00:00That lightsaber battle in the third episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi was insane, but is it among the best? You might be surprised.
00:08What have you become?
00:11I am what you made me.
00:19Hey guys, it's Sean O'Connell, the managing editor here at CinemaBlend, and the moment that episode 3 of Obi-Wan Kenobi ended, fans started to debate
00:27where that rematch between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader ranks among the all-time greatest lightsaber battles in franchise history.
00:34We decided to put them into some type of order to also figure out for ourselves where it ranked, and we decided we're gonna stick
00:40to live-action.
00:41There's a lot of animated lightsaber battles that are significant in Star Wars history, almost too many to really rank at this point.
00:48So we focused on the films and the Disney Plus television shows and came up with our
00:53seven best, because, you know, it leaves out a few key ones. I'll discuss them at the beginning of the video.
00:59Needless to say, we're going to get into some spoilers, not just for Obi-Wan Kenobi, but for the entire Star Wars saga.
01:04So if for some reason you don't want to hear about Star Wars spoilers,
01:06which potentially talks about the outcomes of some of these key battles, you might want to leave the video now. The rest of you guys,
01:13you cannot run.
01:15Let's start with just some of the honorable mentions, because you can't actually build the list of all of the lightsaber battles in Star Wars.
01:22There are a ton of them. So, you know, as I went over my choices,
01:25I had to leave out things like the Jedi taking on everyone at the end of Star Wars Attack of the Clones, or
01:31Yoda versus Count Dooku, also in Clones, and some of the reasons why I left these
01:36battles off is maybe the CGI wasn't quite as finished, or the stakes weren't necessarily as high.
01:42One that was tough to really leave off was Rey and Kylo Ren taking on the Praetorian Guards in
01:48Star Wars The Last Jedi, which looks amazing,
01:52but there are some
01:54narrative decisions that led to that fight that maybe take away from some of the impact, especially when you look at the seven
01:59that we focus on. So without further ado, if I leave out one of your battles,
02:03let me know in the comments down below of where you think it should have ranked in my overall list.
02:08But these are my personal preferences for these seven greatest lightsaber battles in Star Wars history,
02:13and I am going to include the one from Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3.
02:19For number seven, I chose Luke versus Kylo Ren in the conclusion of The Last Jedi.
02:25This is Luke Skywalker's swan song. It's the one-time teacher against the student that he feels like he failed.
02:31It is stylish as hell. The white salt surface of
02:36Krait just sets up this visually magnificent sequence, and Rian Johnson's fight choreography,
02:42calling back to Rey's lightsaber training on Ahch-To, is actually brilliant.
02:47Okay, even though, okay, technically, I know
02:49that Luke and Kylo Ren's lightsabers don't actually touch during this battle because of the whole force projection thing, but still, I'm counting it.
02:57It's number seven, and stop sleeping on The Last Jedi, people.
03:06Number six is Obi-Wan Kenobi versus Darth Vader in Star Wars A New Hope. This might be considered
03:12sacrilege, putting Obi-Wan's confrontation with Darth Vader so low on this list, but just because you came first
03:19doesn't necessarily mean that you are the best, and plenty of lightsaber battles that
03:23followed A New Hope took inspiration from this duel and actually raised the bar. The historical significance of this fight
03:29cannot be diminished, but I stand by the actual battles ranking on this list
03:34because of the action that takes place in it and just the way that, you know, other ones were able to improve on it as
03:39the series continued. Come on, R2, we're going.
03:43Haste in point for number five, I'm actually gonna put the Obi-Wan versus Darth Vader
03:47fight from Obi-Wan Kenobi right above their initial confrontation.
03:52It's just cooler than their inaugural battle because we as fans at this point are far more invested in their rivalry
03:59thanks to the events of the prequel trilogy and
04:02specifically the finale of Revenge of the Sith. The betrayal that we witnessed between these two in that movie
04:08adds to the anger and the fear that is conveyed in this battle that we just saw in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Vader
04:15dragging Ben Kenobi through flames is such a sick burn,
04:19literally, that that action instantly made this a classic in Star Wars Legacy.
04:29Coming in at number four, I picked Qui-Gon Jinn and a young Obi-Wan Kenobi taking on
04:34Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode 1, The Phantom Menace. Now, there are a couple lightsaber battles in Star Wars history that get bonus points
04:42simply because they look incredibly cool while also pushing the narrative points forward. Rey and Kylo, like I talked about, taking on the
04:50Praetorian Guards in The Last Jedi is definitely one of those sequences, and so is number four on this list, Qui-Gon Jinn and young
04:57Obi-Wan taking on Sith Lord Darth Maul and his double-bladed red lightsaber. It's a great villain,
05:03it's a great weapon,
05:04and of course, John Williams's Duel of the Fates is an all-timer in terms of musical compositions in Star Wars history.
05:15The top three choices on this list are stone-cold classics. You can't go wrong with any of them, but at number three,
05:21I'm putting Luke versus Darth Vader at the conclusion of The Empire Strikes Back.
05:26By the time that Luke Skywalker faced Darth Vader at the end of Empire, his rage
05:30had reached an all-time high, which made it easier for Darth Vader to
05:35emotionally manipulate his hot-headed foe. The battle is menacing, and it's terrifying because really, at that point,
05:41we'd believed that Darth Vader was an unstoppable force, no pun intended, and Luke didn't really have his full training yet,
05:48so we feared for his life. Of course, the paternal reveal at the end of the scene is legendary,
05:52but really, the entire sequence is an all-timer.
06:01Number two for me is Obi-Wan versus Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars The Revenge of the Sith.
06:07Part of the reason why I love a great lightsaber battle is not just the visuals,
06:11but the emotional component, and the prequel trilogy built all the way to the confrontation between, again,
06:17student and teacher, in this case, Obi-Wan feeling that he had failed Anakin,
06:22believing that Anakin was going to be the one that brought balance to the force.
06:25It's a lengthy battle. Of course, the fact that it's set on a volcanic planet
06:29with lava spewing all over the place, and our protagonists balancing on droids and locking arms is fantastic.
06:38And of course, the conclusion, which gets referenced back to in Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 3,
06:42of Anakin just losing his limbs and catching on fire, is an image that we're never going to forget in the Star Wars franchise.
06:50And so, this battle between these guys, it's the highlight of the prequel trilogy.
06:53It's one of the best sequences in Star Wars, and it is the number two best Star Wars lightsaber battle that I've seen.
06:59You were the chosen one!
07:03It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them!
07:07I don't think this is controversial,
07:09but I'm picking Luke versus Darth Vader from Return of the Jedi as the number one greatest
07:14lightsaber battle in live action for Star Wars. And again, it comes down to the emotional component of it.
07:19Their first fight in Empire was fantastic, with Luke losing his hand and the revelation that Darth is his father.
07:25But the battle at the end of Return of Jedi is not just a fight for Luke's soul,
07:30but it's also a fight for the soul of Darth Vader, and whether or not the son can bring his father back from the dark side.
07:36The manipulations of Palpatine working on both of them is fantastic over the course of the battle.
07:41Luke's green lightsaber looks tremendous in the fight. It's lengthy.
07:46It's paralleled with the other two fights that are taking place on Andor and up in space.
07:50Terrific editing that takes place to build tension in all of those sequences.
07:54But really, seeing father and son going at it
07:57toe-to-toe for as long as they do, with the emotional stakes and all of that dramatic weight being balanced right there about whether good can
08:04finally triumph over evil is exactly why we buy into Star Wars. These are not just showy fights
08:12with flashy lightsaber battles. These are
08:15emotional, significant things that we invest in because we love the characters.
08:19And the conclusion of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, has the greatest lightsaber battle in Star Wars history.
08:30Now, I know I left out some battle that you love, so tell me about it in the comments down below.
08:35It's Star Wars. We all have our opinions, but I want to hear from you guys, especially because I know, listen, I didn't choose anything from Rise of Skywalker.
08:41Not a huge fan of that episode, but it has a couple of really good battles, and they probably could have made their way into this list.
08:48They'll probably make their way into yours. Again, thank you for coming by, checking out our Star Wars content.
08:53We're going to continue to cover Obi-Wan Kenobi as the last three episodes of the series play out.
08:58Hopefully, we'll see another exciting battle between Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former student, Anakin Skywalker,
09:04and maybe we'll have to redo our list by the time we see them confront each other again.
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