The Phantom Menace Somehow Leads The List Of Best Star Wars Fights

Are these really the 10 best fights in the Star Wars universe? To a certain extent, we have to trust the source. The staff at StarWars.com decided that they would debate the Top 10 battles in the first six Star Wars movies, editing them into the montage above. They are ranked on inventiveness, choreography and emotional impact. Watch the list below, and then we will discuss.

Did you make it all the way to No. 1? Did you see how they chose a battle from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace?!

Listen, I get that Darth Maul is an incredibly cool visual villain, with his double-sided lightsaber and that peaceful way he pauses in between battling two Jedi masters in Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). It’s a solid battle sequence, and one of the only thrilling sequences in the deadly-dull The Phantom Menace. And this led the list of Top 10 battles in the Star Wars universe? THIS?!

"It’s exciting. There’s real danger. And it packs an emotional punch," the narrator of the clip explains.

Never mind the fact that the death of Qui-Gon copies Ben Kenobi’s death in A New Hope:

By leading this list of Top 10 Star Wars battles, that also means the editors of the site believe that the fight between Darth Maul – a character we knew for the duration of one, terrible movie – and the Jedi carried more "emotional impact" than the battle between Luke (Mark Hamill) and his father at the end of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. This came in second place. This.

Let that soak in, Star Wars fans. Phantom Menace tops The Empire Strikes Back. Does it matter what list we’re talking about? There should be NO list in the Star Wars universe where Phantom Menace tops Empire. Unless it’s biggest disappointments. So, you watched the list. Is it right? Wrong? What should have been in this list? What has no business on this list? Weigh in below, Star Wars fans.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.