10 Great Movie Performances (That Got Better The Second Time You Watched)

3. Ewan McGregor - The Star Wars Prequels

Sometimes, a performance ends up being under-appreciated because of its context. In the case of Ewan McGregor's performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi across the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy - and in particular the first movie - there is so much questionable context around him that it's impossible not to be completely distracted.

Strip away all of that distraction - which can only be achieved by consuming it once - and McGregor's performance is far easier to appreciate. Once you can put aside George Lucas' many missteps and the story is out of the way, you start to see how great he is, not only in his subtle tribute to Alec Guinness but also in his own respect.

Even when he's lumbered with Hayden Christensen's performance to feed off or when he's engaging with Jar-Jar Binks, he's brilliant, never once letting the material distract from his character work. That's definitely something to admire.