Best Fight Scenes in Film

Growing up on action movies, I've always loved a great fight scene and, with that in mind, I thought it'd be fun to put together a list of my favorite fight scenes in films.

Quick warning: Some of these are quite brutal, and there will be some bad language used.

Achilles vs. Hector - Troy (2004)

Following the death of his cousin Patroclus at the hands of Trojan prince Hector, an enraged Achilles rides to the gates to seek revenge. The prince tries to reason and negotiate with Achilles and is rejected because, as Achilles puts it:

"There are no pacts between lions and men."

What follows is probably one of the best fights I've seen in a historical/action movie. As the two men circle each other, you can see the pure fury in Achilles' eyes and his fighting. Hector, on the other hand, just wants to get it over with.

Casey Ryback vs. William Stranix - Under Siege (1992)

Under Siege follows a cook (Steven Seagal) on the USS Missouri, as he works to thwart a group of terrorists led by William Stranix (Tommy Lee Jones).

This was one of the first Seagal movies I ever watched and I still love going back to it every now and then. This fight with Stranix towards the end of the film is probably not the best; there are a lot of fast cuts between shots so we don't really see what's going on. That said, it's competently shot and great to watch.

Underground Fight Club - Ong Bak (2003)

Tony Jaa will feature a few times on this list as he's done some great work but I wanted to start with this one. Here's the setup:

Ting (Jaa) is sent to the city to retrieve an artefact stolen from the temple in his village. After his cousin steals some money, Ting ends up forced to fight in an underground fight club of sorts.

Of all the fights in this scene, the guy with the afro/bobblehead hairdo is probably my favorite one. He starts out strong and gets cocky, taunting Jaa for a bit before being served a healthy meal of humble pie.

Looking for Richie - Out for Justice (1991)

Another Steven Seagal fight, in Out for Justice he plays a narcotics detective on the hunt for Richie Madano, the man who killed his partner. The man he's looking for is a wannabe gangster with a rather...nasty disposition.

In this scene, Seagal's character walks into a bar owned by Vinnie - Richie's younger brother. Of course, the idiot runs his mouth, things escalate and, well, see for yourselves.

Say what you will about Steven Seagal, but there was a time when he was the go-to guy for Hollywood action movies. Of all of his fights, though, this is probably my favorite. Unlike the fight in Under Siege, here the shots linger just long enough for us to see what's happening - which seems to be a rarity nowadays.

Zorro vs. Capt. Harrison Love - Mask of Zorro (1998)

Zorro was one of my all-time favorite heroes growing up so it makes sense that he appears here.

In this scene we see Zorro come face to face with the man who killed his brother. It looks like the captain is going to shoot him for a moment before he throws his gun away and the two engage in an epic duel. Sadly for the captain, however, he loses his composure during the fight and ends up being run through with his own sabre.

Madmartigan vs. General Kael - Willow (1988)

In this 1988 classic a child is born who will end the rein of the evil queen. In the climactic battle of the film, Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) sees his friend killed and goes to avenge him. The fight is short but brutal and for a second you think Kael (the bad guy played brilliantly by Pat Roach) is going to win - until he doesn't.

Indiana Jones vs. the German - Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Oh well, things never go quite according to plan, do they? In this scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, we see Indy getting into a fight with a large German soldier.

That big guy was a very enthusiastic fighter and for a moment, it seems like he's going to win the fight...of course, then he gets caught by one of the plane's propellers...ouch.

Actually, fun fact: that's Pat Roach again; the guy who played General Kael in Willow.

Fighting in the Market - Who Am I? (1998)

Was there any doubt that Jackie Chan would be on this list? Who Am I? follows an amnesiac spec-ops soldier as he tries to figure out his identity. In this scene, he's being chased by the bad guy's henchmen and is almost immediately at a disadvantage when he loses his shoes.

Of course, one of the baddies capitalizes on that and repeatedly stomps on Jackie's feet. The fight ends up in a market place and here is where the tables turn. Jackie starts pelting his attackers with wooden shoes before slipping into a pair and really letting the bad guys have it.

The best part for me was where Jackie leaps into the air and lands on the feet of the guy who was constantly stomping on his feet. He lands two more cheap shots, stomps on one guy's shin and bolts.

Brawl in the Blind Beggar - American Ninja 2 (1987)

Following the disappearance of several US marines, Joe Armstrong and Curtis Jackson are sent in to find out what's going on. At one point, they follow a kidnapped woman to a local tavern. In the tavern, they encounter a group of thugs, the brawl that follows is a lot of fun to watch.

Fighting in the Slave Camp - Ong Bak 2 (2008)

This one is brutal. Tony Jaa returns to the list as Tien, a man who has trained in martial arts to avenge his parents' deaths. At this point, he's in a slave camp with the bandits who killed his parents. You can probably see where this goes.

After being forced to drink, he breaks the water urn and basically destroys the slavers.

Deu vs. Jaguar Gang - Raging Phoenix (2009)

Jeeja Yanin's second film outing, Raging Phoenix, has some really good choreography. Yanin plays Deu, a young woman trying to stop a local gang from kidnapping women.

There's a certain playfulness to the scene and you get the sense that she's really enjoying herself while beating the bad guys senseless.

The Dojo Brawl - Fist of Fury (1972)

I think we all knew Bruce Lee would make an appearance. In this scene, his character is returning a rather insulting sign. He also challenges the students to a fight and one of them actually takes him up on the offer...things go about as well as you could expect.

My favorite part here was where Lee starts using the nunchaku to smack the Japanese students' legs and feet.

Playing Rough - Police Story 2 (1988)

Jackie Chan returns to the list with this entry from Police Story 2. Chan plays a hotheaded cop who's always getting into trouble. While out on a date to make up with his girlfriend, Chan is ambushed and provoked into a fight at the local playground and...well, just see for yourself.

This is painful to watch, you just know that those pipes had to hurt! THat said, I don't think it's nearly as painful as the last one on the list but we'll get to that in a bit.

The Ice Factory - Chocolate (2008)

Jeeja Yanin plays Zen, a young autistic girl with a unique gift to learn martial arts through observation. She's out looking for her wealthy father to help get her mother out of financial trouble. At one point, she ends up in an ice factory...

Watching that guy go through the ice cutter is just...ow! The bit where she's stomping on the guy after knocking him unconscious with that roundhouse kick to the temple is just hilariously insulting; talk about rubbing salt in the wound and adding insult to injury.

Lee vs. EVERYONE! - Enter the Dragon (1973)

You can't make a list like this one without talking about Enter the Dragon. It would be considered a cardinal sin! In this particular scene, Lee is forced to brawl with the villain's many guards.

Ignoring Bruce Lee's funny noises and expressions, the choreography here is a thing of beauty! I can only imagine how long it must've taken to get this scene shot...then again, it was shot in Hong Kong so maybe it didn't take that long.

Breaking Bones - The Protector (2005)

I really should've used numbers when putting this list together, it would've made it so much easier...oh well, hindsight's 2020 and all that, I guess. Anyways, let's talk about The Protector.

Tony Jaa is back again, this time playing Kham, a young man whose pet elephant has been stolen and taken to Australia. He tracks the thieves down, but finds only the skeletal remains of his elephant friend on display as some sort of sick trophy. He's so wrapped up in his grief that he seems completely unaware of the attacks from the bad guys - until one of them stabs him with a knife. With that, he goes SUPER SAIYAN!

Now...I have to ask, at what point do you just decide it's not worth it? This guy beat up 20 - 30 of your colleagues without breaking a sweat. What makes you think you'll do a better job?

This scene is brutal and I love it!

In Closing

This is probably one of the more difficult lists I've done - mostly because I decided not to use numbers...don't think I'm going to do that again. Still, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for...reading? watching? I don't know, thanks though, and I'll see you in the next one!