Happy Star Wars Day one and all! We here at The Journalix are huge fans of Star Wars. Yes the prequels aren’t all that and there were some questionable decisions in the latest installments but largely this is a franchise worth celebrating #MayThe4thBeWithYou. And to do so, we’ve picked out the most iconic scenes from each movie. They all had them. In abundance! Defining sci-fi. Defining cinema, full-stop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7Ds-E7m7AI
STAR WARS DAY: CELEBRATING THE GREATEST
The greatest villain of all? Darth Vader.
The greatest twist in film history? “I am your Father.”
The coolest battles? See Darth Maul wield 2 lightsabers.
The best soundtrack? John Williams’ classic score – and Duel of the Fates to boot.
It’s impact on pop culture? Check out our feature Star Wars lyrics in songs – including some very big music artists, it makes for a great playlist!
The greatest love story? Princess Leia and Han Solo.
We could go on. And we will. In chronological order…
HAPPY STAR WARS DAY
EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999) Dir. George Lucas
- It’s been spoken about many times before, but Darth Maul is a fantastic villain. As he patrols waiting for the doors to open to continue his battle with Qui Gon Ginn and a young Obi Wan like a tiger in captive. His image is iconic, striking fear in his enemies. He should be considered one of the greatest villains of all-time but the reputation of the prequels precedes him. And he doesn’t say much. But he’s got mad skillz with that double-ended lightsaber:
- The podraces were great too, it’s a shame there’s not more of them. Sport doesn’t always work on the big screen but like Quidditch, this doesn’t really count. It’s a great chase scene:
EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002) Dir. George Lucas
- We’re picking out Yoda’s opportunity to kick some ass here. He’s handy with a lightsaber, no wonder he was so well-placed to develop Luke into a Jedi master…
EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005) Dir. George Lucas
- Anakin becomes Darth Vader. It was the whole point of ALL the prequels, and to be fair it delivered:
EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE (1977) Dir. George Lucas
We’ve already selected a scene for it’s iconic imagery here, but there’s plenty on offer here. Enough to set up a whole franchise!
- But what is more iconic than Darth Vader’s entrance? The dead lie at his feet, you can first see the stormtrooper stand to attention, but then he arrives into shot, his theme tune playing from out of the smoke:
EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) Dir. Irvin Kershner
- It’s an epic lightsaber battle but as Luke loses his hand and looks to be losing the fight, in a twist nobody saw coming, the emotion becomes greater than physical pain and he learns more than he ever wished for:
EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983) Dir. Richard Marquand
- The opening shot, showing us the fallen Death Star, but the Imperial Army still rules the skies here, as the dominant spacecraft comes into shot it sets the tone of what light side of the force have yet to overcome
EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS (2014) Dir. JJ Abrams
This film spends most of it’s time homaging the original trilogy, but just did enough to convince us there was life in the old dog yet. It attempted (and succeeded) to create it’s own iconic characters and movie moments for a new generation.
- The flickering light in amongst the stormtroopers as they are set to land and commence battle. This was very clever cinematography, with echoes of the Saving Private Ryan Omaha Beach scene (more evidence of JJ Abrams love of Spielberg) giving the audience a very real human feeling from inside the suit of a stormtrooper. Despite their image they weren’t robotic. FN-2187 would go on to prove this:
- Kylo Ren’s lightsaber. Sorry but just when you think those things can’t get any cooler, in the dark of the night with the dull glow of the white snow:
EPISODE VIII: THE LAST JEDI (2017) Dir. Rian Johnson
A little bit of a missed opportunity to build on what The Force Awakens brought. It carries on in the same vein, but loses focus. I guess not every film can have a huge twist but the story should still have progressed more than it does. I feel like you could skip this in a marathon sitting and not have missed much. Maybe JJ Abrams should have overseen this too. It almost gives vibes of a spin-off… I’m aware there are huge moments here and if anything, it’s just lovely to see Mark Hamill up on screen again but if you read the criticisms of Episode IX (see below) you’ll understand my feelings that this could have been handled better.
EPISODE VII: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019) Dir. JJ Abrams
Yes it gets a bit messy here, but I for one loved it. Rey gets the ending she deserves and the acting chops of Adam Driver is on display in all it’s glory. He was a fantastic addition to the cast and to carry forward the legacy of the dark side.
It just feels very busy as they try to tie up all the loose ends, some of which were not a necessity but important to satisfy the scores of hardcore Star Wars fans. And so it was inevitable that people weren’t going to be happy with how it concludes. But for me it has enough heart, excitement and cool moments all whilst adhering to the legend of Star Wars to deliver a satisfactory ending to the Skywalker Saga…
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