Best. Lightsaber Duel. Ever.

[Slugworth]

Easily, Luke vs Darth Vader in Cloud City. When you think about it, Luke is actually winning until Vader starts "cheating" and starts throwing things at him via the force. Luke's clothes are worn and tattered, face all bruised up, sweating, and his hand is chopped off. He even looks nervous in parts of the fight. He's in bad shape by then end of this fight. Oh, and he finds out who his dad is.

All the other fights, primarily in the prequel trilogy, are quite lacking because they don't look like they are getting winded or tired. They are just going through endless choreographed moves for too long. Yes, I realize Anakin's legs are lopped off. But up until that point, neither he or Kenobi look tired at all. And considering the conditions they were fighting in, that's just ridiculous. And Kenobi declares he won because he has the higher ground? Lame-o! I say kick his ass and shove him into the lava!

An awesome duel to check out is between Tim Roth and Liam Neeson in the film Rob Roy. Now that fight looked like a struggle!

[Gaijin]

All of the OT's fights are very poor IMO. Mark Hamil looks like he's swinging a baseball bat and almost loses his footing everytime in ROTJ. I always thought it was odd, because in the extras and stuff, you see him practicing choreographing moves and it looks fine, but onscreen, it's wild "I'm 4 years old and can swing!!" type stuff. Makes me wonder if that was on purpose (George wanting him to look "untrained"), or just....I dunno.

I'm glad the prequel's fights are better (well they're supposed to be, they are all "trained well" in the prequels). Though AOTC Hayden was horrible too. His Dooku fight was just close ups of his face more than half the fight with him following the glowing light like some kid at a rave.

The Maul fights win IMO.

[1st Border Red Devil]

Had to go with the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan vs. Maul fight, though the Obi-wan vs. Maul was a hair's breadth behind. The fights in RotS were great, but they all lacked the sheer pace that was set in TPM. As for the OT fights, it would have been nice had Luke actually used a fighting style other than 'Batter up!'.

[Guest Bromgrev]

Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan V. Darth Maul No Doubt. Only damn thing I liked about the whole film. Well, okay, I thought Padme was pretty cute ...

[Black Valkyrie]

Darth Vader vs. Luke Skywalker (ESB Bespin), why ?

The surprise attacks from Vader, the duel theme when Luke fights Vader and getting pushed out from the window.

[Warmaker]

I voted Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul. Best Lightsaber fight in Star Wars.

I was shocked that they killed Darth Maul in TPM. I wanted him to be just bad*** in more SW movies.

One of the great moments was when they had those ray shields come up to keep Qui-Gon and Darth Maul apart from each other.

Qui-Gon meditates, but Darth Maul just paces back and forth, glaring at him the entire time, probably thinking, "I soooo want to kick your *** right now."

[Majestic]

I agree, the Qui-Gon vs Darth Maul was pretty awesome. Unfortunately, IMO, the only redeeming quality of The Phantom Menace. At least I got 5 minutes of enjoyment out of that trainwreck.

I thought it was a bad idea to kill off such a cool character so quickly (Maul). He should have taken the Grevious role in the third film.

[Mr March]

I'm of the opinion that all the prequel duels are far more dynamic and interesting than those in the original trilogy. However, I have to say that dramatically Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back was the most satisfying duel. The fight was always one sided and you knew Luke was going to lose, but it was so heroic of Luke to fight on and so tragic when we discovered that simply losing the duel wasn't the worst that could happen to him. The intensified pace in the latter half of the duel was also a very nice touch to the overall duel. It's still my favorite Star Wars saber fight, even though it's dated.

My other favorite duels would be Obi-Wan/Anakin vs. Count Dooku in the opening of Revenge of the Sith. Simply the way the duel ended was incredibly rewarding; a true guilty pleasure.

[Agent ONE]

I agree, the Qui-Gon vs Darth Maul was pretty awesome. Unfortunately, IMO, the only redeeming quality of The Phantom Menace. At least I got 5 minutes of enjoyment out of that trainwreck.

I thought it was a bad idea to kill off such a cool character so quickly (Maul). He should have taken the Grevious role in the third film.

You voted for a movie you hate... You are such a loser.

[Majestic]

You voted for a movie you hate... You are such a loser.

If I didn't already know that everything you post is not to be taken seriously, I'd play along with something like "You're a moron".

[Agent ONE]

You voted for a movie you hate... You are such a loser.

If I didn't already know that everything you post is not to be taken seriously, I'd play along with something like "You're a moron".

You're a moron...

There.

[Majestic]

You're a moron...

There.

LOL. It's comedy that writes itself.

[JKeats]

Gah! MACE WINDU ENJOYS THE COMPANY OF MEN! LIGHTSABERS ARE ACTUALLY LASER POINTERS!

There, the thread is now back on-topic.

[Dobber]

I'm of the opinion that all the prequel duels are far more dynamic and interesting than those in the original trilogy. However, I have to say that dramatically Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back was the most satisfying duel. The fight was always one sided and you knew Luke was going to lose, but it was so heroic of Luke to fight on and so tragic when we discovered that simply losing the duel wasn't the worst that could happen to him. The intensified pace in the latter half of the duel was also a very nice touch to the overall duel. It's still my favorite Star Wars saber fight, even though it's dated.

My other favorite duels would be Obi-Wan/Anakin vs. Count Dooku in the opening of Revenge of the Sith. Simply the way the duel ended was incredibly rewarding; a true guilty pleasure.

I also agree about the Bespin fight, while not the best fight in my opinion, there are dynamics to that duel that are just awesome. Vader starts of really easy on Luke and as the fight goes on he slowly ups his tempo as he realizes that Luke has "some" skills. I really love the end of that duel when Luke finally lands a hit on Vader on his shoulder, to me that was when Vader said F*** this and quickly cuts Lukes hand off. You can really see then that Vader was holding back on him.

Chris

[myk]

I enjoyed the duel between Obi-Wan and 'Maul the most because it has the speed and flash of newer filming techniques, but doesn't become a mess of blurry action such as the duels between 'Dooku and Anakin, Obi-Wan and Anakin, etc. From my point of view it seems as if they're just waving their light sabers around really fast for no point at all..As a matter of fact, isn't there a part during the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin where they stand, facing each other and just twirl their blades round and round and round without trying to hit anything? With some of these light saber battles it's like watching isometric training videos, or something...

[myk]

Qui-Gon meditates, but Darth Maul just paces back and forth, glaring at him the entire time, probably thinking, "I soooo want to kick your *** right now."

That was good. I also liked the part where 'Maul was waiting for the shields to pass and let Obi-Wan through. Just before the shields opened up Obi-Wan starts pumping himself up by bouncing up and down-then dashing out when he gets the chance...

[Wes]

Is it just me, or is Obi-Wan a craptactular lightsaber-teammate? I mean, look at the history: he "helps" Qui-Gon get killed, and "helps" Anakin lose a hand, and then he gets bunked out at the final Dooku fight. He can't seem to watch anyone's back.

And the fight's he won? He took a cheap shot at a previously-injured Grievious with a blaster(not like I wouldn't use it if available...), he chopped off Anakin's legs because he was a retard, and he just got pissed off at Maul and killed him, probably just got luckly.

That's why I can't in good faith vote for any fight with Obi-Wan in it; no wonder why he "nobly sacrificed" himself to Vader, because otherwise he probably would have f'ed it up and gotten someone else hurt.

[EXO]

Obi-wan killed Maul even though he had the lower ground WITHOUT his saber...

I guess its the crutch of being a secondary lead character, you can never be the best until it suits the storyline.

[Uxi]

Yeah... that's why I always thought it would have been better for Obi-Wan to let himself fall down the shaft from Maul, who would realize the gig is up and that the Jedi Counciil is coming and split. Would have been a good homage to The Empire Strikes Back, too. Then Maul would have been largely in the shadows in Attack of the Clones or it would have been 2 on 2 in the hangar (Anakin vs Dooku and Obi-Wan versus Maul). Then Maul would take the Grevious role in Revenge of the Sith.

[Max Jenius]

Obi-wan killed Maul even though he had the lower ground WITHOUT his saber...

I guess its the crutch of being a secondary lead character, you can never be the best until it suits the storyline.

On Obi-Wan... you know these movies take place over the course of like... 20 years. Were you as good at anything you do now 20 years ago?

[Stamen0083]

Yeah... that's why I always thought it would have been better for Obi-Wan to let himself fall down the shaft from Maul, who would realize the gig is up and that the Jedi Counciil is coming and split. Would have been a good homage to The Empire Strikes Back, too. Then Maul would have been largely in the shadows in Attack of the Clones or it would have been 2 on 2 in the hangar (Anakin vs Dooku and Obi-Wan versus Maul). Then Maul would take the Grevious role in Revenge of the Sith.

Dooku and Maul can never exist at the same time, as there can only be two Sith lords at once. Somehow, I get the feeling that Dooku wouldn't have been a Separatist if he wasn't a Sith apprentice, and then Dooku and Maul would not battle Anakin and Obi-Wan.

[Mr March]

I'm of the opinion that all the prequel duels are far more dynamic and interesting than those in the original trilogy.  However, I have to say that dramatically Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back was the most satisfying duel.  The fight was always one sided and you knew Luke was going to lose, but it was so heroic of Luke to fight on and so tragic when we discovered that simply losing the duel wasn't the worst that could happen to him.  The intensified pace in the latter half of the duel was also a very nice touch to the overall duel.  It's still my favorite Star Wars saber fight, even though it's dated.

My other favorite duels would be Obi-Wan/Anakin vs. Count Dooku in the opening of Revenge of the Sith.  Simply the way the duel ended was incredibly rewarding; a true guilty pleasure.

I also agree about the Bespin fight, while not the best fight in my opinion, there are dynamics to that duel that are just awesome. Vader starts of really easy on Luke and as the fight goes on he slowly ups his tempo as he realizes that Luke has "some" skills. I really love the end of that duel when Luke finally lands a hit on Vader on his shoulder, to me that was when Vader said F*** this and quickly cuts Lukes hand off. You can really see then that Vader was holding back on him.

Chris

I liked the arrangement and progression of the Luke vs. Vader duel on Bespin as well. Though the story and dramatic result is what ultimately makes it such a great duel (much like Obi Wan/Anakin vs. Dooku and Obi-Wan vs. Anakin in RoTS), the progression and rising action of the Bespin duel creates this sense of impending doom and inevitability. The fight works in stages, gradually getting more desperate and more lethal as time goes on. Yet at no time does the duel drag on or feel uninteresting. Each step, the fighting and the seperation all build toward a great climax. Then, just when Luke is defeated and you think it can't get any worse...

No...I am your father!

*sheds a tear*

One of my favorite cinematic moments

[Prime]

For all that The Phantom Menace was not, the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan/Darth Maul fight is one of the highlights of the entire saga.

[KiriK]

Come on guys.... who doesn't remember the excitement of the yoda vs. dooku battle in AOTC.... FREAKIN AWESOME!!! to finally see frail master yoda hopping around like a bad ass with a light saber.... i remember i couldn't get enough of it... haha.... but i think dooku is just plain awkward with a lightsaber.... he looks cooler in Lord of the Rings.....

But its all about the premier Yoda battle.... Who wasn't all over that???

[Blaine23]

The Maul fight in TPM is the single most redeeming feature of the movie itself... except for the Starwars logo.

The Vader/Luke fights in ROTJ and ESB are my 2 and 3.

[Max Jenius]

Come on guys.... who doesn't remember the excitement of the yoda vs. dooku battle in AOTC.... FREAKIN AWESOME!!! to finally see frail master yoda hopping around like a bad ass with a light saber.... i remember i couldn't get enough of it... haha.... but i think dooku is just plain awkward with a lightsaber.... he looks cooler in Lord of the Rings.....

But its all about the premier Yoda battle.... Who wasn't all over that???

I think Dooku looks awkward because he's fighting an acrobatic midget. I remember everyone cheering and clapping in the theatre when Yoda strutted his stuff.

[Hurin]

I think Dooku looks awkward because he's fighting an acrobatic midget. . .

That, remember, wasn't actually there!

H

[Warmaker]

I didn't vote for it, but I just now recalled a good Lightsaber moment from the Original Trilogy... in Return of the Jedi, of all places.

Aboard the Death Star II, in the presence of the Emperor, Luke hides from Vader, not wishing to fight him. But of course, Luke's feelings betray the knowledge of Leia as a Sister to Vader. If Luke didn't turn, then perhaps she would.

Right then and there, Luke snapped, just as his father did at that age, long ago. His hatred defeated Darth Vader but unlike his father, Luke held back on the killing blow.

Luke's final series of attacks on Vader in RotJ weren't as flashy as any other SW Lightsaber duels, but the moment you could feel was critical. Luke was one swing away from being exactly as his Father.

[Seven]

What Sol Said. But if there is a good one the Maul one would be it. All of the other duels were pretty lame. Lucas should have rehired Ray Park to choreograph all of the other subsequent duels.

Didn't Nick Gillard choreograph all of the lightsaber duels in all of the prequel movies? I thought he was the one that supervised the choreography for TPM, and not Ray Park.

One thing you can notice about Ray Park is that you can always tell when you have a martial artist doing swordsplay versus an actor. Maul looked so much better because of Park's experience... imagine if Maul had been played by an actor with no martial arts experience.

[McKlown]

Hey, what about the Star Wars Kid?

BEST. LIGHTSABER DUEL. EVER.

The awsome moves he was using against the dreaded Darth Curtain makes Luke look like a toddler waving around a spork.

[Fortress_Maximus]

I agree, the Qui-Gon vs Darth Maul was pretty awesome. Unfortunately, IMO, the only redeeming quality of The Phantom Menace. At least I got 5 minutes of enjoyment out of that trainwreck.

I thought it was a bad idea to kill off such a cool character so quickly (Maul). He should have taken the Grevious role in the third film.

I completely agree. Maul should've won against Obi, or at least lose and arm or something, but Lucas fracked that up! And yes, he should've hired Ray as the fight choreographer, but you know that would've made far too much sense.

Plenty of fans wanted to see Maul v. Vader, but it never happened on screen just in the comics.

Still voted for the Vader v. Luke (ESB) battle that IMO had excellent pacing, suspense and display of the Force v. Dark Side. It wasn't just a hack and slash, which I do enjoy but at the end, Vader dropped the bomb on Luke. Excellent.

Edited June 10, 2005 by Fortress_Maximus