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Star Wars movies have great "third acts" - which one's your favorite? (spoiler tags!)

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A

Altazor

Member
So, with the release of Rogue One we have yet another Star Wars film in the overall saga, and while it's not a "mainline" film, it's still one that expands its universe and fills out some gaps. Pretty much every SW film has a strong climax/"third act", and thus the title is pretty much self explanatory - which one's your favorite?

(USE SPOILER TAGS WHEN DISCUSSING ROGUE ONE IN DETAIL PLEASE)

The Phantom Menace: battle for Naboo/Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs Maul

Attack of the Clones: battle of Geonosis/Anakin vs Dooku

Revenge of the Sith: Vader vs Obi-Wan/Palpatine vs Yoda

A New Hope: battle of Yavin

The Empire Strikes Back: escape from Cloud City/Luke vs Vader

Return of the Jedi: Battle of Endor/Emperor's Throne Room

The Force Awakens: assault on Starkiller Base/Rey (and Finn) vs Kylo Ren

Rogue One: Scarif

After watching Rogue One yesterday... man, what an ending. The first part of the movie might be a little cumbersome and scattershot, but they nailed the climax and ending. It was, IMHO, one of the best of the saga - and that's a tall order. I vastly prefer it to TPM and AOTC, if I'm being honest.

So, what's yours?
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
The best third act specifically goes to Return of the Jedi, without question. The Emperor's Throne Room scenes are the best stuff in the franchise

conclusion.gif


tumblr_n85esaJOKx1rlheeoo1_500.gif
 
P

PeskyToaster

Member
The Rey/Finn/Kylo lightsaber right is one of the better ones from a character as well as visual perspective. It's a gorgeous scene. I can't pick a favorite climax though.
 
O

Ogodei

Member
Return of the Jedi, full stop. No battle in the series has come close to Endor (Revenge of the Sith could have, but they dropped in media res and kept the focus on Kenobi and Anakin as fighter pilots and didn't really look at the bigger battle).
 
W

WadiumArcadium

Member
I think Empire still pips it for me. The escape from Cloud City and Vader's duel with Luke are still some of my favourite scenes of the saga. Rogue One's third act is such an adrenaline rush though. They really nailed the ending.
 
P

PushTheButtonMax

Banned
You're right, the 3rd acts are great, I don't even know what to pick.

I love the throne room/space/Endor split in Jedi, but then the trench run is like a masterclass on how to do a nail-biting action scene/climax.
 
O

OricWindstar

Member
Sephzilla said:
The best third act specifically goes to Return of the Jedi, without question. The Emperor's Throne Room scenes are the best stuff in the franchise

conclusion.gif


tumblr_n85esaJOKx1rlheeoo1_500.gif
Click to expand...
Yeah, but then it keeps cutting to Ewoks. ROTJ is a movie with some of the highest highs and lowest lows of the OT.
 
W

Wanderer5

Member
ESB gets the edge in regards to the duel itself, but I think as a whole RotJ is the winner for me.

Shall look forward to seeing where Rogue One ranks within the next few days.
 
M

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
Return of the Jedi is king as far as final acts go. Can't beat the whole throne room scene combined with the massive space battle going on outside.

Rogue One is probably now number 2 for me, followed by Empire and then A New Hope.
 
R

reelbigtink

Member
Sephzilla said:
The best third act specifically goes to Return of the Jedi, without question. The Emperor's Throne Room scenes are the best stuff in the franchise

conclusion.gif


tumblr_n85esaJOKx1rlheeoo1_500.gif
Click to expand...

I came in here expecting to say Empire or even Rogue One but that Vader shot is so beautiful I'm changing my vote to Jedi.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
ESB is best because it's focused in one area and it's all incredibly good, followed by ANH.

RO spoilers:

ROTJ and RO split focus, and while both have one part that is superb, both have a weaker side.

ROTJ has the brilliant throne room and the silly ewok stuff. RO's better as it's weaker side- the land stuff is still really good, but the space stuff is INSANELY GOOD
 
K

kris.

Banned
It's easy to say Empire because yeah the last third of Empire is straight classic, but holy fuck if Scarif isn't giving it a run for its money.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
BONUS: And the Battle of Endor to this day is one of the most impressive space battles put to the big screen. Return of the Jedi's third act is basically a highlight reel of the best parts of Star Wars

tumblr_m9p8quCuCO1rw5vklo3_400.gif


VDjtBTu.gif


gAt2ymV.gif


msjVoWb.gif


G2yjGlV.gif
 
D

DeadlyParasite

Member
Return of the Jedi for me. The space battle is still my personal favourite from the entire series. We got to see cool new ships, the super-star destroyer in battle, and an intense desperate escape from the death star laser.
 
L

LeadenStride

Member
The throne room scene is my overall favorite scene in Star Wars, so RotJ wins. ESB is not too far behind though and of course ANH is nice too. The rest of them are not that special. Among them, I might even give it to TPM, even if it's for the music alone. The battle for Naboo itself is bottom tier. The duel in TFA is okay, but the attack on Starkiller Base leaves a lot to be desired. AotC and RotS are both just bad on all fronts.
 
G

George Oscar Bluth II

Banned
Empire Strikes Back. I love the escape Cloud City and Luke vs Vader. That ending too.

Special mentions to RotJ and Rogue One. The space fights are bloody amazing and RO also has a damn good ground battle. RotJ has the Throne Room which is great. The Ewoks... Not so much.
 
N

nullref

Member
The prequels are garbage top to bottom, the end. So not them. The Starkiller base assault in Force Awakens was weirdly boring to me – no real feeling of stakes or investment for whatever reason. The lightsaber fight was cool, though. I loved how it was shot. The battle of Yavin isn't that exciting to me anymore, and is probably my least-favorite part of New Hope. I haven't seen Rogue One.

So it's really down to Empire and Jedi – the two confrontations between Luke and Vader are both great, and the emotional high-points of the series so far. I guess I'd give the slight edge to Jedi for being the climax of the trilogy, and Vader's redemption. The Throne Room stuff is really strong, but I guess it's dragged down a bit by the Endor stuff.
 
G

GamerJM

Banned
A New Hope and Empire are probably tied for me. I think I'm going to give it to a New Hope overall though, because it's my favorite part of the movie, whereas my favorite part of Empire is the sequence of Luke training with Yoda.
 
L

liquidtmd

Banned
ROTJ and it's not even close.

And I love Empire. Empire is second and Rogue One is next, and i honestly don't believe that's just because its fresh in my mind.

RO spoilers

The looming Death Star, the space battle, the bittersweet cuddle on the beach before death, peak era Darth Vader going nuts on 20 guys, Peter Cushing CG, Krenic being a great panto bad guy more charismatic than Kylo Ren

ANH very, very closely after that.

Down the list is TFA as having another Death Star Redux climax was a dramatic mistep. Rey / Kylo duel was good enough and the Solo end was dramatic yet a tad devoid of the weight it should of have had for multiple tiny reasons. Id say the final third of TFA is its weakest element.

The prequel trilogy...ROTS was chock full of silly memorable quotes in its final third I guess. 'You're breaking my heart', 'I have the higher ground', 'Only a Sith deals in absolutes' will forever live on in infamy. AOTC and TPM were bollocks.
 
T

TheXbox

Member
Have not seen Rogue One. Return of the Jedi is the best of the seven saga films. ANH and TESB are both second, they're too close to split.
 
D

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
As with all Star Wars questions, the real debate will always be between the three original trilogy movies.

I think I'd go Empire Strikes Back > Return of the Jedi > A New Hope
 
P

purseowner

Member
In terms of third acts: Empire > Rogue One > Force Awakens > New Hope > Jedi.

If only the rest of Rogue One was as strong as its third act.
 
X

xxRONN1Nxx

Member
Man this is a tough one to pick. I mean they all do something different that's great. Rogue One set a huge scale battle with space and ground. I loved it. ESB is my favorite movie,but dam Luke and Vader in the throne room with that music OMG!!

Forget It I'm sorry can't pick I'm to much in love with this whole saga
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
I remember last year, leaving Creed, and knowing, somewhere in the back of my head, "this was better than Rocky. It absolutely was. But there is no way that could be right. Right? That's the hype speaking. Gotta be."

So I slotted it behind Rocky when the topic came up, sat on that for like, a year, and rewatched it with some friends who hadn't seen it before this November, about a year or so after my own last rewatch of it. It was my fourth viewing overall.

And yeah, my very first instinct was absolutely correct: Creed is better than Rocky.

Now, after leaving Rogue One for the first time Monday, I was thinking "that might be the best closer in a Star Wars film. Period. Even better than Jedi. But that's like... that's not possible, yunno? That's gotta be surprise from lowered expectations being exceeded so strongly. I'll see it again at the end of the week, with my headspace recalibrated, and I'll just sit on it for awhile and let it roll around in my head and..."

...and fuck that.

This is the best climax a Star Wars movie has ever had. It's last 30 minutes are better than Jedi's.
 
S

sphagnum

Banned
Sephzilla said:
BONUS: And the Battle of Endor to this day is one of the most impressive space battles put to the big screen. Return of the Jedi's third act is basically a highlight reel of the best parts of Star Wars

tumblr_m9p8quCuCO1rw5vklo3_400.gif


VDjtBTu.gif


gAt2ymV.gif


msjVoWb.gif


G2yjGlV.gif
Click to expand...

Just wait until the Rogue One gifs come out.
 
A

Anoregon

The flight plan I just filed with the agency list me, my men, Dr. Pavel here. But only one of you!
I'd have to go with Jedi, for all the states reasons. It's certainly uneven with the Endor stuff, but the Throne Room is fucking god tier and the space battle is the best of the original trilogy.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
Bobby Roberts said:
I remember last year, leaving Creed, and knowing, somewhere in the back of my head, "this was better than Rocky. It absolutely was. But there is no way that could be right. Right? That's the hype speaking. Gotta be."

So I slotted it behind Rocky when the topic came up, sat on that for like, a year, and rewatched it with some friends who hadn't seen it before this November, about a year or so after my own last rewatch of it. It was my fourth viewing overall.

And yeah, my very first instinct was absolutely correct: Creed is better than Rocky.

Now, after leaving Rogue One for the first time Monday, I was thinking "that might be the best closer in a Star Wars film. Period. Even better than Jedi. But that's like... that's not possible, yunno? That's gotta be surprise from lowered expectations being exceeded so strongly. I'll see it again at the end of the week, with my headspace recalibrated, and I'll just sit on it for awhile and let it roll around in my head and..."

...and fuck that.

This is the best climax a Star Wars movie has ever had. It's last 30 minutes are better than Jedi's.
Click to expand...
BOBBY! YOU'RE BACK!
 
C

CorrisD

badchoiceboobies
Sephzilla said:
The best third act specifically goes to Return of the Jedi, without question. The Emperor's Throne Room scenes are the best stuff in the franchise

conclusion.gif


tumblr_n85esaJOKx1rlheeoo1_500.gif
Click to expand...

Sephzilla said:
BONUS: And the Battle of Endor to this day is one of the most impressive space battles put to the big screen. Return of the Jedi's third act is basically a highlight reel of the best parts of Star Wars

tumblr_m9p8quCuCO1rw5vklo3_400.gif


VDjtBTu.gif


gAt2ymV.gif


msjVoWb.gif


G2yjGlV.gif
Click to expand...

My man.

For me nothing in this series has beaten the Battle of Endor, three simultaneous battles going on in three different locations, the space battle is still amazing to this day, and the Luke vs Vader battle is powerful, I love the music from the scene in the first gif when Luke goes to town on Vader.

As simultaneous battles goes Rogue One would come second, there's just some beautiful and very Star Wars scenes that happen in that last 3rd.
 
S

serenewarfare

Banned
I think TFA is pretty great if for no other reason than the Rey/Kylo Ren lightsaber fight. It's great and shot really well.

Sephzilla said:
BONUS: And the Battle of Endor to this day is one of the most impressive space battles put to the big screen. Return of the Jedi's third act is basically a highlight reel of the best parts of Star Wars

tumblr_m9p8quCuCO1rw5vklo3_400.gif


VDjtBTu.gif


gAt2ymV.gif


msjVoWb.gif


G2yjGlV.gif
Click to expand...

I used to 100% agree with this.

Then I saw Rogue One last night.
 
W

WonkyPanda

Member
As much as the first two acts can be inconsistent, ROTJ's is absolutely stellar. I think it pretty much saves the movie from being kind of average. Best one for me.
 
B

bananafactory

Banned
The best thing about Rogue One so far is that it brought Bobby back and restored balance to this place. Bronson has been running unchecked
 
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