Admit it: If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ve had a lightsaber fantasy or two. You’re no doubt thrilled at the thought of facing up against a dangerous opponent, igniting your lightsaber and springing into action. You’ve probably watched every lightsaber scene in every Star Wars movie over and over again.
Which lightsaber duels are the best? That’s a perennial question among Star Wars enthusiasts. But yours truly is here to settle the score once and for all. The top five Star Wars lightsaber battles are:
5. Yoda v. Count Dooku (Episode II)
In Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, the silky and ominous Count Dooku is cornered by Obi-Wan Kenobi and his young teenage apprentice, Anakin Skywalker. Dooku temporarily neutralizes Anakin with a surprise lightning blast and then turns his attention to Obi-wan Kenobi. With a brief, but impressive display of ultra-smooth fencing moves, Dooku leaves the legendary Jedi Master exhausted, wounded, and helpless.
Anakin springs to the rescue just in time, and, for a brief moment, gives Dooku a run for his money. But the fencing master makes fairly quick work of Anakin as well, severing his arm and force-flinging him across the hangar bay to his mentor.
Then comes Yoda. For years, Star Wars fans secretly wondered how the little, green, pointy-eared Yoda could possibly be a Jedi Master. The thought of Yoda with a lightsaber seemed comical. Well, Star Wars: Episode II changed that. Yoda’s got some moves in him. In an acrobatic exhibition of flips, somersaults, and spins, Yoda was more than a match for the best Dooku could muster. To escape, Dooku used the Force to bring a pillar down on Anakin and Obi-Wan, compelling Yoda to break off combat to save them.
It seemed rather odd that Dooku would make such quick work of Obi-Wan and Anakin, but the overall lightsaber scene made for some great eye candy.
4. Vader v. Luke (Episode VI)
The Star Wars lightsaber battles in the original trilogy were more character-oriented than in the most recent set of movies. The saber duels from Episodes I-III call to mind Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon more than the deliberate, slower-paced drama of the original saber clashes. With that in mind, some may not appreciate the rich depth of the original lightsaber battles, and therefore won’t agree with this selection for fourth best.
Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi pitted Luke Skywalker against his father, Anakin Skywalker-turned-Darth Vader in the Emperor’s Throne Room. This was Luke’s second confrontation with Vader, and the first since learning that Vader was his father. Luke doesn’t want to fight his father, but his goaded into anger by the Emperor’s manipulative plans unfolding before his eyes. Seeing the end of the rebellion, Luke desperately and ferociously seizes his lightsaber to kill the Emperor. Vader intervenes – as if on cue. And the battle is on.
Truth be told, Luke too easily defeats Vader in this duel. It’s obvious that Luke has progressed in his skills, and Vader is past his prime. What’s more, Vader’s heart isn’t really into the fight. He’s doing it because he “must obey” his master, Palpatine. Nevertheless, Vader falls too easily to Luke in this one.
Luke keeps Vader at bay rather effortlessly, kicking him down the stairs at one point and somersaulting away from him when he’s ready to stop the fight. When Luke is told that Leia is the next target for being turned to the Dark Side, he explodes in rage against his father, severing Vader’s arm (a déjà vu moment) and leaving him panting for air.
The reason this duel is the fourth best is for the drama taking place behind the duel, not the combat itself. This scene, complete with final standoff with the Emperor, is the most dramatic point in the Star Wars franchise, and its duel therefore earns a Top Five spot.
3. Anakin v. Obi-Wan (Episode III)
Due to its importance in the storyline (it’s where Anakin puts the final stamp on his turn to the Dark Side) and its extraordinary length, this lightsaber duel warrants a Top Five spot. This is so, in spite of the fact that the duel is so fast-paced that it becomes a blur, making the spectacle somewhat of a distraction from the drama.
Obi-Wan tracks Anakin down to the volcanic planet of Mustafar. Anakin has already carried out a ruthless task for his new master, and confirms to his distraught wife, Padme, that he wants to rule the galaxy. When she rejects his path and he sees Obi-Wan, his rage is set and he engages Obi-Wan, his master and best friend, in the longest duel of any of the movies.
Anakin is the better swordsman, but Obi-Wan is quite adept as well. It’s hard to believe that Dooku had such an easy time of him in Episode II and again at the beginning of Episode III. In the end, Obi-Wan gains a positional advantage, which Anakin recklessly disregards. Obi-Wan leaves the maimed and disfigured Anakin to die, but he of course doesn’t. And the rest is history.
2. Darth Maul v. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon (Episode I)
In terms of visual pleasure, the lightsaber duel at the conclusion of Episode I: The Phantom Menace is the best ever. The music is perfect, the moves are impressive, and Darth Maul’s double-bladed lightsaber flat out rocks.
There’s not much to say about this duel, since there is no dialogue and very little story per se. It’s just several minutes’ worth of lightsaber fun. The major plot is that this duel closes the chapter on Qui-Gon’s legacy and allows Obi-Wan to rise to center stage. This duel clearly marks Obi-Wan’s first step to becoming one of the wisest and greatest Jedis of the Order’s history.
1. Vader v. Luke (Episode V)
The best Star Wars lightsaber duel overall is Luke’s first face-off with Darth Vader in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. In terms of drama, it can’t be beat. Who can forget the dramatic bomb dropped at the scene’s end? Yet apart from Vader’s revelation to Luke, the scene is just jam-packed with underlying tension and drama.
Luke abandons his training with Yoda to seek out Leia, Han, and Chewbacca at Cloud City. It is of course a trap. Luke is lured into a confrontation with Vader, who hopes to trap the young Jedi apprentice and send him back to his master, Emperor Palpatine. Luke avoids the carbon-freezing chamber with the first Jedi force-jump seen in the movies, and the battle is on.
The combat moves at a much slower pace than Anakin’s duel with Obi-Wan in Episode III. Slower, in fact, than in all the modern trilogy saber duels. Yet this is not a bad thing, as the viewers are able to see and comprehend every slash, every parry, and every spin. And it experiences Luke’s pain as his hope slowly diminishes that he’ll be able to defeat Vader and bring justice to Obi-Wan’s memory. The saber’s conclusion leaves Luke with no right hand, diminished trust in Obi-Wan (due to Vader’s revelation), and tremendous emotional pain. The viewer also begins to see a glimpse of good in even the sinister Vader. For all his evil, there is at least a faint echo of a redeeming quality….Darth Vader loves his son.
There you have them. The best Star Wars lightsaber duels of all time. Go ahead. Get the movies and watch them again. You know you want to.
