Star Wars: Bright Disappointment – in “Ahsoka” the lightsabers no longer have momentum

• “Star Wars: Ahsoka” gives the lightsabers of the Jedi a prominent place in the “Star Wars” universe again, after “The Mandalorian” did without the whirring glow sticks.
• However, there is a problem: the lightsabers lack momentum and the fights with them leave you with a shrug.

Lightsabers are among the most popular merchandise items, after all, every “Star Wars” fan, whether young or old, wants their own Jedi weapon. But the toy versions could never be as swinging as the lightsabers were seen in the films. This was not only due to the artistic choreography, which nobody could (or should) imitate at home, but also to the computer effects, which gave the lightsabers the necessary finishing touches.

But in the last “Star Wars” series, the representation of the lightsabers was adjusted, something is missing. Although the swords still shine brightly and there is still the small sizzling effect when two blades meet, one important visual sign of the lightsabers is suddenly missing: the whoosh!

Where has the dynamic gone?

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When Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Yoda, or the other Jedi swung their lightsabers, the swift movement blurred the glowing blade, revealing the speed of the attack. It also just looked cool and served to illustrate the classic “whoosh” sound that lightsabers make in combat.

But a clip from the new Disney + series “Ahsoka” makes it clear that the whoosh effect is simply no longer used. Ahsoka’s lightsabers simply look like two glowing sticks in battle, and there’s hardly any trace of the lightsaber fascination anymore. Especially in bright scenes, the lightsabers are easily lost and the movements appear less dynamic without the blurry wash. You can watch the clip for yourself here:

Also in “Obi-Wan Kenobi” Disney already did without whoosh movements, but since the lightsaber fights mainly took place at night, you could at least see what was happening. However, it also lacked the momentum seen in Obi-Wan’s fight against Anakin in Revenge of the Sith.

Progress is not always better

If you look at pictures from the filming of previous “Star Wars” productions, the lightsabers hardly resemble the dangerous weapons we know from the films. Long, colored staffs became glowing staffs, but it was only on the computer that this prop later became a real lightsaber.

In the meantime, however, dummy lightsabers are used during filming, which are very similar to real lightsabers. This is how you make it very easy, post-processing is hardly necessary, the radiance is only increased a little. Disney has even developed realistic-looking lightsabers whose sturdy blades slide out of the handle at the push of a button.

But with this advancement and the associated time savings, the effort that previously went into the appearance of the lightsaber fights seems to be dispensed with. Jedi have only played a small part in the Disney+ Star Wars series, but now every appearance of them comes with a bit of a disappointment. After all, the toy lightsabers are in no way inferior to their cinematic role models!