1. Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker
Is there another movie character quite as iconic as Darth Vader? Everything about him is recognisable to even the most casual filmgoers, from his intimidating appearance, to James Earl Joness voice performance, to... well, the sound of his breathing. Before the prequels arrived, it was understood that the story would primarily focus on Anakin Skywalkers transformation into the greatest movie villain of all time. Not an easy task, by any means, but could George Lucas really screw it up that badly? Firstly, hed have to cast the worst possible actor in the role, and maybe even show Vader as an annoying kid devoid of any personality who has no bearing on the plot. Then, in the following films, have him portrayed by an equally terrible actor (only its less excusable because hes a grown man) and give him some of the worst lines of dialogue ever written for a major motion picture. He can even contrast his love interests skin with sand, and still get laid. Now, we know these films will chronicle Anakins trip to the Dark Side, so we can expect them to get a little dark. I can dig that. The Empire Strikes Back had a mature tone with some dark moments, but the all-ages appeal of Star Wars was still there. Lucas should really stick to that sort of tone for the prequels, and not go overboard with darkness. Like, could you imagine if, in a cheap attempt to establish that Anakin is evil, they have him brutally slaughter a colony of Sand People, even the women and children? And in the next movie, maybe he can murder innocent Jedi children? And what the hell, lets have him Force choke his pregnant wife to top it all off, okay? Of course, this would all be ridiculous. Nothing that disturbing would ever appear in Star Wars, which George Lucas has referred to as kids movies on several occasions. In the original films, Vader was definitely a bad guy who did some bad things, but he wasnt irredeemable. He had honor and a moral code, and you could tell there was a good man hidden somewhere in that suit. Thats why his redemption at the end of Return of the Jedi worked so well. But if Vader had been a vicious child-killer/wife-beater, then tossing the Emperor down a hole wouldnt be enough to earn forgiveness. Nothing could redeem that. How could the audience be expected to forgive such atrocities, after all?
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