> What I *would* have liked is to have seen Anakin inadvertently use the force to help him blow up the space station at the end, as that would have been quite preferable to having him blow it up by accident.

The Ep.1 book explains that Anakin tuned in enough to the Force that he would react spontaneously, not accidentally. The storyline suggests the Force sang in his mind with such insistence at that point, he punched up "fire torpedoes into power generator" by instinct.


> > Well I hope this stimulates some responses. Ever since reading Asimov I live for major unforseen twists.

What unforeseen twists by Asimov? The Mule?


> "Major unforeseen twists" are interesting, but when done gratuitously, they're BAD. For one thing, they're only effective for a single viewing. After that, you know the twist is coming, and if the underlying story doesn't hold water, then one will become quickly, and rightly, discouraged. This was clearly the case with your third suggestion -- it would introduce so many plot holes as to become ridiculous. (Why would Anakin then assume Obiwan's identity? Why wouldn't he just say, "Yeah, that Vader's actually my old tutor who snapped a wire and went koo-koo. By the way, hi son." -- Then there's another side effect: the best plot twist in the whole series, by virtue of how it enhanced the story rather than plugging for a cheap, short-lived thrill, is utterly ruined. In episode 5, when Vader says the immortal, "Luke, I am your father," what do we get in light of your would-be episode 1-3's silliness?

I'm all for really good, *solid* internal self-consistency in movies or books.


> You can't throw plot twists gratuitously. Your audience will hate it. *GOOD* plot twists are highly rewarding, but there's more to a "good plot twist" than it seems. For a plot twist to work, it can't be so outrageous as to induce laughter; rather, the audience ideally must have ALMOST seen it coming.

Which is why "Entrapment", while a fairly good movie for a first viewing, cannot really be appreciated twice -- because you know too much the 2nd time around.

Wolfspirit