Darth Vader

Central Character of the StarWars series of movies. The movies detail his rise, fall and eventual redemption.

The first movie (Episode 1) revealed how he started out as a typical StarWars fan.

Indeed. Thus far, the fatal flaw in these prequels is that our supposed tragic hero has done nothing heroic. He's merely a kid with a lot of talent and potential. For this set of movies to make any sense as a tragedy, this antihero will have to live up to his potential, do some heroic and admirable things, and then (according to the plot arc for the series) become evil and start hunting the other jedi. Can Lucas make that movie, and can he make it work? Doubt it. I find your lack of faith disturbing.

Didn't he destroy the Trade Federation Battleship rather than return to Naboo in Episode 1? In Episode three, I hear that he also does heroic things, but I don't want to spoil it for you. -- JimmyCerra

Vader is definitely not the central character of episodes IV-VI; it would be better to say the movies revolve around his family.

Vader spends all of episode IV trying to kill his own children in elaborate ways. Wagnerian, huh?. Vader doesn't appear to be at all aware that the Alderaanian princess he tortures, nor the hotshot fighter jock that he pursues through the trenches of the Death Star, are his own flesh and blood. Nor are Luke and Leia aware of their own parentage, obviously. Doubtless Palpatine (who fully distrusts Vader, at least according to the novelizations - it's never explicitly stated in the films) didn't fill him in on this until it became necessary to recruit Luke. (Again, from the novels - Palpatine wanted to recruit Luke to the Dark Side to replace Vader, not to form a triumvirate.)

A noted advocate of the management AntiPattern SomeoneMustBePunished.

It seems to me George Lucas is trying to "update" the films to a more modern feel. He's added molecular biology (midi-chlorians) in place of religion/spirituality (The Force), he used WAY too much CG animation, and he moved from small compact battles to much larger "landing at Normandy" (such as in attack of the clones).

The movies are suffering by going from high touch (where you got to know the characters, relate with them and the overall situation) to high tech. They've gotten confusing. They've gotten political. they've gotten un-fun. The closest thing to a good excuse for even seeing "Revenge of the Sith" is the long awaited conversion of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader. That's the O-N-L-Y reason I'm going to see it. I fully expect to be disappointed, but I suffered this far...may as well see what I've been waiting on. I think that'll be most peoples attitudes. But after this, it's done. If there is a Star Wars 7, I won't go to see it. I honestly don't care what happens after the Empire is destroyed, Leigh and Han get married and Luke turns dark. It was a good series, and won the hearts of a lot of geeks. It should've stopped at Jedi. Unfortunately, overcompensation seems to also be a modernization of the films.

Is it just me, or is Vader bloody incompetent? While Anakin develops into a skilled and talented Jedi by Episode 3, when it comes to politics and interpersonal relationships he's a clumsy oaf. He's far too easily manipulated by Palpatine. And Vader, despite offing numerous admirals to keep folks in line, doesn't shine as a manager in IV-VI.

Perhaps that's the real reason why Palpatine had Anakin kill Count Dooku in III. Dooku is quite sophisticated and ruthless in his own right; one who doubtless would try and overthrow his master at the right time. Vader/Anakin, being little more than unsophisticated muscle; poses much less of a threat to Palpatine's rule - indeed, Vader was a useful enforcer for Palpatine for a generation. Until Luke, who evidently inherited some of his mother's brains, came along...

CategoryMovie