CaptainCrunch's new list - Personal greatest Star Wars Moments

[CaptainCrunch]

Star Wars transcends pop culture and signaled a massive change in how movies and fictional universes were made and portrayed. From what was originally a independent film that made George Lucas a billionaire due to shrewd business maneuvering, to the multi-billion dollar corner stone of the Disney Universe, Star Wars changed the world.



Its pretty rare that you can find a entertainment franchise that can last over 40 years, and continue to attract new fans. Its hard to find something that has side a wide variety of fans in terms of age, gender and nationalities.



Deemed as questionable to succeed, when it was released, it unleashed the imagination of writers, directors and fans. Everyone wanted a light saber, or a laser pistol, everyone was vested in the Galaxy Far Far Away.


Star Wars presents in most entertainment media from film to TV, to books and comics to video games, everywhere that you turn you can see the effect of Star Wars from the evolution to special effects to the role of music in movies to creating more complicated villains and hero's and even people in a state of Grey.


I was hooked on Star Wars from the first time that I saw it in a downtown movie theater on my tenth birthday. I had my best friends with me and my dad sitting beside me, and that was important to me, it was a tradition that sadly ended with the release of The Rise of Skywalker as my dad who was much older just didn't have an interest in sitting in movie theaters anymore.


But that young 10 year old was seriously hooked right from the opening scroll, and it became one of my favorite franchises. I was hooked to the point that I read the books, absorbed the Lore, played the video games and read the comics. It used to be that I couldn't get enough of Star Wars. While I didn't walk around in my Storm Trooper Outfit or use Star Wars in casual discussions with friends and workmates, I've been hooked on Star Wars since it first came out.


So I thought it was appropriate with today being May the 4th (Be with you) and the end of the Clone Wars series that I would put together a list of my favorite and most impactful Star Wars moments. These moments aren't restricted to movies. You'll see moments from TV series, from video games and even from books.



1) ANH 1977 opening scene


The moment that my world changed. A lot of people talk about other moments, but this moment literally shook me out of my seat. To understand science fiction movies in the 60's or 70's, the effects were usually cheesy, you could literally see the strings as Space Ships bumped into the background while they whizzed around the screen. A New Hope changed that forever and not only for the fans, but for Film Makers everywhere as George showed the possibilities around motion cameras and green screens.



I mean the opening scroll was enough, but I had seen that before in the old Flash Gordon serials that Lucas emulated. But the opening with the planet Tatooine in the back ground, then we see the blockade running fleeing and a massive Star Destroyer roars over head for several seconds. Instinctively we knew this was the bad guy, that ship was so massive that it defied everything that we had seen up to that point in any movie. With laser fire flashing between the two ships we knew that we were seeing the beginning of a fight between good and evil.



I will also add on that this moment was even shocking to the effects people that worked on it, as they saw the preview and turned around and asked each other who worked on it.





2) Luke, I am your father - Empire Strikes back


Darth Vader epitomized pure evil, he still stands as one of the greatest villains of all time. It did take a while for us to realize that Vader himself was a tragic figure who's choices drove him to become what he was. So it was no surprise that we would see a brutal confrontation between Luke and Vader. We were wondering when Yoda begged him not to rush off to face him, we as fans knew that Vader was powerful and ruthless and we expected that Yoda's reason for trying to hold Luke back was that he just wasn't strong enough to face Vader one on one.


The fight between Luke and Vader was brutal and nasty, and yes Vader was full power on display. We also got an understanding of how powerful Vader was as he flung objects at Luke and basically toyed with him. We were surprised when Luke managed to wound him, and not so surprised when Vader took his hand. What we were surprised at was one of the greatest twists in movie history.



"Luke I am your father"


Now of course a now 13 year old Captain was skeptical, he's lying, he's playing mind games, he's evil don't believe him. It didn't even sink in that it was true until after Luke's escape when they had the conversation from a distance. But in this moment we saw cracks in Vaders facade. He didn't chock the crap out of Piett over his failures, we saw and felt his entrapment in return of the Jedi in their face to face. It changed both men.





3) Kylo (Ben Solo) kills his father


Ok, I admit it, I liked The Force Awakens, I wasn't in love with it, but I liked it. To me it took too many beats from A New Hope. But we were reunited with characters from the original trilogy. So when Han Solo went to confront his son we got perhaps the best piece of story telling in the ST. From the lighting as the sun drained and Kylo's face receded into the shadows, to his speech to his father about not having the strength to do what he had to do. It was a brilliant piece of film making. It just worked right to the brutal execution of Solo and his fall into the pit below. Even Rey (Daisy Ridley was actually really good in the ST) with her anquished scream and the heart breaking roar of Chewbacca as his friend died. It stands out as the best scene in the entire ST, and might be the only ST scene that I have in this list.





4) I am Darth Revan - Knights of the Old Republic


Still stands as one of the best video games based on Star Wars ever made. It takes place over 3000 years before the events of Star Wars. Its the story of a nondescript Soldier with amnesia who eventually becomes not only a Jedi but a hero in pursuit of a evil Sith Lord in disco pants who intends to reactivate the Star Forge a massive space factory that can manufacture endless weapons.

Half way through the story you and your party confront Darth Malak who laughingly reveals the truth. Considered to be one of the great video game twists, I think every player that played the game dropped their mouse when this moment hit. From that point you had a choice. Would you continue to follow the light side of the force and continue your path of redemption, or would you return to your Darth Revan roots and conquer the galaxy?





5) The Opera House scene - Revenge of the Sith


The prequel trilogies are flawed, there's no question, but to be honest I love the overall story line of those movies. I think its no secret that I love story telling. The story of Anakin's Skywalkers fall was one I had looked forward to for a long time. Though we all knew that Palpatine was Sidious, it was fascinating to see him slowly pushing and molding Anakin to be his apprentice by lying with the truth and praying on Anakin's attachments and to his desire to be more then just a Jedi. This culminated in the Opera House scene. Ian McDarmid is an amazing stage actor and when he starts talking to Anakin and telling him the story of Darth Plagieus the Wise you can't help but be hypnotized and drawn in. Ian is at his chilling best as he not only lays the roots of Anakin's fall but almost seems to relish in the death of his master.





6) The death of Kanan Star Wars Rebels


The evolution of Rebels to me was fascinating to watch. From the beginning like Clone Wars it was a kid friendly piece of story telling, but as it moved towards its end it became darker and darker. We grew to love the crew of the ghost, we mourned when Kanan lost his eye sight. But I don't think we ever saw the day that a main character would die. This scene was so beautiful and shocking as Kanan held back the explosion with the Force while throwing the love of his life Hera into the shuttle. Then he turned and looked at her and his eyes cleared up and he could see her one last time, then we faded to the credits with falling ash.






7) I love you Princess Leia - Empire Strikes back


Sometimes its the smallest moments that are the most powerful. The Empire Strikes back could be retitled as the Empire kicks Rebel a$$ and leaves them with very little. One of the biggest takeaways and it showed the pure evil and determination of Vader to capture Luke was when he decided to test the Carbon Freezing chamber on Han. Up to that point Leia and Han had a love hate relationship that throughout empire had strongly evolved. So it was no surprise that Leia's last words to Han was a heart felt "I love you". to which in typical Han Solo manner and a brilliant piece of improve by Harrison Ford replied "I know".





8) This is what it feels like to be Anakin Skywalker Forever - Revenge of the Sith Novel.


I've stated it before that I loved the Revenge of the Sith Novel and its a must read for any Star Wars fan. Throughout the book the writer would have these little inserts entitled this is what it feels like. He covered Grievous, and Obi-Wan and Anakin. So at the end of the novel after the duel on Mustafar we get a a tragic insight into Anakin Skywalker for the last time, as he wakes up in the Darth Vader armor.

Spoiler!

This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker, forever:

The first dawn of light in your universe brings pain.

The light burns you. It will always burn you. Part of you will always lie upon black glass sand beside a lake of fire while flames chew at your flesh.

You can hear yourself breathing. It comes hard, and harsh, and it scrapes nerves already raw, but you cannot stop it. You can never stop it. You cannot even slow it down.

You don’t even have lungs anymore.

Mechanisms hardwired into your chest breathe for you. They will pump oxygen into your bloodstream forever.

Lord Vader? Lord Vader, can you hear me?

And you can’t, not in the way you once did. Sensors in the shell that prisons your head trickle meaning directly into your brain.

You open your scorched-pale eyes; optical sensors integrate light and shadow into a hideous simulacrum of the world around you.

Or perhaps the simulacrum is perfect, and it is the world that is hideous.

Padme? Are you here? Are you all right? you try to say, but another voice speaks for you, out from the vocabulator that serves you for burned-away lips and tongue and throat.

Padme? Are you here? Are you all right?

I’m very sorry, Lord Vader. I’m afraid she died. It seems in your anger, you killed her.

This burns hotter than the lava had.

No…no, it is not possible!

You love her. You have always loved her. You could never will her death.

Never.

But you remember…

You remember all of it.

You remember the dragon that you brought Vader forth from your heart to slay. You remember the cold venom in Vader’s blood. You remember the furnace of Vader’s fury, and the black hatred of seizing her throat to silence her lying mouth…

And there is one blazing moment in which you finally understand that there was no dragon. That there was no Vader. That there was only you. Only Anakin Skywalker.

That it was all you. Is you.

Only you.

You did it.

You killed her.

You killed her because, finally, when you could have saved her, when you could have gone away with her, when you could have been thinking about her, you were thinking about yourself…

It is in this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith —

Because now yourself is all you will ever have.

And you rage and scream and reach through the Force to crush the shadow who has destroyed you, but you are so far less now than what you were. You are more than half machine, you are like a painter gone blind, a composer gone deaf, you can remember where the power was but the power you can touch is only a memory, and so with all your world-destroying fury it is only droids around you that implode, and equipment, and the table on which you were strapped shatters, and in the end, you cannot touch the shadow.

In the end, you do not even want to.

In the end, the shadow is all you have left.

Because the shadow understands you, the shadow forgives you, the shadow gathers you unto itself-

And within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame.

This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker.

Forever…

9) The Battle of Hoth - Empire Strikes back


We knew the Empire was powerful, I mean they built a Death Star blew up Alderaan lost the Death Star and didn't miss a beat. But we really saw the power of the Empire when they discovered the Rebel Fortress on Hoth and sent in a full fledged ground invasion. This was the first time we saw Imperial Walkers and masses of Star Destroyers, and they pretty much routed the Rebels.


It was awesome to watch for a now 13 year old Captain.





10) Clone Wars the end


I loved Clone Wars, and it adds a whole new level to the PT trilogy that I want to explore now. But the writing the music and the story telling represent the best of the Star Wars Galaxy. The duel ending with Ahsoka and then Vader were emotional and gutting and makes you want more stories.








Honorable mentions


Ahsoka leaves the order. The Emperor arrives (ROTJ), The Mandalorian meets Baby Yoda kills the droid. Vader becomes Anakin. Obi-Wan's death, Maul's death. Anakin turns on Palpatine. Jacen Solo fires on his parents (Star Wars Legacy).