danaan said:

So, Luke can't win by fighting, but he also can't avoid the fight! That's a very precise moral dilemma (which the PT, btw, ruins), and one that, in my opinion, separates SW from just about all other popculture movies of this general genre. In those, it's rather all about vigilante style justice. In SW, it's your actions that define you as good or evil, not which badge or uniform you happen to wear.

No kidding! The tension from that climax comes from knowing that *how* he fights the battle will determine whether he "wins or loses," not whether he lives or dies. I don't know of any other big movie climax that is designed to be so thoughtful and introspective.