Top 10 Movie Fights in Spaceships

Jim Kirk and Spock are best friends and trusted allies. At least they were in all of the movies that preceded this reboot of the sci-fi franchise. When we heard there was going to be a new “Star Trek” movie with the legendary roles recast, we looked forward to seeing how they’d bring these two vastly different characters together. What we didn’t anticipate was how fun it’d be to see them fall apart. Knowing Jim stood no chance of prevailing in the fisticuffs did nothing to dampen our fun, as in the end, it was his goals that prevailed and he got exactly what he wanted. Hopefully, we get to see Scotty and Bones fight next!

When the amount of people on Earth has grown to such a degree that the planet can no longer support that much life, a group of astronauts is sent to another planet to establish a new civilization. Some years into that journey, a few of those people awaken and discover powerful tribal life forms that want to kill and eat them all. In one particularly badass sequence, a trio of the remaining humans comes to blows with one of the mutant hunters. When slicing into its stomach and head and cutting one of its hands doesn’t work, it takes all three of them repeatedly stabbing him to finally lay the creature to rest. If only there weren’t legions of other mutants watching it all take place.

Aboard a pirate ship that travels through space, there’s an insectoid crewmember named Scroop, who only looks out for himself. After he cuts a fellow crewmember’s lifeline and performs a number of other dastardly deeds, Scroop discovers an opportunity to capture the map that’ll lead to the riches he’s been after. The only thing that stands in his way is Jim. Their fight includes a fast-paced chase through the ship and a suspenseful duel that threatens both of their lives. Fortunately, a mishap with the ship’s artificial gravity sends Scroop off floating into space while our cabin boy remains safe and sound.

When you see a group of hulking aliens about to attack a single skinny woman, it’s easy to fear for her well-being. If that was your reaction to this scene from “The Fifth Element” though, then you must not have been paying attention. For these extraterrestrials are absolutely no match for the mighty Leeloo. Kicking all of their asses without breaking a sweat is second nature for this orange-haired heroine. Throwing in acrobatics and Three Stooges-esque maneuvers just makes it that much more fun. We’d pay to see Leeloo toy with her adversaries any day.

James Spader is not usually known as an action star, but give the man a spacesuit and a pair of space pinchers strong enough to do some real damage, and you’d never know it. When the crew of the Supernova decides to save a strange young man named Karl, they couldn’t possibly have known his intention was to kill them all. Fortunately, they don’t plan on going down without a fight, as evidenced by this scene in which Karl is unable to save himself from the deadly effects of a dimension jump. If every movie fight we saw ended with the victim’s hand being cut off, we certainly wouldn’t complain - and that alone earns this film’s place on this list.

After proving himself to be a total badass in “Pitch Black,” we were excited to see Riddick continue to prove his cult status as a badass antihero in the sequel. We weren’t disappointed when it came time for Riddick to go blow-for-blow against the supernaturally powerful Lord Marshal. The distraction of Kyra stabbing the Lord in the back allows Riddick the chance to figure out how to beat his nemesis and ultimately take his place of leadership. Cool effects and a cool story combine to make this fight a truly memorable one.

Though we were devastated by the death of one of our favorite Autobots near the beginning of this animated feature, the filmmakers redeemed themselves with this concluding battle between Rodimus Prime and Galvatron. Seeing Hot Rod transformed into a powerful Autobot that ultimately saved the day gave us the happy ending we needed. Even if it didn’t quite make us forget the loss of the team’s former leader, it gave us something to believe in. Transforming robots, explosions and the triumph of good over evil; what’s not to love?

In a world of haves and have nots, the man that stands between Matt Damon’s Max and the health care he needs to save his life is the psychotic Agent Kruger played by Sharlto Copley. The amazing effects and compelling story are huge strengths of this film, but ultimately, it all comes down to wanting to see these two capable warriors - who’ve both been altered by robotics - in a fight to the death. And that is exactly what we get during the climax. Despite the fact that we’re rooting for Max throughout, Kruger is such an unpredictable and cool character that we almost find ourselves wanting him to prevail.

When you take two powerful women with young ones to protect and set them against each other, things are sure to get crazy. However, when one of them is an Alien Queen and the other is inside of a cargo-loader, we get this legendary battle from James Cameron’s “Aliens.” Slow and methodical, the fight is even more engrossing thanks to the lighting and sound effects. The moment where Ripley is just barely holding off the alien inches from her face, while constantly dodging its prehensile tail, is so intimate and terrifying, that we just can’t forget it. And that’s why it lands here.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard vs. Shinzon
“Star Trek: Nemesis” (2002)
- Captain B. McCrea vs. Auto
“WALL-E” (2008)
- Capt. Leo Davidson vs. General Thade
“Planet of the Apes” (2001)
- Capa vs. Pinbacker
“Sunshine” (2007)
- Captain Lone Starr vs. Lord Dark Helmet
“Spaceballs” (1987)

While the “Star Wars” battles in “A New Hope,” featuring Obi-Wan versus Darth Vader, and “Revenge of the Sith,” featuring Obi-Wan and Anakin versus Count Dooku, were contenders, it’s this fight from “Episode VI” that was the real no-brainer for the number one slot. Though we may’ve always known in our heart of hearts that Luke would never turn to the dark side, The Emperor certainly made a strong case for the young Jedi to do so. When you manage to have all the emotion of a father-son relationship perfectly come to a head in a single lightsaber duel, you’ve undoubtedly pulled off an impressive feat. There may not be a fight on a spaceship that ever meant more to us than this one.

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite fight that takes place inside a spaceship? For more entertaining Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.