There are countless movies featuring the typical shootouts, sword fights and car chases as their climactic action sequence, but only one franchise is famous for lightsaber duels. From George Lucas’ 1977 original to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars movies have blessed audiences with heart-stopping battle scenes, and children with a new combat style to simulate at playtime, all involving the famed weapon wielded in honor of both sides of the Force.

Lightsaber duels are so frequent within the Star Wars saga, each one unique to the rest by its own execution and narrative relevance, that everyone has a favorite. Rarely do two respective fans end up having the same choice. It almost seems impossible to narrow them down and rank them.

However, we are going to try anyway, based on the main criteria of intensity. Which of the Star Wars franchise’s lightsaber duels is the Force strongest with?

After infiltrating the Death Star, elderly Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) finds his presence discovered by Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones), leaving him no choice but to engage in a face-off that can essentially be described as two old guys poking at each other’s weapons. Aside from age slowing them down, this lightsaber is a crucial moment in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope for how it changes Obi-Wan’s role for the rest of the Original Trilogy, but the most intense battle between these characters, i.e. their first, would be revealed later.

In a peak climactic moment of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith, Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and the accompanying Jedi announce Chancellor Palpatine’s arrest, prompting the secret Sith Lord to reveal his red-bladed weapon and literally spin forward to kill the surrounding Jedi before going mano a mano with Windu. This could have been the end of Palpatine’s oppressive reign had Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) not sliced off Windu's hand in defense of his new master, giving this surprising sight of Galactic Empire’s future leader in action a devastating conclusion with the birth of Anakin’s new title: Darth Vader.

Saving the moment from bitter defeat is Rey (Daisy Ridley), demonstrating the full realization of her skills in the Force by sending the lightsaber straight to her hand to finish off Kylo Ren. The literally groundbreaking sequence is one of the most breathlessly entertaining moments of the new Star Wars trilogy.

During the third act of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker take on Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), but both fail, and then Yoda (Frank Oz) steps in for his first lightsaber duel in a Star Wars movie. Of course, the Jedi master’s comical hopping skills probably would have been hard to pull off with a puppet anyway.

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) comes out of exile to single-handedly take on the First Order, a one-sided face-off that Kylo Ren decides to make it personal. Ren dishes out his signature aggressive lightsaber duel move, each one gracefully dodged by Luke: an impressive feat that keeps you in rousing suspense until the bewildering reveal that Luke is actually on his island of solitude and Ren has been fighting his Force projection the entire time.

Seconds after slyly slaying Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), Kylo Ren is joined by Rey, after she gets her lightsaber back, in the slaughter of the surrounding Praetorian Guards in front of the breathtaking backdrop of the Imperial Throne Room’s red walls. This beautifully choreographed sequence saw a rare alliance between the Dark Side and the Light Side, only to end in Ren gaining more power and giving Rey more reason to defeat him, thus making this next entry even more awkward for those involved.

The lightsaber duel is demonstrative to the strength of each characters’ skill, seeing Kylo Ren and Rey dodging each other’s furious blows with gravity-defying leaps over crashing waves before the scene reaches its peak of intensity when both adversaries sense the death of General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). Rey then puts a dent in the charade by stabbing Ren in the abdomen, before transferring some of her life force to heal his wound, inspiring a change of heart from him.

Having renounced the Light Side and assisted Palpatine in the Jedi slaughter, Anakin is confronted by Obi-Wan in the Mustafarian mining complex, where they reluctantly engage in a lightsaber duel to the death (though, “from a certain point of view,” Anakin is already dead at this point). The most intense moment does not even occur during their airborne, acrobatic battle over lava, but after Obi-Wan has left his former Padawan legless as he voices his devastation over his dreadful decision, before taking away his lightsaber and letting the lava burn him to near death.

Within the freezing chamber of Cloud City, they engage in a battle of wits and combat, as Luke Skywalker must dodge both Darth Vader’s attacks and resist his Dark Side manipulations. Luke defies Vader’s lure, but falls prey to his blade, as the Sith Lord puts the impassioned lightsaber duel to an end by claiming Luke’s hand before revealing the untimely truth that they are father and son.

I cannot think of a time when a lightsaber duel thrilled me like when Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi took on the insidious Darth Maul (Ray Park) and his double-bladed lightsaber near the end of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. With John Williams’ rousing symphony “Duel of the Fates” and George Lucas’ expert manipulation of time and environment crafting a perfect marriage of suspense, this intense quarrel, which leads to Obi-Wan’s promotion to Jedi Knight, is the Star Wars duel to fight for.

Do you find our lack of your top pick for best lightsaber duel disturbing? Let’s duke it out in the comments below!