There is no franchise quite like Star Wars. A phenomenon that has spawned a vast and expansive Galaxy of movies, games, books, comics, and everything in-between over the past forty-plus years, it has been consistently beloved and has retained a consistently high, if not divisive quality over its time.
One of the essential parts of each of the franchise's twelve theatrically released movies are the climaxes. Not necessarily the end scene or final shot, but the last big hoorah to take place in the film, those final few minutes where it comes to a big bang before winding down to the credits.
The Clone Wars (2008)
Even though The Clone Wars series is some of the best Star Wars content ever, the movie is one of the worst.
Its climax sees Dooku and Anakin get into a duel, which is fun, while Ahsoka delivers Rotta the Hutt to Jabba. The whole movie is very forgettable from start to finish.
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Solo deserves more appreciation from fans as it is an immensely fun, adventurous Star Wars flick with great characters.
Its climax with the fight between Han, Qi'ra, and Dryden is fun, and Han shooting Beckett likewise. Still, the climax is overshadowed by the Maul reveal as the movie comes to an end, and it overall lacks the impact of other endings despite not being bad.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones (2002)
Notoriously always near the bottom of the live-action movie rankings, Attack Of The Clones' ending is probably the best thing about it.
The final duels with Dooku are decent, even great at points, not the best, though. The clones turning up was pretty great, but compared to other finales, Attack Of The Clones lacked emotional power.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)
Every ending of the sequel trilogy is hurt massively by the complete absence of a coherent plan for the trilogy.
The Rise Of Skywalker has a fun climax with Rey doing battle with Palpatine, and the Battle on Exegol overhead - which severely lacks emotional investment. The Jedi voices are great, and Ben Solo is terrific, but it leaves a lot of confusion and was pretty poorly written.
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
The same issues of coherency apply to the franchise's most divisive entry, The Last Jedi.
The climax of this film is great with Luke and Kylo facing off, Luke's sacrifice, and the Resistance facing off with the First Order. The Finn/Rose stuff takes away from it massively, though, so too does The Rise Of Skywalker ignoring a lot of what gets set up.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Before all of the drama that came with those two movies, though, there was The Force Awakens.
Here, Rey and Finn have a visually stunning battle with an injured Kylo with fans still reeling from Han's death. The Last Jedi would probably top the sequels if not for The Rise Of Skywalker's weak, if not ignorant, writing.
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi (1983)
The final entry of the original trilogy is unquestionably the weakest from filmmaking and an overall quality standpoint. Still, it is a lot of people's favorite, which has a lot to do with the ending.
The entire throne room scene is excellent, but what holds the climax of the movie back is everything else, from the stuff on Endor to the existence of a second Death Star. These elements are not bad, but they hold the film back.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
It is hard to pinpoint the exact momentary climax of Rogue One. For one, the whole movie just seamlessly ties into A New Hope minutes later, and for two, the entire third act is unbelievable.
The action on Scarif, combined with the Vader hallway scene, makes the entire third act one of the best acts in Star Wars. The only thing holding it back? The lack of character development that takes away from the emotional impact.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
Arguably Rogue One has a climax superior to The Phantom Menace, and with more content adding development to the characters in the future, that will definitely come true.
As for now, there is simply no denying the Duel of the Fates. It is spectacular in every way from the characters to the choreography to the score to the stakes to the emotion. It is undoubtedly the best part of the film, and one of the best battles and climaxes in Star Wars.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
To some, A New Hope will never be beaten. Not as a movie overall, or in the climactic scenes of the film.
The trench run is nothing short of iconic, with time running out for the rebels and one last shot by Luke to save the Galaxy. Han's return, Obi-Wan talking to Luke, and everything in-between is spectacular.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith (2005)
It is a real tossup when arguing, which has the best climax of the top two, and it could change given the day of the week.
Revenge Of The Sith ends with arguably the greatest lightsaber battle of all time, some unbelievable music, and, thanks to The Clone Wars, more emotion that fans know what to do with. While everything with Yoda and Palpatine is good, it falls second fiddle to the Battle of the Heroes, this film's true and terrific climax.
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
However, as has gotten talked about for decades now, how can anybody argue against The Empire Strikes Back?
The battle between Luke and Vader also gets argued as the best of all time, with the overall quality of their encounter being unbelievable. The créme de la créme though, is, of course, "No, I am your father." It truly is a tossup between Empire and Revenge; there is no arguing the spectacular quality of each climax.