Recently, Rise of Skywalker, there has been a divisive reception about the latest Star Wars content, with one of the bigger issues being the laughable and cringe dialogue.
As a franchise that once churned in iconic lines like "May the force be with you" or "I've got a bad feeling about this," the quotes in recent Star Wars projects have been anything but memorable, with excerpts like "They fly now?" But many fans have come to appreciate some of the corny dialogue from those films as they have achieved meme status.
"I'm haunted by the kiss that you never should have given me."
Anakin Skywalker (Attack of the Clones)
Considering the original trilogy wasn't over-the-top with quotes, George Lucas made the odd decision to have very Shakespearean dialogue for the prequels. Particularly, Anakin mentions about his kiss with Pé, which comes off as awkward, and the line is overly melodramatic.
While Attack of the Clones offered some really fun action and new lore to the saga, comments like these didn't sell Anakin and Pe's romance well at all. Yet, it is classic Anakin, who tends to make a situation cringeworthy with the words that come out of his mouth.
"Now this is podracing!"
Anakin Skywalker (The Phantom Menace)
Young Anakin's enthusiasm for podracing is just infectious, but once he goes off-world and blows up a Trade Federation battleship, the podracing references should have ended. This line along with "I'll try spinning, that's a good trick" have achieved iconic meme status, thanks to how little they have anything to do with space battles.
Spinning is a pretty common maneuver, and the "podracing" line is just so cheesy in the best way. It's a shame Jake Lloyd received so much backlash because now the reception for Young Anakin has turned mostly positive.
"Believe me, I wish that I could just wish away my feelings."
Anakin Skywalker (Attack of the Clones)
Attack of the Clones is a true treasure trove for awful Anakin lines. While Hayden Christensen gave the best performance he could with the clunky dialogue he was given, it's just hilarious to hear some of Anakin's quotes. This quote especially is quite redundant.
Despite raising so many red flags and definitely not being a romantic type, Anakin was still able to ignite a spark in Pe. What's pretty amusing is that George Lucas didn't even have confidence with his own writing at times, with Natalie Portman even saying "I don’t think George [Lucas] was satisfied with the dialogue he had written, because he told Hayden and me to just improvise — which was amusing, because it got inappropriate, very quickly," she said, via a magazine, The Best of Star Wars Insider Volume 8: The Saga Begins.
"Ooh, icky icky poo!"
Jar Jar Binks (The Phantom Menace)
This sound is somehow a real line in an actual Star Wars movie. As Qui-Gon, Pe and Jar Jar walk around Mos Espa, Jar Jar accidentally steps on poop which is accompanied by the most cartoonish sound effect ever. Jar Jar then shouts "Ooh, icky icky poo!" which may just be the funniest line in Episode I.
Although it's a pretty low-key line, it's still just hilarious that George Lucas purposely came up with a scene of a character clumsily stepping on poop. Perhaps, The Phantom Menace really is just a misunderstood masterpiece.
"Do it!"
Palpatine (Revenge of the Sith)
"Do it" is definitely at the top for most people in of their favorite Star Wars memes. But in the film, the delivery is really funny, especially right after Palpatine calmly says, while smirking, "Kill him. Kill him now."
Ian McDiarmid goes all out in Star Wars villain performances in a while. However, sometimes his line delivery is just too-over-the-top, but it makes for some good memes though.
"To be angry is to be human."
Pe Amidala (Attack of the Clones)
Alone, this line is absolutely fine, but it's in response to Anakin's fit about how he killed "not just the men but the women and the children too." Pe does not react like a normal human being at all, and instead of being absolutely terrified of Anakin's actions, she consoles him.
Theoretically, Pe could have made Anakin never turn to the dark side had she maybe put him in his place for his wrongdoings in this very moment. Episode II's whole romance plot between Anakin and Pe is sadly just not convincing at all. While a lot of the dialogue is laughably bad, many fans have come to appreciate it and enjoy the film thanks to countless prequel memes.
"They fly now?"
C-3P0 (The Rise of Skywalker)
The line almost makes no sense considering C-3P0 had to have encountered Imperial Rocket Troopers during his time with the Rebels in the Galactic Civil War. It then gets worse when Finn and Poe utter the line as well. It's a fun line, but within canon, it makes no sense.
In a comic, Poe had previously encountered Jet Troopers on a mission to rescue Lor San Tekka set before the events of The Force Awakens, and Finn was in the First Order as a Stormtrooper himself. Regardless, fans still enjoy this one because of how little it makes sense in the greater Star Wars universe.
"I have seen a security hologram of him... killing younglings."
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Revenge of the Sith)
The line itself is not bad at all, but it's Ewan McGregor's delivery of it that is just hysterical. In the take, McGregor can visibly be seen covering his mouth to hide his laughter after saying the line. What's even more baffling is that George Lucas didn't opt to do another take, especially a serious matter about Anakin's dark actions.
It's a hilarious moment and certainly meme-worthy from Obi-Wan. A take like this is something people would expect to see in bloopers, but the fact that it made the final cut is very surprising.
"I don't like sand."
Anakin Skywalker (Attack of the Clones)
Anakin and Attack of the Clones certainly seem to have a reoccurring theme of ridiculous quotes. While the film introduced one of the best things in the saga with Clone troopers, Anakin and Pe's romance is just too hard to watch at times. During the mid to late 2010s, the prequels achieved peak meme status, with "I don't like sand" as easily the most popular one.
The line has become so iconic that even Hayden Christensen has ed in on the fun with the infamous line at Star Wars Celebration, via quote remains the perfect way to sum up Anakin.
"Somehow Palpatine returned."
Poe Dameron (The Rise of Skywalker)
The fact this line even exists is mind-boggling, and even in-universe, it is priceless. It's like if a soldier just casually told his men that one of history's greatest villains inexplicably returned from the grave. It would sound just ridiculous and hilarious to anyone.
Before Episode IX came out "I don't like sand" certainly would have been number one, but the ultimate laziness in failing to explain how Palpatine returned makes this one rise above. Absolutely zero effort was put in to try and explain Palpatine's return. Expanded media and novelizations have established that it is Palpatine's original mind in a clone body, but even then, that just feels like an afterthought.
