Give Christenson some credit

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 2005)

I just saw the film yesterday.
Like most people, I thought this one was great, and that Lucas finally redeemed the lackluster spectacle of the two previous outings.
Like most people, I also didn't think Hayden Christensen is going to be up for an Academy Award for best actor anytime soon. Granted, his lines didn't give him all that much to work with, but - as Alec Guinness and Ian McDiarmid have demonstrated - great actors can transcend even the clunkiest dialog.
However, I think it is important to recognize what Christensen did contribute to the movie outside of his spoken dialog, and how the entire performance would be far less exiting and convincing in nearly anyone else's hands.
Specifically, I'm talking about the light-saber duels - all of which were done entirely by Christensen and McGregor themselves (I won't spend any time defending McGregor; just because his acting hasn't been bashed nearly as hard as poor Christensen's).
Like most actors, Christensen and McGregor had stunt doubles. However, after months and months of intense training - training that would take the wind out of the hardiest Jedi Knight's sails - Christensen and McGregor surpassed their stunt doubles, and Lucas decided they would do all of the swordplay themselves.
I don't claim to be an expert on fencing, but I do know a kick-ass swordplay scene when I see it. And in my opinion, the Obi-Wan/Anakin fight scene at the end alone was more butt-kicking than all of the swordplay from Gladiator, Braveheart, and all of the Robin Hood movies combined. The only swordplay I have ever seen that can even compare to the swordplay in ROTS would be that of movies such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," or "Hero," - which was done by accomplished professional martial artists.
And the importance of an actor doing his/her own stunts - and doing them well - is often overlooked. It's not until you see an obvious stunt double standing in for an actor during a fight scene or a real-life actor performing stunts that he/she obviously doesn't have the chops to do that you realize how important an actor's stunt work is to upholding the suspension of disbelief - particularly in an action-oriented film like ROTS.
So, hats off to Hayden Christensen. I would rather watch him stumble over clunky dialog - but give mind-blowing light-saber performances - than watch the greatest thespian in the world give a Shakespearian performance while a stunt double in a bad wig handles the action.