This ancient weapon comes in several forms and styles. Due to relative peaceful times, most have gone back to using the Lightsaber in its basic form. Beyond that, only very few have carried on with their training to perfect their skill in case it might be needed in combat, as the chances of a combat arising during those times were slim.
Now that we are in a full scale war, things have changed. It is time to continue your practice, young one.

The Sabering System in Movie Battles is a total change from what has been shown in the base game. It is comparable to the tried and true System used in other (console) games (like Tenchu San 3, Way of the Samurai etc) which tries to present swordplay as both skill-based and realistic. Movie Battles utilizes a more up-close Sabering System that focuses on your intentions, movements and can rapidly change pace from hectic to coordinated. It is open to almost any type of play, from defensive and tactical to offensive and swift, all on a level of swordplay similar to how it is done in the movies. All of this means that it is a total change from the "run 'n' jump hackfest" shown in the base Jedi Academy game. It may take some time to get used to this system and knowing its basics is certainly a requirement.

The most fundamental change in MBII from BaseJKA's sabering system is the introduction of the Block Button, which can be held down to enter a blocking pose and block enemy attacks. Defensive attacks("Swing blocking") can even be accomplished by attacking, and then holding the block button in mid-attack. Not blocking leaves you in an offensive pose, not very ready(but still somewhat capable) of defending yourself against attack.

The second serious gameplay alteration is that there is a difference in speed between both poses. While you are able to run/walk around as fast as you want in the Offensive pose, in the Defensive pose your speed has been reduced to the pace of walking. This accurately represents the defensive use of the Lightsaber shown by the Jedi in the movies.

Finally, we have added another factor in blocking attacks to keep track of, the BP-bar (BP = Blocking Points) on the right side of your screen. In basic terms, once this goes down (by attacking, jumping etc) you can no longer effectively block saberswings - the blocking of blasterfire is not affected by this, though(Blasters instead diminish your FP(Force Points)). To recharge the BP-bar, go into the Defensive pose by holding the block button.

As combat can range between Saber vs Gun-combat to Gun vs Gun combat, the use of the Lightsaber and its capabilities between those varies greatly. Choose below for which of these situations you wish to be taught in, young Padawan: