Lionsgate / Lionsgate
conflict scenes are the keystone of any action mechanism motion-picture show and come in all different shapes and size of it . fighting scenes can be loud , violent variation of controlled chaos , as evidenced in the John Wick movies . They can be small in exfoliation and confined to one space , like the elevator chronological succession inDrive . Martial artists such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan prove that the elaborate choreography of hand - to - hand scrap can be as graceful and poetic as a dance .
Whatever your penchant is , fight scenes have a way of wow the audience through beastly , visceral actions . Stunt team and choreographer continue to upgrade the taproom on what ’s possible in an action picture show . To honor these cinematic chronological sequence , Digital Trends ranks the good fight scenes captured in action at law movies .
Lionsgate / Lionsgate
7. The one-take stairwell sequence in Atomic Blonde (2017)
David Leitch ( Bullet Train ) know a thing or two about what it takes to stage a great fight prospect . Leitch antecedently worked on The Matrix trilogy , John Wick , andBlade , so his résumé verbalise for itself . Though he co - directedJohn Wickwith Chad Stahelski , Leitch ’s credited directorial debut isAtomic Blonde , an action thriller star Charlize Thereon ( Fast X ) as a female undercover agent tasked with destroying an espionage ring in Germany days before the collapse of the Berlin Wall .
The define sequence in the film is the one - take competitiveness scenery in the stairwell of a Berlin apartment . Leitch toldInsiderthat he resolve to shoot it in one take after being impressed by videos from Theron ’s training , which have him the confidence to go through with the shot . It took two week to shoot , but the risk paid off as the stunning eight - hour sequence showcased Theron ’s abilities as an action star and further cemented Leitch and his stunt team as among the best in Hollywood .
6. The Sacré Coeur stair fight in John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
Since its origination in 2014 , the John Wick franchise has get some of the most exciting fight sequence in action pic chronicle , so much so that this article could well have been dedicate to seven of the best combat scene in those four flick . That ’s how good these chronological sequence have been . Each moving picture uphold to one - up itself as to what ’s potential in fight choreography . InJohn Wick , the Red Circle Club sequence is the standout . InJohn Wick : Chapter 2 , it ’s the Hall of Mirrors . InJohn Wick : Chapter 3 – Parabellum , the tongue fight became the lasting memory .
Those scenes were all work up towardthe staircase sequence in Paris inJohn Wick : Chapter 4 . In the shot , John ( The Matrix’sKeanu Reeves ) must wax 200 - plus step to reach the final duel at Sacré Coeur . John incline of every bravo in his manner , yet when he reaches the top , he ’s violently knocked off his foot , causing him to tumble down every step back to the bottom . But John receives some help when Caine ( Mulan‘s Donnie Yen ) , a blind assassin , team up up with John to reclimb the steps , kill every obstacle in their path and cement this as the best picture inChapter 4 .
5. The dojo fight in Fist of Fury (1972)
Bruce Lee(Enter the Dragon ) only take up one smear on this list , but if his scene took up all seven spots , would anyone have any contestation against it ? I know I would n’t . Lee ’s prowess in motley martial arts was so integral that he ’s still cite as the most influential practitioners of all time despite having tragically go by off 50 years ago . Thanks to him , Enter the Dragonis well one of the sound martial arts films ever made .
However , I keep coming back to the dojo fight inFist of Furyas his defining fight chronological sequence . In the prospect , Lee ’s Chen Zhen crashes a Nipponese dojo and ends up fighting every individual member , all 20 - summation of them , include their sensei . Politically , the fight symbolized the angst toward Japanese imperialism . Stylistically , it ’s a victor class in fight choreography , as Lee takes on two dozen fighters in seven moment . The panorama became a defining moment in shaping Lee ’s bequest as a martial arts expert .
4. Neo vs. Agent Smith in the subway in The Matrix (1999)
The battle between man and car has become a piece of sacred sci - fi textual matter that belong in the same sentence asStar WarsandBlade Runner . While the stunts inThe Matrixwere create in the former ’ 90s , they rest some of the most in an elaborate way filmed and choreograph sequence ever captured . From the use of bullet time to the hacker influence , The Matrixinspired a new contemporaries of activeness filmmaking .
The consummate encapsulation of what makesThe Matrixgreat is the conflict sequence between Neo ( John Wick’sKeanu Reeves ) and Agent Smith ( The Lord of the Rings’Hugo Weaving ) . The extremely choreographed competitiveness successiveness is as intricate as it is stunning . The use of wire fu was a game changer and the pure ode to Hong Kong soldierly arts films that came before it . There have been better activity films thanThe Matrix , but few have been more influential .
3. Bathhouse knife fight in Eastern Promises (2007)
Fending off two Chechen assassin is hard enough , but conceive of trying to do it bare . Unfortunately for Viggo Mortenson ( Captain Fantastic ) and his fibre Nikolai Luzhin inDavid Cronenberg’sEastern Promises , this scenario becomes his reality . In the scene , two tall , bulky Chechen assassins recruit a Turkish bagnio reckon to take out Kirill Semyonovich ( Westworld’sVincent Cassel ) . However , the assassins are tricked into believing that Nikolai is Kirill , and they assail the Russian gangster in the bathhouse with linoleum cutters .
Nikolai is forced to fend off the assassins with only a towel on , which quickly flies off as he blocks one of the pang attempts . The assassin severely injure Nikolai , as his blood drips across the privy tiles , but the Russian survives thanks to his absolute temper and skill . The bloody conflict is so jarring and memorable thatRoger Ebertcalled it a “ benchmark ” for fights , and say it “ sets the same form of standard thatThe French Connectionset for chase . ”
2. Jen Yu vs. Yu Shu Lien in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
crouch Tiger , Hidden Dragonis a masterly martial liberal arts film that is breathtaking to keep an eye on . The choreographed battle sequences play like a ballet , as the animalism and synchronized movements equal a beautiful dance . These sequences can be attribute to Yuen Woo - ping , the legendary martial arts choreographer and champion of Hong Kong movie theater .
The setting that stands out in a film full of intricate battles is the swordfight between Yu Shu Lien ( Everything Everywhere All at Once’sMichelle Yeoh ) and Jen Yu ( Godzilla : King of the Monsters’Zhang Ziyi ) . Yu Shu Lien is out to regain the sword screw as The Green Destiny , which Jen possesses . The two battle in a jaw - dropping swordfigh , incorporating wire fu techniques and precise stage dancing to create a powerful example of peak action cinematography .
1. Rama vs. The Assassin in The Raid 2 (2014)
Like the stairway sequence inJohn Wick : Chapter 4 , The Raid franchise save its most impressive competitiveness for the end of the last plastic film in the serial , The Raid 2.After live a deadly car chase and a battle with siblings Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Man , Rama ( The Raid ) face his bad challenge yet , a kitchen combat against the Assassin ( Gundala’sCecep Arif Rahman ) , a violent grampus whose weapon system of option is a Karambit knife .
While many crusade conniption in The Raid franchise are chaotic , with a passel of moving component part , the kitchen fight is modest and more controlled . But the sequence is equally as impressive due to its high - level stage dancing . The white kitchen is before long stained with wine , humbled glass , and blood as the opposition fight back to the death . The deadly battle is one of the beneficial one - on - one scrap scenes of the twenty-first century , cement its place as one of the good in cinematic story .
