10 Dumbest Criticisms Of Star Wars

7. "The A New Hope Duel Between Obi Wan And Vader Sucks!"

There were several unfortunate negative impacts upon the original Star Wars trilogy as a result of the prequels. One of them was that the lightsaber fights in the originals, which were more akin to precise, measured samurai duels, looked much weaker in comparison to the rapid, hyper-stylised duels seen in the prequels. One knock-on effect is that the fight between Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi in A New Hope now seems so slow-paced as to be almost static. But the focus here is on character - back when that meant something to George Lucas - as opposed to delivering an exciting display of swordfighting skills. It's a fight to the death between an apprentice and his old master - both Vader and Obi Wan recognise it, and in their deliberate movements around each other, you sense the wariness, as well as the hesitation to make the first strike, from two parties who share a long history. There's a lot said without words in this lightsaber duel, which isn't really a duel at all - it's a slow dance for each opponent to test the wills of the other, and an opportunity for each man to look the other in the eye for the last time.