The new lightsaber duel was fantastic. Exactly what it should have been.
As for the other discussions going on, I always find it really funny when people count Obi-wan vs Darth Vader as a real lightsaber duel. It wasn't actually a fight, we know this. Them even having the weapons out is a mere formality and both characters know it. There is no way Obi-wan walks away from the fight. Yeah, it wasn't great fight choreography, but that is not the point of the scene. They knew they couldn't make a good fight scene so they chose to instead make a good character scene. Frankly, the scene carries more weight than even the best lightsaber duel of the prequels. And then the actually good fights of episode 5 and 6 are great.
As for the few comments about Rey winning being dumb, makes perfect sense to me. Ren was literally shot in the gut by a weapon with the power of a grenade launcher. It had roughly the same effect as if someone had strapped a high explosive grenade to his side and set it off. It is only because of his powers that he wasn't blown to pieces on the spot. They went to great lengths to establish how powerful that bow caster was earlier in the movie for this exactly purpose. It literally sends men flying with the force of it's explosion, and they didn't even take a direct hit like Ren did.
Then he chases people for a few miles as he is literally bleeding out. That is his recklessness and foolishness again coming through. And then proceeds to get into a protracted sword fight. His entire force advantage was being used just to keep himself conscious and alive, which is why he never used his powers in a more direct manner to simply paralyze his opponent as we see him do several times though the movie.
I can easily buy that Finn and Rey together could defeat him in those circumstances. She didn't actually have to win the fight, all she had to do was survive until Ren died. His wound caused him to become ever weaker as he is literally dying as he fights (which is exactly what allows Rey to win.) Rey didn't win because she was powerful, Ren lost because of his own reckless stupidity.
As for the other discussions going on, I always find it really funny when people count Obi-wan vs Darth Vader as a real lightsaber duel. It wasn't actually a fight, we know this. Them even having the weapons out is a mere formality and both characters know it. There is no way Obi-wan walks away from the fight. Yeah, it wasn't great fight choreography, but that is not the point of the scene. They knew they couldn't make a good fight scene so they chose to instead make a good character scene. Frankly, the scene carries more weight than even the best lightsaber duel of the prequels. And then the actually good fights of episode 5 and 6 are great.
As for the few comments about Rey winning being dumb, makes perfect sense to me. Ren was literally shot in the gut by a weapon with the power of a grenade launcher. It had roughly the same effect as if someone had strapped a high explosive grenade to his side and set it off. It is only because of his powers that he wasn't blown to pieces on the spot. They went to great lengths to establish how powerful that bow caster was earlier in the movie for this exactly purpose. It literally sends men flying with the force of it's explosion, and they didn't even take a direct hit like Ren did.
Then he chases people for a few miles as he is literally bleeding out. That is his recklessness and foolishness again coming through. And then proceeds to get into a protracted sword fight. His entire force advantage was being used just to keep himself conscious and alive, which is why he never used his powers in a more direct manner to simply paralyze his opponent as we see him do several times though the movie.
I can easily buy that Finn and Rey together could defeat him in those circumstances. She didn't actually have to win the fight, all she had to do was survive until Ren died. His wound caused him to become ever weaker as he is literally dying as he fights (which is exactly what allows Rey to win.) Rey didn't win because she was powerful, Ren lost because of his own reckless stupidity.