Favorite Lightsaber Duel?

People make a big deal of the duels in the Prequel Trilogy being all ridiculous flashiness but SW never had good "technical dueling." If you watch Luke against Vader in Return of the Jedi he sword duels like he's waving around a baseball bat.

For all the crap people give Hayden about his portrayal of Anakin, I thougth he was picture perfect at the climax of ROTS and his duel with Obi-Wan is thus my favorite.



Stuff like the fact the battle was not at all speed up - the actors were just going at each other with that much intensity. Then there were other little things that were just great at setting the mood, like around 2:15 when Anakin gives that kick to knock Obi-Wan back and then there's just a shot of him kinda angrily strutting forward to continue fighting. The part with him choking Obi-Wan was great too for showing how vicious he was being.

Of course we must not neglect Darth Maul aka Ray Park. The double-bladed lightsaber is a way cooler weapon.

I'd have to say Darth Maul vs Quigon+Obiwan because it has Duel of Fates as well as the three main lightsaber colours.

I've seen a review somewhere that the lightsabre fights in Ep1 are stupid because they dont fight as one would with a traditional sword and sometimes it looks like theyre aiming to clash lightsabres instead of actually going for strikes. but I counter that fighting is different when one has minor clairvoyancy telling them when the opponent might leave an opening and whether taking advantage of that opening will tell your also clairovyant oponent that you are about to take advantage and leave an opening

I realise that litterally, duel has to be between two people so I'll say Quigon and Darth Maul in the laser room.

Though I agree the intensity in Episode III is well done

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Originally Posted by blackmage_nuke

I'd have to say Darth Maul vs Quigon+Obiwan because it has Duel of Fates as well as the three main lightsaber colours.

I've seen a review somewhere that the lightsabre fights in Ep1 are stupid because they dont fight as one would with a traditional sword and sometimes it looks like theyre aiming to clash lightsabres instead of actually going for strikes. but I counter that fighting is different when one has minor clairvoyancy telling them when the opponent might leave an opening and whether taking advantage of that opening will tell your also clairovyant oponent that you are about to take advantage and leave an opening

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Some viewing for you then:



Nevertheless, the lightsaber parts were fun to watch, which is pretty much all anyone ever cares about. So what if they were just a synchronized dance routine?

That's the video I was thinking about but as I said we cant tell how people would fight if they had slight clairvoyancy, when they swing they might not be swining for a strike but swinging for a block that the force told them might happen and then the force tells your oponent they'll be gaurding and tells you not to strike but instead rearange position for a better strike later.

But more likely, with lightsabers of course you dodge no matter what. Its not like being hit with a sword where a hard strike will give you a deep wound. With lightsabers medium strengh hit can mean a severed leg or arm and a light graze can be a severed (but cauterized) artery. This also explains why they dont go for hits either, if you get up too close to their lightsabre, you can end up getting a sabre through the skull with just a quick flick from them since momentum means less with lightsabres than it does with swords (and again your opponent is clairvoyant so just because they look vulnerable doesnt mean they wont just do a quick twirl and slice you open). If you don't dodge a potential attack in a sword fight you risk getting a minor wound but if you dont dodge a potential attack in a lightsaber duel you risk losing a limb, and if after ten off target swings from your oponent you decide not to dodge, thats when the force tells your oponent it's time to move in for the kill. It's explained in some extended universe books but the main way to fight against another lightsaber wielder is the wear them down and tire them out.

It also relates characterwise because in Episode I Quigon has experience and patience and Obiwan is a by the book sort of Jedi so the wear them down fighting style makes sense. In episode III its more personal and emotional, Obiwan and Anakin are mad as trout at each other so their Duel becomes more close up with more kill shots from Anakin and Obiwan being more defensive as he knows Anakin has more clairvoyancy. In episodes 4-6 Darth Vader cant do flips and stuff because half his body is prosthetics, Kenobi is old and out of practice and Luke hasnt been trained from childhood in lightsabre combat so of course they just swing them around like clubs.

The one between Yoda and Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones was my favourite. I just wasn't expecting Yoda to be that awesome considering his size.

Be that as it may, blackmage, the thing about avoiding attacking while you're opponent is vulnerable absolutely holds true. One of the primary rules of most forms of close quarters combat is never turn your back to an opponent (which is admittedly difficult while fighting two-on-one, part of the reason you don't want to do that). Some of the actions they take leave them entirely too vulnerable, even to foes without clairvoyance. If your opponents could predict that sort of an opening, you'd just be hosed.

Lightsaber duels are obviously primarily about entertaining the audience, and the fact that they swing high and whatnot is because they can't, y'know, actually smack each other in the face. But I do agree that there are some strange techniques that can only be chalked up to Jedi premonition. I also expect it is less about looking for a killing blow and more about being so complicated that you can force an opening. The battle between Anakin and Obi Wan has a section where they both just spin their lightsabers around, standing facing each other, completely ignoring each other for a couple seconds. This looks stupid until you realise that at any moment one might strike from a variety of angles, and the other might also strike, so they must be prepared to defend also.

Swordfighting in any show is incorrect because it was traditionally a much simpler affair. One or two attacks and someone is dead. I read the Wiki entry for stage fighting and yeah it explains why it's a little more showy (and I mean, that's obvious enough, but still).

The most important question is why do Jedi fight at all. My friend had a theory as we were growing up: two Jedi (or a Sith and a Jedi, whatever) should first sit in two armchairs facing each other. They fight in their mind, like that one bit in Hero (iirc). Nothing happens, they just use their foresight to see the outcome. Then, if they are not satisfied, they fight from their chairs, using the Force to throw and catch and deflect and attack using Lightsabers. No physical movement need happen. Then if they can't win I suppose they play rock paper scissors or something. Nobody needs to stab anybody.

My favourite fight is Darth Maul vs anyone because Duel of Fates just the music makes it. Anakin vs Obi Wan was pretty excellent because of the intensity of the actual fighting.

Was there no good fights in the Clone Wars? I haven't seen them, but you'd think they'd throw something in there since no actors are at risk of taking a stick to the eye, and so it'd look less showy and more traditional, albeit still drawn out of course

But the thing is even if you are facing your opponents back they can still sense you coming, and again with lightsabres you dont need to be in their full swinging arc to be heavily damaged. So you see an "opening" you move in for a hit, they dodge because they sense you coming, suddenly youve over extended and you are the one leaving an opening.

Also Jiro as for force fighting, I've not seen many examples of people with enough control win a pure telekenetic Force fight against an oncoming Jedi. Its usually either a brute force like a push or sith lightning or if something requires finese cutting pears or stacking stones it has to be done slowly.

The only example i can think of someone winning with pure force powers is Darth Sidious with his Sith Lightning

Starkiller vs Darth Vader was really cool in The Force Unleashed II.

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Luke vs Vader in Jedi. It's not some choreographed ballet, Luke is genuinely feeling angry and is just trying to mash the trout out of Vader. It's such a raw and emotional outburst, it's great seeing him snap like that.

Obi-Wan and Anakin, for all my comments about choreography, is still a fantastic spectacle though.

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Originally Posted by Vyk

Was there no good fights in the Clone Wars? I haven't seen them, but you'd think they'd throw something in there since no actors are at risk of taking a stick to the eye, and so it'd look less showy and more traditional, albeit still drawn out of course

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They're definitely still showy, but I thought they were cool anyway.

Darth Sidious spanks Darth Maul (who is alive because reasons) and his brother into submission.

Yoda vs. Sidious during his journey into Force enlightenment at the series finale.

Anakin and Obi-Wan playing double Force push bowling with Dooku.



My favorite is from Episode III. Anakin and Obi-Wan going at it is pretty fun to watch. I'll always remember being on the edge of seat as a kid when I watched the duel in Empire though.

I like Luke and Vader squaring off in Empire Strikes Back, but I think it's more for the reveal at the end than anything else.

Darth Maul versus Quigon/Obiwan was also really good, except for the ending where Darth Maul should have cut Obiwan in half but he was protected by plot armor. Yoda versus Darth Sidious wasn't half bad either.

Darth Maul versus Quigon/Obiwan was sick. Entranced by that as a child, I was.

Also, Luke vs Darth Vader. Even for those times, (because they're dated and the battles are slower,) Luke actually really gets some intensity going. Like Paulchotic said.

The classic Star Wars fights were good in their own way. I didn't care that it looked like two guys swinging colored baseball bats at each other. These guys had real laser swords! I was entranced with the special effects as they were back then.

Of the new movies, any scene where Darth Maul fought really blew me away. Ray Park brought some amazing skills to the table, and I feel he really upped the ante in the way of saber battles.

That being said, my favorite lightsaber duel will always be the last duel of Revenge of the Sith. It was such an emotional scene, as well as an epic fight. It pretty much fulfilled every wish I had as a Star Wars fan and lightsaber enthusiast.