The Force Awakens The Sword Fighting of TFA *Spoilers*

[Horhey]

It is of the style of the OT, which is far more realistic looking than in the PT and thus more exciting to watch. I like that they actually wound each other and that it doesn't seem like it could go on forever with no one doing any damage. Its intense and unpredictable. Plus the characters couldn't have been done any better so that helps.

 

[X Knight]

agreed.

the final duel was a thing of beauty, too!! just a great visual to watch.

however, I would delete those gifs because we are not allowed to post such bootleg material.

 

[jokesonm3]

Yo you might need to delete that lol.

 

[Horhey]

Yo you might need to delete that lol.

The title says *Spoilers*. And I really really really don't want to.

agreed.

the final duel was a thing of beauty, too!! just a great visual to watch.

however, I would delete those gifs because we are not allowed to post such bootleg material.

Edit: Done.

 

[X Knight]

^^ good

don't want you to get into trouble or get banned.

 

[GuestStar2004]

I actually didn't find the fights very exciting, infact i was a little underwhelmed

there is certainly a difference between being not being like the PT and not being much of anything

 

[FlareKnight]

I thought it was fine. Not that it was better than the prequels, but it made sense for the current state. It'd be stupid to have people completely untrained and one person fairly untrained having polished technique.

I'm sorry to potentially scar people, but once Rey and Kylo are properly trained they probably will have more flashy moves. They can use the force, their fights aren't going to remain realistic once you insert supernatural powers.

 

[The Caped Knight]

I like that it didn't have a stage hyper real fast fight like the prequel with all that twirling non-sense. It was rough it edgier and more sword fight clash reminiscent of Luke vs. Vader like in the original trilogy.

 

[Horhey]

I thought it was fine. Not that it was better than the prequels, but it made sense for the current state. It'd be stupid to have people completely untrained and one person fairly untrained having polished technique.

I'm sorry to potentially scar people, but once Rey and Kylo are properly trained they probably will have more flashy moves. They can use the force, their fights aren't going to remain realistic once you insert supernatural powers.

Kylo not properly trained? Snoke and Luke must've been slacking. Rey is supposedly untrained and I thought she performed better than what she should have, even though Ren was wounded. I think the fact that he was wounded was supposed to limit the PIS factor.

And what I meant by more realistic looking, I meant NOT this:

Its garbage. They fought for like 15 minutes and did no damage to each other.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

^^
Who cares?

 

[The Chris]

It reminds me of a wrestling match. You have the prequels which could be considered spot fests, and then you have this where they told a story with the fights and they were really intense. The lightsabers felt like dangerous weapons that can kill again instead of just cool and fancy toys.

 

[Mad Ones]

Unlike the prequels, this fight didn't bore me to tears. The movie really built up this duel and I was hungry for it. It was really satisfying and the setting in the snow was great.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

Considering no one was really trained in lightsaber fighting besides maybe Kylo Ren, I was okay with the fights being done the way they were. I would have been real disappointed if they went with they type of fighting they did in the prequels.

 

[tillyvick14]

TFA made things right again with regard to the lightsaber duels just as it did in every other area.

 

[Serpico Jones]

Kylo not properly trained? Snoke and Luke must've been slacking. Rey is supposedly untrained and I thought she performed better than what she should have, even though Ren was wounded. I think the fact that he was wounded was supposed to limit the PIS factor.

And what I meant by more realistic looking, I meant NOT this:

Its garbage. They fought for like 15 minutes and did no damage to each other.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

^^
Who cares?

This was a horrible duel. It goes on forever and it looks like a PlayStation 2 cutscene.

 

[jaqua99]

Put me in the camp of slightly underwhelmed by the dueling in TFA. I didn't have much issue with the PT dueling. Some of it was excessive, but the athleticism and swordsmanship in some of the duels seemed mystical. That's what I want out of the Jedi.

I assume it's circumstantial, in TFA as to why the final fight didn't show any "skill" at all. In fact, no one who wielded a lightsaber showed any signs of serious skill. The way the fighting was, was just too BASIC for me. I felt I could have held my own lol.

I think they can speed it up, and add a bit of flare to it with *more experienced* duelists. Each saber strike, to me, was simply heavy and slow, parried and heavy, back and forth and didn't look a whole lot more than just someone swinging a sword. Kylo had a few nice looking moves, but other than that, I think the new trilogy has a bit of work to do with the dueling. I get how you guys love the dueling in the OT (I personally find it cringeworthy, as they look like children swinging around swords), but I want to see a little more skill, and talent. There isn't any reason two skilled swordsmen shouldn't be able have a faster paced fight with more athleticism and "flare".

Also excuse the poor wording, almost every time I post here, I'm multitasking, so I'm kinda just rushing through without trying to write an organized post, but hope my point is clear.

 

[Captain Tired]

I'm sorry to potentially scar people, but once Rey and Kylo are properly trained they probably will have more flashy moves.

Perhaps, but I don't think it'll ever again get to the point where it's like the prequels, i.e., more like frolicking and dancing as opposed to actual fighting and brute force.

This was a horrible duel. It goes on forever and it looks like a PlayStation 2 cutscene.

Even worse because at the time we all thought this was the last duel we'd ever see on the big screen. Thank god that didn't turn out to be the case.

Having said all that, I'm another one in the 'underwhelmed by the duel of TFA' camp. It was certainly better than the duels fought in AOTC and ROTS, but I personally thought TPM's was more suspenseful and gripping.

 

[DarknessOfDeath]

I agree about the duel in TFA which I loved and how the PT duels are not so good compared to the duels in the OT, especially Obi vs Vader.

 

[Smilodon]

Beyond the choreography itself which was intentionally rudimentary compared to the polished fights of the PT that took place during the height of the Jedi Order, I thought the scenes themselves were blocked very well. I like the way there was motion in the background with the snow and how the actors had to deal with the trees. I think Abrams put a lot of effort in certain backgrounds things like that evoke the more samurai aspects of lightsaber dueling.

That being said, this dual training thing with Rey/Kylo that might be played out in future films could be awesome. Can't wait to see their rematch and I think a good blend between between the flare of the PT and the grittiness of the OT can be found. But then again, the one good duel in the PT required a trained martial artist so it might be hard to bring that kind of dynamic physicality in without some one Ray Park-level.

 

[Solidus]

This duel was perfection. The PT fights felt off, lacked emotion and was just pure flash no substance. And many times felt like an action sequence for the sake of it. TFA blended speed, but added a visceral edge to it all. In the PT the lightsabers felt like glowsticks with no actual danger to them especially in the later two episodes in the PT. Every single strike that Kylo/Finn/Rey made felt dangerous and that they were actually trying to kill one another rather then just try to extend an action sequence into a extended dance off.

The blocking, and the lighting was just amazing. It gave so much atmosphere to the fight, on top of all of that, everyone is invested so much into the characters, and the emotional pitch is what the Obi/Ani fight should have had in ROTS. Every strike and movement was just amazing in this duel.

Also this duel told a story, showed the characters through the fight. The ego flowing through Kylo, the uncertainty with Rey, the naive Finn just running head first to protect his friend. Each one of the duels and fighters had their own style, and as the duels went on the story evolved.

So it kept a fast past, more so than the OT, but brought back the visceral nature of the fighting, and gave it weight once again.

 

[The Caped Knight]

And what I meant by more realistic looking, I meant NOT this:

Its garbage. They fought for like 15 minutes and did no damage to each other.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

^^
Who cares?

Agreed. As cool as it looked visual it seemed to highly stylized, choreographed . Where as in the Original Trilogy between Luke vs. Vader it more primitive, aggressive and rougher in style the aggression is seen more through the clashing of the blades between the swordsmen

When Luke just goes ballistic on Vader in ROTJ it's a sight of beauty. Force Awakens recaptures that style beautiful with Rey vs. Kylo-Ren.

 

[jaqua99]

See I didn't see any speed at all in the new film. No more than an average swordsman but I assume with more training they will be more of a blend between the OT and PT fights. I like the style duel at the end of TFA, I just thought there could have been a little more speed, and more swordsmanship. There were a few moments where Ben seemed to maneuver the lightsaber around to build momentum for a strike. If they can give "flare" actual purpose then I think it's great.

I've always thought lightsaber duels between two strong force users should be FAST, and supernatural

 

[Solidus]

See I didn't see any speed at all in the new film. No more than an average swordsman but I assume with more training they will be more of a blend between the OT and PT fights. I like the style duel at the end of TFA, I just thought there could have been a little more speed, and more swordsmanship. There were a few moments where Ben seemed to maneuver the lightsaber around to build momentum for a strike. If they can give "flare" actual purpose then I think it's great.

I've always thought lightsaber duels between two strong force users should be FAST, and supernatural

The speed is there, I just think some got to use to the over use of ridiculous speed with the PT. The problem when you add too much speed you lose the credibility of the weapon, and the fear of mis-step where one could lose their arm or face. The PT moved too much of a super human speed losing what Jedi were supposed to be. Making them too perfect. Fighting is not perfect, is not pre-ordained. That's what made TFA's duel one of the best since the OT. The feeling of every blow could be felt with the audience. Each character getting beat up a bit and bloodied up. Getting tired ect. The PT put the Jedi into too much of a perfect almost Superman esque category of fighter, which took away all tension from fights and battles in the PT.

So no, being fast and supernatural takes away from a fight and weight is lost. You may be able to speed it up a little bit as each gets trained, but going to the PT level of speed is really what most felt was a downfall with those duels. Again it seems LFL, Kathy and JJ agreed.

 

[The Caped Knight]

See I didn't see any speed at all in the new film. No more than an average swordsman but I assume with more training they will be more of a blend between the OT and PT fights. I like the style duel at the end of TFA, I just thought there could have been a little more speed, and more swordsmanship. There were a few moments where Ben seemed to maneuver the lightsaber around to build momentum for a strike. If they can give "flare" actual purpose then I think it's great.

I've always thought lightsaber duels between two strong force users should be FAST, and supernatural

Rewatch it again, When Rey first starts she very much like Luke is in Empire Strikes Back confronting Darth Vader in Bespin, Then when she allows the Force to guide her she gains speed and her blows are more persisted much like Luke in Return of The Jedi. (I've seen the film 4x so far and counting lol)

 

[The Caped Knight]

 

[The Rocket]

The sword fighting needed to be brutal, heavy, but also fast. The cinematography really matters a lot.

I think it was a beautiful lightsaber duel. In the hands of experienced martial artists, the sword battles could look even better. Hong Kong cinema has shown just how well sword fights can be done. That said, we can't expect the actors here to perform as well as trained martial artists in sword battle sequences. It was great -- very atmospheric. The weapons felt like they had weight to them. Every strike was intimidating. The weapons felt dangerous.