So I had already written a long anti-ROTJ post in this thread?
I stand by my statements.
So how about that Obi-Wan/Jango Fett duel in the rain?
How about a duel ranking for the entire saga? I guess criteria would have to include not just "cool moves" but emotional weight as well. Here's what I'd go with (and this is going to be long, I'm warning you all):
1. Luke vs. Vader (Empire)
Unlike A New Hope, we really get to see what Vader is capable of here. While Luke isn't as skilled as he is in Jedi, he still gets a couple defensive escapes and a shoulder hit on Vader as well. There's something about the cinematography, and the way the action moves from the orange & blue carbon-freezing chamber to the hallways to the vast, grey metal chasm that I find so visually striking. When Vader starts force-throwing all that shit at Luke and he finally gets sucked through the window it's a "Holy shit!" moment. Of course this fight ends with a noteworthy limb-severing and the greatest reveal/twist in movie history. That image of Vader reaching out over the emptiness: "Join me!" And Luke's suicidal leap. It's fucking Shakespearean. No contest.
2. Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon Jinn vs. Darth Maul
Very little dialogue in this one, but as far as action goes the high point of the saga. Never have we seen Jedis in their prime fight before, and the flips and jumps are breathtaking. Maul looks like one bad motherfucker, and that he's able to outlast two guys is pretty impressive. The way this thing plays out is high drama: once the Jedis are separated by that electric barrier, you know something bad's gonna happen. I love the contrast between how calm and meditative Qui-Gon is while waiting for the barrier to come down, while Maul paces back and forth like a tiger in a cage. And once Qui-Gon goes down, Obi-Wan is chomping at the bit to go to town on Maul. This is my favorite part; the choreography here is like ballet, and then Obi-Wan splits Maul's sabre in two and there's that close-up where Obi-Wan is gnashing his teeth as their sabres cross right in front of Maul's face. Plus, Obi-Wan's sabre force-grab and flip over Maul's head to end the fight--BADASS. Best. Jedi. Ever.
3. Mace Windu & Co. vs. Palpatine & Anakin
Alright, the & Co. gets dispatched with pretty quickly, and I don't think this would be very high on most people's list, but getting to see Palps fight for the first time was a big deal. The dialogue leading to the fight is so sinister. "Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?" The way Palps jumps over that desk and takes out 3 Jedi Masters so quickly just shakes you up. This one is extra intense because we keep cutting back to Anakin, who doesn't know if he should come to help or not. When Mace smashes out that window, it's reminiscent of Empire, but the wind just revs the atmosphere up even more. Then you have the force lightning battle, which was done in Clones, but here it's turning Palps' face into the fucking Elephant Man! Damn! And then the climactic moment when Anakin makes his fatal decision--when Palps finally gets the lightning on Mace and flings him over the window ledge...simply the most horrifying moment in the entire Saga. I mean, even if you didn't like Samuel L. that much, to see him beat down like that (especially after kicking major ass in the Clones arena battle) was intense.
4. Yoda/Obi-Wan/Anakin vs. Count Dooku
Okay, really this is just about the Yoda thing. Either you thought Yoda fighting was ridiculously over-the-top, or you thought it was ridiculously over-the-top and loved every second of it. When I first saw this I was so giddy I couldn't stop laughing, but it was out of joy, not out of scorn. You have to hand it to ILM for even pulling this off. There's a few cool moments before Yoda shows up, especially when Anakin cuts the power cable and we only see the sabres in darkness. And of course Anakin mirrors his son's fate by getting his own hand cut off (for the first time). But Obi-Wan get put down a little quickly, and really it's just a precursor to Yoda. When we see his silhouette shuffling around the corner, the tap of his walking stick against the cave wall...if a crowd was clapping louder in any film at any moment I don't remember it. When he opens up his cloak and removes his sabre, sure it's a little cheesy, but give the people what they want! There's not a whole lot of contact here, but it's just dazzling to watch. And there's that great little grace note when he picks up the walking stick after the fight and hobbles over to his fallen compatroits, like he's incapable of strenuous activity.
4. Obi-Wan vs. Jango Fett
I like this one a lot because it's the rare exception of a Jedi fighting a non-Jedi. Obi-Wan uses his sabre here more defensively, but there's still some great action here. The setting on Kamino helps too; you have to love the image of dueling in the rain (shades of the Lucas-inspiring Seven Samurai, anyone). There's a couple humorous moments as well, like when Obi-Wan throw Jango over the side and then realizes he's still attached to him by Jango's cable. And what about Jango Fett here? Fans longed for years to really see Boba Fett in action (sadly, ROTJ failed to deliveron that promise), and this is as close as anyone can get. He theoretically "wins" this fight, although Obi-Wan is able to come back and fight while Jango runs away in his ship.
5. Luke vs. Vader & Palpatine (Jedi)
This is pretty intense. While the scope is fairly limited, it's the claustrophobia and what's at stake that makes it so good. You have the Emperor watching over, taunting both combatants at different times to get a reaction. Luke clearly has the upper hand in most of this fight, and when Vader mentions Leia, he just goes apeshit, and beats Vader down with what may be the most violent images in all of the films, Vader's arm clinging to the railing as Luke continues to whallop on him. This fight also has the added bonus of seeing the force lightning for the first time, which was also pretty damned intense. And of course the big finish, where Vader has his change of heart and throw Palpatine into the core of the Death Star (you'd think Palpatine would be able to grab onto something on the way down, as he wasn't even injured up to this point, but whatever).
6. Anakin vs. Obi-Wan
You'd think this would be rated higher, you know? It's only the duel we waited for ever since the whole story became known, right? And it certainly delivered. The lava, the swinging from cables, throwing shit at each other, etc. I don't know why I don't rank this higher, but to me there wasn't really enough of a big moment. I liked the way Anakin went down at the end, but while I understand the reasoning behind it (Anakin's impatience and arrogance is what defeats him), it kind of happens too fast. That being said, I love McGregor's acting after the fight's over. It's brutal. The fight itself...I guess maybe they blew their load a bit in the Phantom Menace. Aside from when they're trying to force push each other and stalemate into getting knocked back on their asses, there isn't really anything in this duel we haven't seen before aside from the setting. Maybe it will grow on me.
7. Yoda vs. Palpatine
In some ways this is better than Anakin vs. Obi-Wan. Maybe I'm not sure if they should have cross-cut between the two. I don't know. It's not the fighting that's so great here. It's a few great dialogue exchanges, it's the way Yoda enters Palps' office and casually lays those two guards out with a flick of the wrist, and it's how Palps' desk slowly rises and becomes the center of the Senate chamber. When he starts hurling those Senator pods down at Yoda, this movie is firing on all cylinders. Great stuff. And then you have the sad conclusion when Yoda realizes he can't win the big picture here, and escapes ashamed. The image of his cloak slowly floating down to the floor is such a great metaphor.
8. Obi-Wan vs. General Grievous
This loses points because not only is Grievous a CGI character, but he can kind of do anything and it's stacking the deck a little. But it's a cool little fight that turns into a cool chase scene that turns into a fight again, and the ending is great. One thing of note, Grievous is such a badass with his four sabres and yet Obi-Wan lops off two of his arms pretty quickly. You know what that means? It means Obi-Wan is an even BIGGER badass.
9. Obi-Wan vs. Darth Vader
Sorry, I know many will rank this way higher. I just don't see the big deal. These guys barely move. Yes, it's the first fight. Yes, it's iconic. Yes, there's a great emotional moment when Luke sees his mentor struck down. But it's rather slight.
10. Obi-Wan & Anakin vs. Count Dooku
Of course, this is more of a piece of exposition than an actual duel. The same thing happens in Clones. Dooku incapacitates Obi-Wan and winds up facing Anakin man-to-man. This time he loses. Instead of Anakin losing a hand, Dooku loses his head.
***
A couple things I omitted:
Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul on Tattooine--it's a little too short to include, but you have to love the way Maul jumps off his little motorcycle and flips right into action.
Mace Windu vs. Jango Fett--this fight lasts about 2 seconds, but serves to show how even the greatest bounty hunter is no match for a supreme Jedi Master like Mace. Pretty killer move when Mace blocks like 5 laser blasts with his sabre and then takes Jango's head right off.
Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon vs. Battle Droids--not really a duel but it's the first time we see Jedis in action in the prequel trilogy, and there are some great moves as they take all these chumps down with sabres and force throws.
Whew! Sorry about the novel.
