The Best & Worst Moment Of Each Star Wars Movie
I made a post about this back in 2013(my god, has it been that long) and finally got around to updating it with moments for The Force Awakens. I also decided to add in the animated Clone Wars movie because, why not. Anyway, these are simply my selections as to what I feel the Best and Worst moments of each of the Star Wars films are. Obviously there will be spoilers. Enjoy.
THE PHANTOM MENACE
--Worst: Anakin Accidentally Destroying the Trade Federation Command Ship.
This one is pretty self explanatory. The destruction/deactivation of the entire droid army was not planned or even done on purpose. It would have been better if, while inside the hangar, Anakin noticed the main reactor and attacked it. This would have shown the audience his resourcefulness and talents as a pilot. Instead, the victory of good over evil was achieved by a series of coincidences instead of planning and skill.
--Best: The Podrace
It was a nice departure from the standard violent action that is present throughout the rest of the saga. The effects were great and it was well directed. The podracers themselves were interesting vehicles as they basically to large engines dragging a seat, which sort of the point of maximizing their speed. The scene also create a new part of the culture of Tatoonie that the audience had not previously seen. Sometimes it is good to be off beat.
ATTACK OF THE CLONES
--Worst: Anakin & Obi-Wan vs. Dooku
There were several problems with this fight. Most significantly, the fact that Dooku's skills with a lightsaber had not previously established, so he did not really feel like a legitimate threat to Obi-Wan & Anakin. Also, Anakin's use of dual lightsabers is glanced over and contributed nothing to the fight. Considering how thrilling the climatic duel with Darth Maul was in The Phantom Menace, this fight left a lot to be desired.
--Best: Obi-Wan vs. Jango Fett
What made this fight enjoyable was that it was a duel between two different types of weapons: a lightsaber and blaster pistols. Usually, it is two of the same weapons being squared off against each other, so seeing the two fighting styles clash was a very welcome change of pace. Normally, the Jedi is clearly the more powerful fighter, so it was interesting to see a formidable opponent that was not another force user.
REVENGE OF THE SITH
--Worst: The Killing of the Padawans
This was just in bad taste. It is kinda ironic because previous entries in the series have been criticized for pandering to kids, whereas this moment seemed to do the exact opposite; terrifying them. If Lucas's intention was to make us sympathize with Anakin, he killed any chance of that with this one scene.
--Best: Anakin's Death
I have always found this part of the movie interesting. Not necessarily because of the scene itself, but people's reaction to it. Whenever I discuss this moment with other people, they always refer to it as "Anakin's Death" even though he did not literally die on that volcanic slope. It is like Obi-wan said in Return of the Jedi: The good man that was Anakin died and Vader took his place. That is how the character was developed and the audience's perception of what happened reflects that. It was something that Lucas executed extremely well, as it legitimately felt like Anakin died and that a new character was born.
A NEW HOPE
--Worst: Vader Being Knocked Out of the Final Battle
First off, yes, I know that this movie had a troubled production, especially during the filming of the final scenes. But still, the way Vader was knocked out of the fight never really made sense to me. I had to read a synopsis of the movie to really understand what happened. I am not a fan of Lucas redoing scenes, but I kinda wish this part would be elaborated on.
--Best: The Binary Sunset
This is the most iconic image of the saga, and possibly one of the most iconic in all of science fiction. I have always seen this moment as the beginning of Luke Skywalker's adventure, as immediately afterwards he finds R2-D2 missing and goes searching for him. Outside of that, it represented Luke's desire to see the worlds he has not been been able to see because of his life as a simple farm boy. The audience is put in a similar position as Luke, since we had not seen a significant part of this galaxy yet, and we, like Luke, wish to experience it. I think it is a perfect metaphor for Luke's character and the entire Star Wars universe; beginning as a something seemingly insignificant, but turning out to be nearly infinite.
--Honorable mention: Wedge Saving Luke
This is something that never really got enough attention, in my opinion, because it is truly a great moment. It always gives a jolt to who ever I show it to, even those who are not a fan of the series. But what is genuinely significant about this scene, is that it (along with a few other) gave notability to the character of Wedge Antilles. This character, and his popularity, has always fascinated me. He was basically a throwaway character who is very competent and even contributes to the outcome of the story. In some ways, he correlates with Luke in that he seems to be insignificant, but proves himself to be otherwise. In a strange way, Wedge's story(or lack thereof) reminds me of the opening shot of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, which implies that there are numerous stories happening at once and we are only witnessing one of them. In this case, we are watching Luke's, but Wedge's abilities and contributions makes us wonder what his story is and what other stories are out there.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
--Worst: Leia Kissing Luke
Definitively, not the most original choice, but it has to be mentioned (largely due to the lack of bad moments in this movie). I know that the familial relationship between Luke and Leia had not yet been established, but this moment makes the scene very awkward, rather than being a humorous "screw you" to Han Solo. It also provided the basis of an endless number of lame jokes in other media.
--Best: Yoda Revealed
It is quite ironic that, in a space opera, a quite dialogue scene would be the best. It plays with the audience's expectations and goes along with the notion that anything in this universe is possible. The audience initially sees Yoda's size, stature, and personality as mere comic relief, but he turns out to be a wise and powerful Jedi Master. Audience are somewhat "trained" to prejudge strange characters like Yoda, but like the wise hermit later says: "you must unlearn what you have learned".
RETURN OF THE JEDI
--Worst: The Ewok Stealing the Imperial Speeder Bike
Like with The Phantom Menace, this moments seems to exist solely to pander to the children in the audience. It is not humor that requires any comedic strategy, it is just cute imagery to entertain kids, rather than the audience as a whole. Which is what Star Wars is meant to be; entertainment for all ages.
--Best: Anakin's Funeral
Again, not the most original choice, but it was a fantastic way to conclude the saga. Especially in hindsight, as the whole saga could be viewed entirely from Anakin's/Vader's point of view. It is also a great as a throwback to the classic Binary Sunset scene from A New Hope. First, it creates the nostalgic mood that, while this story has ended, Luke still has more adventures ahead and that the Star Wars universe still has many more stories to tell. Secondly, it serves as an endpoint to Anakin's part of the story, just as the Binary Sunset scene served as a starting point for Luke. It was simply a superb send off of a memorable character and an equally memorable trilogy.
THE FORCE AWKAENS
--Worst: The Activation of Starkiller Base
This moment easily makes the list both for what it is and what it represents. Firstly, the use of this new super weapons was supposed to be a profound tragic moment for the heroes and audience, but we are ultimately witnessing the destruction of planets and people we never new existed. The government of the New Republic was not previously established, therefore we had no attachment to them nor do we have any clue what affect their loss will have. Secondly, The moment represents a common problem with the film; the lack of originality. Starkiller Base is essentially another Death Star. It is essentially the same thing with a slightly different design and function. This part made it seem like the writers were more interested in a remake than a sequel.
--Best:The Death Of Han Solo
A lot could have gone here but I choose to go with this because it was a great dramatic moment that did not rely on fan service or nostalgia. Kylo Ren was shown to be less of a cold blooded killer and more of psychologically tormented person, giving him a similarity to Darth Vader while still being an original and unique character. It was also a great moment for Han as he shows that his still has nothing but love and sympathy for his son. It was also a risky move by the filmmakers as doing what they did to such an iconic movie character could be seen as disrespectful, but they successfully pulled it off by fitting it into the Death of a Mentor theme that is common within the series.
THE CLONE WARS (film)
--Worst: Padme's "Episode"
First of all, I am well aware that this movie was really just the first few episodes of the Clone Wars Animated TV series. But this subplot was an unneeded distraction in either formats. It really had no impact on the main story and really just diverted from it, especially since it abruptly pops up two thirds into the movie. The only purpose seems to be to shoehorn Padme into the story.
--Best: Anakin Deserting His Clone Troopers
This was a rather small, seemingly insignificant moment in the film, but it turned out to be a very subtle and humanizing piece of characterization. During a mission to rescue Jabba's son, Skywalker is forced to abandon his clone troopers to an onslaught of droids, to which the Clone Captain responds to with understanding rather then feelings of anger or betrayal. Not only did this show Skywalker's remorse for having to leave his soldiers behind, but it showed that both he and his commander understand that this is simply the unfortunate part of being a solider and that unsavory choices like this occasionally have to be made. It was surprisingly mature for such a small moment of what wasn't really a movie.
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