Home STAR WARS: The Big Picture STAR WARS: Episode III Other

This section is in honor of Hayden Christensen for his excellent portrayal of Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. In Episode II, Hayden does all his own stunts which is hard work. The first stunt we see Hayden do is he jumps clear across this glass table and onto Amidala's bed to kill the bugs about to bite her. Who says white man can't jump. That is sure not true in Hayden's case. All his jumps are good.

The next stunt Hayden does is the fight on Zam's speeder. When Hayden is hanging on the front part of Zam's speeder, he is so loose, Hayden moves in all directions. To me Hayden did much better than those Olympic gymnasts who looked stiff as surfboards compared to Hayden. Only my cat Gebo could move so well. Something about the way Hayden moves turns you on and excites you. Even Tom Cruise does not excite me as much as Hayden did. Of course, the whole sequence on Zam's speeder could rival James Bond but even better since Hayden did the stunt himself, no stunt man.

Then, Hayden falls off the speeder to chase Zam. To do a good fall is just as hard as any other stunt. You have to fall just right or you break bones and are visiting the doctor. Ask any martial artist, the fall is just as important.

In the Dooku scene, Hayden does my favorite leap. Hayden leaps like a black panther to save Ewan McGregor who is now on the floor wounded. Then Hayden uses two light sabers to fight Darth Tyrannus. This scene is cool. The fight needs precision by Hayden. Hayden also has to see in the dark which is hard.

All throughout episode II, Hayden portrays emotions well. Hayden makes you feel Anakin's feelings. When Anakin winces in pain, you feel it with him. If Anakin cries, you cry too. When Anakin is happy and loving, you wish you were there to receive it. Hayden's facial expressions are priceless. I love the care Hayden puts into Anakin/Vader.
Hayden's voice is soft and gentle. It makes you feel warm inside. Hayden channels Anakin/Vader well. Channeling is hard to do for any practitioner. The fact that Hayden channels Anakin does make me wonder if he believes in the Force. This is not weird because Tom Cruise admitted to feeling the Force while filming "The Last Samurai." When you deal in arch typical forces (emanations of the Force), you are bringing them into the physical plane. This concept is in all non-fundamentalist religions. Hayden had the role of a lifetime, to play an arch typical human and the god Shiva (an archangel in western religion) which is very difficult for an actor. The actor is in essence playing two parts in one. I am sure playing Anakin/Vader was a challenge for Hayden. Obviously Hayden passed with flying colors.

I love the interview with Hayden that came with the trilogy DVD. Hayden says, "This is the cool part." He was now in the helmet. Hayden made me wish that I was there with him to share in Hayden's excitement.

In Episode III, there is the famous light saber fight between Hayden and Ewan. This light saber fight took long grueling hours of work to choreograph perfectly. This was exhausting and hard work. I am glad he made it without getting sick. I also hope they paid him enough for such long hours. Obviously by movie time Hayden did very well with this light saber fight. If we had one-world communism, Hayden could have enjoyed a slower more paced schedule.

The way Hayden plays Anakin/Vader so well makes me wonder if there is an Anakin in the Hayden, or even a touch of Vader. Hayden made me fall in love with Anakin. Because Hayden played Anakin so well, especially Anakin's emotions, Hayden makes me wish I could really meet him and date Hayden. Hayden makes you wonder if he is as real off screen. In the movie I side with Anakin 100%. I feel I would have done the same under the circumstances. Hayden is key to helping you side with Anakin.

Episode III was even more challenging for Hayden because he had to play a person who now has lost touch with his true self and is stuffing his feelings and forcing himself to live up to society's ideals. This must have felt depressing and oppressive for Hayden. I felt sorry for Anakin and for Vader when he makes the switch. I also felt sorry for Hayden too. Hayden did well in the final light saber battle. In one part, it looks like they had to fight on this beam that was hard to balance. If looks are not deceiving, that scene was real tough to perform.