George Lucas knew if he was going to create Darth Vader in front of our eyes he had to swing big, and there isn't a more theatrical, tragic confrontation than this one. Ewan McGregor, a miracle worker of the highest order through all three films, sells the crap out of this scene's sadness, like a tortured pet owner forced to put down a rabid dog.
This entire thing is over the top as hell—lava! The decidedly fuzzy battle going down on Endor is a bit of a mixed bag, but the duel for Anakin Skywalker's soul happening up in the fully operational Death Star 2. The fight is basically the struggle at the center of Luke's character arc condensed into one intense showdown; wearing the Jedi equivalent of a tactical turtleneck, Luke just recklessly batters away at his father, clinging on to the light side of the Force by a fingernail.
My dude boots Dark Vader in the chest so hard the strongest Sith in the galaxy does a full dang backflip down a flight of stairs. Underneath the blows is some of Mark Hamill's best work.
You can spot the exact moment Luke realizes he is perilously close to leaping over the line his own flesh and blood was seduced into crossing. Once again, a bit of a cheat because this isn't technically lightsaber-on-lightsaber action, but leaving this ass-kicking feast for the eyes off this list would've been a Laura Dern lightspeed maneuver right to my very soul.
I love this scene, from Rey and Kylo Ren's brief, low-key sensual pre-slaughter eye contact to the moment Kylo quick-flashes a lightsaber blade straight through a guard's goddamn eyeball. No matter your thoughts on The Last Jedi , it's undoubtedly one of, if not the most aesthetically pleasing Star Wars movie there is, and this scene—gorgeous and so very, very red—is its burning high-point.
Together, it's a whooshing, whirling team-up between the light side and the dark to provide the most unique lightsaber scene of the entire franchise. Any scene that ends with arguably the most iconic plot twist of all time is obviously going to rank pretty high, but that also means it's easy to forget how much story is being told through choreography before "I am your father".
Including that image above, arguably the most iconic still frame across all nine movies. Yoda told Luke's hotheaded ass not to confront Vader quite yet, and it's immediately apparent why. Vader straight-up toys with the kid, dueling one-handed and shoving Luke to the ground like the overeager novice he is. It's not as hectic or crazy as a lot of these fights, because it doesn't need to be.
Director Irvin Kershner mines so much tension by taking the music out of the beginning and setting the scene to the lightsaber hums, wrapping the entire thing in Cloud City's smoke. And the scene so effectively builds on itself, too; once Luke impresses with spirit, if not talent, the fight literally opens up to an impossibly wider space and Vader shows him what the Dark side can really do.
I'd say he "gives him a hand" but Star Wars is serious business. Iconic for a reason, Empire Strikes Back 's centerpiece fight remains the hinge that the entire franchise swings on. The Force works in mysterious ways, filling this galaxy far, far away with strange, wonderful contradictions. And perhaps there is no better example than The Phantom Menace , a genuinely unenjoyable mess about trade taxation and underwater annoyances that also happens to contain the single best lightsaber battle ever filmed.
Sure, it's a bit of a bummer that Maul's double-sided lightsaber reveal was given away in the trailer, but give this one a rewatch and you'll notice that moment is still not robbed of its ability to elicit a potent "oh, fuck yeah. According to many an interview, the prequel's stunt coordinator Nick Gillard was essentially given carte blanche here—which meant he directed most of this scene—and pretty much ended up inventing a new kind of sword-play to answer George Lucas' call for a faster form of lightsaber fights.
Gillard once described that style as a chess match where every move is a check, and you see that plain as day here. It's the most you'll ever believe one fighter is holding off two opponents at the same time. But man, there's also so much story being told here it's darn near its own short film within a larger piece. This fight contains the best, most simple visualization there is of the Light Side vs. The Dark Side: Separated by a crackling red barrier, Qui-Gon powers down his weapon and kneels to the floor in repose, while Darth Maul paces his section like a captured tiger waiting for feeding time, all coiled, dangerous energy.
It's wonderful work, and the stakes added by Obi-Wan desperately trying to reach his master only amps the scene to its highest level. Ewan McGregor, as always, sells it like a Shakespeare tragedy. Emotional, kinetic, and action-packed, this is Star Wars ' best lightsaber fight. Vinnie Mancuso is a Senior Editor at Collider, where he is in charge of all things related to the film 'Aquaman,' among other things.
You can also find his pop culture opinions on Twitter VinnieMancuso1 or being shouted out a Jersey City window between 4 and 6 a. Three quick things before we begin: To be included, a scene had to feature participants fighting each other with lightsabers, not just using a lightsaber in a fight. With all that out of the way, let's get into it. In honor of the release of The Rise of Skywalker , we picked the 11 best lightsaber fights in the series, along with an honorable mention for something outside the films.
Coming face-to-face with Darth Vader at the top of the Sith Temple on Malachor, Ahsoka can hardly believe that all of their history together, every battle fought side-by-side, every time he defended her or she him, all of that teaching about the ways of the Force has come to this. She vows to avenge the death of her former Master, scarcely believing venal Vader and Anakin could be one and the same.
As lightning flashes down on the temple, Vader and Ahsoka fight fiercely, the former allies now on separate sides. Ezra tries to rescue Tano but she Force blocks him knowing this duel with Vader has always been both fated and inevitable. Is this the most dazzling lightsaber fight in the Star Wars canon? No, of course not. To eyes used to modern screen fighting, the battle between Darth Vader and Obi Wan looks positively poky, more like an elegant fencing match than the impressive duels we grown accustomed over the course of the last 42 years.
But as the first lightsaber battle we ever saw, it deserves a place on the list. Though Obi-Wan and Darth Vader last fought each other on the lava fields of Mustafar, both seem to know that this battle between them was always coming. The Jedi Master and his former apprentice face off, much less acrobatically this time, but still attention-getting enough to draw an audience of stormtroopers and eventually Luke Skywalker himself.
Obi-Wan smiles a small self-satisfied grin and basically surrenders, pulling his weapon to him and leaving himself defenseless. As the score swells, Luke and the audience react in horror as Vader strikes the killing blow and Obi-Wan simply disappears amidst his robes. While The Last Jedi wanted to let the past die, its follow-up, The Rise of Skywalker , is full of callbacks to the preceding movies.
Lando and Emperor Palpatine both come back, our heroic protagonist learns that they have a genetic connection to great evil, and even the Ewoks show up for a second. Their love-hate relationship is unique in the annals of Star Wars certainly far different than the relationship between their dark ancestors , and so perhaps the most representative scene in The Rise of Skywalker is Rey and Kylo fighting out their feelings amidst the literal detritus of Star Wars. Revenge of the Sith is the most effective prequel for a very simple reason: It actually has stakes.
All the talk about Darth Vader wiping out the Jedi and the deadly Clone Wars that came before implied the prequels would be one dark ride. Instead, the first two installments served up Jar-Jar Binks and Tatooine sunshine. Revenge of the Sith is when the rubber met the road, and we finally got to see characters kill each other on screen. Exhibit A: Samuel L. Once Maul and Obi-Wan are facing each other head on, the game changes. Obi-Wan lets out his aggression and Maul feeds on it.
Their battle is a dance, desperation behind each move Obi-Wan makes. He knows Qui-Gon is running out of time and Maul is counting on his distress and trying to use that as a weakness he can overpower. Not only does Luke cut his Jedi training short at a pivotal moment, he does so because he believes his friends are about to die. As Luke arrives at Bespin, viewers are already aware of what awaits him. The hum of the lightsabers, the billowing smoke, the orange and blue hues illuminating the otherwise dim chamber all combine brilliantly, spawning scene after scene that look as beautiful in static shots as they do in motion.
The ominous atmosphere sets the stage, not for a full-on, action-packed clash of lightsabers, but for an absorbing game of cat-and-mouse. The moment when Luke holsters his weapon and enters the illuminated tunnel, for example, offers us a second to catch our breath…at least in theory.
Not only did it establish the history between Obi-Wan Kenobi, then known only to the audience as a wise old man with a mysterious past, and Darth Vader, the towering general of the Empire, but it set up the dynamic of the heroes using blue-colored sabers and the villains using red.
This is a visual motif that would remain to this day. While the light side of the Force has expanded its color palette somewhat, the uniform red of the Sith has been almost entirely unchanged. But, in that measured, calm battle, George Lucas managed to vastly develop the lore of the Jedi and of Obi-Wan Kenobi in that brief encounter, much more than many of the highly cinematic and acrobatic battles ever can.
A holdover from the samurai influence on the series, the battle is more about what these characters mean to the overall story of Star Wars. This battle did the same thing. If this is Obi-Wan vs.
A question that fans would eventually get an answer to. As just about the only thing that was handled well consistently through the three films, Kylo and Rey face off on the side of the sunken Death Star, brutal waves crashing around them as they have their final duel.
While Kylo could have easily cut Rey down multiple times during their battle, his hesitancy to do so is the audience's hint that Ben Solo still exists inside of Kylo, and that he cares for Rey. This crystallizes when his mother, Princess Leia a. General Organa , reaches out to Ben across the Force, causing him to drop his lightsaber, allowing Rey to defeat him. In that moment, Leia becomes one with the Force and Kylo Ren is effectively gone.
The torrential rain and crashing waves really help this, making for one of the most unique locations for a battle in the series, even if the rest of the film is something to forget about.
The final battle of the original trilogy, Luke Skywalker vs. Enraged, Luke emerges and attacks Vader, causing the two to violently swing at each other throughout the throne room.
Eventually Luke is able to overpower Vader, through a flurry of angry strikes, leaving Darth on the ground, weak, and armless I mean harmless. Faced with the opportunity to rid the universe of its greatest threat, Luke is unable to finish the job, sensing the conflict in his father.
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