Top 20 Legend Vs Legend Fight Scenes
#20: Sylvester Stallone vs. Wesley Snipes
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“Demolition Man” (1993) We start with Sly, but it won’t be his last time on this list. “Demolition Man” sees the Italian Stallion playing John Spartan, a man unfrozen from cryogenic suspension after Simon Phoenix, as played by Snipes, escapes. The duo’s final confrontation takes place in the facility they were both frozen in. After Phoenix gleefully taunts Spartan with futuristic weaponry, the cop escapes the claw he’s trapped in and the duo fights hand to hand. Sparks fly as they each beat each other to a pulp. Just when Phoenix seems to have the advantage, Spartan uses a cryogenic device to rapidly freeze his foe, before leaping out of the way, and making his opponent significantly shorter. It’s a bombastic and fun clash between stars hamming it up.
#19: Ian McKellen vs. Christopher Lee
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“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001) How do you beat a wizard duel with two actors of this caliber? In this epic iconic fantasy film, Ian McKellen’s Gandalf the Grey seeks advice from Christopher Lee’s Saruman the White. However, Gandalf soon discovers that Saruman has gone over to the side of the evil Sauron. With his escape cut off, Gandalf is forced to battle his fellow wizard, with each using their magic staffs to throw one another around the tower. While the choreography isn’t the most complex in the film series, the stunts are awesome, and the performances combined with Howard Shore’s epic score, help make this a magnificent battle.
#18: Uma Thurman vs. Lucy Liu
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“Kill Bill: Volume 1” (2003) Quentin Tarantino films have a lot of memorable clashes between stars, but perhaps the most striking is the climactic duel from the first “Kill Bill” film. In it, Uma Thurman’s Bride, having battled her way through an entourage of yakuza, finally reaches their boss, O-Ren Ishii, as played by Lucy Liu. The two combatants face each other in a snowy Japanese garden. It’s a fight with plenty of tension, with the music and quiet moments each building up to rapid clashes between the duelists. At last, the Bride gives O-Ren a deadly “haircut” and emerges the victor. Beautiful and atmospheric, this fight pays tribute to samurai cinema of the past, while delivering its own unique twist.
#17: Ram Charan vs. N. T. Rama Rao Jr.
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“RRR” (2022) These two may be only recently popular in the west, but they’re gigantic stars in India. “RRR” has the duo becoming fast friends as fictionalized versions of real-life Indian revolutionaries. When N.T.R. Jr. 's Bheem attacks a party with the aim of attempting a rescue, Ram Charan’s A. Rama Raju battles him with a sense of betrayal. Fraught with emotion, the two friends seek to beat one another as each pursues their respective goals. Featuring both grounded choreography and outlandish, superhuman feats, this battle nearly destroys one of cinema’s most epic bromances, but the spectacle is worth it!
#16: Russell Crowe vs. Joaquin Phoenix
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“Gladiator” (2000) The whole of this “sword and sandals” epic has led up to this moment. Russell Crowe’s gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius is pitted against Joaquin Phoenix’s Emperor Commodus. The detestable ruler may have stabbed Maximus before the match, but the former general still puts up an incredible fight. The wounded gladiator easily proves himself superior to Commodus, eventually using the sneaky snake’s own hidden knife to kill him. Maximus may be knocking on death’s door, but his victory here is immensely satisfying. Both actors deliver phenomenal performances in their final scene, and the grand display they put on before each character meets their end makes for an amazing conclusion to the film.
#15: Ryan Gosling vs. Harrison Ford
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“Blade Runner 2049” (2017) The past and the present protagonists of this franchise meet in the ruins of Las Vegas. Joe, as played by Ryan Gosling, has tracked down Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard, in search of his origins. However, as a former Blade Runner, Deckard is none too trusting of his replicant successor and shoots at him. He pursues Joe into a lounge, where holograms of famous singers appear onstage. While Joe mostly holds off Deckard’s attacks, it’s clear he’s stronger, and the two eventually reach an understanding. As beautifully shot as the rest of the film, this fight is a collision of two great heroes and the talented actors playing them.
#14: Cary Elwes vs. Mandy Patinkin
“The Princess Bride” (1987) When it comes to movie sword fights, they don’t get much better than this! Cary Elwes’s mysterious Man in Black engages in a fencing duel with Mandy Patinkin’s master swordsman, Inigo Montoya…after a friendly chat, of course. The two swordsmen battle all over a rocky cliff top, exchanging witty banter, as well as the hands in which they hold their swords. Ultimately, the Man in Black prevails, though he’s quite sporting in his victory. It’s one of cinema’s most memorable fights, made even more so by the fact that it’s really Elwes and Montoya doing most of it. Both actors are clearly incredible duelists, having been trained by legendary stunt coordinators Bob Anderson and Peter Diamond.
#13: Jet Li vs. Jason Statham
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“War” (2007) Jet Li and Jason Statham are some of the biggest action stars in the world, and while “War” isn’t the first time they appear on screen together, it does arguably contain their best fight against each other. Li plays Tom Lone, disguised as the infamous assassin Rogue, who battles his former partner, John Crawford. Their warehouse bout sees them engage in fisticuffs, as well as utilize plenty of tools, like hammers and shovels, against each other and their environment. Amid their destructive duel, truths are unearthed and Lone achieves revenge after Crawford’s betrayal.
#12: Michelle Yeoh vs. Zhang Ziyi
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“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) Each of these actresses is legendary in Asian martial arts cinema, so to see them clash is enough of a treat. But this fight scene is utterly spectacular! Michelle Yeoh’s Yu Shu Lien faces the hotheaded Jen Yu, as played by Zhang Ziyi. Shu Lien wields a variety of weapons, which each break against the Green Destiny sword. Nevertheless, her superior skill eventually prevails, though Jen gets away. The sheer number of weapons involved in this fight is astounding, as is the choreography, which vacillates between incredibly rapid strikes and graceful, otherworldly movements. While Yeoh and Ziyi have had many great fight scenes, this is easily a career highpoint for both.
#11: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson vs. Jason Statham
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“Furious 7” (2015) Taking place early in the seventh installment of the hit Fast and the Furious franchise, this impressive one-on-one brawl sees action superstars Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham duke it out in an office setting with plenty of plate glass windows to be shattered, and desks to be thrown into. The dynamic fight showcases each star’s respective fighting style, with quick martial arts for the faster and smaller Statham, and brawny wrestling moves and brutal hand-to-hand combat courtesy of the larger, more musclebound Johnson. Throw in some knife and gunplay as well as a well-timed explosion, and you’ve got a scene worthy of these two big names.
#10: Keanu Reeves vs. Donnie Yen
Top 10 Best Keanu Reeves Fight Scenes
“John Wick: Chapter 4” (2023) The fourth “John Wick” film sees both of these huge action stars face off against other legends, like Keanu Reeves’s fight with Scott Adkins and Donnie Yen’s duel with Hiroyuki Sanada. However, it’s their fight against each other that makes our list! Yen’s Caine is forced out of retirement to kill Reeves’s legendary John Wick. Their fight has a particularly unique feel, since Caine is blind. This leads to some interesting choreography as the two killers come together, and when they shoot at each other from afar. It also leads to great moments of suspense, like when John runs out of bullets. John and Caine’s fight may get interrupted, but seeing these titanic action stars battle is still impossibly cool!
#9: Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. Sylvester Stallone
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“Escape Plan” (2013) It might be short, but it sure is sweet. If there was any reason to watch the admittedly mediocre action thriller, Escape Plan, it has to be this “fake” fistfight between Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Needing to gain access to the solitary confinement cells in a high security prison, Stallone’s Ray Breslin stages a fight with Schwarzenegger’s Emil Rottmayer to get into some trouble. Complete with some fantastically corny action movie taunting, the two action icons punch and suplex each other to maintain brutal appearances. The scene is made even more impressive by the knowledge that both actors were well into their 60s while filming.
#8: Leonardo DiCaprio vs. Tom Hardy
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“The Revenant” (2015) One of the more brutal onscreen fights in movie history, the thrilling duel that concludes Alejandro González Iñárritu’s award-winning “The Revenant” is both shocking and intense. Both Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy give their all in this long-awaited final “anything goes” confrontation. On top of hacking each other to pieces with knives and hatchets, many painful–and unsportsmanlike–curveballs are thrown, including biting off ears and nose-shattering kicks to the face. Far from graceful, this historic face-off is made all the more realistic thanks to the top-notch performances turned in by two of the 21st century’s greatest actors.
#7: Daniel Craig vs. David Bautista
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“Spectre” (2015) The epic train fight in 2015’s “Spectre” has the agile Daniel Craig’s 007 facing off against David Bautista’s Mr. Hinx. Despite his size, Hinx breaks the big guy mold with his quick-thinking. His remarkable combination of brute strength and lightning reflexes forces Bond to fight wildly, with Hinx disarming the legendary agent at every opportunity. Featuring plenty of grappling moves and bare-knuckle punches, this fight scene is made all the more tense by the close confines of multiple train cars in which it takes place. Unlike most Bond movie fights, this one shows 007 actually losing, nearly being killed by Hinx until the gun-toting Bond girl Madeleine Swann saves his life.
#6: Brad Pitt vs. Angelina Jolie
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“Mr. & Mrs. Smith” (2005) Doug Liman’s 2005 action-comedy, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” featured Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie together as a husband-and-wife duo of assassins who are ultimately assigned to kill each other. Packed with marital one-liners, the humorous and far-fetched domestic fight scene sees the titular characters throw down using makeshift shields and weapons, big guns, and eventually their bare fists. In true comedic fashion, the fight’s outcome ultimately ends with another type of physical interaction. Ironically enough, Mr. & Mrs. Smith was the movie that really brought “Brangelina” together, with the two marrying each other shortly after the film’s release. That marriage, of course, eventually ended with a multitude of accusations and recriminations.
#5: Nicolas Cage vs. John Travolta
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“Face/Off” (1997) John Woo’s epic American action extravaganza doesn’t boast just one fight scene between these two legends... they throw down for much of the film. Ingeniously flipping the tables on conventional action movie plotlines, Woo’s film sees these two kings of over-acting, John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, starring as a driven cop and homicidal terrorist respectively... well, kinda. After a balls-to-the-wall air hangar standoff in the first act, the protagonist/antagonist roles are reversed; with Travolta’s cop Sean Archer switching faces with Cage’s villain Castor Troy. Armed with a new set of problems to resolve, the two ultimately engage in an epic church shootout turned boat chase turned beach brawl. Seriously, this face-off is epic.
#4: Vin Diesel vs. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
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“Fast Five” (2011) Already jam-packed with action, “The Fast and the Furious” franchise upped the ante in this fifth installment by introducing Dwayne Johnson into the mix as DSS Agent Luke Hobbs. Pitting him against Vin Diesel’s character Dom Toretto would be no easy feat considering Dom’s status as a fan favorite, but the hard-edged confrontation between law enforcer and antihero is a centerpiece of Fast Five’s legacy - one to which Johnson’s powerful character added something undeniably refreshing. Brilliantly shot and edited, this testosterone-fuelled ground-and-pound fight scene showed viewers that, while seeing Vin Diesel duke out as Dom Toretto is great and all, seeing him fight the Rock is even better.
#3: Jackie Chan vs. Jet Li
Top 20 Jackie Chan Fights
“The Forbidden Kingdom” (2008) As far as martial arts movies go, Jackie Chan and Jet Li are two of the biggest names in the genre, and their showdown was long overdue when it finally happened in The Forbidden Kingdom. The actors employ wonderfully different fighting styles, with Chan’s comedic persona contrasting brilliantly with Li’s zen-like ultra fast moves.Though the scene is more effects-laden than some purists may have wanted, just the sight of two of these two masters fighting was worth the wait. This wasn’t the first time Chan went toe to toe with another martial arts legend however, as he took on Ip Man himself, Donnie Yen, five years earlier in “Shanghai Knights.”
#2: Sylvester Stallone vs. Jean-Claude Van Damme
Top 10 Sylvester Stallone Moments
“The Expendables 2” (2012) In a fight that leaves little to the imagination, the no-holds-barred final brawl between Sylvester Stallone’s Barney Ross and Jean-Claude Van Damme’s conveniently named “Vilain” showcases the well-known superstars’ fighting skills. Sly takes on the Muscles from Brussels in a showdown for the ages. After slinging a few action movie clichés at each other, Ross and Vilain eventually go at it with a mixture of hard-hitting hand-to-hand street fighting techniques, pairing Stallone’s trademark boxing with Van Damme’s kickboxing, before using their surrounding environment to really dole out the pain. Whether the loser died like a “man or a sheep” is left for the viewer to decide, but both actors certainly fought like champions.
#1: Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris
Top 10 Bruce Lee Moments
“Way of the Dragon” (1972) The iconic showdown between Bruce Lee and then-up-and-comer Chuck Norris hardly needs any introduction. The lengthy fight takes its time in getting started as the two fighters prepare themselves in a quiet warm up session before fighting to the death at the conclusion of Bruce Lee’s Way of the Dragon. The fight is given even more epic qualities given that it’s set in the Roman Colosseum, where the two warriors have a respectful––albeit deadly––exhibition of their skills. Rivaled by many, but never matched, this East-meets-West duel helped solidify Chuck Norris’s status as a talented martial artist and further cemented Lee’s reputation as the greatest martial artist of his time.
