Top 10 CGI vs Non CGI Movie Fights

“Shazam!” (2019)
Let’s face it: at some point or another, we’ve all wanted to be superheroes. Fortunately for Billy’s foster siblings, they all get the chance when Billy realizes he can’t stop Dr. Sivana and his army of the Seven Deadly Sins on his own. Together, they say the magic word and are suddenly transformed into Shazam-like heroes themselves, each endowed with a particular power. While Billy engages with Sivana himself, each of his siblings revels in the opportunity to stand up to the beasts. While the particularities of each Sin isn’t clear, their terrifying nature had us quaking in our boots from the start, and seeing this newfound family work as a team to defeat them is the definition of fun.

“Doctor Strange” (2016)
Okay, so this isn’t a physical fight per se, but it is an imposing confrontation that sees strategy gloriously outmatch unrelenting punishment. Before the god-like entity known as Dormammu can arrive at Earth and impose his will, Doctor Strange meets him on his plane of existence known as the Dark Dimension. Severely outmatched, Strange is quickly vaporized, only for the scene to reset due to the time loop Strange trapped the two in. After Strange is endlessly killed in a myriad of ways, Dormammu finally agrees to withdraw his forces from Earth in exchange for Strange breaking the loop. It’s not the final battle we’ve come to expect from superhero films, but it’s ingeniously exciting all the same and makes us admire our hero more.

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016)
While it would have been nice not knowing this would be the true climax of the film - thanks, trailers - there’s still a lot to appreciate here in an otherwise disappointing movie. After Batman and Superman lower their dukes upon some shared maternal nomenclature, they’re set upon by Lex Luthor’s genetically modified creature, popularly known as Doomsday. Solidifying this fight, however, is the cinematic debut of Wonder Woman, which realizes DC’s holy trinity on the big screen. From there, we get ultimate destruction as these superhero titans try to take down a literal one. Doomsday being too powerful, however, Superman sacrifices himself by impaling him with a Kryptonite spear, leaving himself vulnerable to a fatal impalement himself. That’s some dramatic stuff right there.

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (2008)
Working within the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, Hellboy has naturally fought a host of CGI creatures, most recently in the form of three giants in the 2019 reboot. However, for our salt, it’s his battle with the titular force in his previous cinematic outing that’s most memorable, if only for the Guillermo del Toro-ness of it all. When the evil Nuada gains command of the mechanical army, he sets them upon Hellboy and his crew. Though severely outnumbered, Hellboy does what he does best and packs a wallop to the large, slow-moving bots. Even discounting some robot-on-robot action when Johann Krauss commandeers one, this fight somehow manages to work around the filmmaking difficulties involving characters of different structural makeup.

“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (2014)
The “Hobbit” movies are easily the black-sheep relative of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, but let it not be said that Peter Jackson forgot how to film a fight scene in the intervening years. Since their encounter in “An Unexpected Journey,” the climactic showdown between the dwarf Thorin and the great, white orc Azog was inevitable. This time they meet on an ice shelf on the perimeter of the great battle, with Azog wielding one heavy, stone flail. Thorin spends most of his time dodging until he’s able to submerge Azog in the water. Seemingly dead, Azog breaks out of the ice and pins Thorin. Knowing victory is impossible, Thorin allows himself to be fatally stabbed so he can return the favor.

“Ted” (2012)
While some of us might get into a disagreement with our best friend from time to time, usually that best friend isn’t a talking teddy bear. Late-second-act altercations are nothing new in storytelling, but Seth MacFarlane takes it a step further by making it a physical one… with a teddy bear. John blames Ted for his failed relationship with Lori, and when too many hurtful words are said, the two start going at it in John’s hotel room. Though both sides trade blows, John takes an unrelenting amount of punishment, from crashing into the wall to a lamp strike by way of a ceiling fan. All throughout it’s hilarious, and might not have ended had John not taken a TV to the nards.

“Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith” (2005)
Many “Star Wars” fans preferred the days when Yoda was just a puppet, but if there’s one thing his conversion to CGI gave us, it’s some wickedly cool fights. While we got our first taste in his climactic duel with Count Dooku in “Attack of the Clones”, it was the follow-up “Revenge of the Sith” that showed us the full force of his arsenal, no pun intended. Following Darth Sidious’ coup of the Galactic Senate and the eradication of nearly every Jedi Knight, the sage Master Yoda has a duel with the self-appointed emperor. In addition to some wicked lightsaber action, we get a whole host of force powers thrown in for good measure as we watch the Republic literally fall apart.

“Thor: Ragnarok” (2017)
Since his cinematic debut in 2011, the God of Thunder has had no shortage of CGI adversaries, from Loki’s Destroyer robot to another skirmish with Hulk in the first “Avengers” movie. However, it’s Thor’s gladiator duel with the Green Goliath that proved most memorable, and arguably put the most butts in seats. When Thor is captured on the garbage planet of Sakaar and forced to fight in the arena, he’s more than pleased to see the reigning champion is his long-lost fellow avenger. Hulk doesn’t exactly return the sentiment, however, and the two give us the slugfest we always wanted. Surprisingly enough, Thor seems to have victory in sight upon harnessing his inner strength, but the Grandmaster intervenes and knocks him out. Freaking buzzkill...

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003)
If you’re arachnophobic, you might wanna look away for this one. After Gollum tricks Frodo into entering the lair of the giant spider Shelob, the young hobbit finds himself paralyzed and wrapped in her webs. Never one to abandon his friends, Samwise Gamgee returns to save him in the nick of time. The ensuing scramble finds Sam smothered and narrowly avoiding Shelob’s pincers and stinger himself. After getting in a choice stab to Shelob’s underside, Sam is able to drive the creature back into her den with the shining Phial of Galadriel. With the CGI holding up to this day on the monstrous arachnid, we still squirm when this scene comes up, in the best way possible, of course.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Gandalf vs. the Balrog
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)

Pops vs. T-800
“Terminator Genisys” (2015)

Arthur vs. Vortigern
“King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” (2017)

Spider-Man vs. Lizard
“The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012)

Jack Sparrow vs. Davy Jones
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (2007)

“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
No, we’re not talking about Thanos’s fight with the Avengers’ big three in “Endgame,” though that one had some legitimate crowd-cheering moments. No, for our money, we’ve got to go with the showdown on his homeworld of Titan in the previous film for its dynamic nature. A ragtag assemblage consisting of Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and a few Guardians of the Galaxy devise a plan whereby they remove his all-powerful infinity gauntlet. Surprisingly, it almost works, until Star Lord’s emotions get the better of him and Thanos makes off with the Time Stone. It was a heartbreaking scene in that our heroes came within inches of avoiding devastation, but it was also an awe-inspiring one to watch as fans of the MCU.