Definitely a botched job. Vader was supposed to be intelligent . . . a master engineer. He designed the TIE fighter. Did you ever get any sense that this was the case? The only inkling you had of it was when he was a little kid on Tatooine. They pretty much abandoned that whole aspect of his persona.
I was hoping to see a character who was truly power mad and truly evil. What I got was a punk who was pissed because he didn't get his way. His whole conversion to the dark side was pathetic and weak.
I was very disappointed.
"What I got was a punk who was pissed because he didn't get his way"
Lucas really did bring this trilogy down to teenage-level emotional content.
Lucas could have taken the first two movies and combined it into one movie. He then could have made a second movie showing Anakin's development as a Jedi, engineer,getting more politically involved in the goings on in the Republic and Jedi Council. Lucas storyline development for Vader is not believable for the character Darth Vader is in episodes IV-VI.
"What I got was a punk who was pissed because he didn't get his way. His whole conversion to the dark side was pathetic and weak."
this was without a doubt almost the worst possible job lucas could have done on pre-vader. a petulant teenager? WHO is sympathetic to this character?
casting the first movie at maybe 18ish or so age, the second mid or late 20's, the the final older, with competent writing and a much more credible development of the character, would have really been something.
i guess he sold some of those custom-scene video games though.