Bingowings said:
TMBTM said:
One of the main criticisms of the PT is that Anakin is not a likable character, but I think Adywan should not try to make Anakin a likable character. 1: cause I don't see an easy way to make Hayden's Anakin a likable hero, and 2: he is fucking Darth Vader after all! We should hate him for getting progressively evil (but not for being a douche, all right! He should be as smart as possible given the source). Let's Obi-Wan be the real hero who witness the fall of his student friend. The audience should feel sorry for Obi-Wan, but not for Anakin.
In an ideal situation we wouldn't have seen much of Obi-Wan of Anakin anyway. We know how most of their story played out from watching the OT so that made watching the films in filmed order particularly boring and flat conceptually and watching them in chronological order seeing Anakin too much reveals and spoils plot revelations from future episodes.
However it is important that Anakin be a good man corrupted and that we should care about this otherwise this weakens the impact of the OT where we are supposed be glad that Anakin has defeated Vader from within so to speak by being guided by his son the OT protagonist.
I think the only way this can be done in an edit of the existing PT is by showing less Anakin and seeing his effect on the universe more. That way if survivors of battles whisper the hero's name with awe and respect we will respect him. Especially if we hear and see less Hayden. Similarly when Vader turns up he should be seen more conceptually than physically. We should see massacred Jedi and hear witnesses trembling with fear describing the mysterious dark lord.
That way by the time we have got to Jedi we know Anakin was a hero who became this terrifying warlord and became the hero again. He will earn a place in Jedi Valhalla and not just be an annoying petulant shite who got burned up after choking his pregnant wife.
I think that having the viewer like/admire Anakin might not be an ideal situation, but rather a necessary thing in order to preserve the WTF moment in ESB.
At this point one could argue wether you should have the whole arc of Anakin bended just to preserve one plot twist, no matter how iconic or important it is for the fans, or if other things are more important.
There's a chance of having a saga defined by the message of Yoda wars don't make one great instead of "OMG he's his father, it cannot be!". Yes, plot-twists are cool, but not enough to justify a six-part saga. Infact they even might be overrated; surprise and astonishment aren't by far the most important values a film/script/novel/stage play can have. (tell that to the creators of Lost).
I believe the best way to have Anakin's redemption in ROTJ be endorsed is to make us pity him in the PT, as someone trapped by the nonesensical morale of the Jedi Order and forced to be basically a blind soldier instead of a regular guy.
I agree however, that his position should be secondary. Having Anakin be "famous" within the Order and the highests layers of society just makes the whole OT full of plot-holes.
What has the Empire made of Anakin (this meaning the official story) ? If he was labeled as a Jedi traitor, then there's no reason why the rebels haven't picked him up as a symbol for their struggle. If the Empire gave Anakin the same treatment Adolph Hitler gave to Erwin Rommel, then Anakin could be a hero for both sides in the OT (that would have been very very interesting to be played in Rebels). If, in any case, Vaders identity wasn't a secret for the galaxy, then that makes a fool of Luke.
This all can be solved if instead of a "famous war hero" and "the most powerful of Jedi" Anakin just was a skilled but regular and most obedient of all Jedi.