There are great fight scenes then there are GREAT fight scenes in movies. I mean the kind of fights that tickle your undercarriage kind of good. I love stupid and pointless action. It is like eating a Ding-Dong, unsatisfying, but good. Like Ding-Dongs, bad fight scenes can cause you to gag. The ultimate fights are the ones with great tension and the build up is so freaking unbearable that you want to be in the movie to settle the score yourself. The beauty of a downy-brook is that it doesn’t have to be bloody or torrid with non-sensible action, it needs to be wrapped tightly in emotion. It has to tap into a primitive yearning of wanting revenge or the desire to prevent harm being inflicted by an adversary. The “fight” in the movies is thing that makes us “stay” in our seats and await the inevitable outcome. Great fights are the very things that call for repeat viewings and they are the very reason such “terrific acting talents” such as Van Damme and Steven Segal had successful careers (I can’t believe I just wrote that). Here are my top five fight scenes:
5) DANIEL LARUSSO vs. JOHNNY LAWRENCE (THE KARATE KID)
Get him a body bag, yeah! This fight was so awesome when I was a kid. I watched this movie repeatedly just to get the fight scene at the end. Johnny Lawrence was such a jerk to poor Daniel. He rode a scary dirt bike and smoked hippie lettuce in the bathroom and jacked Daniel-son up more than once. The famous crane whooped ass and you know you all tried it. Hey, when you’re the best around…
4) FRANK DUX vs. CHONG LI (BLOODSPORT) Chong-Li! Chong Li! Jean Claude is blind and still fights off Chong Li in this cinematic masterpiece. Van Damme was totally bad-ass in Bloodsport.
3) TYLER DURDEN vs. Himself (FIGHT CLUB) Scary, poignant, dark…FUNNY! Fight Club is the movie that makes you believe you like being hit. Who better to beat you up than you? What a crazy metaphor for the learned weaknesses of men. Thanks Mom!
2) LUKE SKYWALKER vs. DARTH VADER (STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK) Holy Crap this was the mother of all fights. Vader lures Luke into the carbon freezing chamber and when Luke arrives Vader’s sword glows ominously. The fight is furious and ends with a severed hand and whiney hero hanging from a weather vane.
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5) DANIEL LARUSSO vs. JOHNNY LAWRENCE (THE KARATE KID)
Get him a body bag, yeah! This fight was so awesome when I was a kid. I watched this movie repeatedly just to get the fight scene at the end. Johnny Lawrence was such a jerk to poor Daniel. He rode a scary dirt bike and smoked hippie lettuce in the bathroom and jacked Daniel-son up more than once. The famous crane whooped ass and you know you all tried it. Hey, when you’re the best around…
4) FRANK DUX vs. CHONG LI (BLOODSPORT) Chong-Li! Chong Li! Jean Claude is blind and still fights off Chong Li in this cinematic masterpiece. Van Damme was totally bad-ass in Bloodsport.
3) TYLER DURDEN vs. Himself (FIGHT CLUB) Scary, poignant, dark…FUNNY! Fight Club is the movie that makes you believe you like being hit. Who better to beat you up than you? What a crazy metaphor for the learned weaknesses of men. Thanks Mom!
2) LUKE SKYWALKER vs. DARTH VADER (STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK) Holy Crap this was the mother of all fights. Vader lures Luke into the carbon freezing chamber and when Luke arrives Vader’s sword glows ominously. The fight is furious and ends with a severed hand and whiney hero hanging from a weather vane.
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1)ROCKY BALBOA vs. APOLLO CREED (ROCKY) Rocky knows he can’t win and says so, but we stand and cheer at our hero losing. The fight itself is tense with drama and for most us we hate Creed because he represents a brand name. Apollo is “Microsoft” and Rocky reminds him of his roots. I still get teary at the climax of this one. The fight is violent and furious and involves a razor blade. ROCKY! ROCKY!
8 comments:
I'm glad someone else besides myself, my brother and my numerous cousins appreciate the awesome sauce that is Bloodsport.... now, if only Best of the Best was on that list
Bloodsport is a classic. I ctually enjoyed Lionheart too!
Mr. Mack was on to something with Best of the Best but would it be Alex Grady (Eric Roberts) popping his shoulder back in or the final fight at the end between Tommy Lee and Dae Han?
I would add the following classics...
Yoda vs. Count Dooku fight from Attack of the Clones. To see the old jedi spin his saber like the Tasmanian Devil for the first time was thrilling. And despite my hatred for the Episode 1 itself the Darth Maul double saber scene was excellent.
Can't ever forget Indiana Jones vs. the swordsman who was simply shot dead.
Gladiator vs the pussy emporer simply because of this setup dialogue...
My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the armies of the north, general of the felix legions, loyal servant to the true emporer marcus aurelius, father to a murdered son, father to a murdered wife, and I will have my revenge in this life or the next.
And Dalton vs. the guy with the pool stick in Road House.
chris hatton
Agreed, apparently Oldboy has THE fight scene..I must rent that film
Get him johnny!!!!
I like the list. I wouldn't put this on the top-5 list but I liked Craig beating up Debo at the end of Friday's.
Other fights from comedies:
McFly beating up Biff
Pee-Wee beating up Francis
King Arthur and the Black Knight
Fezzik (andre the giant) vs. westley
while i agree with everything on this list, sadly you missed THE greatest fight scene of them all...
it stars "rowdy" roddy piper in a lttle flick by john carpenter called "They Live"
check it:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wqKFadyJxwg
Absolutley Crispy! They Live is classic
So... you know me... except for Karate Kid and Star Wars... haven't seen the other movies, (sad, I know) so hard for me to tell how accurate these comments really are! :) I once again bow down to you in awe!
~Kemper
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