Revenge of the Sith Climactic Lightsaber Duel - 5 Years Later

I initially hated the ROTS duel. Not just Obi-Ani, all of it. It was too much. The Jedi that go to arrest Palpitine? What the hell were they? Crap! First two died instantly because they weren't even paying attention.

I like the setting for the final duel, it certainly has the dark atmosphere that the movie needed at that point, but it was just silly when they were hovering over a river of lava. If the heat hadn't killed them, then the ash should have. I'd say it would be like fighting on Venus, you couldn't.

As has been said, the Yoda/Emperor fight took away from it. Why did Yoda just walk off at the end? The Emperor was hanging there, Yoda could have grabbed his sabre and finished him off.

I agree with the points made about the music as well. No/little music until the end would have been better.

Bad lightsaber effects ruin it for me, as well. They seemed to have gotten worse on the last two movies.

I love the original fights because they are so basic, more like real world sword fights, and they have tension in them. Episode I was a little less realistic, but still brilliant and I think the Qui/Obi/Maul fight is the best of the lot.

As has been said, the Jedi in episode II and III were lame. In fact, I don't really care much for Star Wars any more. The story just seems to have been zapped out. I can watch it, enjoy it, but my enthusiasm for it died.

That isn't to say that I don't love lightsabers though, because they are cool and I love doing sword choreography. :p

I am curious, though;

How would YOU have had the fight go? Unless the OP minds, I can't see a point starting another thread on that, as it does relate to this thread quite well.
 
The problem with the fight is that we knew Kenobi would win. We KNEW it.
The ending was good. Kenobi had the high ground, knew Vaders moves, and warned him. Then cut off his limbs like punishing a big brat.
However he should have killed him. But he couldn't because Vader is alive later. They should have had him want to kill him but couldn't for some reason.
 
It's not about the swordfight... it's about what lies behind the swordfight. If you don't feel anything really lies behind the swordfight... all you got is fancy choreography and ballet. Never once did I feel there was any peril when seeing two guys clash fluorescent light sticks at each other. The OT sabers sputtered and flickered and looked absolutely DANGEROUS and like they were just inches away from exploding, and when they were close in proximity to another saber blade they shot out electrical charges and blinding light, which was why only Jedi wielded those weapons. They looked dangerous.

Now they are simply light sticks wielded by drunks and teenage jerks who does fancy moves, because they are the main characters and aren't supposed to die. There's no peril, no danger. It's over the top, flashy, visual CGI porn without contents or meaning.

Shortening the fight, having it go up and down in intensity, removing it from ridiculous settings, concentrating on the betrayal both characters should feel towards the other should have been the main point of the fight, rather than flashy moves that any real swordmaster would have anticipated and cut down the opponent in matter of seconds.

And... Palpatine with a lightsaber was the one biggest mistake EVER.

They forgot to keep it "real".
 
I didn't dislike it. I just felt like they were trying too hard. It was too choreographed, and too over the top. The scenes on the lava just didn't work for me.

I felt there was plenty of emotion from the start... however, the way it started (Anakin choking Padme) didn't make a whole lot of sense since the love triangle subplot was cut.

Overall though, I still found it enjoyable. It just needs some tweaking. I would have made it a little rawer. Punches would actually leave bloody lips and bruises. Jumping around the lava would not have happened. It would have taken place around the complex and "shore" of the lava lake.

I actually enjoyed the scenes with Yoda and the Emperor… so I would have left them in place.

I liked the music, but could agree that it could be toned down a bit… basically it didn’t have to be there for the entire battle.
 
Somebody help me with this: my gut feeling is that the closeup of Obi-Wan picking up Anakin's saber was a late addition, with the saber added to his hand with CGI for subsequent wider shots. It just feels so thrown-in, and I wouldn't put it past Lucas to have forgotten, until reminded at the eleventh hour, that he needs to keep the saber to give to Luke later.
 
I thought it was lame - especially due to the build up.

I had no real problem while they were in the building. But, getting out out that hugely angled platform and having it fall apart on them. At some point you say 'eff this' and just get outta there. The 'skateboarding on lava' stuff made me roll my eyes in the theater. Seemed like a flat out attempt to woo in the skateboarding crowd. Whether they were floating on rocks or droids, came off as dumb. Then the finale' of 'i've got the high ground'? I was thinking 'what??' With the Jedi abilities anakin can jump 50 feet over his head and land 30' up the side of the hill. The Jedi jump is going to get you more than 3' over obi's head.

Plus, can you really stand or 'skateboard' over a river of molten lava without burning to a crisp? The heat there should have been more than they could handle by a large margin.
 
JoMamma_Smurf said:
My Fav Lightsaber fight is probably in ROTJ. SOOOOO much emotion and raw anger in it. It's realistically sloppy and I can feel the tension in it.
Click to expand...

I completely agree - in ROTJ, the lightsaber duel between Vader and Luke was EPIC. Not because they were dodging obstacles and doing ballet, but because we actually cared about the characters and the outcome.

ROTS, like each of the prequels, doesn't have enough 'heart' to match that, but it was visually stunning and the music in the final battle was great.
 
I wouldn't say it's my favorite, but I liked it. Nothing is better than Qui Gon/Obi Wan vs. Maul though. The best part was Obi Wan's dialogue at the end of the fight IMO. There was a little more dialogue in the book, if I remember correctly, which I think they should have had in the movie. The thing about it is that at that point Obi Wan and Anakin are pretty much equal. Anakin has potential, but he hasn't surpassed Obi Wan's skill (saber and Force) yet and probably never does. I say that because Lucas has said in the past that in ANH Obi Wan could have beaten Vader.

Also the "I hate you!" line I think was good to have in there. It shows how Yoda said that if you fall to the Dark Side you will be consumed. Anakin just lost all sense of control or restraint.
 
darthgordon said:
Which is why you see the little force fields glow under the various equipment Vader and Obi-wan are jumping around on.

Repulsor field - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki

That's also why Vader caught fire while just being next to the lava.
Click to expand...

I don't think so. Not unless those fields covered the entire lava flow. I don't think being on a 4' x 4' repulsor field is going to protect you from the heat of liquid magma. The field would have to cover you 360 degrees and block heat, and i'm also guess it'd block air as well.

It's like being outside when it's 100 degrees out. You can wear a couple icepacks on your feet if you want. You're feet may be awfully cold, but the rest of your body is still being subjected to the full 100 degree whether.
 
I think alot of it was really the fact that everyone knew what was going to happen. That may be part of the prequels is that so much of the storyline was known. I mean they changed some things because in the tech manual i had years ago vader went through various masks before he got the full body suit. In the end it was the lack of a surprise that may have hurt the fight.
 
For me, I would have gotten a lot more out of it if Anakin's saber had been red - their both using blue sabers kind of confused the action somewhat.
 
Al Elliott said:
I completely agree - in ROTJ, the lightsaber duel between Vader and Luke was EPIC. Not because they were dodging obstacles and doing ballet, but because we actually cared about the characters and the outcome.

ROTS, like each of the prequels, doesn't have enough 'heart' to match that, but it was visually stunning and the music in the final battle was great.
Click to expand...

I agree with this completely. And regarding the music in the final duel in ROTS, Let's compare it with ROTJ: The music was nonstop in Sith, but if I recall correctly, there really was only one music cue during the Luke/Vader fight in Jedi: Right when Luke finally goes ballistic on Vader after he threatens to turn Leia. You really wanted Luke to stop Vader at that point.

I seriously believe that musical cue alone upped the emotion so much and made it the best lightsaber battle in the OT, if not the entire series. I suppose too much John Williams sometimes is too much.
 
My Fav Lightsaber fight is probably in ROTJ. SOOOOO much emotion and raw anger in it. It's realistically sloppy and I can feel the tension in it.
Click to expand...

Amen. I felt the Anakin/Obi duel was mostly gimmicks. The best part of the whole thing was the exchange after Anakin had lost. So much lost potential...
 
i think it was edited horrible if you watch what the actors did in rehearsal and the actual fight in real time its amazing....
 
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