Memorable ‘Star Wars’ moments

Most Shocking Moment: “I am your father” (“The Empire Strikes Back”). Spoken strategically by Darth Vader to try to recruit Luke to the Dark Side, those four words suddenly redefined the “Star Wars” series as a family saga. And as Luke tried to deal with the fact that he had just had his hand cut off by his dear old dad, Mark Hamill put out one minute of the strongest emotional performance in the entire series.

Strategically, it wasn't the Sith Lord’s best move as he watched his son, in an act of defiance almost as jarring as the revelation, take a flying leap down a bottomless shaft (those shafts seem to be part of the design of every large structure in the galaxy), and miraculously, yet somehow naturally, survive.

Most Anticipated Moment: Yoda in action (“Attack of the Clones”). I, for one, have been waiting ever since that annoying little creature in “Episode V” revealed himself to be a Jedi Master for a chance to see the 800-year-old, two-foot-tall hero show what he could do in a fight.

When he first appeared in the prequels 30 years younger but no more physically imposing, it was a disappointment, but when his fully CGI-realized form dropped his walking stick, pulled out his lightsaber and confronted Count Dooku, who had just defeated two younger Jedis, you just knew he was going to open up a pint-sized can of whoop-ass, and if not for Dooku pulling the cliched “make him stop fighting a moment to save his friends” trick, I’d have placed all my bets on Yoda.

The Ultimate ‘Star Wars’ Moment: “Use the Force, Luke” (“A New Hope”). It’s now a movie cliché: the hero eschews technology in favor of faith to accomplish a seemingly impossible task. But during the assault on the Death Star, when Luke Skywalker turned off his targeting computer and relied on the Force to guide his hand, it cast in stone the importance of “that quaint old religion” to the entire saga. Yet, the Force can’t take all the credit; this scene also featured the series’ happiest surprise when, just as Darth Vader had Luke’s x-wing in his sights, Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon came out of nowhere to join the battle, blasting the bad guys and bouncing Vader out where he’d live to fight again, while redeeming the rogue/scoundrel/smart-ass mercenary as a pretty good guy after all.

Among all of the “Star Wars” homages to filmmakers Akira Kurosawa and Ray Harryhausen, and the allusions to World War II, and all the recurring themes and foreshadowings (which the series’ out-of-orderness often made way too obvious), the most memorable moments in “Star Wars” are the ones that you could appreciate on more than one level. But the binary sunset was cool too.

Wendell Wittler is the alias of an online writer in Southern California.

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