10. Duel Of The Fates - Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
In the words of Matthew McConaughey, all right, all right, all right: so nobody thinks much of The Phantom Menace its biggest success came in alienating millions of Star Wars fans all over the world, and it also gave us the most ridiculous and inarguably ill-judged fictional character of all-time in Jar Jar Binks. Still, for all its failings, there is one sequence inherent to the movie that is downright iconic and sensational: the Duel of the Fates. After sitting through scene after scene of boring political talk about Trade Federation tax routes and Jar Jars mindless antics, it was almost as if George Lucas felt like he owed us something special and unleashed what is still perhaps the best and most visually stunning lightsaber battle in the Star Wars canon. John Williams is partly to thank for the sheer awesomeness of this scene, but the immense choreography as Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn take on Darth Maul, who is wielding a Double-Edged lightsaber is undeniably iconic.
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.
