Where would you rank the Lightsaber Fight?

Top

Luke/ Vader ESB
Luke/ Vader ROTJ
Ren/ Rey-Finn TFA

the rest

Honorable mention

Obi-Wan/ Vader SW

 

The original trilogy is pretty much untouchable. This one ranks right after.

 

I just rewatched all the original duels and prequel duels after going to the theater again and watching TFA again. Rey/Finn v. Kylo gets the bronze, beaten by a hair for the silver medal by Luke Vader in Jedi. TESB on Bespin runs away from all others like Secretariat at Belmont.

 

The saber battle was amazing.

Personally, i am a huge fan of the light saber battles in the prequels, and also the battles in the OT, but this to me, was the PERFECT combination of both. I always say it's not fair to compare the battles from the prequels to the OT, because they are from different times, both in real life and in the story. (e.g. prequels = Jedi in their prime, so obviously they'd be more skilled)

JJ said he wanted to bring in the kind of savage and primitive fight style from the OT, while being incredibly emotional. This is exactly what we got.

Yes Finn kinda got his a$$ kicked, but was still amazing. But when Luke's saber wizzed past Ren and straight into the hands of Rey, my goosebumps had goosebumps. Probably my second favorite scene in the movie (behind Luke's saber being stuck in the snow scene) is their confrontation at the edge of the cliff. You could see the reflection of both sabers, red and blue, in a cross, in the eyes of both Ren and Rey. So beautiful.

To how Rey totally beat up Ren at the end? I'm guessing she just channeled the force (let it in), and she felt it flow through her.
It "controlled her actions", but also "obeyed her commands"

 

I'll rate them on emotional impact.
ROTJ, Although the part where Luke beats Vader back to that bridge is short I think that was the best SW will ever have to offer. Still gives me chills on the 1000th viewing.
TESB, a very close second. Luke's screaming NOOooo in agony, as he doesn't want to admit what he knows to be true. That's real fantasy drama!!!
TFA, Just because that really looks like Rey is trying to hit him as hard as she can and Kylo is toying with her. Even offers to teach her. His over confidence lost him that round once Rey tapped into the force.

The PT are not cannon to me. I prefer to still imagine there is an incredible story behind Ben Kenobi's best friend turning to the dark side; while they fought together in a war against the evil clones. So although some of the PT duels were mildly entertaining those aren't SW to me.

 

Not sure where I rank Kylo vs Rey compared to ESB & ROTJ - I really want to see it again.

For those who have not seen it - this is a fantastic sequence. I had very mixed feelings about TCW series, and even more mixed feelings about bringing back Maul, but I so enjoyed getting to see Sidious really show his power. This beats many of the movie fights in my eyes.

 

The first time I watched it i was in total shock - so amazing. On my second viewing I went with a friend whom had also seen it and we literally grabbed each other in anticipation.

 

1. Luke vs. Vader in the Emperor's throne room (ROTJ). I don't know that this one will ever be topped for me, it was just perfect.
2. Luke vs. Vader on Bespin (ESB). lighting, the acting, the set-design, everything was just fantastic. And it helped to show just how completely overmatched Luke was. The fight itself was amazing as well.
3. Rey/Finn vs. Kylo in the snow (TFA). Again, fantastic location, fantastic use of the terrain, lighting, etc. All three actors were fantastic, and I loved how raw, gritty, and violent it was, it felt like an actual fight. Also little things like Kylo using the crossguard to burn Finn's shoulder, or Rey slashing a trees in order to try and slow Kylo down, were nice touches as well. And it helps cement the Rey/Kylo conflict for the future.

#2 and #3 are VERY close for me, and they could change the more that I think about it.

The PT fights were underwhelming for me just because I tended to not care about anyone involved except for Obi Wan.

-But the Obi Wan/Qui Gon/Darth Maul fight was technically impressive and Ray Park was physically amazing in that scene.

-The Anakin/Obi Wan duel on Mustafar had a cool location, which also was symbolically important. And it's the closest that I ever had to an emotional investment (mostly due to Ewan McGregor's fantastic performance). But the actual duel itself didn't really work for me.

 

1. Luke vs. Vader (ESB)
2. Rey / Finn vs Kylo
3. Luke vs Vader (RotJ) but only after Vader mentions Leia and fights with anger.
4. Obi Wan & Qui Gon vs Maul - When Maul lights up the other end of his staff - I lost it. But I think they actually spoiled the moment by showing that in the trailer.

 

To me a great duel involves a lot of monologuing as the chess match plays out. I could be satisfied with fast and flashy or slow and powerful as long as the duel tells a story. When I say story I mean the fight itself is a story. Beginning, middle, end. Monologue. One-upmanship. Discovery and realization.

A perfect example would be The Incredibles. They talk about it so plainly and execute it so perfectly it almost seems a spoof on what a perfect duel should be like.

I enjoyed all of the Star Wars duels. They all do a fine job at what I described but if I had to pick one it would be TESB, depending on my mood at the time

EDIT Oh I forgot to rank TFA duel. I'd say right at the top.

 

I would probably rank it third below ROTJ's fight between Luke and Vader, and TESB's fight between Luke and Vader.

The ROTJ fight to me was the best fight of the OT. It had enormous stakes for both sides that reached their culmination in this fight. The fighting between the two is brutal and intense but also technical and well choreographed without being obviously so. The music in that fight was incredible, and the dialog between Luke and Vader was great. It also had the benefit of being a rematch for the ESB fight and I love rematches.

The ESB's fight was a really close second. The fighting was great and Vader was really intimidating throughout the fight. The atmosphere is just incredible to see as well and it is eerily quite for most of their fight. Vader's reveal at the end is also one of the greatest moments in cinema history.

The fight between Rey and Finn and Kylo Ren was visually stunning to look at. It is very evocative of the ESB fight in terms of the darkness of the atmosphere. It felt like a real fight full of emotion between people fighting for their lives. I loved Way of the Force for the fight as it added a sense of desperation to the fight. Overall, it provided a great ending to the TFA.

The TPM fight is fourth for me just because of the Duel of the Fates. Finally the other lightsaber fights come in after that in no particular order.

 

1) Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul - TPM
2) Anakin vs. Obi-Wan - ROTS
3) Mace vs. Palpatine - ROTS
4) Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul - TPM
5) Yoda vs. Dooku - AOTC
6) Luke vs. Vader - TESB
7) Yoda vs. Palpatine - ROTS
8) Anakin and Obi-Wan vs. Dooku - ROTS
9) Luke vs. Vader - ROTJ
10) Anakin and Obi-Wan vs. Dooku - AOTC
11) Obi-Wan vs. Vader - ANH
12) Finn and Rey vs. Kylo Ren - TFA

 

At the moment, this ^^...these are definitely the top three for me, but I keep waffling about the order when I rewatch this:



I guess my criteria for good lightsaber duels involves "raw."

 

i like it raw too and i waffle on this contest a lot.
my bias for snow puts TFA on top, but Luke & Vader in ROTJ will always be beyond special to me.

that music when Vader taunts Luke into going after him with everything he's got, and the way he just pounds Vader back and onto the rail and onto the floor ~ it's so relentless (even thinking about it now, i remember by young self on the edge of my seat thinking: noooo! don't kill him!).

what i especially love about the TFA fight is how at odds the combatants are in their objectives, how berserk Ren is with Finn (vs. how he fights Rey), and how Rey just trashes him in the end (that cut to the knees is so painful and just drops him ~ and i love how he sorta flails at her as he fights to get back up).

the TFA fight has a lot more levels to it than the ROTJ one, so maybe due to snow and technical achievement, TFA wins, but in my heart it's probably more of a ROTJ/TFA tie.

 

Its so dense every single image has so many things going on

 

It's a great scene. I would put it right after the Luke vs. Vader duel in TESB.

 

Ooh, it's very near the top for me. It's just gorgeous - the woods, the snow, the light from the sabers - and so visceral.

I love how the landscape is changing around them. Trees are falling down, holes are opening in the earth,... and then the giant freaking chasm that separates them.

Not exactly subtle. But very, very cool.

 

It's above Ob1 v Vader and about tied with Like Skywalker v Vader .

 

Fourth. Luke vs Vader are interchangeable to me at second and third. The pacing of the cloud city fight is incredible, the tension slowly increasing because really, we all know that Luke can't beat Vader. And then of course the reveal. "No, I am your Father." I have never watched that scene and not gotten goosebumps. And the emotion in the fight in the Emperor's throne room is amazing. The final berserk attacks from Luke are incredibly powerful (literally and emotionally), and the ending with Vader killing the emperor is again, incredible (ignoring a certain 2011 Blu-Ray yell of Nooooooo, of course). I can't choose which I'd put above the other, so they're interchangeable at Second and third.

But they pale is comparison (for me) to Obi-Wan vs Vader in the original Star Wars. Is the choreography really, REALLY off? Yes. But what puts it so high up for me is the way they're speaking to each other. Lines like, "I've been waiting for you Obi-Wan" and "If you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine". It feels like a final battle between two legendary warriors (which it is, of course). And then Obi-Wan's smirk right before Vader cuts him down, I mean, there's more acting in that one closeup than in some entire films. I know I'm probably alone in choosing this, but that's my absolute favourite Lightsaber duel.

Rey and Finn vs Kylo Ren brought a feeling of intensity back to Lightsaber duels. For me, the prequel fights fell hollow, over long, or overly choreographed. I don't feel the raw intensity anymore. I wish I did, but I don't. But this fight was amazing, finally bringing incredible choreography AND raw intensity to the Lightsaber duel for the first time in thirty years. It was something special, especially on the IMAX screen. The visual storytelling in just one shot alone, of Rey pushing Kylo Ren's Saber into the ground while a holding her's up (good triumphing over evil) astounds me. But it can't beat any of the Original Trilogy duels for me. So final ranking

1) Obi-Wan vs Darth Vader (Star Wars)
2) Luke vs Vader (either)
3) Luke vs Vader (either)
4) Rey and Finn vs Kylo Ren
5) Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul (I had to pick one)