User blog comment:Jedi Master 76/Retrospective 4 -- Final Thoughts/@comment-31421-20160218151139/@comment-35495-20160222031010

Perhaps psychological isn't the right word. In the original trilogy, I would contend that lightsaber fights are a means to an end. In the films, everything from the lighting to the way the combatants fight really engrosses the audience, but I think the ultimate purpose is to advance the plot. An obvious example would be in Eps V: despite Luke's training, he is so obviously outmatched by Vader. Yoda was right all along. His desire to help his friends was noble but misplaced. Aside from a few pithy remarks from the Dark Lord, this is expressed entirely through action. Since this type of imagery is less obvious in print, I think the more personal or psychological things should be fleshed out to compensate.

On a meta-level, the hero ought to vanquish evil in the end. There's no question about that. However, I think the author should be able to answer *why* this hero will be the one to defeat this villain in this duel, or vice versa, and the reasons should be obvious to the reader. The emotions that may be so obvious in film might end up being missed, and thoughts that cannot be expressed in film are easier to portray in print. You can really get into motivations, will, reasons for fighting, and so on. Of course, these things don't have to be detailed via introspection; you could 'show' all of this, in a manner of speaking, through fighting just like in the films. So yah. Both are important, but I think you have to tailor combat to the medium, and written duels cannot live on descriptions alone.