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[Sephzilla]

I somewhat agree. My favorite lightsaber fight is Anakin VS Obi Wan. But the Luke VS Vader ones come right next.

All the others come afterwards, with Vader VS Obi-Wan being dead last.

I'd probably rank them in this order

1. Vader vs Luke in ROTJ
2. Vader vs Luke in Empire
3. Obi-Wan vs Anakin in ROTS
4. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs Darth Maul in TPM
5. Obi-Wan vs Vader in SW
6. General Grevious vs Obi-Wan in ROTS
7. Obi-Wan and Anakin vs Count Dooku in AOTC
8. Yoda vs The Emperor in ROTS
9. Yoda vs Count Dooku in AOTC

Yoda and The Emperor even using lightsabers demotes them to bottom-feeders on the list. CG Yoda vs clearly-not-Christopher-Lee sucked.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

I'd probably rank them in this order

1. Vader vs Luke in ROTJ
2. Vader vs Luke in Empire
3. Obi-Wan vs Anakin in ROTS
4. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs Darth Maul in TPM
5. Obi-Wan vs Vader in SW
6. Yoda vs Count Dooku in AOTC
7. General Grevious vs Obi-Wan in ROTS
8. Obi-Wan and Anakin vs Count Dooku in AOTC

Thats how I would rank them as well.

 

[isny]

Duel of the Fates was legit awesome. So much that my daughter, who watched the series in numerical order, missed it while watching the OT.

Corn on the cob?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqAI_GR5sJs

 

[Einchy]

The Clone Wars made me realize how badass Clone Troopers were compared to Stormtroopers.

I hope to god Disney makes an anthology movie about a squad of Clone Troopers.

 

[Mengy]

Yoda jumping around and swinging a lightsaber like an acrobat is basically the worst thing ever and shows how little Lucas understood/cared to remember the themes of the OT.

Yep. As kids who grew up with the OT we all thought that Yoda and the Emperor were such advanced masters of the force that they simply didn't need barbaric tools like lightsabers. And that's what we expected to see in AotC when Yoda finally flexed his force muscles. Once Yoda pulled out his mini lightsaber and started hopping around like a green Sonic the Hedgehog I remember sitting in the theater and hearing whispers all around us like "what the hell is that?" and "really?".


Every time I see both Yoda and Palpatine fighting with lightsabers in the PT I sit back and think "what"?

I'd probably rank them in this order

1. Vader vs Luke in ROTJ
2. Vader vs Luke in Empire
3. Obi-Wan vs Anakin in ROTS
4. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs Darth Maul in TPM
5. Obi-Wan vs Vader in SW
6. General Grevious vs Obi-Wan in ROTS
7. Obi-Wan and Anakin vs Count Dooku in AOTC
8. Yoda vs The Emperor in ROTS
9. Yoda vs Count Dooku in AOTC

Yoda and The Emperor even using lightsabers demotes them to bottom-feeders on the list. CG Yoda vs clearly-not-Christopher-Lee sucked.

Yeah, I'd agree with this list 100%.

 

[Anth0ny]

I felt more emotional investment during the Anakin VS Obi-Wan, than during the boring ass Vader VS Obi-Wan, for example.

prequel trilogy 45 minute lightsaber battle was flippy, overly choreographed, flashy for the sake of being flashy shit

the robot man versus the old mage in star wars had far more impact in far less time and with far less swings of the laser swords

I guess I could see why one would prefer the episode III lightsaber battle but the battle from star wars was hardly boring imo

 

[Liquidsnake]

Having watched them recently. My stance has softened a bit on the PT. episode 3 is probably my fav is of all 6.

 

[FaintDeftone]

I still feel like the prequels are overly hated. The only one in the trilogy I would personally call terrible was Attack of the Clones. Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith both had redeeming qualities. I loved the pod race sequence, Darth Maul, the last 30min or so of Phantom Menace, the Obi-Wan vs Anakin fight, General Grievous fight, Palpatine's transition, ect.

While I still feel like all three are the worst in the series, I wouldn't call Ep. I or III TERRIBLE, just disappointing.

 

[Sephzilla]

Episode 2 is the movie that really sinks the prequel trilogy IMHO. Episode 1 is disconnected too much from the other movies, but it still feels like an OT movie. Episode 3 is decent aside from a few missteps. Episode 2 is just awful though and makes the movies around it worse by association.

I disagree. Not only the choreography was pretty much shit. The camera angles and movement was terrible during that scene.

And that dialogue/performance... Jesus Christ... It's clear Sir Alec Guinness was tired of all that shit.

Yeahh..... some of the lines during that Episode 4 fight are honestly bad and you can see Guinness dying a little inside having to say them. That said, the "I'll become more powerful than you can possibly imagine" line is still pretty sweet

 

[Ishida]

the robot man versus the old mage in star wars had far more impact in far less time and with far less swings of the laser swords

I disagree. Not only the choreography was pretty much shit. The camera angles and movement was terrible during that scene.

And that dialogue/performance... Jesus Christ... It's clear Sir Alec Guinness was tired of all that shit.

 

[bonesmccoy]

The way in which Palpatine slowly changes the Republic into an Empire (a la Ancient Rome) is something I've always found pretty cool. The ambiguity of Anakin's origins, also pretty cool. Maybe the best part of the entire PT too.

But the best thing about the PT is that it gave us 2 incredible versions of a Clone Wars cartoon. Seriously, both the Filoni/Lucas and Tartakovsky series are excellent, and should be watched by any Star Wars fan.

 

[Jumeira]

This is a good example of why the prequels suck.



There is no heart, no emotion in the prequels. Its all just a bunch of fancy crap with no emotional investment tied to it at all. The CG battles in the prequels may have been bigger and more flashy than anything in the OT but the prequels dont make you give jack shit about anybody in them.

Sure the OT has some stupid scenes in them. They are forgivable because the rest of the movies aren't complete embarassing monstrocities of cinema.

Think this statement is rubbish. Qui Gon death before Obi went into a frenzy had ALOT of passion, Yoda picking up his Saber for the first time had all at the edge of their seat to save Obi/Anakin from the most powerful Sith yet and of course the Obi vs Anakin, a fight that carried the weight of the whole damn saga. Feels like you tried not to see it, but their was emotion and tension is spades.

Yoda/Palpatine after the slaughter that took place in the Jedi temple had a tremendous build up and an unexpected ending.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

I disagree. Not only the choreography was pretty much shit. The camera angles and movement was terrible during that scene.

And that dialogue/performance... Jesus Christ... It's clear Sir Alec Guinness was tired of all that shit.

I have to agree that the fight in of itself was pretty weak. It still carried weight though. I dont think a more flashy, fancy duel would have givin that scene any more importance. Not every Jedi battle has to be between kung fu masters. It was the building of characters prior to the fight that made it epic.

 

[LookAtMeGo]

Think this statement is rubbish. Qui Gon death before Obi went into a frenzy had ALOT of passion, Yoda picking up his Saber for the first time had all at the edge of their seat to save Obi/Anakin from the most powerful Sith yet and of course the Obi vs Anakin, a fight that carried the weight of the whole damn saga. Feels like you tried not to see it, but their was emotion and tension is spades.

Maybe there was. I probably missed it because the writing and character building was complete rubbish for all characters in the PT including Qui Gon. The emotion in Obi Wans face when Qui Gon dies is believable, the ensuing fight is not. The Yoda shit was hilarious, not cool.
I went to see all the PT trilogy on opening day, each time so excited I could barely contain myself. Yet each time in any of the scenes we are discussing, I felt embarassment, not excitement. Maybe I'm in the minority but I was too busy being disappointed to have any emotional investment in any of the major battles.

 

[Anth0ny]

I disagree. Not only the choreography was pretty much shit. The camera angles and movement was terrible during that scene.

And that dialogue/performance... Jesus Christ... It's clear Sir Alec Guinness was tired of all that shit.

Maybe you should rewatch Star Wars? There was barely any dialogue between Vader and Obi Wan, and what was said is 100% iconic and awesome.

Vader: I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.

Obi-Wan: Only a master of evil, Darth.

Vader: Your powers are weak, old man.

Obi-Wan: You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

AND THAT'S IT

nothing about guinness' performance ever struck me as tired. he said like 15 words in total and 90% of then are iconic lines.

 

[Mengy]

I went to see all the PT trilogy on opening day, each time so excited I could barely contain myself. Yet each time in any of the scenes we are discussing, I felt embarassment, not excitement. Maybe I'm in the minority but I was too busy being disappointed to have any emotional investment in any of the major battles.

No, you are not alone. I remember walking out of the theater for each of the prequels on opening nights, some of the looks on peoples faces! And the conversations in the lobby, most people felt the same: confused, embarrased, cheated, hurt. They were not what anyone was expecting.

 

[TheDinoman]

John Williams was good as always
Ewan McGregor was a great young Obiwan (as much as he could be with the script atleast)
Ian McDiarmid rocked the house as The Emperor

I think that's it, really.

Well, actually, the best thing the prequels did was lead us to the amazing Redlettermedia reviews. So yeah, thanks for that, George.

 

[Last Prime]

Do you gaffers believe that Jar Jar Binks was really a sith lord based on the evidence?

https://www.reddit.com/comments/3qvj6w/

 

[aerts1js]

The music was great.

 

[Ishida]

Maybe you should rewatch Star Wars? There was barely any dialogue between Vader and Obi Wan, and what was said is 100% iconic and awesome.

Vader: I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.

Obi-Wan: Only a master of evil, Darth.

Vader: Your powers are weak, old man.

Obi-Wan: You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

AND THAT'S IT

nothing about guinness' performance ever struck me as tired. he said like 15 words in total and 90% of then are iconic lines.

I have. Well, not "recently", but I had a marathon with friends last month in preparation for The Force Awakens.

And I'm sorry, but every time I watch that scene I just go "huh..."

If you think the intensity of the fight is just right and "emotional", that's fine. But Mr. Guinness' delivery is TERRIBLE here. And the lines don't help.

Star Wars is full of goofy lines, but I'll gladly take "From my point of view the Jedi are evil" over "Only a Master of evil, Darth!" any day of the week.

 

[Garlador]

The way in which Palpatine slowly changes the Republic into an Empire (a la Ancient Rome) is something I've always found pretty cool. The ambiguity of Anakin's origins, also pretty cool. Maybe the best part of the entire PT too.

Okay, this has ALWAYS bugged me, ever since Phantom Menace.

"Where is the father?" "There is no father." And everyone I've encountered since just assumes that because Anakin is the "Chosen One", the space Jesus who will fulfill the prophecy, that it was a miracle virgin birth and that the Force conceived him or something.

... Yet when I was younger watching it, my take away was "oh, so he's got a deadbeat dad that didn't stick around too, eh?" That, to me, factored into the later movies, where Darth Vader is also an awful, absent father to the kids he didn't even know he had, and I assumed *cough* that it "was like poetry; it rhymes", with an Anakin who grew up without a good father around, just as Luke did.

 

[Dictator93]

there is no greatness. episode I, II and III are shit movies. stop trying to retconning the reality.

.

 

[cyberheater]

Maybe you should rewatch Star Wars? There was barely any dialogue between Vader and Obi Wan, and what was said is 100% iconic and awesome.

Vader: I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.

Obi-Wan: Only a master of evil, Darth.

Vader: Your powers are weak, old man.

Obi-Wan: You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

AND THAT'S IT

nothing about guinness' performance ever struck me as tired. he said like 15 words in total and 90% of then are iconic lines.

Yep. A wonderful actor and a wonderful performance.

 

[Ishida]

Okay, this has ALWAYS bugged me, ever since Phantom Menace.

"Where is the father?" "There is no father." And everyone I've encountered since just assumes that because Anakin is the "Chosen One", the space Jesus who will fulfill the prophecy, that it was a miracle virgin birth and that the Force conceived him or something.

... Yet when I was younger watching it, my take away was "oh, so he's got a deadbeat dad that didn't stick around too, eh?" That, to me, factored into the later movies, where Darth Vader is also an awful, absent father to the kids he didn't even know he had, and I assumed *cough* that it "was like poetry; it rhymes", with an Anakin who grew up without a good father around, just as Luke did.

That's what I've always assumed, too.

 

[Anth0ny]

Star Wars is full of goofy lines, but I'll gladly take "From my point of view the Jedi are evil" over "Only a Master of evil, Darth!" any day of the week.

well then you are lost

 

[zeemumu]

I like the light saber fights

Same.

Greivous could have been so cool with his 4 sabers

 

[Ishida]

well then you are lost

Touché.

 

[cyberheater]

Same.

Greivous could have been so cool with his 4 sabers

I had managed to forget about Greivous and those ridiculous saber battles.

 

[Ishida]

Same.

Greivous could have been so cool with his 4 sabers

Grievous was just plain amazing. I loved when he started spinning the four lightsabers but his arrogance got the best of him. Really liked how Obi Wan started to disarm with with ease.

 

[Maximus.]

People complain there is too much swinging in the lightsaber duels, but I really preferred this fight style to the boring normal swings in ep 4-6. I feel ep 7 will bring the fighting back down to the original trilogy.

 

[Ein Bear]

I know it's been said a thousand times in these threads, but Greivous in Episode Three was absolute shit-tier compared to the Clone Wars version. I was hugely disappointed in the cinema.

 

[Einchy]

People complain there is too much swinging in the lightsaber duels, but I really preferred this fight style to the boring normal swings in ep 4-6. I feel ep 7 will bring the fighting back down to the original trilogy.

I hope they have a mix of both.

 

[zeemumu]

So, Obi Wan was in love with someone named Satine. Was that a blatant Moulin Rouge reference?

 

[Ishida]

People complain there is too much swinging in the lightsaber duels, but I really preferred this fight style to the boring normal swings in ep 4-6. I feel ep 7 will bring the fighting back down to the original trilogy.

What I fear about the new trilogy is that it may have too much pandering for the OT. We already have the older heroes and (presumably) their kids.

One of the main reasons I liked the PT was because it was so different than the OT. It felt different in style, characterization and setting. It actually felt like a new Star Wars.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm SUPER hyped about The Force Awakens, but I cannot shake this fear that it will try to imitate the OT a bit too much. I hope it can find its own identity in the franchise without clinging to the old heroes too much.

 

[0ptimusPayne]

The lightsaber battles were way more entertaining than the OT ones.Episode 3 was pretty decent, but lord attack of the clones was horrible...

 

[Ein Bear]

What I fear about the new trilogy is that it may have too much pandering for the OT. We already have the older heroes and (presumably) their kids.

One of the main reasons I liked the PT was because it was so different than the OT. It felt different in style, characterization and setting. It actually felt like a new Star Wars.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm SUPER hyped about The Force Awakens, but I cannot shake this fear that it will try to imitate the OT a bit too much. I hope it can find its own identity in the franchise without clinging to the old heroes too much.

Honestly, I'd much prefer it if these new films were set hundreds of years after the OT and had no connections with those movies at all.

I don't like the Prequels, but will at least admit that there was a story there to tell. The rise of the Empire and Darth Vader's fall and ultimate redemption is at least a consistent story that works through all six films.

The OT just doesn't work as a 'middle chapter' at all IMO. Everything is wrapped up and resolved by the end of Return of the Jedi.

 

[Fj0823]

I hope they have a mix of both.

yes. like rebels.

 

[Mengy]

Star Wars is full of goofy lines, but I'll gladly take "From my point of view the Jedi are evil" over "Only a Master of evil, Darth!" any day of the week.

Just out of curiosity, how old are you? I'm wondering if you grew up watching the prequels first without ever knowing the OT until later on, or something. Maybe it's an age difference or generational thing...

 

[The Real Abed]

I have the high ground. And from up here I have a good enough view of everything to know how much of the movies were shit. But they had some moments.

They introduced a lot of us to Natalie Portman. (The ones who never saw Leon)

Darth Maul could have been awesome if he had been kept around as the central bad guy being controlled by Sidious until being replaced by Anakin. At least until the second movie.

Jar Jar can be funny to some people. But he really didn't need to be. They went too far with the comedy. At least in the first movie. If he'd just been a normal character it could work better. Instead he was a bumbling klutz who just happened to be the link the Jedi needed and happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Also there are so many prequel threads now. So many threads.

 

[Ishida]

Just out of curiosity, how old are you? I'm wondering if you grew up watching the prequels first without ever knowing the OT until later on, or something. Maybe it's an age difference or generational thing...

30.

But don't bother. I watched the OT and became a fan first. THEN I watched the prequels.

 

[Dai101]

Just out of curiosity, how old are you? I'm wondering if you grew up watching the prequels first without ever knowing the OT until later on, or something. Maybe it's an age difference or generational thing...

Not ishida but I think alike. I'm 37 btw.

 

[dan2026]

The worse thing about the prequels if how their existence cause Lucus to retroactively alter his old (better) movies to be more like them.

They are kind of like a cancer spreading and infecting decent film tissue.

 

[Maximus.]

What I fear about the new trilogy is that it may have too much pandering for the OT. We already have the older heroes and (presumably) their kids.

One of the main reasons I liked the PT was because it was so different than the OT. It felt different in style, characterization and setting. It actually felt like a new Star Wars.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm SUPER hyped about The Force Awakens, but I cannot shake this fear that it will try to imitate the OT a bit too much. I hope it can find its own identity in the franchise without clinging to the old heroes too much.

That is a good point, but we will have to wait and see I guess!

 

[LegendofLex]

Why does Anakin need to be extra special? Why does the story require the Jedi to exploit him? He should be relatable above all else, he is the main character and it would make his fall seem tragic. He doesn't need prophecies to be special or important, he just needs the audience to care what happens to him. This was lacking in the prequels. Too much other nonsense took priority.

How else do you arrive at a heroic figure having such an extreme fall that he's willing to commit genocide against the people who raised him? It takes a special kind of infallibility complex to get there. Young men having a misguided belief in their own self-righteousness and perceived invincibility is an actually relatable character flaw.

How do you raise the stakes of that inclination to the point where a guy literally feels like he should be the most powerful being in the universe and is willing to do anything to make it happen? You give him a sense of all-important entitlement to power.

People don't just turn evil on a dime; it's a process of ideology twisting and pushing boundaries. Even in the OT, Yoda is hugely reluctant to train Luke because of the way he behaves. How else do you rationalize the idea that a group of disciplinary space monks would tolerate someone so hot headed and dangerous in their ranks?

 

[Moff]

I'd probably rank them in this order

1. Vader vs Luke in ROTJ
2. Vader vs Luke in Empire
3. Obi-Wan vs Anakin in ROTS
4. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs Darth Maul in TPM
5. Obi-Wan vs Vader in SW
6. General Grevious vs Obi-Wan in ROTS
7. Obi-Wan and Anakin vs Count Dooku in AOTC
8. Yoda vs The Emperor in ROTS
9. Yoda vs Count Dooku in AOTC

Yoda and The Emperor even using lightsabers demotes them to bottom-feeders on the list. CG Yoda vs clearly-not-Christopher-Lee sucked.

best prequel fight is missing in that list, sidious vs. mace windu

 

[atr0cious]

"She lost the will to live."

That said (gets more gasoline for the fire)...

I laughed out loud at this line in the theaters on opening night with fucking jedis sitting all around me. That a robot can be programmed to know billions of procedures to take on all manners of species, and yet have no clue how to handle a humanoids broken heart. What a fucking terrible line.

 

[Union Carbine]

Star Wars is full of goofy lines, but I'll gladly take "From my point of view the Jedi are evil" over "Only a Master of evil, Darth!" any day of the week.

Seriously? To each their own, I guess.

 

[Wag]

Yoda jumping around and swinging a lightsaber like an acrobat is basically the worst thing ever and shows how little Lucas understood/cared to remember the themes of the OT.

Don't fuck with Yoda.

 

[a916]

I love the lightsaber battles in the Prequels, the ones in the OT completely fall apart save for maybe Luke's rematch.

I don't care what anyone says, Yoda is amazing.

Yoda jumping around and swinging a lightsaber like an acrobat is basically the worst thing ever and shows how little Lucas understood/cared to remember the themes of the OT.

They opened up Pandora's box when they allowed people to use the force to move and jump quicker in the OT. It would make sense Yoda mastered this and uses it to compensate for his small size.

 

[LegendofLex]

I laughed out loud at this line in the theaters on opening night with fucking jedis sitting all around me. That a robot can be programmed to know billions of procedures to take on all manners of species, and yet have no clue how to handle a humanoids broken heart. What a fucking terrible line.

I think the worst part of this for me is that Padme never seemed like she was so weak-willed and lacking in agency that she'd give up on life because someone betrayed her or let her down, even in such a dramatic way. To add insult to injury, her dying words are words of hope. wtf?