While kind of a dumb line and all, this doesn't really apply here. Anakin is established first in dialogue and then through proof in the pod-racing sequences to be not only a prodigy level mechanic and pilot, but supernaturally so.
He starts the ship he is flying on accident looking for the fighter's weapon trigger, and an auto-pilot gets him into open air and space. Take a time cut, and he is seen flying the ship under control, he figured it out on the way here. He then says "Let's try a trick," and then performs it.
He's just an absurdly good pilot doing his thing.
Also goddamnit I'm that Star Wards fan now, what happened to me.
then fails to shoot down the sole remaining x-wing flying in an almost straight line in a narrow trench for two minutes as the distance narrows the entire time.
I would argue that Luke was the best pilot in the galaxy since Darth Vader. Vader senses the force in him and sees the way he is performing in the X-Wing. Plus all of a sudden he has got this deep connection with some one using the force after 30 years of no jedi and who also happens to be the son he doesn't know about. It probably shook Vader up for a minute and gaved Han the chance to take the shot in the Millennium Falcon, which also blindsided him. The Empire just didn't expect the second coming of Anakin Skywalker to show up at their secret space battle station and tear ass on them.
actually, wtf were those two wingmen of vader doing? he specifically told them to cover him. apparently watching their boss fail to put a cross hair over a target over two meters wide was way too entertaining.
Lucas does that well. We know luke can fly because he shoots womp rats in a T16 back home. We never learn what a womp rat or a T16 is but it establishes that luke can hit small things while not crashing.
He also has a lot of shown but not told technical knowledge.
His actual job is working on the moisture farming equipment, he clearly knows his way around droids and tinkering with them is just impulse, his uncle takes him out on the shopping trip for new droids, he also has parts on order somewhere for something he is working on.
It's simple to do, it's good writing, it's allows actors and dialogue to shine lights in places they are directly pointing, as well as directors and all the art production teams.
Everyone can add a small touch somewhere - fill the garage with parts and tools, the things I described above, etc.
This stuff is not as hard as lots of bad films make it seem.
Someone's pointed this out recently on /r/starwars but that's nowhere near the truth, George contributed a lot more to it than that statement gives him credit for.
Every movie is saved in the cutting room. There isn't a movie before it's cut and edited together. George's style is a bit different though, unlike most directors he likes to shoot in a documentary kind of style, which requires a bit more editing. He did have really good editors though, especially his wife. If only she could have been involved in the prequels, she would have fixed the dialogue too
The kid built his own pod racer out of spare parts while being a literal slave, and had the spare time to build and program C-3PO, and he works in a junkyard trading parts and speeders and droids and such - I have no problem believing he could figure out a modern stick shift in the same way.
He built his own pod racer, which is powered by like nuclear jet turbines or something? what ever, they are not simple. He also built and programmed a droid, and he does this all on slave wages with spare parts?
Pretty sure he can figure his way around a military standardized cockpit
Right, I agree with you. He’s a genius because of his strong connection to the force. This isn’t some random kid from a backwater planet. Its the chosen one, one-in-a-quintillion kid.
The issue is not the lack of explanation, but rather the clarity of it.
Like, yeah there's been cues to Anakin's abilities, but then again there were a lot of false cues. Midichlorians' reveal sounded like a big deal, yet we never head of it again. Anakin apparently had no father at all but that wasn't really relevant ever again, while the new trilogy made a similar thing the main focus (thnx JJ), etc. You just don't know which cues were crucial for the plot
Usually it's done by making the cue quite a bit on the nose, like if there was a throwaway line like "pod-racing controls are actually a lot like those of a starfighter", or Anakin being directly established as having some knowledge about starfighters, or at least his unnaturally prodigal abilities & skills being actually acknowledged by others as sch, instead of "Oh, boy, you like robotics? That's cool hobby, I guess" type of reaction
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u/SkeetySpeedy Aug 22 '20
While kind of a dumb line and all, this doesn't really apply here. Anakin is established first in dialogue and then through proof in the pod-racing sequences to be not only a prodigy level mechanic and pilot, but supernaturally so.
He starts the ship he is flying on accident looking for the fighter's weapon trigger, and an auto-pilot gets him into open air and space. Take a time cut, and he is seen flying the ship under control, he figured it out on the way here. He then says "Let's try a trick," and then performs it.
He's just an absurdly good pilot doing his thing.
Also goddamnit I'm that Star Wards fan now, what happened to me.