Best lightsaber fight in the prequels?

My favorite part of that ESB battle was when Luke does that super fast Force jump out of the carbonite pit. Holy crap!!! He just jumped twenty feet strait up! Awesome.

 

I totally agree with @Ceruleanlord on this one. I was looking forward to the Anakin/Obi-wan duel that I was taken by surprise with the Yoda/Sidious duel.

 

I like your opinion, and I would tend to agree with you on all of this. My favorite duel in the PT is Kenobi, Qui-Gon vs. Maul, But I was moved by the Emotion in the Obi-wan vs. Anakin duel. But if I was obi-wan I would have saved him from fire, But then there would be no Darth Vader.

 

In the Yoda vs. Sidious duel, I like it when Yoda hurled the Senate pod at Sidious... and the look on Sidious's face when it happened

 

The runners-up:

6. Dooku vs. Anakin part I: Shine red and blue spotlights on the actors to simulate the swordplay because Christopher Lee is like 300 years too old to engage in ACTUAL swordplay with Hayden Christensen. Seriously, they should have cast Lawrence Fishbourne as Dooku if they wanted a truly believable intimidating character.

5. Sidius vs. Mace & friends: While it was nice for Sidius to finally declare his identity to the Jedi, he never should have used a lightsaber. That's been debated to death already, so I'll get to the second problem with it - why did the first two Jedi put up such poor performances? It's like watching a bad Chinese kung fu movie, where the extras wait in line to get their butts kicked. You're supposed to be Jedi knights, not clueless gimps!

4. Darth Maul vs. Qui Gonn in the desert: This fight had MAD potential! If you were a Sith badass how would you fight a Jedi badass? You'd leap off your hoverbike to catch him by surprise, then, uh, go through the motions of swinging your lightsaber without even AIMING at Qui Gonn? Really?

3. Obi Wan and Anakin: Pretty good fight. John Williams' score was brilliant, and after six movies we were emotionally invested in both characters. But much of the fight was unnecessary. Especially the twirling of the lightsabers behind their backs. What was that all about?

2. Obi Wan vs. Grevious: Loved Grevoius's opening move, slicing through the floor while advancing on Kenobi. But once Grevious got inside the hamster wheel and Obi Wan gave chase riding a yelping kimodo dragon? Eh, not so much.

And the winner is...

1. Obi Wan vs. Darth Maul: By far the best choreographed fight of any of the Star Wars movies, perfectly executed by Ray Park and Ewan McGregor. The insane behind-the-back block, the fast-as-lightning precision footwork, the amazing speed. And extra kudos to John Williams for Duel of the Fates, which matched the intensity of the action. The only complaint is why did Darth Maul turn off his lightsaber right as Obi Wan jumped over his head and through the very spot the lightsaber blade would have been?

 

Have to go for Maul- Obi Wan after Qui Gon injured also.

Obi Wan's desire and determination to save Qui Gon reminded me of Luke- Vader in Empire, also reminded me of why Spartans were so effective due to their bond and loyalty.

Close call with prior duel with Qui Gon, the moment Qui Gon calms himself as Maul paces as barrier separates them linked the prequels with the Originals for mine, as we saw the true stoic and warrior nature of the Jedi.

Yoda- Sidious for third. Was great to see Yoda use all the skills of the master here; force push, saber and throwing pod as Sabalan has mentioned.

But lets face it all the Saber battles are cool to watch.

 

Qui Gon/Obi Wan/Maul is my first place vote. Its acrobatic without feeling like old people who need to use the force just to be able to move (i'm looking at you front flip count dooku). All three feel like even without the force they would be incredible adept sword fighters.

Maul tossing garbage around with the force is a good touch. Double Bladed lightsabers before that got played out.

The only part I don't like about is the end. Maul would have been a great villain in the whole trilogy. (I am glad he becomes so important in TCW, but this feels like fan service to anyone who thinks Dooku was silly in the second two PT movies.)

My second favorite is not really a fight/dual, but the part in ROTS where Yoda throws his lightsaber and it sticks in the clone's chest then he jumps after it and pulls it out is a subtle, quick moment of brilliance on Lucas' part.

 

It HAS to be the Maul fight in Phantom Menace. You can tell the guy is a martial artist. I feel the last Obi/Ani fight feels a bit too clean... I do enjoy it, but the Maul fight feels more real to me. You can tell Maul is a master at swordplay, you can tell Qui-Gon is really good... but not as young or skilled, and you can tell Obi is in the path to be a real master of the lightsaber, as far as Jedi are concerned.

The Ani/Dooku fight in Clones doesn't count. It's worse than Obi/Vader in Hope.

 

@Yukari I used to feel like you about the Obi/Vader in "A New Hope". If you see it again there is really good stuff in there, like a great regard for the lightsaber weapon and how and elder jedi would truly handles it!

 

You said it! There's something magical about that fight scene. Yeah, it's the first time we see a lightsaber duel so it's magic just for that alone, but the way you described the "great regard for the lightsaber weapon" really shows through.

I remember all the stormtroopers watching the battle, too mesmerized to do anything. Luke, Han, and Leia watch it, too. Why didn't anyone pull a blaster and shoot the guy they didn't want to win? Because the moment was too sacred to profane with such a primitave weapon. Because a lightsaber duel is more than a shootout in a dusty western, it's an elegant dance between two artists, both of whom seem untroubled by the fact that only one of them will walk away. The way Obi Wan and Vader approached the Death Star duel showed respect for one another and for the tradition they were about to enact. One would live, one would die, and which man would win was really up to the Force.

Sure, other lightsaber fights were better choreographed. But Obi/Vader on the Death Star was the fight scene that really made lightsabers something more than just a laser sword.

 

@pobody Agreed...

 

I have you ask, Have you guys seen what Adywan did with the Obi/Vader fight in his revisited edition of Hope? I know is a bit off topic, but since he added some music from Sith, I guess it's worth asking?

 

Just watched it.

From a pure action standpoint, it definitely improves the scene. But overall, I like George Lucas' original version better.

Technically the Death Star duel was an action scene. Boy, this is going to be hard to explain. Let's try it this way -

Obi Wan & Qui Gonn vs. Darth Maul was an action scene. The ultimate bad guy was fighting the protagonists to the death.

The Death Srar duel was different. The ultimate bad guy wasn't fighting Luke the protagonist, but the protagonist's mentor, who kind of had to die in order to make room for Luke's coming journey. It technically was an action scene, but it was more of a passing-the-torch-to-the-next-generation scene. Ben's sacrifice cleared the way for Luke's escape from the Death Star. Remember A New Hope was Luke's story, not Obi Wan's.

In the opening scene of Revenge of the Sith, during the space battle, Anakin says he's going back to help the pilots. Obi Wan says "No! No, they are doing their jobs so that we can do ours." I think the Death Star duel falls into that same category. Obi Wan's sacrifice allowed Luke to escape; that was Obi Wan's job. The stakes weren't quite as high because it wasn't Luke fighting. The scene actually made Luke's coming confrontations with Vader in Empire and Jedi better, because we'd already seen Vader defeat a Jedi Knight in a lightsaber duel. How would a farm boy with hardly any training do against the mighty Darth Vader?

I hope you understand what I'm trying to say, because I know I'm doing a poor job of saying it. Maybe I'm trying to say the scene wasn't meant to be climactic, like the Obi Wan and Qui Gonn vs. Darth Maul scene was. The Death Star duel was supposed to be a tiny peek into the mysterious, everlasting war between Jedi and Sith, not the resolution of it. That, we knew, would come when Luke finally ignited his own lightsaber and went toe to toe with Darth Vader.

With that in mind, Adywan's version just takes it too far. Adywan's version makes it look like Obi Wan was trying to win. Lucas' original makes it look like Obi Wan is imparting some final words to a life-long adversary before sacrificing himself. The inclusion of the Return of the Sith soundtrack confuses the moment. That music is for a climactic battle between good and evil.

So yes, kudos to Adywan for making a better fight scene, but Jar Jars to Adywan for ruining the tone of Obi Wan's sacrifice.

 

Obi-Wan vs Jango....

Technically, a lightsaber was present. My vote since we finally get a real mandolorian vs jedi fight. Finally, we somebody besides a sith make a jedi break a sweat.

 

@eric78 That was one of the redeeming moments in NT for me... a really great fight overall. Jango showcased a number of tricks up his sleeve and made Obi Wan sweat for it, haha.

 

I loved Revenge of the Sith and think it deserves a place alongside the OT as an indispensable part of the canon. I think the Anakin/Obiwan/Dooku fight was intriguing because of the way it was "performed" for Sidious without anyone except Dooku really getting what was going on. The look on Anakin's face as the two lightsabers fall into his hands, the look Dooku gives Palpatine (without giving him away!) as the latter urges Anakin to behead Dooku, the strange noise as Dooku's hands are sliced off... the whole scene is a bit chilling, features excellent acting all around, and really sets the tone for what is to come.

Then there is the big duel, starting with the arrival of Padme. Hayden Christensen chews up the screen as the unhinged young Vader. Natalie Portman shows glimmers of her future greatness. Ewan MacGregor inhabits the role of Obiwan, even moving in the duel and afterward like the slightly affected gentleman Jedi. The choreography and direction show why Spielberg should have directed at least one film in this franchise in its entirety. And John Williams's music is epic. A late friend of mine who was a devoted Star Wars fan dubbed the scene "Off! The! Charts!" and I am inclined to agree.

 

Got to be Anakin versus Obi-Wan. It was the moment that everyone had been waiting for in not only Revenge, but the entirety of the prequels! It was so emotional and John Williams' music that goes along with it is a perfect mix of tension, anticipation, and action along with the imperial march mixed in! The speech Obi-Wan gives at the end is heart-breaking and even Hayden's acting is on par.

 

This one?

I think my favorite fight was Obi, Anakin and Dooku in Sith. Yeah Obi-Wan got his ass kicked again by Dooku but the thing for me was you could see Anakin in the middle of his turn to the dark side. It was an emotional fight and I disagree with the people who say that saber fights in the PT lack emotion. For me the only one that did that was the Grevious-Kenobi fight.
Close 2nd was the Maul-Kenobi, Jinn fight.

 

Make this as a voting piece at the front... List the fights... Suggestion... I like maul & obi & qui

 

Yes