Journal: Is Anakin just dumb?

Recognizing that I do, in fact, really like Episode III, my major problem with the plot is with Anakin's turn to the Dark Side. There's not a lot of buildup to Anakin's conversion to the Dark Side of the Force. He just goes on "evil" mode, and then he kicks a lot of ass. It makes for great action, but in my extremely geeky view, it falls short on believablility.

And that's because Darth Vader is supposed to be the baddest of the bad-asses in all of the galaxy (let alone our earth-bound cinematic history). I will submit that Vader is Palpatine's hired thug -- he's an enforcer, and traditionally enforcers aren't all that bright. This is illuminated by the contrivances afforded by the plot.

Consider this: Anakin turns to the dark side, allying with Palpatine, because he believes that Palpatine and his Sith teachings will give Anakin the power to save Padme, the woman he loves. Anakin knows that Palpatine is the Sith Lord responsible for Count Dooku, who cut off his arm. Anakin knows that Palpatine is the Sith Lord responsible for the war. Anakin sides with Palpatine, DESPITE the fact that Palpatine tried to kill Padme in Episode I. That's right. Let's discount everything else about how this guy has already tried to kill Padme, took down his first mentor (through the use of another thug, Darth Maul), etc. Qui-Gon was the one Jedi who truly believed that Anakin was the "Chosen One." Padme is the woman he loves. But Anakin is such a dumb-ass that he's just plain ignorant of all this history and says, "Help me, Darth Sidious!"

We're supposed to feel the tragedy in Anakin's fall from grace. But that would mean, to me, that Anakin has truly weighed the situation and STILL chooses the Dark Side for (in his perspective) noble reasons, only to find too late that those were all wrong. What I get instead is an impetuous and immature twit with exceptional agility and none of the brains or discipline to use it. That he turns to evil isn't tragic -- it's the inevitable conclusion for a brat with little classical education, crap for mentoring and negative peer pressure.