ST ST lightsaber battles. Mirror PT or OT?

It is the fact that Anakin's constant recklessness pays off that encourages him to carry on doing it despite Kenobi's admonishments.

Palpatine doesn't criticise Anakin - he fully encourages the behaviour.

Anakin listens to the Chancellor because it feeds his ego and justifies his actions.

 

Well, i won't pick one. I want some of the flourish of the prequels, but the one-on-one, emotional nature of the OT duels. The fact that there are so few of them helps, each one really matters. I want lightsabers to feel mystical again, and for that to happen there needs to be build-up. So basically, go all out stylistically if you want, but give me combatants i care about, a conflict i understand and am invested in, and treat the fight with the reverence a battle between Force-Wielders should get.

 

Which is exactly what I get from the prequel duel dependent on the story at play in them. I'll just say again what I've already said. The 2 most emotional duels of the entire saga are all about Anakin/Vader. one against Obi-Wan and one against Luke.

The emotion of the ESB is really post duel as Luke is simply trying his best to kill Vader. The actual emotion we place on it is really in hindsight as we now know that Vader is actually Anakin. If you are being true to the actual story intent from the point of view of the OT then that is how you must look at it. Luke vs the man who killed his father. That is the emotional motivation for him. Vader is simply a villain.

From the actual saga perspective we know that Vader is Anakin which brings a whole different aspect to the duel and heightens it's emotional aspect 100% This is one of the reasons why as much as some people talk about the idea of watching them in release order or IV,V, I, II, III ,VI the episode order adds so much to Vader in IV and V that can't be undersold.

So unless Luke turns to the dark side and starts battling his or Leia's kids or some adopted family member then to get that exact feeling is not really going to be there. People that close don't usually fight to the death.

 

I legitametely think the Schwartz fight in Spaceballs is more effective, emotionally resonant and in every way better directed than any prequel saber fight...

 

I hope we get to see a lightwhip.

 

can't believe more people voted for the PT duels than the OT

 

I think the trailers for "the old republic" got it right. They still had the awesome moves from the PT but they seemed to me just a lot more vicious. It seemed like all acrobatics in those trailers served a purpose instead of just showing off some moves for the sake of it like in the PT.

 

A sort of mix between the two would be best. Keep the emotional impact while still having all the flashiness, if not toned down a bit.

Over the ST I'd like to see fighting styles slowly revert to the ways of the PT, rather than the more rough style of the OT. Both the fights at the end of TPM and RotS would have benefited more from some more slower paced actions near the more emotionally charged segments, with the action serving as a bridge rather than the main event.

 

Yeah. The only duels that I really liked are from TPM. Luke vs. Vader in TESB and ROTJ are much interesting, mentally a battle of minds and emotions.

 

also for me the ESB and ROTJ duels + TMP from PT, all others are too unrealistic.

 

PT was way too flashy. I thought the OT had more weight to it, it was more about the characterization then the spectacle. Id take empire or returns lightsaber battle over the prequel ones anyday.

Less is more. If they're at 100 all the time it isn't as dynamic. It needs to be like a rollercoaster...slow paced...rise up....speed down.

The perfect world it'd be somewhere in the middle of the two. A bit more flashy like PT BUT grounded and more realistic like OT.

 

Does not matter to me as long as they are fun, exciting and work for the story/characters.

 

The PT duels wouldn't have been so bad (well the Yoda duels and Anakin/Obi Wan in ROTS were ridiculous in how stupidly over the top they were) if I gave a damn about the characters and what was happening. Those trailers for the Old Republic game seemed like they did the more flashy lightsaber duels much better than the PT did. Like someone else here said, they were flashy but also looks pretty vicious. They still looked like actual fights with some weight behind them, instead of glorified dance routines. Ideally the duels should be more "flashy" than in the OT but not nearly to the degree that they were in the PT. Basically take an in-between approach.

 

You seem to be all over the place in what you want. You don't like the PT "flashiness" but you like the same "flashiness" from video games because somehow they looked like actual fights while the PT ones didn't but you still want the ST flashier than the OT.

The main thing is you dislike the PT duels no matter what. So what are the chances you are going to like the new ones?

Very low I'd think.

Based on who they have got in the ST as actors-stuntpeople the flashiness scale of the ST will probably be like a pack of Ray Parks.

The Anakin and Obi-Wan duel (Best duel ever full of character, emotion and athleticism) will seem understated in comparison.

 

I can't pick just one.

I would like a combination of the more personal, dialogue driven, Duels of the OT; with the Epic flare of the PT Duels(specifically the Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Darth Maul duel).

 

If the team from The Raid is on the film as choreographers then we're sure to get awesome looking lightsaber duels. I'd like a combo of the OT and PT.

 

I'd echo what the above posters have said. Something incorporating the grittiness and emotional resonance of the OT duels with the athleticism of the PT duels. I don't want flashiness for the sake of it though.

 

Why?

I don't think they were done just for the sake of doing it in the PT, but I do agree with your overall assessment: the SWTOR lightsaber duels were fantastic.

 

I don't see what's so thrilling about stunt doubles, and digital doubles, showing off their cool acrobatic skills on screen. But I concede that at least at TFN, PT-style duels seem to enjoy the upper hand...

 

The lightsaber battles were one of the only things I enjoyed about the prequels so I would like a mixture of each. Cool looking moves but also with emotional weight to them.

 

The PT duels did nothing for me personally. It is my personal belief that they were over-choreographed and rehearsed, which just removed all the tension for me. I understand that Mr Lucas wanted to show these combatants as superhuman, which is why he went with that approach, but it just left me feeling like the only variables at play were how many back flips would be performed, and how long the show would go on for until the inevitable limb chopping occurred. This is quite odd to me, because I know Mr Lucas has been quoted in the past, acknowledging the lack of tension that occurs when you have superhuman, neigh-invincible characters on the screen.

The OT duels had a bigger impact on me. Naturally, the crown jewel is the Bespin duel, because of the amount of atmosphere and tension Mr Kershner captured on the screen with the lighting and the photography. In particular I love the long lens shot of Vader forcing Luke out onto the gantry, that made him look larger than life with sparks flying all over the place. In terms of the actual combat, it felt pretty fluid also. I really believed that Luke was out of his element, once Vader started seriously hammering on him.

 

OT. The PT battles looked nice (occasionally) but lacked emotion. Plus, they went on forever.

 

I say neither. I think they will be more intense/emotional, and frankly, violent.

 

OT mostly. Given what we know about Kylo Ren, he's going to be very brutal (and not confined to a robot suit), so he'll be faster/more vicious than Vader, but he won't be ultra-choreographed like Maul/Dooku. The new protagonists are also probably completely untrained. So it makes more sense to have OT style, but they'll take on a vibe of their own. The OT fights are just better quality anyway with the "emotion" and dialogue and pacing so hopefully they'll mirror that a bit. If we're going to have PT style at all maybe if Luke has a fight add just a little of that element to show how much more skilled he is now compared to the OT when Vader could have killed him at any moment except the part where he finally snaps.

honestly the only lightsaber fight I really enjoyed in the entire PT was Mace vs. Palpatine, even if I would prefer Sidious to just be a force user like Yoda should also have been. there was tension in that one (those jabs) and as the turning point of the film, there was some sort of emotion at least. and what do you know, short, not over the top, few fancy acrobatics. the Dooku ones were okay too but lacked emotion.

 

Yoda flipping around seemed silly and kind of pointless to me. It added nothing to Yoda's character and in fact took something away from it since he had less screen time to show his strength in the force.

I agree with you that Kylo will be brutal, his weapon suggests that he will not be focused on acrobatics, but just straight up force power and sword skills. I think it makes sense for the heroes to fight like in the OT, being untrained in lightsaber combat, but I think Rey would be able to hold her own, she looks tough and ready for any situation, she is a survivor. I believe Rey will be the bad ass melee person in the trio while Finn will eventually adopt the traditional Luke Skywalker style (yes I think they will both become jedi).