Vancouver Revenge of the Sith Poll #1: Will "The Duel" :Live Up To The Hype?

With the release of the final Star Wars movie on the horizon, I figured that now would be the best time to get the opinion of the fans on various aspects of the movie. A poll will be posted every Wednesday and will continue until the Wednesday prior to the release of the movie. Feel free to place your vote and to discuss the topic. (But be sure to black out spoilers for those who are ?Spoiler Free Till Episode III?.)

 

Here?s my two cents.

We know that the duel is going to be big. When we watched the OT and learned that Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin had once been friends, we all wanted to know how they became enemies. The ?Jedi? novel gave us some insight into this area, but to be honest, it was written at a time when TPM, AOTC and ROTS were not in the mind of Lucas or anyone else. And I think that its safe to say that this has been THE thing that fans have been wanting to see since the prequels began. Then again, high expectations and massive hype dogged TPM and AOTC as well, and we all know what happened there.

 

I think this will be the cinematic duel of the century, man...seriously...Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, LIGHTSABERS, and a pit of lava! What more could one ask for in an epic battle? It will make the Wachowsi Bros. crap themeselves...seriously...it's gonna be that good...I can sense it.

 

From the brief glimpses already seen of the production of this duel, it looks like it could very well be the best of the saga. At its best, it will have the choreography and energy of Kenobi vs. Maul in TPM and the emotion of Luke vs. Vader in TESB. Can it live up to this potential? Absolutely. Will it? I won't know that until I see the released film, but even if it's not quite that good I'm sure it will be worth waiting for. Star Wars hasn't disappointed me yet and I don't expect it to start now.

 

It will.

Or ELSE!

 

I hope it'll be a duel that in between the scales of a Prequel trilogy and OT duel. Let me explain by what I mean: The Prequel trilogy duels are very fast-paced due to a better trained stunt co-ordinator, yet there's no progression to the story; no/not as much dialogue in between the clashes of the lightsaber blades. The OT lightsaber duels felt more realistic, as they were less showman like duels and contained dialogue that moved the plot along/were important to the plot, or just plain gave us good lines to remember (Think of the dialogue in Vader Vs. Obi in ANH and vader Vs. Luke in both ESB and ROTJ... wait, I just named them all.) I want a balance to this in the film, but seeing the footage of "The duel" on the OT DVD's special feature, it seems too showman-like for me. I hope "The duel" redeems itself with good dialogue in between clashes.

 

hmm. it's gonna be really good, oh yah, OR ELSE!

 

Dave, I agree with your points regarding having dialogue in the duel, and I would be very surprised if they didn't do this. Compared to the other prequel duels, there is a huge emotional connection between these two combatants. For there to be an extended battle between the two and not be any discussion just wouldn't be right. Plus, we know how much Lucas likes to mirror the OT scenes in the PT, I would expect there to be some lines in this scene that will remined us of one (or more) of the classic sabre battles.

 

Thank you all for participating. I will be starting the second poll in a few minutes. Feel free to continue discussing this subject. Just be aware that we're moving on.

 

WARNING! Possible spoiler ahead! Only read the black block if you dare!

Here's some good news for you guys. This was posted on the official site today, in reference to the epic duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan, and how the Great John Williams has scored the battle;

Closing your eyes, you can still track the progress of the battle. The music holds to accommodate dialogue during the fight. When lightsabers lock and opponents stare at each other over crossed blades, the strings vibrate brilliantly, building the tension and drama. At one point in the duel, Obi-Wan and Anakin are caught in competing Force pushes, outstretched hands locking a few centimeters apart. Here, the elegant Force theme emerges from the frantic fighting, but it sounds pained, echoing the struggle.

So I'd say that's a pretty good indication of us getting to see what we all want.

 

That is good news, I'm really looking forward to the music for this duel. But, can it top Duel of the Fates?

 

But, can it top Duel of the Fates?

Nothing can top "Duel of the Fates".

Nothing.

 

Unless it does.

 

Which it will!