“Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” (because I REFUSE to call it just “Star Wars The Last Jedi”) is out.
Like many other fans I’m spending the time re-watching the older films in preparation. This time I actually do have a legit excuse in introducing them to my girlfriend because if we can’t get over this hurdle then I have serious doubts in the future of our relationship. Sorry hun. Anyway I felt it was time to go over what are my favorite moments from all the films. SPOILER ALERT! Let’s begin!
Honorable Mention: Yoda Reveals his Lightsaber (“Attack of the Clones”)
Yeah, yeah I know, I know. It’s a moment from the prequels. Some even argue that this is the real worst film of the series. Still it’s one of my most memorable theater going experiences ever. I can so clearly remember the movement of the camera as it winds around Yoda and the lightsaber comes out. The theater went nuts, I went nuts finally seeing Master Yoda fight. Now I know some people hate this scene and feel as though it somehow dilutes his character. I don’t see how it makes him any less wise that he uses a lightsaber. If nothing else it allows for the awesome fight with Emperor Palpatine in the next film.
5.) The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis (“Revenge of the Sith”)
This scene is… gasp! From one of the prequels. Say what you will about them, but it’s fascinating to have a big budget sci-fi action trilogy where in each one ends with the heroes losing and the villain is one step closer to his goal. Now mind you the heroes didn’t know with each movie that Palpatine was actually the one winning. In general, I love Ian McDrmamid in these films as the Emperor. So picking out a favorite is tough. I went with this because it so perfectly showcases his subtle ways of tempting Anakin. He feels very Devil like here. It’s a simple scene, just Palaptine and Anakin at… I guess a space opera house. He knows that Anakin is getting visions of his secret wife Padme dying in childbirth. Knowing he can use that against him he tells the young Jedi a little story about Darth Plagueis the wise.
The acting and even the dialog all work so well here. John Williams helps with his atmospheric score. As others have noted you may notice its similarity to Snoke’s theme in “Force Awakens.” Now it could be a coincidence, but remember my point earlier about the Emperor always winning at the end of the prequels? John Williams tells us that musically at the end of “The Phantom Menace” with the Emperor’s theme played in an up tempo during the final celebration. So it’s not unusual to think he may put a little clue in the films, just a thought. However, what really sells the scene is its way of adding even more mythology to the Star Wars universe. Kinda like how the old EU did for fans years ago.
4.) Han Solo’s Death (“The Force Awakens”)
I think it’s fair enough to assume that we’ve all seen this film and know the surprise. If not well that’s what the SPOILER ALERT at the beginning was for. Harrison Ford coming back as Han Solo was something I assumed I’d never actually see. He doesn’t hate the character or the effect it had on his career, he just always felt his character arc was done. That’s the reason for the carbonite scene. Just in case he didn’t come back for “Return of the Jedi.” So when it was announced that he was returning I was pretty sure they were going to put an end to Han Solo. Late in the film Han goes to try to reach his son, Kylo Renn. It seems it maybe working until Kylo’s lightsaber goes through Han’s chest. Now one of the things I love most about this moment is Chewie’s scream. We’ve heard Chewbacca scream dozens of times throughout the films, we’ll pretty familiar with what he sounds like. The yell he lets out at this moment sounds unlike anything else in any of the other films. They capture the sadness/anger in his roar perfectly.
I also love how Chewbacca was almost certainly around for Ben’s younger life before he became Kylo. Probably carried him on his shoulders and stuff like that. But this kid still killed his best friend, the person he swore his wookie life-debt to, he goes for a kill shot. And keep in mind how strong this shows Kylo to be. Or did you think those two earlier scenes of Han being wowed by how strong the bowcaster is was just there for fun. Again, John Williams really adds so much to this scene with such simple tricks in the score. What really helps sell this moment beyond the history we have is how effortlessly Harrison Ford slipped back into the role of Han Solo. It felt like this is exactly how Han Solo would be like. With actors returning to a character after such a long absence it can often feel more like a whole new character that just happens to be played by the same actor. We even manage to get even more development. That scene where he tells Rey and Finn the force, “it’s true all of it” still sends shivers down my spine. That’s true character growth. My only complaint is that I wish it could have been more of a sacrifice like to buy the other heroes more time. As it stands it feels more like he was dooped by wanting to save his son over his common sense.
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3.) Darth Vader’s Attack (“Rogue One”)
According to the reports, this scene was thought up of by the editor. I think we’re all aware from how different the trailers were that there were massive reshoots on “Rogue One.” Some thought they should have downplayed the connections more and for some I agree, (C-3P0 and R2-D2’s cameo) but I’ll take all that I can get with Vader. Especially after all of his whining and… being Hayden Christensen, it was SO cool to see the Darth Vader I grew up watching. Honestly, I would have been excited enough with the earlier scene. We got to see his castle which has been referenced in Extended Universe stuff, he was voiced by James Earl Jones again. They even went the extra mile and made his costume look exactly how it did in “A New Hope.” Complete with the red tinted lenses.
That may not seem all that impressive, but remember when Lucas himself put Vader in the suit for the first time in “Revenge of the Sith” the costume was based on how it looked in the later films. Making his visual appearance in “A New Hope” stick out that much more. But then this scene happened, I had heard Vader was going to do something amazing before seeing the film. At this point I assumed they were talking about the earlier scene which was cool, but not “all is forgiven for the prequels” good like the person had described. What I really love about this scene is how this future war movie suddenly turns into a horror film for one scene. People complain about inconsistent tones throughout a film and while it can be bad there are times where it’s called for. You feel just how powerful and dangerous not just Vader, but the entire empire is from the perspective of the rebels. I don’t even care if this slightly messes with continuity with “A New Hope.” He’s so brutal and no one can even touch him the only option they have is to run. THAT’S the Vader I like seeing.
2.) Luke and Vader’s Final Fight (“Return of the Jedi”)
I think I mentioned this before, William Goldman said that the 2 greatest sword fights in all of film are in “The Princess Bride.” The one with Wesley and Inigo which represents the greatest (at the time) in form and fighting style. The other one with Inigo vs the 6 Fingered Man in which represents the greatest in emotion. I’ll almost always take an emotional climax over an action one. The lightsaber duels in the prequels are incredible feats in fight choreography, but you never care THAT much because those films fumbled the character part of the stories for the most part. Being possibly (at the time) the last Star Wars film ever, “Return of the Jedi” could have fallen into that trap for its final duel between Luke and Vader. When you look at it it’s really not much more impressive than any of the other lightsaber fights in the last couple of films. Heck it’s not even that long. The reason it even lasts the climax is because the inter-cutting with the other missions of other characters. And even then Vader and Luke still stop the fight multiple times to talk and debate whether there’s still good in Vader.
From that description it may sound like a poor ending for a trilogy. What makes it work is how much we care about the characters. In that earlier example, they wisely landed more on the Inigo/6 Fingered Man type fight. You not only have Luke trying to reach Vader’s humanity, but also the opposite with Vader trying to appeal to all the bad parts of Luke’s personality. Add to that the tension of what the Emperor (who presides over this fight like the Devil over Hell) will eventually do and you have a very tense sequence that uses its characters to create it over special effects. It finally comes to a point where Vader finally gets Luke’s blood pumping by saying after this, he’s going to go after Leia. Once again the fighting isn’t all that impressive after all that build up all things considered. However, our series MVP John Williams creates one of the darkest sounding cues in the score. He uses a choir which almost makes it sounds like the souls of all those who died at the hand of the Sith and will continue to die if Luke fails. The moment feels all the more important and emotional. God, I love John Williams and the good work that he does!
1.) Yoda Raises the X-Wing (“Empire Strikes Back”)
Kind of like with my best MCU moments I’m trying to limit myself to one moment from each film so as not to basically fill the entire list with moments from just one film. So deciding on the best moment of all from “Empire Strikes Back” was challenging to say the least. The “I am your father” scene is iconic, the carbonate scene contains one of the best romantic lines of all-time plus my favorite shot of the whole series, but in the end I had to go with this moment. I’m almost ashamed to admit it now, but there was time (before the prequels) where “Jedi” was my favorite and “Empire” was my least favorite. It had some great parts, but the darker atmosphere didn’t appeal to young Eric. Plus I felt that the middle of the film, especially the Yoda scenes dragged on and where ultimately boring. As I got older I found the middle of “Jedi” to be more boring and this film’s middle to be better and better. I guess I was too young to appreciate it.
Luke has crashed his X-wing into the Dagobah swamp and throughout his training with Yoda it’s been sinking more and more. Yoda suggests that Luke move it with the Force, at first scoffing at it he gives it a try and fails. Claiming it’s too large to lift, Yoda then does it for him. Luke and the audience are amazed by this feat. From that description it may not sound terribly interesting. It’s one of those scenes where just every conceivable thing comes together to work. The acting from Mark Hamill and Frank Oz is on point. This is the first time we’re truly shown how powerful Yoda is. Up until this scene he’s mostly been quirky, mysterious or just giving speeches. Here, we are shown in no uncertain terms that he is a master. And of course one of the true backbones of the whole series John Williams delivers with one of his most beautiful sounding cues of music as the X-wing floats through the air out of the swamp.
I may have sounded dismissive of Yoda’s dialog before, so let me fix that. It’s full of great lines from him like “No, try not! Do or do not, there is no try.” However, nothing perhaps in the whole series can compete with when Yoda talks about the Force to Luke.
“Size matters not, look at me. Judge me by my size do you? And where you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us, binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the force around you.”
I think what really gets me about this quote is just how big and wondrous it makes the Force sound. It makes me almost want to believe in the Force in real-life. That it’s as amazing as the real wonders of the galaxy and the higher powers will still struggle to comprehend (assuming they’re real). I think it’s the moment when this series truly transcended into something greater than just a film. Ending with a killer final line to the disbelieving Luke, “That is why you fail.”
May the force be with you.
View Comments (4)
I enjoyed the lightsaber fight in Phantom Menace. I'm really burnt out on Star Wars.
It like a lot of things in that film are perfectly fine on a technical level, I just bring myself to care on any kind of an emotional level.
Han Solo's death has to be my least favorite moment of any Star Wars film. I actually stood up and waved my middle finger in the theater the first time I saw it. I don't even particularly like Han Solo as a character, but I still think it screams "shock value," lacks any true emotional momentum, and is a cheap and unfulfilling closure to one of the most recognizable characters in cinema. And his death seems to have little value to any of the characters who observed it. Just felt like they crumpled up Han Solo like a ball of trash and tossed him in the bin.
I think it have been done a little better like I said if it was more of an actual sacrifice but I mean we all know the REAL reason for it, Harrison Ford wouldn't have come back otherwise. Not sure if that then technically counts as a shock moment because I doubt they would have killed him if Harrison was more into the character like he is for Indiana Jones.