5 Best Star Wars Action Scenes

The nine-film Star Wars saga (and its two spinoff movies) is nothing if not action-packed. All of the films have found new ways to entertain audiences, from the very first lightsaber duel and spaceship dogfight in Star Wars: A New Hope to the “Force dyad” that allows Rey to hand her lightsaber to a fairly far away Kyle Ren in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Then, of course, there are the less intimate, more macro-scale battles, which honor the “Wars” in the Star Wars title. The sequences that follow are the best of the best when it comes to set pieces throughout the franchise that have served to pique audience interest.

That said, because lightsaber duels are such a mainstay of the saga, they are not included in this list. A lightsaber can be involved, but we’ve excluded lightsaber vs. lightsaber fights – with sincerest apologies to the iconic Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul sequence in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

The Podrace in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace may have angered and greatly disappointed a lot of people, but even those who absolutely despised the film agreed that it had two sequences that were as good as anything in the Original Trilogy. One was the climactic two-on-one duel, fueled by John Williams’ fantastic “Duel of the Fates” theme. The other was the Podrace.

It was a tension-filled, energetic sequence that brought to mind the speeder chase in Return of the Jedi. Zooming across the sandy landscape of Tatooine, it was a showcase of the film’s then quite impressive special effects and the saga as a whole’s proclivity for coming up with neat-looking vehicles.

Obi-Wan vs. Jango Fett in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

Like The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones was divisive. But, also like The Phantom Menace, it’s aged fairly well and is intermittently a very good time. Though pretty much everything with Anakin and Padme is insufferable, but Obi-Wan’s plot thread is solid.

This is especially true once his investigation brings him to the clone-manufacturing planet of Kamino. Upon figuring out that Jango Fett, who along with his “son” resides on Kamino, is the genetic basis for the clones, Obi-Wan begins to pursue the bounty hunter directly. Unfortunately, Jango and Boba are ready, with his Slave I ship fortified with every type of weaponry imaginable…just like Jango himself. Their fight on the dock is great, but even better is the ship chase (which, like in Empire, takes place in an asteroid field), with the Slave I‘s seismic charges proving particularly memorable.

The Battle of Hoth in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

There are a few large-scale battles that really stand out throughout the saga. For instance, the Battle of Geonosis in Attack of the Clones. But the definitive example of what helps Star Wars stand out as a war film is the Battle of Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. With the brilliantly designed AT-AT walkers feeling like a legitimate threat, it’s an enthralling stand-off sequence.

It is also a scene that brilliantly sets the tone of the sequel. It’s darker than A New Hope, utterly unafraid to show a Rebel base blown to bits. And, in a testament to the superiority of practical effects, the stop-motion used to bring the walkers to life looks fantastic even 45 years later.

The Asteroid Field Chase in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

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Shortly after they find themselves some of the few survivors of the Battle of Hoth, Han, Leia, C-3PO, and Chewie are aboard the Millennium Falcon. Then come the TIE fighters. With a broken hyperdrive, the gang has two options: take them head-on or try and lose them in a crowded asteroid field.

Either way, their chances aren’t good. But, when it comes to the latter option, Han trusts his skill as a pilot enough. It’s always great to have a scene where the heroes have to choose between a lesser of two evils (or lesser of two dangers, as it were), and that’s essentially something Empire excels at repeatedly throwing the audience’s way. And, even when they do manage to escape the TIEs and feel like they’re safe in a large asteroid, it turns out they’re just inside a big nasty space worm.

The Speeder Bike Chase in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

For the most part, Endor seems like the least harmful planet seen in the original trilogy, but that all changes once Luke and Leia hop on a pair of Empire Scout Trooper bikes. With thousands of trees threatening the simple, lightning-fast 74-Z speeder bikes, it’s one of the most tense sequences throughout the entire Star Wars saga. One moment of distraction and a protagonist the audience has spent two and a half movies getting to know is gone.

Even with a great lightsaber duel between Luke and Darth Vader in the climax, it’s this chase sequence that stands as Return of the Jedi‘s most thrilling sequence. Filmed in California’s beautiful Redwood National Park, it’s a combination of pleasant to look at and perpetually dangerous that is hard to shake from the memory.

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