ST Lightsaber Combat in the ST

I needed these Anakin gifs in my life. I absolutely love the the smooth, fluid and intricate way he used his lightsaber. There is something hypnotic in the way he slashed these two droids right after he left the starfighter cockpit. II just looked at way most Jedi fight, and most of their moves are pretty academic, while the way Anakin uses the saber screams of talent and inspiration. I see and feel why he is genius Jedi.

 

Can we add that scene?

 

The interesting thing is that, mostly, the choreography of the fights in the OT and ST are more 'realistic', whilst the PT choreography is more like a dance than realistic swordfighting.

I personally like the PT style myself.

 

I like the ST style so far. It's brutal and reminiscent of great swordfighting films such as Rob Roy, Rob Roy, and also Rob Roy

 

Rey and kylo throne room fight is my favorite star wars moment period. It was what solidified my love for the movie because up to that point i admit even i was kind of like meh. The fight not only looked great but it just felt so new like it gave us something other than the same old same that we have been getting since a new hope. I will say the prequels have better fights with all flair and dazzle and i do love them but they felt more like fan service than what we have been getting in the sequel trilogy. This is just my opinion and i do know that snoke dying before we got backstory upset a lot of people (which i can kind of understand) however for me i thought it was cool because really kylo is my boi and i admit i have a bias whenever he does something. I also really love the end of the force awakens both with finn and rey fighting. The forest setting was really beautiful and it was just an epic conclusion to the movie after killing off han (which man still blows me away cuz they earned that death in the movie jj you are the man my dude)

 

Out of curiosity, what qualities does Kylo possess that would inspire you to name him your “boi”?

 

Dang it @Deliveranze those GIFS make me want to watch ROTS again. I've already watched it probably 200-300 times.



Also, as much as I love TFA, the lightsaber duel at the end was just......awful. I understand it's because Rey is a rookie, but still......the entire duel is Rey running away, and once she gets the upperhand, it's just her charging and stabbing at Kylo repeatedly.

The TLJ duel I might rank even lower because of its multiple choreography errors, like people randomly swinging in the air for no reason and the infamous knife/dagger editing error. Not to mention the lack of tension. It's obvious that neither Rey nor Kylo will get seriously injured or killed by nameless guards.

There's one scene in the Duel of the Fates (my favorite lightsaber duel) where Qui-Gon randomly stands there and waits a second or two before attacking, which has always distracted me a little, and this one scene feels like the entire Praetorian fight imo.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, @cane_danko I agree that the snowy forest of Starkiller Base is completely breathtaking.

 

Well, i honestly love rey, finn, and kylo like a hella lot. Kylo i find very interesting because he has a hero backstory but is a straight up villain. Adam driver is also a brilliant actor and draws me into his character that much more. I also find that even though he has to fill the role of darth vader he does it in a way that sets himself apart from vader. I appreciate this about all the new characters. I know a lot of people feel that kylo is emo and throws temper tantrums which i would agree with the temper tantrum part but i do not see it as a bad thing. Vader was cool and calm as a cup of water about to boil over and this is awesome for what it was but until we had the backstory of the prequels i found it hard to relate to him (minus the end of return of the jedi where he is with the emperor and luke). Now i watch grown men throw temper tantrums all the time and i have even thrown one or two in my own lifetime. This is something i think is immediately relatable to everyone even if they are not prone to anger. There are also many moments that really strike the right cords for me with kylo. In tfa pretty much everything starting with his confeontation with han as well as the forest scene he just displays so much raw emotion and his fighting style is so cool. In the last jedi all these things are cranked up to the next level. Getting rid of the mask was such a good choice (and i admit i do love the mask) because now they can take advantage of adam driver’s acting. He has so many good lines in the movie and facial expressions. I could go on but i think you get the idea. If you want to know more just ask though.

 

"If quarter is asked-"
"No quarter will be asked."
"Or given."

 

Kylo toady: You look great. Have you...done something with your hair?

Kylo: Thanks, but no. It’s my face. The massive scar.

 

Yeah, this guy was pretty "stunned."

 

Despite some choreography issues, overall, the throne room battle in TLJ is in my top 3, I'd have to say. I love the "Solo Drinking Cup" Praetorians, and the fact that their armor can partially withstand cuts makes them all the cooler. Great weapons on their end, and they put up more of a fight than most Prequel-era Jedi would have. I also love the way the guards move, definitely some Chinese Wushu influence in there. And the lightsaber-through-the-face might be the best lightsaber kill yet, despite claims that Disney is watering-down the franchise. There's one brief moment where Ben whacks the head off of one of the kneeling guards that is beautiful - I didn't notice in on the big screen.

 

Don't forget the part where his cape gets caught in his lightsaber and Hayden tries to get it off

 

Damn. And he still looks badass. :whew:

 

The action in TLJ was a little lacking in the lightsaber department. I know it's silly to have tradition for the sake of tradition, but the lack of an actual lightsaber duel was felt in a film where the pacing was slower than usual. The red guard duel was exciting, but was basically the equivalent of Anakin and Obi-Wan vs the Manga Guards.

TFA was pretty good, though. In the same fashion as the other OT films, the action was all leading up to the final duel where both lightsabers ignited. Plus, they proved that they could make a satisfying fight without all the acrobatics and force powers of Jedi in their prime from the prequels. I don't think you can top the acrobatics and eye candy of ROTS, nor should it be attempted without proper reasoning. Thus, I'm all for experimenting with more scaled-down fights that can be just as tense.

 

Hmmm...

I thought the duel in TFA was quite good. I thought Rey and Kylo vs Snokes Red Guards was amazing! It's the only lightsaber action piece that rivals the end of TPM (which I doubt will ever be topped) It's funny that these two scenes were in arguably the poorest received films of the saga. The one I still shake my head at is the Anakin vs Obi Wan in ROTS one...good lord, such potential that ended up being a horrible mess of acrobatic cgi tosh! The Magna Guard fight in ROTS was cool though.

 

My actual favourite Lightsaber duel of all time is from Rebels of all things - the final showdown between Maul and Kenobi. A brief but intense conversation, the lightsabers ignite, one stroke each... and the fight is over, with Kenobi consoling his dying enemy. It says way more about the characters than lots of flashy acrobatics would have done, the contrast with TPM is deliberate.
I think that the elaborate style of the PT and the more measured OT style both have times and places of being appropriate but I think it's significant that the ultimate downfall of Sidious, Luke's ultimate victory was won by NOT fighting in the end. As to how this would play out in the ST I would personally think that Kylo trying to inveigle Rey into a decisive duel, one on one for the fate of the galaxy only for her to dismiss him completely would be fitting and a more interesting choice than yet another huge flashy fight.

 

I think we obsess over elements of Star Wars to our detriment. Lightsaber duels were a part of the OT because they fit the underlying drama. Vader and Obi-wan, master and apprentice, and Vader and Luke, father and son. If a lightsaber duel won’t support the underlying drama, we should not clamor for their inclusion simply because...lightsaber duels.

 

I didn't think we were clamoring for the inclusion of one just for appearances sake. We are talking about the execution of the duels.

There was no expectation on my part to see a lightsaber duel in Rogue One or Solo because of the nature of the story.

 

Best SW lightsaber duel was TFA. Worst was Mace's death in ROTS. Arguably the most important scene in the saga, and unfortunately the worst scene in the saga.

 

It wasn't that bad. The original cut would have been better though.

To me the aspect of Anakin's desperation and fear building up as a crescendo until he gives in and turns on Mace is pretty well done.

And the inversion of Return of the Jedi, with Mace acting on his own anger to kill a Sith (unlike Luke compassionately sparing Vader) and Anakin desperately holding on to his greed (unlike Vader/Anakin selflessly letting go of the dark side).

Plus Mace represents Anakin's betrayal (he sees Anakin as an ally if you see Mace's hand gesture when Anakin enter the room). It is important to see Anakin make that decision, and burn those bridges, of course.

 

The worst lightsaber dueling has to be with Grievous and his droid cronies. So dumb-looking and meaningless.

 

I think Mace was Ok; but I never understood why did Saesee Tin and Agen Kolar fall so quickly when Mace fights for a long time? The choreography could've been much better...

 

Agreed, I was talking more about the turn scene after Anakin arrives.

Mace's solo duel was average Imo, it (and the brief fight involving the other Jedi) suffered a bit as a result of reshoots. At least it was good that it was different to others in the film though, the fights in ROTS are actually pretty diverse.
You got the sense that the duelists (Mace and Sidious) were quite experienced as well, it was fairly refined, slower than other duels in the PT.

But yeah, Mace's posse was another story. It was meant to show Palpatine as way more powerful but it was clunky in execution. The novelisation version is better, with Palpatine shouting "Murder! Treason!" then destroying the audio recording device in his desk lol.

I noticed Kit Fisto survived second-longest because he is most popular of the three among fans I believe.

And did you notice the Jedi ignite their sabers in reverse-order of when Sidious kills them? Like he is killing off the weakest first in order of rank. Mace ignites first, dies last... Kit Fisto ignites second, dies second-last, etc.