Our favorite Star Wars moments
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
Some scenes in movies never fail to give you goosebumps. For me, it’s that scene in The Dark Knight Rises when Batman grabs Bane and says “then, you have my permission to die.” It’s the ending of The Usual Suspects when you realize the bad guy was right in front of you the whole time. It’s that moment in The Shawshank Redemption when Red finds Andy on the beach.
In Star Wars, though, it’s the duel between Luke and Vader in Return of the Jedi.
I’ve seen this moment play out on countless occasions, but it’s awesome every time. Before the fight itself, you had The Emperor trying to turn Luke to the Dark Side for about 20 minutes. Yet, the whole time, even when he’s staring evil right in the face, Luke resists and even tries to turn his father, who should’ve been the definition of a lost cause.
The one moment in their duel that always gives me chills is when Luke’s hiding from Vader. Luke keeps telling him that he won’t turn and that he won’t fight his own father, but Vader claps back by bringing Leia into the equation, which sets Luke off.
For the first time, we see Luke’s rage take control of him and, if you’re a first-time viewer, you might have thought The Emperor had completed his mission. John Williams’s classic score is what does it for me, just a real ominous feeling where you’re concerned for Luke’s fate.
It’s just a classic scene. It very well might be the most emotional duel in the whole saga, depending on where you put Obi-Wan vs Anakin. To me, though, it’s my favorite moment of the Skywalker story.