Star Wars vs Star Trek

[OB1]

I'm not saying there aren't social and economic problems in the Republic. That there are is obvious. What I am saying is that Palpatine uses this as a stepping stone to power, but shows not the slightest overt interest in actually FIXING the problem. He doesn't want to make things better, he just wants to be boss.

Your explanations did not satisfy me. You and ABF seem to confuse the concepts of 'all-powerful villain' with 'villain with actual character depth'. And again, I am going by what I have seen in the movies, most of which I have seen multiple times. The movies do not even begin to explain any possible motives.

You are missing a very large piece of the puzzle. In Episodes I and II you see how Palpatine gains power, and then fast forward several decades to Episodes IV, V, and VI and you see what happened long after that. You're complaining about not getting a few key facts when the third and most important chapter (in Palpatine's story) has not been released yet. But even still, there is enough evidence in the five existing movies to understand a lot.

Boy, you are so totally misunderstanding, it makes me want to cry.

I look at historical villains through the same eyes as I do a fictional villain. After all, the only thing that seperates them is that one was real and one was not, but both are known to me only by stories I hear or read. Now, obviously, when you get down to minute details, a real person is going to be infinitely deeper than a fictional villain, but not necessarily in the factors relating to what actually MAKES them do wrong. What Hitler had for breakfast has nothing to do with why he was so evil. However, his childhood experiences, as a student, his time in the German army, and after in the Freikorps, all DID have a tremendous impact, and shaped him into the monster he was.

A fictional character doesn't have to have a past and motives as complex and detailed as Hitler to be an effective and believable villain. There are few fictional characters out there who are that complex. But they don't HAVE to be. Since they are part of a story, all that really matters is why they are, and what made them that way. What drives them to be this way. What are they looking to gain and to accomplish? These things can be quite simple and still produce a memorable character.

But Palpatine doesn't have any of that, except for the most ridiculously simple motive: Desire for total power. That's what makes him a crappy and shallow character, when characters like Darth Vader are much more believable and empathetic.

So you're saying that you need to know the life story of a villain in order for him to be interesting and effective? Unless you are a criminal psychologist that is completely unnecessary to know. Hitler's life and circumstances are not solely responsible for the person he became. Plenty of people go through rough times and have had far more difficult lives than Hitler, yet they did not become evil dictators. We will never know why Hitler became so evil because that is not something he would ever talk about. There's a difference between the reasoning and justification for his actions and the actual truth as to why he was such an evil human being. Those are two very different things yet so many people think they're the same. Some people are just devoid of good, and you will not find out why that is by looking at their childhood. No matter how tough someone's life is they still have the choice to do good or bad.

Hell, I could give Palpatine a backstory and motives in about ten minutes that would totally transform him into a character you could hate but still feel sorry for, or at least understand. It's not so hard. It's just that George Lucas got lazy with this very important catalyst, and it drives me crazy.

Yeah totally, it's not like he's even going to make another movie explaining all of this.

You're worse than ABF!