Which is the worst sequel to an awesome movie?

Jesus, did you just dis the original trilogy fights! Oh boy is it on!!! The Bespin Duel between Luke and Vader is the best in the whole saga! Not because of choreography, but because of the emotions of the fight. Take this into account:

In The Empire Strikes Back we have our beloved hero on a mission to save his friends from the most evil man in the galaxy. Luke, confident in his new abilities learned from Yoda, is hopelessly out matched against the much stronger and experienced Darth Vader. And top it all off with the most famous twist in cinematic history, a twist that completely changes the stakes for everyone, a twist that shatters our idea of who Vader was. The entire idea of our hero being defeated that badly was alien for a mainstream 1980 movie going audience. About everyone watching expected Luke to kick Vader's ass and save Han Solo, but oh boy were they surprised to see Han fly away and Luke get his hand cut off! The ESB climax went against everyone's expectations.

Now lets analyze the emotions of the Phantom Menace duel:

Two Jedi Knights are returning to Naboo because the Galactic Senate refuses to intervene in the Trade Federation's invasion. While the Jedi are making their way through the palace, Darth Maul, our silent villain, confronts the Jedi. They fight until Qui-Gon is locked into combat with Maul 1 v. 1 where he is killed. Obi-Wan, devastated and angry by the death of his master, then kills Darth Maul. Qui-Gon is dead and Darth Maul falls into obscurity.

Now with my bias aside you can tell that there is a lot more going on in the climactic duel in The Empire Strikes Back versus The Phantom Menace. In Episode I, who gives a shit that they are fighting. It's just three guys in robes fighting because their lightsaber color are different. Flashy moves and jumps do not make up for a completely hollow fight scene. But now we get onto choreography:

The choreography of The Empire Strikes Back is still great; the hits seem real and it's like they are really fighting, less like a ballet recital. The action starts slow and gets more and more intense as the fight goes on, until Vader just puts out and unrelenting assault at the end. You get a real feel for how outclassed Luke is and how powerful of a foe Vader is. You can actually map out the blows and tell what is really going on. I can't fathom how people enjoy seeing CGI Yoda dance around like a midget on cocaine more than the climactic conclusion to The Empire Strikes Back, it's just so much better! Same goes for the final Mustafar fight in Revenge of the Sith, the saber twirling just gets so ridiculous after a while. It's more like a dance than a fight. Granted the choreography in Phantom Menace is superb (the best choreographed fight in Star Wars), it completely lacks any emotional or dramatic depth. My point is that the choreography, Episode IV aside, in the OT is completely fine, and it more than makes up for it with drama and emotion.

/r/AskReddit Thread Parent