Lightsaber duels inAnakin Skywalker's redemption.
With more money, more effects, and more stuntmen, George Lucas changed his approach for Star Wars' prequel trilogy. Not only did the frequency of lightsaber battles spike sharply, but those sequences became incredibly acrobatic - spinning Yodas, leaping Jedi, and twirling that'd put a marching band to shame. As Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace shifted focus to adrenaline-fueled, high-octane gymnastics, those battles became less pivotal in character . Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Maul, Anakin Skywalker and Kenobi vs. Count Dooku, Yoda vs. Palpatine, and Kenobi vs. General Grievous are all visually stunning, but none carry the narrative weight of the aforementioned original trilogy clashes. One major exception is Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith's Kenobi vs. Darth Vader battle on Mustafar, which balances intricately choreographed lightsaber combat with proper emotional heft.
The Star Wars sequel trilogy has faced all kinds of criticisms, but one aspect all three movies generally get right is lightsaber combat. Duels throughout Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker reliably impress from a visual standpoint, whilst also copying the original trilogy trick of wrapping massive chunks of story and/or character development inside the flashes of color and constant swooshing.
In the climactic confrontation of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Daisy Ridley's Rey and John Boyega's Finn face Adam Driver's sinister Kylo Ren. As attractive as the action on Starkiller Base may be, this three-way clash drops the surprise rug-pull that Rey is the trilogy's central Jedi figure. Once that switch is made, her debut battle becomes a crash-course introduction to the Force and the very beginning of Rey's path toward becoming a Jedi - a vital piece of her story. Fast-forward to 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and a series of bouts between Rey and Kylo Ren are designed to gradually redeem the latter, similar to Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi. Their final crossing of blades incorporates the death of Princess Leia, a cameo from Harrison Ford, and someone realizing they might've been a naughty boy.
Perhaps the best instances of how Star Wars sequel lightsaber duels blend original trilogy storytelling with prequel trilogy aesthetics come in Star Wars: The Last Jedi - especially Rey and Kylo Ren's impromptu team-up against Supreme Leader Snoke. One of the most delicate and nuanced lightsaber clashes in Star Wars movie history, the massacring of Snoke's guards also marks a drastic story change by teasing Kylo Ren's turn toward the light side, then dragging viewers in completely the opposite direction and installing Kylo as the sequel trilogy's big bad (until the sequel, at least...)
Another example from Rian Johnson's divisive middle child would be Kylo Ren's Force projection tango with former mentor, Luke Skywalker. The slow-motion camera work, striking salt-covered environment and Luke's spectral Neo-esque moves recall the acrobatics of Star Wars prequel battles, but this is far from your typical action-centric lightsaber-on-lightsaber duel. Luke vs. Kylo sees both men confronting their pasts, while the last Jedi puts hope in the future.
