Revenge of the Sith: 5 moments that kept it from being the best film in the saga

The High Ground

One of the biggest draws of Revenge of the Sith was going to be the epic lava planet showdown between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. It was a story we heard about when the Original Trilogy came out and fans everywhere were finally going to see it live on the big screen.

The battle of master and apprentice and two of the greatest Jedi who ever lived was not only going to be a physical affair to behold but an emotional one as well.

For the most part, the battle lived up to expectations. The choreography was amazing, the setting was epic with lava splashing around them, and the consequences that one false step could lead to death brought a lot of tension to the fight.

The dialogue, for the most part, was good. Obi-Wan attempted to make Anakin see reason but he was clearly lost and overcome by the Dark Side at that point. The fight goes back and forth until Obi-Wan backflips off a piece of rock and then obtains and advantage even the most powerful Jedi apparently can’t overcome.

The high ground.

Yes, if a Jedi has an advantage in height from a battle standpoint, I guess it doesn’t matter how strong you are in the Force, it cannot be overcome. Anakin, clouded by Dark Side hubris, attempts to flip over Obi-Wan but he simply slices upwards and cuts off his former Padawan’s legs and watches him tumble to the edge of a Mustafarian lava river.

If somebody would’ve said prior to seeing Revenge of the Sith, that the epic battle was going to come down to Obi-Wan obtaining the high ground, I would’ve said that’s nuts, and probably one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. But that is what we got, and every time I watch this movie, I’ll always have a moment of dumbfounded awe that this epic battle came down to a simple height advantage.