

This sort of shot is done on comedy and satire shows like The Simpsons for a reason.