Boy, is it beat up on Obi-Wan day?

Obi-Wan would have had no one to spar with for 20 years, so he's out of shape. Mace was in shape at his age because I'm sure the Jedi sparred together all the time to keep their skill up. I don't think Jawas would have made good lightsaber sparring partners... or the guys down at the Cantina for that matter!

Yeah, but if I was protecting the child of the chosen one, I would have worked in my skills. And anyway, he does have that little training probe, he could have set it to hard difficulty and sparred.

Dude, I feel so dumb today. Like earlier, I got told that the info I had on my blog was incorrect.
And yesterday I got hammered by a simple matter like Newtons law. Like I said. I feel dumb.

JediPug1 is right, for twenty years Obi-wan couldn't practice with anyone, maybe a sandman here or there, probably spent too much time at the Cantina...sounds like cirrhosis of the liver by the time he met Vader on the DS.

Don't feel dumb! Your blogs are interesting.

I think Obi-Wan worked on his Force skills, but not his physical technique. He strengthened his mind power. Keeping up his technique would have been hard, even with a training device. You really need another person to practice with and he just did not have that option.

Well; u would think that! But u see Mace WAS 50 in body but NOT in the force! He moved that way cause he also had practice too! Well; now with Obi-Wan; it was the other way around!

After being traumatized at losing all his fellow jedi,forced into seclusion,having to nearly kill his best friend & such Obi wasn't mentally or physically there as when he was younger.

Of course it could be because of his love for cantina's & having one drink too many (ep2 goes to a bar w/Anakin,ep4goes to a bar w/Luke)damn lush!

He DOES have a bad case of artherites

well jedipug is right in his second post, as obi wan got older, he began to "become one with the force". he probably spent more time training the mind than the body, especially on the hot sands of tatooine, and remember in ROTS, yoda says qui gon contacted him and told him of a certain way to like totally blend with the force? obi wan was practicing that technique, and so was yoda, which is why luke can see there spirits.

I have to continue in a new post, too long,

so...

and obi wan is just getting old, like in ESB u dnt see yoda doing backflips like in AOTC. and when he died, didnt u see how he let it happen? he figured it was his time to come.
he noticed how attached luke was becoming to him, and didnt want their relationship to get closer. he knew that the rebellion needed luke more than him, so he sacrificed himself


damn that was long

Ben had hemorrhoids...it's that simple--look at him move from side to side as to not let his legs rub together...and when it looked like he had to run to get away from Vader, he figured he'd just shut his eyes and take the lesser of two evils.

haha

Realistically, in the 70's, they just didn't have the technology or know how to choreograph or show fight scenes with the panache they do today. All the other reasons put forth are good points to make it realistic in the Star Wars world. The reasons I like are his working on his "mental" force abilities versus phyical ones. Also, he WAS saddened and sapped by all that had happened to Jedi Order. I hope that far in the fute and that far, far way, they will have developed a killer hemerhoid cream!!! Hopefully that wouldn't have been his real issue.

But think, Qui-Gon learned how to become one with the force, and he was also like 60, also he did already know how when he died, so I guess he really doesnt count.

Come on, it is just because ANH was made in 1977!

Anyway, GL officially declared that the reason is:
"Obi-Wan is an old man, while Darth Vader is a cyborg."

Yeah, but look at greivous, he's a cyborg, and he moves like a spider. Wheras Vader moves like he has a glitch in his programming.

Again, they just weren't technologically advanced enough then to show it differently. Greivous is just downright disgusting! He's like a spider, a scorpion, any number of nasty things. They certainly wouldn't have been able to put Greivous on screen in such a realisitically scary way back in hte 70's.

perhaps his style is more straightforward and objective (especially when fighting a half man half machine) than his youthfully exhuberant style.

Obviously Alec Guinness was an elderly chap, and Nick Gillard wasn't on the project in 1976, but you can explain it in whatever way makes more sense to you personally.

Star Wars IV was made with little budget and the special effects weren't as good as they are today. Also it was more of a classic sword fight then what came later, with all the flipping and all. Besides both knew the outcome of the fight before hand and were just going through the motions.

sithspawn191

date Posted: Jan 04, 2006 3:47 PM
well jedipug is right in his second post,


Hey! I"m a she, not a he!

sry, i wasnt being specific...

In ANH Obi was old. Psych trauma from everything that happened in ROTS plus 20 years alone in the middle of a desert aged him even faster. Plus any training he did while there was mostly mental.
He was at his peak in ROTS and Vader (powerful as he was) wasnt at his peak until ANH and Obi knew it.
Vader had spent those 20 years in the thick of things and getting stronger in the dark side.
I think that was best shown in ESB when he casually deflected Solo's balster bolts with his hand rather then bother drawing his sword. Never even saw Yoda or Windu do that and with such ease.
I think Vader in Ep. 4-6 was far more powerful in the force then he looks. He was just severely handicaped by that suit.
Obi had no chance in that 2nd duel.

When they were originally filming Ep IV Lucas said that the lightsabers were meant to be held with two hand because they were heavy, like a Claymore sword. Later on lightsabers were conceived as basically hilts with an energy beam. All the weight was in the hilt which was why only Force adebts were able to wield them with such fluid ease. But as far as from a SW point of view, my credits are on the Force Spirit strengthening.
"May the Force be with me, myself, and I"

It's been 20 years since? OBI-wan might not have just been on tattoine, he might have continuted to fight the empire,Esp since leia knows about him, he prob took on a secret project here or there, who knows, he may have been injured a few times, and he admits himself "i'm getting too old for this". I mean he does have a knowlege of recent technology on the death star, so who knows what kind of action/minor injuries he's seen since.

well Obi-Wan had been just sitting around for 20 years and was not practicing like Mace could. Plus I think it was his plan to be a forcr ghost.

Ponder this: You are in hiding. You are being actively hunted. At the same time, you have to keep track of an individual with whom you are to have minimal contact and whose relatives don't want you around. The area you've chosen to hide in, is a desert wasteland: no temple, no friends, no family. The most prominent feature of your home, a sand covered hut, is the hilt of a banned weapon you keep tucked under your worn robes. It's coarse fabric a sad reminder of all that has been lost and all you failed to protect. Despite his force abilities, Ben doesn't 'know' the future. (con't)

For the next 20 years, he has to protect the child of the man who killed his best friends and teachers. He has to keep hopelessness at bay, while providing protection to people who, at a minimum, distrust him. Ben looks hopeful, maybe even happy, at discovering Luke in the Jundland Wastes. Perhaps it's not joy as much as it is relief. The past 20-years of nearly complete isolation have not been in vain. To say it's technology alone that creates the issues involved in ANH, while factually true, discredits the halo of truth surrounding the saga. Yes, I know you can make excuses for anything, but why discard the convenient ones just because you don't have the imagination to use them?

He was old, he was tired, and he was ready for Luke to continue on as was expected. His death may or may not have been premeditated, but it was a rest he earned, just like Yoda. Thanks!

It was filmed almost 30 years ago. A prequel trilogy was not planned! Why do people still question this battle. It was fantastic 30 years ago. Nuff said! LOL

Kenobi-Fan is right; Ben has been in exile for 20 years and mostly is spent in training meditating deep into the Force to discover how to become immortal as in the spirit-thing. He must have watched Luke from afar through the Force and probably tried to keep trouble away from the homestead as much as possible; Obi-Wan had fought enough during his Jedi Years and wanted to bring Luke to trust in the Force and not his weapon; unlike what he did with Anakin: "This weapon is your life" sort of thing. But otherwise; Kenobi-Fan summed it up.

In case you did not notice, Obi-Wan Kenobi is played by two seperate actors in "Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope". To start with, "A New Hope" is much more low budget than "Revenge of the Sith." With that in mind, the stunt choreography was not nearly a good as it is today. Also, Ewan Mcgregor is much younger an actor in his fight scene than was Alec Guinness. Now with that in mind, Mcgregor was MUCH more capable of pulling of flashy moves than Guinness was. You are taking the fight scenes too literally of a representation of the character's actual fighting ability, and not looking far enough into the fact that it is merely an actor with his own limits and capabilities portraying Obi-Wan. I suggest moving out of your parent's basement.

I agree with Kenobi-fan. You have to remember also that everyone doesn't age the same. Just because Mace is in his fifties, doesn't mean that Kenobi should be able to do the same things at that age. Being in solitude can change a person, physically and mentally. Thats why prisons put people in solitary confinement. It takes its toll. Not using your muscles, makes them degenerate. Obi wan probably used most of his time meditating, practicing what Yoda taught him, how to communicate with Qui Gon.

/agree hanzaemon

Who said that was his best? He was meditating for 20 ####ing years, the force must have told him that he wasnt destined to defeat Vader. So he just became one withn the force.

Your assuming he wanted to win. It's always seemed to me that Obi Wan was just keeping Vader occupied until Luke etc got away. Their fight was never a fight, not even Vader makes any real effort to kill Obi Wan. It was just taunting. Even becoming one with the force at the end kept Vaders attentions from Luke as Vader searches Obi Wans robes hopelessly during their escape.

I know exactly what you're talking about, but really... they're just movies. George did his best and they all turned out great but they're not perfect. Everything that one can look at say "that IS pefect" is in reality made up of many many tiny parts that alone, apear to be quite flawed. The movies alone aren't always perfect - but as a saga they are a masterpiece no matter how many imperfections there are.

Wasn't this the first time Obi-wan had faced cyborg Vader face to face? Sure, he would have known by then what Anakin became, but coming face to face with your greatest failure has a tendency to sap your will. Obi-wan realized that his time had passed and it was time to pass the torch to Luke. What better way to ensure that Luke would continue the fight than to let him see his mentor cut down?

I suggest moving out of your parent's basement.
I find this very insulting as I live in my parent's attic, not the basement. If you're going to insult someone, at least be accurate. How else is one supposed to understand the subtleties of the greatest saga in the world if there being interrupted with responsibilities such as obtaining a residence and securing a job? Jeeeeze!

i thoguht mace was like 30-40 not 50... i guess im a retard

You're no retard, no-one here is.

I think Obi-wan focused on the force rather than fighting skills. Remeber, he was afterall getting ready to become part fo the Force so that he could return to speak with Luke should he die

just take Dookoo who was like70something and he moved pretty fast for an old man. I just think that Obi Wan choose not to fully use the force in the end.

When Obi-Wan was fighting Vader in ANH he said "If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can ever imagine." The truth is Obi-Wan wasn't trying. He wanted Vader to "strike him down". If I remember correctly Obi just stood there as Vader "killed" him.

I thought Kenobi was somehow sacrificing himself to protect Luke and the others and give them a chance to get on the Falcon to get away; something to the effect that he knew he could not get to the Falcon in time (did not have the time to spend in a duel) and by dying the others would just go and get out [of the Death Star].

I thought Kenobi was somehow sacrificing himself to protect Luke and the others and give them a chance to get on the Falcon to get away
Exactly! Ben's time was over. Just as Bail, Yoda, and Obi-wan planned, Luke was now in the fight; Obi-wan succeeded in his mission. His need to perform acrobatics a la Dooku/Yoda were unnecessary and ran counter to the 'plan' in place - that of Luke becoming a Jedi. I don't think you HAVE to attribute this to the lack of computer technology in '77. It's not like Lucas HAD to make Dooku and Yoda do what they did; it's just that the story requirements allowed for such actions in this case and not in ANH.

You know, 2 days ago this was the least visited blog. Now its second on the Favs list. Who knew.

Two things that haven't been brought up in this discussion:

Ewan, Hayden, Sam Jackson, Christopher Lee all have amazing saber battles-and they all have AMAZING STUNTMEN!! I don't know that Guinness used a stuntman for that scene. It certainly didn't look like Peter Diamond.

Second, Originally Obi-Wan was going to escape with the others, but Lucas couldn't think of anything to do with him for the rest of the movie, so the "one-with-the-force" trick was his solution.

The point is, as much planning and preparation as Lucas did, it wasn't all thought out in detail from the beginning. There are a few things that don't seem exactly right, but viewed as a whole the series is magnificent. If you want to argue minutia, that's fine, but some questions don't have a complete answer.

Its my opinion that the real reason is obviously the special affects/choreography and different actors/times. However, in the realm of the SW Universe, I think it is a combination of all the factors everyone has already listed. Kenobi was greatly aged and out of shape from his seclusion by ANH and he knew when he faced Vader it would be a loss. Obi-Wan had 2 options: stall Vader and then escape...or he could sacrifice himself to aid the others' escape and also inspire his last padawan. Choice 2 was his best. All things considered, he did OK for himself considering how much more powerful Vader was at this point.