The Allie Alley

Just a couple pre-Episode II ramblings.

Brandon and I are going to watch The Empire Strikes Back and The Phantom Menace this week to prep for Friday night. I picked these two out of the 4 for one reason only:

Awesome fights involving Jedi and Sith masters.

Let's face it, the fight betwen Obi-Wan and Vader in Ep. 4 leaves a lot to be desired. I am sure that the poor effects of the time was part of it, but it only makes sense that an old, retired Jedi who was out of practice would have little chance against a Sith Lord in full power anyway.

In Jedi, the whole father/son thing ruins the duel aspect. These two obviously cannot unleash their full strength on one another.

So why do I like Empire? Vader, plain and simple. He uses the force and his skills with the lightsaber to maximum effect. I still get chills when he starts force pushing objects at Luke. It's a demonstration of absolute skill and power.

The Battle of the Fates scene in Ep. 1 is the purest of them all. A full trained, deadly Sith vs. a Jedi Master and a powerful Apprentice. While I was a bit disappointed in the death of Darth Maul (and the non-development of his character) the action was impeccable. Astounding leaps, acrobatics, and the first 2 on 1 battle in a Star Wars movie. Plus, the novelty of Darth Maul's double bladed lightsaber was a nice touch. This fight is easily the best of the Star Wars franchise, and perhaps the ebst in ANY movie.

Let's see what Lucas cooks up in Episode II!