Saga What is your favourite Lightsaber Duel?

Pretty much sums it up! So. Intense. I both look forward to it the most and dread it the most when watching ROTS.

 

How can anbody, ANYBODY think this is the greatest duel? Sed it yourself that F&R swing the saber like a bat. Finn vs Traitor was better! (Technically not saber on saber but still a duel. ) The camera work was awful as well. To many closeups. Slicing the trees was pointless. If Rey was using a tree as a shield then it makes sense.

I'm torn between Vader vs Obi-Wan ANH or Ren vs Rey & Finn as WORST duel ever.

 

By watching the movie and having a different taste than you

 

I like it as well. Not as much as ESB Luke vs. Vader but close.

 

People! It looked like two kids wacking sticks in the backyard upon a Winter's day!!!!!!! I'm sorry if I sound mean.

 

You're entitled to your opinion. Others are to their own. I was simply being a bit facetious and implying that, yeah, you come across as a bit abrasive

Saying "I dislike this fight because X" is one thing
Saying "How can anyone like this fight because X?" is something a bit beyond

 

The lead up to it, Han's death, Chewie going crazy, the stare down between Kylo and Rey and Finn, the outdoor setting, the dialogue, We're not done yet. It's just us now, Han Solo can't save you. Love it.
Kylo twirling his saber and the sound effect.
Kylo hitting his wound,
Finn vs. Kylo was intense feeling.
The Force grab battle and then the lightsaber goes to Rey, the mystery of it seems promising. Kyle's facial reaction was interesting.
Using the environment,
The lightsabers in their eyes during the last clash,
Rey pushing Kylo's lightsaber into the snow to deactivate it.
The planet splitting apart to further end the battle.

 

Split, but overall I have to go with Yoda vs. Darth Sidious.

 

ROTS Obi-Wan vs Anakin

 

HELL YEAH!

 

Most of the duels I enjoyed, since lightsaber duels are one of the things I look forward to most in a Star Wars movie, and seeing Jedi/Sith duel with lightsabers is one part on what makes Star Wars unique.

 

Vader vs. Obi-wan ROTS seems too over the top for me. It has several silly moments (already mentioned before) and the ending is cringe inducing "it's over, I have the high ground"

I like the duels of fates as it was the first time seeing the Jedi at their prime against a skilled swordsman. The pace, scenery, choreography and the MUSIC!, it is still the best for me. I smile every time I watch it. The end was not great, but still.

Emotionally and visually ESB duel is nice, but the swordplay is meh!

I don't like Yoda's swordmanship and style, all jumps and all CGI.

 

Top three:

1. Luke v Darth Vader TESB
2. Obi-Wan v Darth Vader ROTS
3. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon v Darth Maul TPM

 

Luke vs. Vader in RotJ. Both the swordfighting and the emotion are far superior to the TESB one. I get chills every time Luke starts to lash out at Vader and that haunting music kicks in...

 

Here's a poll on StarWars.com about all the lightsaber duels in the entire saga, including the TV shows: http://www.starwars.com/news/poll-what-is-the-best-lightsaber-duel?cmp=smc|491343825&linkId=25449967

According to the results (with more than 18 000 votes) Dooku vs Anakin and Anakin vs Obi-Wan in ROTS have both the highest ratings with 21% of the votes each. Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon vs Maul in TPM follows with 10% of the votes then Luke vs Vader in TESB with 9%...

 

No duel can beat Obi-Wan vs. Vader (ROTS). It had the excellent choreography of the PT and the raw emotion of the OT, a formidable combination.

 

It's a near tie for me between Luke v. Vader in ESB and Obi-Wan v. Vader in ROTS.

Vader is never more intimidating than in ESB. I'd say that we're really seeing Peak Vader there. I also love the environment of that carbon freezing chamber and the catwalk over the abyss. Great, great imagery.

I thought that ROTS was also excellent. Some people rag on the choreography of the prequels, but that fight in particular, to me, really captures the feel of two opponents who have both truly managed to let go of their conscious selves and let the Force guide their blades. The environment again looked great, and it was used very well. It also captured the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two characters. Anakin/Vader is the stronger of the two, but Obi-Wan is more cunning. His experience manifests itself in Obi-Wan's superior situational awareness. It's not just at the end where Obi-Wan captures the high ground ... you see Obi-Wan using the terrain to his advantage throughout the last half of the fight. He nearly suckers Anakin over that lava fall. (Maybe it's because Obi-Wan's old master Qui-Gon was constantly telling him to "always mind your surroundings." )

 

Upon my last viewing, I honestly do find the ROTS Dooku duel to be a VERY well choregraphed and severely underrated one, so I can definitely see that

What CG stunt double?

 

1. Luke vs Vader (Bespin)
2. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul
3. Rey vs Kylo Ren
4. Anakin vs Obi-Wan
5. Luke vs Vader (Death Star)

There's very few duels that I dislike (the Obi-Wan and Anakin vs Dooku is probably the major exception out of all the movies) because the scenarios that surround them and create them make for one of the greatest thrilling experiences in cinema. It's hard to compare the eerie silence of the carbon chamber with the bombastic and epic Duel of the Fates inside Naboo. They make for such memorable experiences.

 

There's a 4-way tie for me.

Yoda vs. Palpatine
Obi-Wan vs Anakin
Vader vs Luke (TESB)
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul

There's so much to say about them, so I'll just try to point out a few things other people haven't noted.

--I think the fact that Yoda/Palpatine duel is intercut with the Obi-Wan/Anakin duel improves both duels. The Palpatine/Yoda duel feels a little more adventurous and spectacular as a duel because it's the most incredible display of Force powers so far. It also works more on a symbolic level as the two are destroying the Senate as they fight. The Obi-Wan/Anakin duel feels more intense, raw, and personal. There isn't a single duel where one combatant wants to kill the other more than when Anakin is attacking Obi-Wan. The intercutting between these two contrasting styles makes both more interesting and allows the lengths of the duels to be expanded without becoming boring.

The intercutting also allows things to be left out (at one point, Palpatine has his saber/then doesn't when we see him next, Obi and Anakin are in different locations from where we last left off, etc). Omitting certain parts of the duels gives them a more epic feel. For instance, if we see a war scene that lasts only 10 minutes, then that would seems like a short skirmish, but if we see footage from a day-long battle edited together into a 10-minute span, then that would feel much more like an intense unrelenting battle.


--What's interesting is that ALL of the least favorite duels above do not intercut between a second storyline. Obi-Wan/Anakin vs. Dooku briefly cuts away once, Yoda vs. Dooku doesn't cut away at all, Anakin/Obi-Wan vs. Dooku II doesn't cut away at all, Mace vs. Palpatine cuts away once very briefly, and Rylo vs. Finn/Rey cuts away only once.

All of the favorites above and Obi-Wan vs. Vader ANH cut away multiple times to the action of a 2nd storyline that is going on simultaneously.


--Another interesting thing. If you watch them films in release order (4-6, then 1-3), then Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul is the 1st "real" duel. What I mean by a real duel is that it's a duel in which the combatants are going all out to kill their opponent. With Obi-Wan vs. Vader in ANH, Obi-Wan is just stalling for time and knows he will die. In TESB, Vader is merely toying with Luke. In ROTJ, neither Luke nor Vader truly want to kill each other; Vader is conflicted (unable to fully use the Dark Side and perhaps even unwilling to kill Luke) and his plan just seems to be to turn Luke, and for most of it, Luke is trying to evade Vader; then later, when Luke does go all out, Vader remains conflicted.

So, besides that I think the Duel of the Fates is a very well-choreographed duel with great emotion behind it, I like it because it's the 1st time the combatants are having a real duel and the 1st time we get to see Jedi/Sith fight with all of their heightened abilities.


--In addition to the reveal at the end of the TESB duel, that duel is badass because Vader so outmatches Luke. Its tension rises somewhat like a horror movie when an unstoppable killer keeps stalking a helpless victim. That Vader is just toying with Luke also helps in making Vader such an iconic villain.

 

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

The rest aren't worth mentioning, in my opinion.

 

1. Luke v Vader (TESB)
2. Kylo v Rey
3. Obiwan v Vader (ANH)
4. Luke v Vader (ROTJ)
5. Maul v Jedi

1-4 are all gritty and visceral, which is how I like my duels. You can just about smell the blood, sweat and tears. 5 is spectacular.

 

Such an interesting observation.

We'll see if the film-makers pick up on this and in future possibly Rey vs Kylo Ren and Luke vs Snoke could take that cue from ROTS.

 

Still ESB Luke vs Vader for style, ROTJ Luke vs Vader for emotion.

The PT has a lot of great fights though.