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Wars do not make one great,
but moments do
Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones
Writers: George Lucas & Jonathan Hales
Director: George Lucas
The theater crowds across the fandom were stirring. We love our lightsaber fights and we need our compelling duels. The big fights between the biggest stars. As Attack of the Clones was coming to an end, the excitement started to grow. No matter where you were in your relationship with this movie at this point during your first viewing, you knew what was coming. The villain. The hero. The lightsabers. It was time for the main event.
Yet, this time, it didn’t go as planned. The dynamic duo of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker looked to have an easy victory against Count Dooku. It wasn’t just about a two-on-one advantage. Dooku was older and unproven to the audience, Obi-Wan had defeated Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace, and Anakin proudly boasted earlier in the movie that he was as good a swordsman as Master Yoda. This should have been a cakewalk, but like many great upsets in our own sports world, it didn’t go the way we thought it would.
Though the result was surprising, the fight itself wasn’t disappointing. Despite having to match up to the duel of the fates battle against Darth Maul in Episode I, we got to see Obi-Wan stand tall against Sith lightning and Anakin duel wielded two lightsabers while fighting Dooku in the dark, creating some tantalizing imagery. But now our two heroes lay injured on the ground and the villain was about to leave. This couldn’t have been the main event.
Well, it wasn’t.
Yoda was here.
Yoda is viewed as the greatest Jedi of his time and perhaps of all time, surpassed in theory only by Luke Skywalker. Though fans can get sweaty, like the late great geek culture icon Jon Schnepp would say, about Mace’s skill with a lightsaber, Qui-Gon’s insight, or Luke Skywalker’s raw power, that’s all fun scuttlebutt. All two feet, two inches of Yoda stands tall above the debates. Luke Skywalker was seeking a great warrior on Dagobah and, though Yoda proclaimed that wars not make one great, moments do.
We heard the footsteps first and then saw a familiar shape in an approaching shadow. We all knew who was coming and we were ready. It was time for Yoda to jump out of the cave and into action. A lot of questions, many logistical, came racing into your brain as this moment built up. How does Yoda fight? How does he overcome that size disadvantage? What else is up his sleeve?
A short battle of Force lightning gives way to what we wanted to see, some for years, some for the course of this movie. Yoda draws out his weapon. As the music picks up a notch, we’re treated to a Jedi hero pose. The blade is ignited, it’s green for those keeping score at home, and Yoda is ready to fight. Finally.
Alright, time out on the nostalgic look back on Star Wars history. Let’s get real. This isn’t a far-fetched, hyperbolic memory. Crowds watching Attack of the Clones, maligned as it is at times, were buzzing at this moment. For many, we had held that tiny Kenner action figure in our hands and wondered what Yoda was like in action. This was our answer. The reactions in 2002 reflected that. Don’t let anyone tell you different. I was there. You were there. We all were there watching a great mentor be the legend we always knew he was.
And the fight ends, by the way, with another lesson from our little green friend. One as worthy as an inspirational Yoda calendar as any other bit of wisdom he’s taught us. Dooku knows he can’t win, so he goes after the one weakness Yoda has: his good heart. Using the Force, Yoda’s former apprentice nearly crushes Kenobi and Skywalker with a piece of the Geonosis hangar bay. Without hesitation, Yoda gives up the fight to save his friends, choosing compassion over victory…and that, unlike wars, does make one great.