Memorable ‘Star Wars’ moments

Every movie has its memorable moments, and with five movies going on six, the “Star Wars” series has a starship-load of them. From the grand scale of exploding Death Stars to the personal drama of Jedi training. Or how about the alien spectacles of Jabba the Hutt's lair and the Clone factory or the strangely banal threat of a giant trash compactor? From Obi-Wan's mystical death-without-leaving-a-corpse to the simple pleasure of watching a binary sunset on Tatooine, there's a lot to take in here, and everybody has their favorites.

Most Memorable for All the Wrong Reasons: The pod race (“The Phantom Menace”). While intended as an homage to the chariot race in “Ben Hur,” this sequence reminded me of something else: As various alien-looking drivers lined up in their well-worn disjointedly-modular vehicles it took me back to the Saturday Morning cartoon “Wacky Races,” with champion podder Sebulba as Dick Dastardly and young Anakin as Tom Slick (I know, that's a different cartoon, but there's no such thing as logic in podracing).

Throw in the two-headed bilingual track announcer from the planet NASCAR, close-ups of Anakin’s frozen Jedi gameface, sideline comments from Jar Jar Binks and a cameo appearance of Jabba the Hutt — who falls asleep during the race — and you have a panoramic view of everything that was disappointing about the first prequel. On the other hand...

Best Chase/Race Scene: The speeder chase on Endor (“Return of the Jedi”). Outer space dogfights are one thing, but when the cameras piggy-backed onto levitating Harleys weaving through a dense forest of massive trees at literal breakneck speed, it was one of the greatest thrill rides in movie history to date, a magnificently executed technical marvel for 1983 and still stands up. It also showed off the heroics of both Jedi Luke and Princess Leia, becoming the series’ least artificial “see, the woman can be strong, too” scenes.

Most Repeated Line: “I've got a bad feeling about this” (All Episodes). It's not what you’d call a classic movie line. It’s not unique to Star Wars like “May the Force be with you” or “Let the Wookiee win.” It was previously said in “2001,” in reference to HAL the computer. Lucas admitted “I liked using it whenever something really bad was going to happen” and thus it became the cinematic equivalent of a “Bridge Out” highway sign.

Luke said it the first time he saw the Death Star. Han Solo said it in the giant trash compactor, and when he was taken captive by Ewoks. Leia said it and C-3PO said it. Obi-Wan said it twice in the first two prequels, but when Anakin said it while chained to a pillar in the Geonosian execution arena, it became a classic case of Stating the Obvious. Considering the Jedi Knights’ psychic abilities, it’s surprising that it’s been used as frequently by non-Jedi characters. It would be disappointing not to hear it from Yoda in “Episode III.”

Most Repeated Image: Somebody's gonna lose a hand from that thing (every episode except “Phantom Menace”). We see several ways that lightsabers can damage a human body (beheadings, impalings, clean cuts in half), but there is a strange recurring theme in the severing off of a hand or arm.

In “A New Hope,” Obi-Wan cuts the arm off an alien tough guy threatening Luke in the Cantina. In “The Empire Strikes Back,” Luke takes the arm (paw?) off a Wampa on the Ice Planet, but in his first battle between Darth Vader, it’s Luke’s lightsaber hand that’s excised. Fortunately, lightsabers cut real clean, preventing much blood loss, and we learn that robotic limb replacement is a simple procedure in this galaxy. When Luke returns the favor in the final battle of “Return of the Jedi,” he’s stopped in his tracks staring at Vader’s fully-mechanized arm on the floor.

“Attack of the Clones” sees Obi-Wan disarm (or dis-hand) a “female shapeshifter assassin” in a crowded bar (What is it with Kenobi in bars?), and the evil and powerful Count Dooku shows just how evil and powerful he is by cutting Anakin off at the shoulder (explaining why the arm Luke later cut off wasn't original equipment). And I couldn't help notice that it's always the right arm or hand (although I hear that may change in “Revenge of the Sith”).

Best Totally Non-Jedi Dialogue: “I love you.” “I know.” (“The Empire Strikes Back,” “Return of the Jedi”) Probably the biggest difference between the original trilogy and the prequels is the contribution of Han Solo. The injection into this mystically majestic saga of this un-Jedi anti-hero rogue/scoundrel/smart-ass mercenary was brought it down to earth — or whatever planet it got down to. And Han’s best moment was when he was about to be frozen in Carbonite, and Leia, who had been openly resisting his rogue/scoundrel/smart-ass charm for the whole movie, professes her love to him and he replies with those famous semi-last words: “I know.”

So, of course it had to be Leia freeing/defrosting him in the next chapter, and their first exchange of dialogue had to be a reversal of the two lines. He’s just that kind of guy and this is just that kind of relationship.

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