The Temptation of Anakin Skywalker
Let's see... it's 11:11 P.M. right now. I've just gotten back in from having seen "Revenge of the Sith".
That was cool.
I'm serious, y'all. This movie made the past two worthwhile, and now even Episode II makes sense. Which is quite a feat, when you think about it.
Just a few thoughts (warning, this will contain spoilers, so stop reading if you've not seen the film yet):
R2-D2 cooks. Battle droid flambe, baby.
Com links need volume control.
Gee... Palpatine, the old Apprentice, and the guy he wants as the new apprentice. A command to strike the old one down. My, doesn't THIS look familiar.
Grievous coughs. See the "Clone Wars" cartoon microseries to find out why.
I guess flying fire trucks are something a city-covered planet would need in a space-faring society.
Anakin! Discretion, boy! I know she's Natalie Portman, but...
The sad thing is, he's the first Jedi in generations to hear those words. "I'm pregnant."
Which is half the Jedi's problem at this point in history. But that's a whole 'nother story.
Dialogue, at least, Romantic Dialogue, does not seem to be Lucas's strong point. That being said, the actors are doing a decent enough job, nowhere near as bad as what I've heard.
Which probably says more about my judgement regarding acting ability than it does their performances.
You know, I have to wonder what would have happened if the Council had just told Palpatine "No". For not trusting him, they seem quite willing to acquiesce to his requests.
Now the plot begins to take shape. Anakin is being tempted, not by power or money or revenge, but through what he wants the most: to keep his wife alive, to not stand by and watch, helplessly, as someone else he loves dies. It's a powerful desire, for love is a very strong emotion, and extremely volatile.
And now, the line is cast.
Heh. Wookies!
I do truly hope that was Grievous's heart and not some other "dangly bits".
One disadvantage to being more cyborg than droid, I guess.
"How uncivilized." *snort*
Anakin delivers the message... and now the bait is taken. In his conflict between what he belived Palpatine was, what Palpatine actually is, and what he is willing to do to try and preserve Padme, Anakin now holds the fate of an entire generation in his choice.
I recognize Mace Windu and Kit Fisto. Don't know the other two.
The shots between Anakin and Padme are some of the best visuals in the movie. She knows that something is changing; he fears that without Palpatine, he will loose her.
He makes his first choice; he leaves the Temple to try and save Palpatine.
Kit! NO!!!!
Good grief, Palps is good with that.
And now, the fate of the galaxy revolves around the choices of Mace Windu and Anakin Skywalker. Mace makes his; so does Anakin.
Mace does not go down like a punk.
For love, Anakin swears feality to the darkness. Wait, check that, NOT for love; to try and preserve what he loves, what he desires, he betrays everything he knows, INCLUDING what he loves, and binds himself to the darkness.
"You shall now be called... Darth Vader."
Go to the Jedi Temple, destroy all in your path.
Oh no... Anakin, you traitorous, murderous... So the Sith are now as bad as the Islamists.
"Initiate order 66."
Ki Adi Mundi... Aalya Secura... darnit, they just killed off the hot blue Twi-lek Jedi.
Bail Organa arrives... and can do nothing.
An attempt on Yoda. Heh. THAT didn't work.
Aww... Chewie helps carry Yoda to safety. As if that exists.
Jimmy Smits to the rescue.
The Jedi Temple has a beacon, currently set to "call home". Must be reset.
Anakin is now a good liar. But there is something to his eyes now, something... almost insane. But not, really; he is fully sane, here, just utterly without remorse. Without compassion.
The Last of the Jedi return to Coruscant.
And with a simple announcement, the Old Republic is no more.
No more separatists. Make a deal with the devil...
... and now Obi-Wan knows. So does Padme.
"Anakin's the father, isn't he? I'm very sorry."
And suddenly, Yoda's statement in ESB of "Go now, help them you could... but you would endanger all for which they have fought, and suffered..." means a WHOLE lot more than what it did. His father had acted on a vision he had, and did what he thought he had to do... and destroyed everything that they had fought and sacrified and bled and killed for.
Darkness pollutes love, and this is the result. He brings about his own vision.
Now THIS is a buildup. The fight itself is meaningless: no matter who wins, nothing in the galaxy will change. But for these two... each feels the other has betrayed him. One was poisoned by the half-truths and promises of a dark master, the other stayed true to principle and philosphy.
Correction, the duel DOES matter: whoever wins will control the upbringing of the Son of Skywalker. Much hinges on this moment, much that neither combatant can see: this is like Beren and Luthien descending into Angband to recover a Silmaril. Their actions will rule the fate of many for ages to come.
Obi-wan and Anakin, Yoda and Palpatine.
This is like, I dunno... a duel in the Rotunda with the future of the US at stake or something.
Duel of the Fates. Apropriate.
There is no quarter here; this is personnal.
And Yoda... fails. We knew it would be so, but...
"You were the Chosen One! You were supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them!"
"I HATE YOU!" "Anakin, you were my brother. I loved you." The contrast between these two men...
Luke and Leia. Padme dies, believes there is still good in Anakin. Darth Vader, mask and all... arises. David Prowse really should be in this suit, as Hayden Christensen just doesn't have the build for it.
Vader realizes what he has done. You have to read Matt Stover's prose in the novelization to fully appreciate this scene.
So the disappearing act that Yoda and Obi-wan pull at their deaths is taught to them by Qui-Gon. 'k, I can live with that.
It is done, then. Vader, the Emperor, and Tarkin examine the Death Star. Bail Organa takes Leia with him to Alderaan.
And Obi-Wan Kenobi delives Luke to Owen and Beru Lars on Tatooine.
That was cool.
I'm serious, y'all. This movie made the past two worthwhile, and now even Episode II makes sense. Which is quite a feat, when you think about it.
Just a few thoughts (warning, this will contain spoilers, so stop reading if you've not seen the film yet):
R2-D2 cooks. Battle droid flambe, baby.
Com links need volume control.
Gee... Palpatine, the old Apprentice, and the guy he wants as the new apprentice. A command to strike the old one down. My, doesn't THIS look familiar.
Grievous coughs. See the "Clone Wars" cartoon microseries to find out why.
I guess flying fire trucks are something a city-covered planet would need in a space-faring society.
Anakin! Discretion, boy! I know she's Natalie Portman, but...
The sad thing is, he's the first Jedi in generations to hear those words. "I'm pregnant."
Which is half the Jedi's problem at this point in history. But that's a whole 'nother story.
Dialogue, at least, Romantic Dialogue, does not seem to be Lucas's strong point. That being said, the actors are doing a decent enough job, nowhere near as bad as what I've heard.
Which probably says more about my judgement regarding acting ability than it does their performances.
You know, I have to wonder what would have happened if the Council had just told Palpatine "No". For not trusting him, they seem quite willing to acquiesce to his requests.
Now the plot begins to take shape. Anakin is being tempted, not by power or money or revenge, but through what he wants the most: to keep his wife alive, to not stand by and watch, helplessly, as someone else he loves dies. It's a powerful desire, for love is a very strong emotion, and extremely volatile.
And now, the line is cast.
Heh. Wookies!
I do truly hope that was Grievous's heart and not some other "dangly bits".
One disadvantage to being more cyborg than droid, I guess.
"How uncivilized." *snort*
Anakin delivers the message... and now the bait is taken. In his conflict between what he belived Palpatine was, what Palpatine actually is, and what he is willing to do to try and preserve Padme, Anakin now holds the fate of an entire generation in his choice.
I recognize Mace Windu and Kit Fisto. Don't know the other two.
The shots between Anakin and Padme are some of the best visuals in the movie. She knows that something is changing; he fears that without Palpatine, he will loose her.
He makes his first choice; he leaves the Temple to try and save Palpatine.
Kit! NO!!!!
Good grief, Palps is good with that.
And now, the fate of the galaxy revolves around the choices of Mace Windu and Anakin Skywalker. Mace makes his; so does Anakin.
Mace does not go down like a punk.
For love, Anakin swears feality to the darkness. Wait, check that, NOT for love; to try and preserve what he loves, what he desires, he betrays everything he knows, INCLUDING what he loves, and binds himself to the darkness.
"You shall now be called... Darth Vader."
Go to the Jedi Temple, destroy all in your path.
Oh no... Anakin, you traitorous, murderous... So the Sith are now as bad as the Islamists.
"Initiate order 66."
Ki Adi Mundi... Aalya Secura... darnit, they just killed off the hot blue Twi-lek Jedi.
Bail Organa arrives... and can do nothing.
An attempt on Yoda. Heh. THAT didn't work.
Aww... Chewie helps carry Yoda to safety. As if that exists.
Jimmy Smits to the rescue.
The Jedi Temple has a beacon, currently set to "call home". Must be reset.
Anakin is now a good liar. But there is something to his eyes now, something... almost insane. But not, really; he is fully sane, here, just utterly without remorse. Without compassion.
The Last of the Jedi return to Coruscant.
And with a simple announcement, the Old Republic is no more.
No more separatists. Make a deal with the devil...
... and now Obi-Wan knows. So does Padme.
"Anakin's the father, isn't he? I'm very sorry."
And suddenly, Yoda's statement in ESB of "Go now, help them you could... but you would endanger all for which they have fought, and suffered..." means a WHOLE lot more than what it did. His father had acted on a vision he had, and did what he thought he had to do... and destroyed everything that they had fought and sacrified and bled and killed for.
Darkness pollutes love, and this is the result. He brings about his own vision.
Now THIS is a buildup. The fight itself is meaningless: no matter who wins, nothing in the galaxy will change. But for these two... each feels the other has betrayed him. One was poisoned by the half-truths and promises of a dark master, the other stayed true to principle and philosphy.
Correction, the duel DOES matter: whoever wins will control the upbringing of the Son of Skywalker. Much hinges on this moment, much that neither combatant can see: this is like Beren and Luthien descending into Angband to recover a Silmaril. Their actions will rule the fate of many for ages to come.
Obi-wan and Anakin, Yoda and Palpatine.
This is like, I dunno... a duel in the Rotunda with the future of the US at stake or something.
Duel of the Fates. Apropriate.
There is no quarter here; this is personnal.
And Yoda... fails. We knew it would be so, but...
"You were the Chosen One! You were supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them!"
"I HATE YOU!" "Anakin, you were my brother. I loved you." The contrast between these two men...
Luke and Leia. Padme dies, believes there is still good in Anakin. Darth Vader, mask and all... arises. David Prowse really should be in this suit, as Hayden Christensen just doesn't have the build for it.
Vader realizes what he has done. You have to read Matt Stover's prose in the novelization to fully appreciate this scene.
So the disappearing act that Yoda and Obi-wan pull at their deaths is taught to them by Qui-Gon. 'k, I can live with that.
It is done, then. Vader, the Emperor, and Tarkin examine the Death Star. Bail Organa takes Leia with him to Alderaan.
And Obi-Wan Kenobi delives Luke to Owen and Beru Lars on Tatooine.
posted by Wes at 11:55 AM
3 Comments:
What was with all the hands being chopped off though? I mean really.
- Z
Well, they were disarming moves...
I have just come home from seeing REVENGE OF THE SITH. How I wept! Poor Anakin. To be so convinced that he was doing the RIGHT thing only to find that he was deceived!
But here's another thought to consider . . . .
All the while Anakin made his choices based on half-truths and half understood visions, the redeemable heart of a good man was being ripped asunder. The pieces lay in bleeding tatters, yet they were still the pieces of a good heart.
His fear of losing what he held dear . . . caused him to make choices that would lead to their loss. Now he was trapped into service to Darth Sidious by his guilt, to the sorrow of the Galaxy. Did he have to remain in that bondage? No!
But he did not learn that truth -- the truth uncovered by his grandson (Jacen Solo in NJO)-- until ROTJ. Thus, when he accepted the responsibility for the choices he made (and their consequences)and THEN chose to make one more choice to set matters right, he FINALLY fulfilled the prophecy concerning himself. He brought a final end to the Sith. The Emperor died. He died. But he died a good man.
He was redeemed, becoming all that Qui-Gon believed of him, because his was originally the heart of a good man. He was able to rediscover his path and stand upon it. Hmmmm. If there is hope for Anakin, there is hope for us all.
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