Saga Rank the SW Lightsaber Duels

This is tough for me. There are the duels that I feel were the most impressive to watch due to skill and grandeur, and then the duels that affected me the most emotionally.

I would say the 3 most impressive duels, in order:

1) Anakin Vs Obi-wan on Mustafar ROTS

2) Yoda vs Darth Sidious senate chamber? ROTS

3) Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan vs Maul TPM

The 3 duels that affected me most, emotionally, in order:

1) Luke vs Vader ROTJ

2) Qui-Gon Vs Maul TPM

3) Anakin vs. Obi-wan ROTS

An interview George Lucas gave a long time ago when I was just a kid, recorded him telling of the battle between Obi and Vader. Even saying that Vader fell into a pit of fire and lava badly damaging Vader's body, thus the need for his suit. Now I was a kid when I heard about this interview in the 90s, and the prequel movies werent even being filmed yet. But it set the stage for great anticipation which led to that final catharsis of actually seeing it go down on the big screen.


I also think, although the Kylo vs Rey duel could never be as impressive as most of the other duels due to the character's lack of experience and skill, it had the potential to be extremely emotionally affecting. I feel JJ Abrams dropped the ball just a little bit in the way he filmed/directed that duel. I dont think he focused enough on the faces of the actors to show their extreme emotions during the duel. He also didnt show enough closeups of the damage Rey did to Kylo, and also didnt seem to draw out that moment, really saturate the viewer with the surprising turn of Rey besting Kylo. It would have added great dramatic effect. Had it been done slightly differently I think that might have made my all time top 3 most emotionally affecting list.

 

this honestly makes no sense to me. How can you say they have no substance? Lives at stake, galaxy changing deaths and action is not substance?

 

Lets see:

1. Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul (TPM)
2. Luke vs. Vader (ESB)
3. Luke vs. Vader (ROTJ)
4. Yoda vs. Palpatine (ROTS)
5. Obi-Wan and Anakin vs. Count Dooku (ROTS)
6. Anakin vs. Obi-Wan (ROTS)
7. Obi-Wan and Anakin vs. Count Dooku (AOTC)
8.Obi-Wan vs. Vader (ANH).
9. Mace Windu vs. Palpatine (ROTS)
10. Obi-Wan vs. General Grievous (ROTS)
11. Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul (TPM)
12. Yoda vs. Count Dooku (AOTC)

 

Qui Gon and Obi vs Darth Maul is my favorite, the prequels have some flaws but the saber battles were excellent!

 

1. Obi vs Anakin
2.Duel of the Fates
3.TESB
4.RotJ
5.Yoda vs Sheev
6.Obi & Anakin vs Dooku (RotS)
7.Yoda vs Dooku
8.Obi vs Grievous
9.Qui Gon vs Maul
10.Mace vs Sheev
11.Obi vs Vader
12.Obi vs Dooku
13.Anakin vs Dooku
It's tough to rank them. I know for sure that 1-7 are my favorites and 11-13 are my least favorite. 8-10 + 2 TFA duels are grouped together, as ok or meh.

 

Does Vader's final scene in Rogue One count? Gosh I love that scene.

1. Obi-Wan vs. Vader (ROTS)- Music, location, the stakes, all excellent. Best looking fight of SW; I've never liked how it had to cut away to Yoda and the Emperor. I always get goosebumps when this scene rolls up ("Let her go."). I think I can quote this entire scene.
2. Luke vs. Darth Vader (ROTJ )- Some of the best music in Star Wars in this scene alone. I love to see Luke almost give in, and the toll that Vader has taken. You can see the conflict he has in facing his son. The stakes in this one are big too, and this is probably the most emotional one for me ("Your sisterrrr").
3. Duel of the Fates- Such a catchy score, and I love how impatience of Obi-Wan contrasts with Qui-Gon's utter calmness. Makes Obi-Wan a lot better in ANH.
4. Qui-Gon vs. Maul- Poor, poor Qui-Gon. Once again, I like this scene for the same as above.
5. Luke vs. Vader (ESB)- Vader one-handed is always cool, but Luke isn't that good at fighting in this one (understandable). Obviously the reveal is an important part of this one, which always gives me goosebumps.
6. Obi-Wan and Anakin vs. Dooku (ROTS)- "Kill him. DO IT."
7. Mace Windu vs. Palpatine- Emperor is a blast in this one. "No. No. YOU ARE!" (So many quotes I use daily from lightsaber scenes; never realized that). Never liked how quickly Saesee and all them die though.
8. Yoda vs. Dooku- I like Dooku as Yoda's apprentice, and I think that works for this scene. I'm used to Yoda flipping after Clone Wars. As maybe some of you saw in another thread, my brother and I reenacted this one for thirty minutes one time.
9. Obi-Wan and Anakin vs. Dooku (AOTC)- Anakin duel-weilding in the dark is cool.
10. Obi-Wan vs. Greivous- Ends very quickly. "Jedi Arts," you say, Grievous? "I don't think so."
11. Yoda vs. Palpatine- Clumsy Emperor is funny in this one. I've always liked him lauguing while he's holding onto the Senate pod, and then realizing what a predicament he is in. My brother and I always joke that some Senators would be having a book club meeting or something like that (stupid, I know), and all of a sudden the Supreme Chancellor comes in. What a story that would be to tell your kids if you were those senators.
12. Obi-Wan vs. Vader (ANH)- Poorest coreography of them, but it's understandable. Vader's new scenes in other movies makes you wonder the excuses Vader has for going so slow (playi g down to an opponent?).
13. Rey and Finn vs. Kylo- I honestly don't really remember this one. Finn weilding a lightsaber for so long and him not being paralyzed from a spine slash kind of urks me though. Not trying to open a can of worms, but that's kind of the same problem with Kanan about being blind from a lightsaber. I guess the two were only grazed by the light, and not actually touched by the blades.

 

Updated Rankings

Tier 1

1) Yoda vs Darth Sidious

2) Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, & Agen Kolar vs Darth Sidious

Tier 2

3) Yoda vs Darth Tyranus

4) Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Darth Maul

5) Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Darth Vader (ROTS)

Tier 3

6) Obi-Wan Kenobi vs General Grievous

7) Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker vs Darth Tyranus (ROTS)

8) Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader (ROTJ)

Tier 4

9) Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker vs Darth Tyranus (AOTC)

10) Obi-Wan Kenobi vs Darth Vader (ANH)

11) Qui-Gon Jinn vs Darth Maul

Tier 5

12) Rey & Finn vs Kylo Ren

13) Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader (ESB)

 

Tier one as your favourites right?

Don't mean to be a dick, but that's a bizarre list to me.

 

I could pretty much agree with those rankings if you mean Tier 1 is the worst and 5 is the best.

 

1. Luke vs. Vader, ESB: Atmospheric, tense, dynamic, very kendo-esque at the beginning, significant for the characters, etc.
2. Luke vs. Vader, ROTJ: More contained, less dynamic, most effective with the build-up to it, but very strong overall, chill-inducing at the end
3. Finn & Rey vs. Kylo: Beautiful setting, fittingly raw choreography, big moments for all three characters
4. Yoda vs. Sidious: Most appropriate use of the faster, more showy style
5. Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan vs. Maul: Exciting overall, but most intense when Obi-Wan has to face Maul alone

 

1. Luke vs. Vader (ROTJ)
2. Luke vs. Vader (ESB)
3. Rey/Finn vs. Kylo
4. Ben vs. Vader
5. Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon vs Maul

Don't care about the others enough to rank them, but here's my quick thoughts on them.

• Qui-Gon vs. Maul was a nice quick duel and sets up Maul perfectly as a powerful warrior, but is nowhere near as good as the aforementioned five.
• The AOTC duel was a poor attempt to outdo the fight from Menace, and somehow had even less going on emotionally.
• Anakin/Obi-Wan vs. Dooku in ROTS was okay, but nothing special.
• Grievous vs. Obi-Wan was barely even a fight, and felt like they had never thought through how someone who had four sabers would fight.
• The Palpatine duels were just silly.
• Obi-Wan vs. Anakin should have been the best duel, but it's one of the most boring and overstays its welcome.

 

My three favorite duels are:

1. Rey vs. Kylo Ren - this one is the most 'real' to me of all of the duels. Rey already being a badass with a staff + her beginning to tap into the Force + Ren having been shot by Chewie (they build the bowcaster up all movie long) + his massive overconfidence = this one being more evenly matched than most seem to think, though Rey was still the underdog.
2. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul - this one is just awesome. If you wanted to break it down, my favorite section would be Obi-Wan fighting Maul alone at the end.
3. Luke vs. Darth Vader (ESB) - Luke has a whole mini character arc in this fight. He starts off confident, gets a wake-up call when Vader decides to actually try, and ends up hugging a post and trying to understand his new reality.

The next one on my list would be Obi-Wan vs. Anakin/Darth Vader (ROTS)

 

My favourite duel is probably a tie between Luke vs Vader in ESB for the emotional aspect and the suspense, and of course Vader vs Obi Wan in ROTS for the stunning visuals, great choreography, and overall devastating emotional conflict occurring between the two characters which is just heartbreaking after watching the bond between these two characters.

My least favourite duel would probably be Obi Wan vs Grievous, although the four saber spin is cool, it's quick and virtually meaningless in terms of plot progression. They really **** the bed with their portrayal of Grievous in general, but it just didn't feel personal and even, really, important. I was also somewhat disappointed with the Palpataine confrontation scene. Here we had Mace Windu and three other Jedi Master confronting the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, and three of the masters are struck down before they even take a solid swing. Kit Fisto's embarrassing "ahh" makes me shake my head every time. Then the duel we do witness between Mace and Palpataine seems boxy, slow and the camera angles focus more on facial expressions than actual combat. A missed opportunity, for sure.

 

I made a long post about this in a similar thread. Posting it there:

I don't know why people place the OT (and TFA) duels on a pedestal and claim that the prequel duels are all silly and choreographed. News flash, they are ALL choreographed. But the PT duels are more technical and martial arts inspired. By comparison the OT duels are just lazy (from a choreography standpoint). Mark Hamill never learned to duel as well as Ewan or Hayden did. Major props to those guys for learning the craft. That said, I'll rank the duels like this with categories for energy, innovation, skill, emotion, and story with an overall rating (max of 5 stars for each):

1. Duel of the Fates ( Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn v Darth Maul): ★★★★★
Energy: ★★★★★ Arguably the most energetic duel in the saga
Innovation: ★★★★★ First 2 vs 1 duel we've seen, also the first double sided light saber we've seen. And the speed/intensity of the duel is much higher than the OT duels. Something we hadn't seen before until this duel.
Skill: ★★★★★ Ray Park was fantastic as was Ewan, Liam did an admirable job as well.
Emotion: ★★★★★ Particularly after Qui Gon was killed. And the music...wow.
Story: ★★★★ The build up was there but there wasn't any talking during the duel, but the facial expressions said it all.

2. Obi-Wan Kenobi v Anakin Skywalker Revenge Of The Sith: ★★★★1/2
Energy: ★★★★★ Particularly the opening where Vader/Anakin beasts all over Kenobi
Innovation: ★★★ Not much new saber wise but the backdrop, effects, and length of the duel was new.
Skill: ★★★★★ You can tell Ewan and Hayden worked their azzes off for this one.
Emotion: ★★★★★ Particularly the end of the duel "I hate you!" "You were the chosen one..."
Story: ★★★★ This duel has been building up since 1977. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is some of the silliness "If you're not with me..." and "I have the high ground".

3. Luke Skywalker v Darth Vader The Empire Strikes Back: ★★★★
Energy: ★★★ Highest energy part on the bridge.
Innovation: ★★★★★ This duel certainly took the duel from ANH to new levels.
Skill: ★★ Sorry but Mark Hamill is not very good with a light saber.
Emotion: ★★★★★ The big reveal at the end of the duel packs an emotional punch.
Story: ★★★★★ The story is a major strength here and this is probably the #1 duel in this category.

4. Yoda v Palpatine Revenge Of The Sith: ★★★★
Energy: ★★★★★ Can't get much higher energy than the magic frog flying around everywhere.
Innovation: ★★★★ We've never seen a force battle like this so that was pretty innovative.
Skill: ★★★ I guess the skill of the computer artists...
Emotion: ★★★★ Everybody had been wanting to see this fight so it does pack an emotional punch with the fate of the galaxy in play.
Story: ★★★★ The fate of the galaxy rests on this duel.

5. Mace Windu v Palpatine Revenge Of The Sith: ★★★1/2
Energy: ★★★★ High energy particularly at the beginning when Sidious takes out other jedi quickly.
Innovation: ★★★ I'd say Sidious destroying 3 jedi so quickly was innovative as was the ending.
Skill: ★★ They had to do a lot of creative editing on this one to overcome the actor's saber shortfalls.
Emotion: ★★★★★ I give this one high marks for emotion because the ending changed the tone of the whole movie.
Story: ★★★★ This duel changed the whole story.

6. Luke Skywalker v Darth Vader Return Of The Jedi: ★★★
Energy: ★★ This duel slows down quite a bit until the end.
Innovation: ★★ Nothing much new duel wise since ESB
Skill: ★★ Sorry but Mark Hamill is not very good with a light saber. Randomly hacking away at the end.
Emotion: ★★★★1/2 I think the reaction to "perhaps she will" was a bit over the top but still good.
Story: ★★★★1/2 Not quite as impactful as the ESB duel but packs a punch.

7. Yoda v Count Dooku Attack Of The Clones: ★★★
Energy: ★★★★★ Can't get much higher energy than the magic frog flying around everywhere.
Innovation: ★★★ For Yoda's CGI, but since it was a little overly CGI'd lower marks for that.
Skill: ★★★ I guess the skill of the computer artists...
Emotion: ★★★ I admit we did feel some emotion when Yoda whipped out the green lightsaber.
Story: ★★ So Yoda saves the good guys, not much else to it.

8. Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker v Count Dooku Attack Of The Clones: ★★★
Energy: ★★★ Anakin vs Dooku providing some energy in the dark.
Innovation: ★★ Someone besides the emperor using force lightning. But other than that not much we haven't seen.
Skill: ★★★★ Ewan, Hayden, and Dooku's stunt double did an admirable job.
Emotion: ★★★ They don't really know Dooku so not much there but Anakin getting his arm lopped off was impactful.
Story: ★★ Meh

9. Anakin Skywalker & Obi-Wan Kenobi v Count Dooku Revenge Of The Sith: ★★★
Energy: ★★★★ The end was higher pace with Anakin vs Dooku
Innovation: ★★ Pretty much no new innovation here. We already saw these guys duel in AOTC. I guess the double hand amputation was innovative.
Skill: ★★★★ Hayden did a good job in this one as did Dooku's stunt double but the fight wasn't that long.
Emotion: ★★ I guess Dooku getting killed was mildly shocking.
Story: ★★ Last obstacle out of the way for Anakin to become Sidious' new apprentice.

10. Obi-Wan Kenobi v Darth Vader A New Hope: ★★1/2
Energy: ★ Compared to every other duel, this was slooooow
Innovation: ★★★★★ First light saber duel so this is an automatic 5 stars
Skill: ★ Lowest skill level of any duel in the franchise. David Prowse dueled as Vader but was replaced with fencing expert Bob Anderson in ESB and ROTJ.
Emotion: ★★★ We don't really know much about the characters at this point but it was emotional when Ben was struck down.
Story: ★★★ Again we don't really know much about the characters at this point but the confrontation was intriguing.

11. Obi-Wan Kenobi v General Grievous: ★★1/2
Energy: ★★★★ High action at the beginning but not that long.
Innovation: ★★★★ I have to admit the 4 light sabers was pretty innovative.
Skill: ★★★ Props to Ewan but there was plenty of CGI involved I'm sure.
Emotion: ★ Not much here, just a kewl saber fight.
Story: ★★ So Obi Wan is hunting down Grievous, not much else.

12. Rey and Finn v Kylo Ren The Force Awakens: ★★
Energy: ★★ They are mostly newbies with sabers so not much high paced action.
Innovation: ★ Nothing really that we haven't seen before.
Skill: ★★★ Better than Mark Hamill but still doesn't touch what Ray, Ewan, Hayden, etc... did in the PT
Emotion: ★★★★ After Han Solo's murder and Finn's injury Rey has something to fight for.
Story: ★★ Since we don't know much yet about Rey and Kylo not much here but this could change later. The fact that Finn fights with a light saber for so long against a dark force practitioner bothers a lot of people, including me.

 

Favorite was Mace vs. Sidious. I do wish Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin and Agen Kolar had lived a bit longer, though. All of the Luke vs Vader ones were awesome as well (Luke vs Vader in ESB was prob one of the only scenes I truly enjoyed in that movie). Obi Wan vs Anakin in ROTS was pretty dramatic, emotional and awesome all around.

Obi Wan and Qui Gon vs. Darth Maul was the first lightsaber battle I saw (of course, with me being only 22, The Phantom Menace was my "first" SW movie). So, this one has to be on my list.

All the battles against Dooku (in AOTC and ROTS) were pretty cool. I do enjoy force lightning a lot.