> > 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.

That's great for the book, then. Terry Brooks is my favorite modern fantasy author -- I'd have read the book by now were I not so preoccupied with more BAMmable reading material. Reading interviews with Brooks about his novel version, I was pleased to hear that he was given the creative freedom to expand upon and beyond the screenplay. I wish that particular plot element had been present in the movie, though. It's possible it was supposed to be, but the editing and dialogue (Anakin clumsily narrating his every move) do not give this impression. A little extra work in the editing room would have gone a long way.

But even then -- what was the reactor core doing in the docking bay?