Favorite movie fight scenes

[James Y]

Bad Boys (1983)



Jim

[James Y]

"Monkey Kung Fu" (Hong Kong, 1979), end fight

They don't make 'em like they used to anymore. This clip was actually the 2nd clip I posted in this thread, but I'm posting it again, because IMO, even though the choreography is highly exaggerated and stylized for dramatic effect, this scene contains the best martial arts sequences with a long staff that I've ever seen in a movie. The man playing the arch-villain (Kuan Feng) literally stole the show. He uses the entire stick, and also uses his hands when in close. But it also took the two protagonists (Ching Siu-Tung and Hau Chiu-Sing) to make the scene work.

One of the truly great things about this scene is how the final fight becomes increasingly chaotic as it progresses, as the 2 protagonists attempt to grab on to the villain and his staff, to nullify his ability to use his weapon.

American audiences all know about Jackie Chan; but in the Hong Kong and Taiwanese Kung Fu films in the late '70s to mid-'80s, there were MANY performers who could easily match Jackie Chan *in terms of pure physical talent.*

This movie was produced by Shaw Brothers studio in Hong Kong.



Jim

[SpyderEdgeForever]

James what do you think of movies where bullets and blades are flying but the hero does not get cut or shot? I notice it varies. Some have the hero badly hurt or even die but others get some scratches or minor flesh wounds.

[James Y]

James what do you think of movies where bullets and blades are flying but the hero does not get cut or shot? I notice it varies. Some have the hero badly hurt or even die but others get some scratches or minor flesh wounds.

It depends on the movie, as well as how it's choreographed and executed. Any movie fight scene, no matter how fake-looking or realistic-looking it is, is still fake. For me, it's about whether I enjoy the scene (or the movie) or not.

For example, many Westerners criticize Eastern martial arts movies as being fantastical; yet many of these same people fawn over Clint Eastwood single-handedly mowing down a dozen bad guys with his six-shooters in a spaghetti western. And meanwhile, Clint's just standing there, right out in the open, cool as a cucumber, landing every shot perfectly, without taking a single shot himself. His character shoots so fast that none of the dozen bad guys can react in time. That's pure fantasy, as much as any Kung Fu movie. Yet I can also enjoy a good spaghetti western.

Then there are movies (such as Saving Private Ryan) that contain scenes depicting combat with far greater realism, and I like those, too.

I personally do not demand 100% plausibility in a movie's fight scenes to like it or not. It just depends on the individual movie. There are movies in every genre (and any category of fight scenes) that I like, and others that I don't like. It's how it's set up and executed. I can temporarily suspend my disbelief while watching a movie, and accept that what happens in it is real in the context of the movie's fictional characters.

To me, fight choreography in movies ... its execution, and the cinematography required to properly capture it, is an art form. Much like dance or musical compositions and performances. Then there is also the motivation aspect. What's motivating the character(s)? In some movies (and some scenes in movies), the motivation for the fight scene is stronger than it is in others.

Jim

[Ankerson]

Some of us like things to be somewhat realistic/plausible, like it could really happen in real life, or at least it may be possible.

SCI-FI aside that is, that is expected to be unrealistic.

Those cartoonish action scenes that are laughable just don't cut it.

Like some 98 LB female taking out 20 200 LB men while wearing heals and a party dress.

Or Seagal going a whole movie without even getting touched. (yeah right) He would have been wasted in the 1st 10 mins of the movie in real life. That's counting the beginning credits and everything.

[James Y]

Some of us like things to be somewhat realistic/plausible, like it could really happen in real life, or at least it may be possible.

SCI-FI aside that is, that is expected to be unrealistic.

Those cartoonish action scenes that are laughable just don't cut it.

Like some 98 LB female taking out 20 200 LB men while wearing heals and a party dress.

Or Seagal going a whole movie without even getting touched. (yeah right) He would have been wasted in the 1st 10 mins of the movie in real life. That's counting the beginning credits and everything.

Jim,

Lots of people like comedy movies, but the vast majority of them are not plausible. Nobody's lives are like the characters' lives in comedies.

Now, there ARE some types of movies and characters I cannot suspend my disbelief for. A perfect example is in Thor: Ragnarok (which I happened to see some of showing one day on TNT). The Valkyrie character physically outclassing the Hulk, even playfully, is BS. Then Hulk acts submissive to her. What's even worse is she's supposed to be a hero, yet she is totally unrelatable and unlikable. Obnoxious, really. Which seems to be a pattern with the female Marvel superheroes.

I stopped watching Marvel movies years ago, because they were becoming too "coming out of the sleep state" for my taste. Plus, the superhero genre reached the point of oversaturation many years ago.

Here's the Hulk/Valkyrie scene:



Now, I CAN suspend my disbelief for this scene, from the 1988 Hong Kong action movie Iron Angels II:



The above scene is more plausible than any male/female fight scenes in Hollywood movies, which tend to push an agenda. And at least in Iron Angels II, the female (played by Moon Lee) isn't fighting a big guy, and she nearly loses the fight with the second guy.

Jim

[Ankerson]

Some of us like things to be somewhat realistic/plausible, like it could really happen in real life, or at least it may be possible.

SCI-FI aside that is, that is expected to be unrealistic.

Those cartoonish action scenes that are laughable just don't cut it.

Like some 98 LB female taking out 20 200 LB men while wearing heals and a party dress.

Or Seagal going a whole movie without even getting touched. (yeah right) He would have been wasted in the 1st 10 mins of the movie in real life. That's counting the beginning credits and everything.

Jim,

Lots of people like comedy movies, but the vast majority of them are not plausible. Nobody's lives are like the characters' lives in comedies.

Now, there ARE some types of movies and characters I cannot suspend my disbelief for. A perfect example is in Thor: Ragnarok (which I happened to see some of showing one day on TNT). The Valkyrie character physically outclassing the Hulk, even playfully, is BS. Then Hulk acts submissive to her. What's even worse is she's supposed to be a hero, yet she is totally unrelatable and unlikable. Obnoxious, really. Which seems to be a pattern with the female Marvel superheroes.

I stopped watching Marvel movies years ago, because they were becoming too "coming out of the sleep state" for my taste. Plus, the superhero genre reached the point of oversaturation many years ago.

Here's the Hulk/Valkyrie scene:



Now, I CAN suspend my disbelief for this scene, from the 1988 Hong Kong action movie Iron Angels II:



The above scene is more plausible than any male/female fight scenes in Hollywood movies, which tend to push an agenda. And at least in Iron Angels II, the female (played by Moon Lee) isn't fighting a big guy, and she nearly loses the fight with the second guy.

Jim

Jim,

I really don't watch the Marvel movies.

Yeah both that dude and moon lee would have been in intensive care after that one.

Jim

[James Y]

Some of us like things to be somewhat realistic/plausible, like it could really happen in real life, or at least it may be possible.

SCI-FI aside that is, that is expected to be unrealistic.

Those cartoonish action scenes that are laughable just don't cut it.

Like some 98 LB female taking out 20 200 LB men while wearing heals and a party dress.

Or Seagal going a whole movie without even getting touched. (yeah right) He would have been wasted in the 1st 10 mins of the movie in real life. That's counting the beginning credits and everything.

Jim,

Lots of people like comedy movies, but the vast majority of them are not plausible. Nobody's lives are like the characters' lives in comedies.

Now, there ARE some types of movies and characters I cannot suspend my disbelief for. A perfect example is in Thor: Ragnarok (which I happened to see some of showing one day on TNT). The Valkyrie character physically outclassing the Hulk, even playfully, is BS. Then Hulk acts submissive to her. What's even worse is she's supposed to be a hero, yet she is totally unrelatable and unlikable. Obnoxious, really. Which seems to be a pattern with the female Marvel superheroes.

I stopped watching Marvel movies years ago, because they were becoming too "coming out of the sleep state" for my taste. Plus, the superhero genre reached the point of oversaturation many years ago.

Here's the Hulk/Valkyrie scene:



Now, I CAN suspend my disbelief for this scene, from the 1988 Hong Kong action movie Iron Angels II:



The above scene is more plausible than any male/female fight scenes in Hollywood movies, which tend to push an agenda. And at least in Iron Angels II, the female (played by Moon Lee) isn't fighting a big guy, and she nearly loses the fight with the second guy.

Jim

Jim,

I really don't watch the Marvel movies.

Yeah both that dude and moon lee would have been in intensive care after that one.

Jim

True. In fact, Moon Lee actually did spend months in a hospital after a film stunt involving jumping out of an exploding building went wrong. There are no American actresses like some of those old-school '80s-era action actresses in Hong Kong, who did their own stunts and suffered injuries like the men.

Jim

[James Y]

One of my pet peeves are shootout scenes where handguns seem to have an unlimited number of shots. The biggest offender in that category were the Hong Kong movies directed by John Woo back in the late '80s and early '90s. Often referred to as "bullet ballets". I like some of those movies themselves, but seeing a character firing what seems like 30 shots from the same handgun without reloading is too much, and at least partly ruins otherwise good scenes for me.

Jim

[James Y]

Harakiri (1962): Last Fight Scene

One of the best samurai films of all time. I probably posted this scene in this thread a few years back, but I'm too lazy to check, and the movie is so good that a second posting isn't going to hurt anyone.



Jim

[James Y]

Why '80s Hong Kong Action Movies Kicked **s!



Jim

[James Y]

Carlito's Way (1993): Final Subway Chase (Full Scene)



Jim

[James Y]

Jim

[James Y]

Nobody (2021; Final Shootout Scene)

IIRC, I posted the bus fight scene from this movie in this thread a good while back.



Jim

[James Y]

Silent Rage (1982)

Final fight scene: Chuck Norris vs Brian Libby.

This is my second-favorite Chuck Norris movie, after Code of Silence. Although, to be honest, I wasn't a fan of many of Norris's films.

Brian Libby's character was basically a dead killer who was revived through a scientific experiment, who could instantly regenerate himself from any injuries, and couldn't be killed. During the movie, much of his reign of terror was inspired by Michael Myers in the original Halloween movie. So it's as close as we'll ever get to a Chuck Norris vs Michael Myers dream match, except that Libby's character was more animalistic, and possessed greater speed and agility, than Michael Myers.

I did post this fight scene in this thread years ago, but here it is again:



Jim

[James Y]

Baby Assassins (2021; Japan)

Final fight scene:

Jim

[James Y]

Baby Assassins: 2 Babies (2023; Japan)

Final fight: Saori Izawa vs Joey Iwanaga.



Jim

[twinboysdad]

James what do you think of movies where bullets and blades are flying but the hero does not get cut or shot? I notice it varies. Some have the hero badly hurt or even die but others get some scratches or minor flesh wounds.

John Wick might fit into this genre even though Wick does get wounded. I absolutely love the whole series mostly as a former judoka how they work complex throws into the movies

[twinboysdad]

Bad Boys (1983)



Jim

A masterclass on improvised weapons

[James Y]

John Wick Ballerina: How Hollywood Girlbosses Destroyed Female Action Heroes



Jim