10 Problems Nobody Wants To Admit About The Original Star Wars Trilogy

7. The Lightsaber Battles Are A Bit Naff

alec guinness darth vader
Lucasfilm

All right, so this can probably be attributed to the time when the movies were made or something, though - technically - that doesn't really make much sense: check out the stuff that Bruce Lee was doing at this point in history, right?

So here's one aspect of production that the prequels certainly have over the old movies, in the sense that the lightsaber battles in Episodes I through III are far more exhilarating than the likes of those featured in Episodes IV through IV, which are - in a word - "naff."

C'mon: they are. They really are. That's not to say that the lightsaber duels don't get better as the original movies go on; there's a noticeable difference in the levels of energy witnessed in Obi-Wan's duel against Darth Vader in A New Hope and Luke's fights against Vader in both The Empire Strikes and Return of the Jedi.

Still, looking back on these "thrilling" showdowns, it's almost bewildering as to how clumsy and obviously staged they look - especially in Obi-Wan's face off against Darth Vader, which is about as exciting to watch as a ride on a carousel.

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Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.