Top 20 Greatest Movie Fight Scenes of All Time
#20: Captain America & the Winter Soldier vs. Iron Man
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“Captain America: Civil War” (2016) Captain America and the Winter Soldier have been involved in some of the MCU’s most thrilling fight sequences. However, it’s this one where they fight side-by-side that really gets us going. After Tony Stark learns that a brainwashed Bucky killed his parents and that Cap knew about it, he’s out for blood. What follows is a brutal smackdown that trumps all previous hero-on-hero action shown previously. Ultimately, Cap is able to incapacitate Tony, but at great cost to the Avengers dynamic. Kudos to Marvel for being able to make fan-favorite Iron Man come across as an imposing third-act villain.
#19: Train Fight
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“Spider-Man 2” (2004) Keeping this superhero train rolling a little longer, our next entry takes us to Spider-Man’s confrontation with Doctor Octopus after he kidnaps Mary Jane. They soon find themselves atop an above-ground commuter train where the stakes are raised tenfold. With both wall-crawling adversaries able to explore the space in its entirety, director Sam Raimi and company orchestrate an exhilarating fight sequence that sees Spider-Man endure heaps of punishment from Ock’s mechanical arms. In a cheap tactic, Ock disables the train’s brakes and forces Spidey to wear himself out stopping it. Spider-Man may end up kidnapped himself, but not before he proved his heroism to the people of New York.
#18: Bathhouse Fight
“Eastern Promises” (2007) We realize we can’t show all of this outstanding fight due to nudity, but we’d be remiss not to recognize its excellence. When Nikolai is set up by his own organization to satisfy a rival mafia, two assassins approach him in a bathhouse armed with knives. Fortunately, Nikolai repels their attack and absolutely refuses to be taken out. Unafraid to get down and dirty, he soon becomes the most dangerous man in the room as he scratches and claws to wrestle their weapons away. Forcing one assassin’s head down on his knife and stabbing the other’s eye out, Nikolai walks away thoroughly bloody. In retrospect, they probably should’ve just walked up and shot him, but we’re sure glad they didn’t.
#17: Staircase Fight
“Atomic Blonde” (2017) Now here’s a scene that shows just how exhausting fighting really is. Earlier in the movie, we got a taste of just how resilient Charlize Theron’s Lorraine Broughton could be when she was ambushed by corrupt cops. But it’s this stairwell fight that really takes our breath away … and hers. As she looks to protect a defecting Stasi agent from the KGB, Lorraine’s extended bout follows her through multiple floors of an apartment building. Gradually and tiresomely she fends off her attackers, until they’re all dead. As impressive as the fight choreography is, what’s really astounding is how long the seemingly unbroken shot lasts, as it’s followed up with a car chase to boot.
#16: Continuous Staircase Fight
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“The Protector” (2005) If you thought John Wick was enraged when his dog got killed, watch what Tony Jaa does when his elephant gets kidnapped. Before making it to the restaurant where exotic animal connoisseurs plan to serve his prize pachyderm, Jaa’s Kham must make it up several flights of stairs through an endless succession of baddies. With a steadicam slowly following him all the way up, there’s no question that this fight is a single-take marvel that must have taken a lot of work to perfect. But perfect it is as Jaa sends bodies over railings and through doors and latticework. It just makes an already impressive movie that much better. Just, for the love of god, don’t watch the much-maligned US cut of the film.
#15: Yu Shu Lien vs. Green Destiny
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“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) In a swordfight as high-intensity as this, what’s more vital: being the better duelist or wielding the superior weapon? The more experienced Yu Shu Lien intends to find out as she engages with Jen Yu and the legendary sword dubbed “Green Destiny”. Though Shu Lien holds her own, every weapon of hers eventually breaks at the might of the Green Destiny. Despite this, Shu Lien ultimately holds the winning position with a broken sword. She then yields and an indignant Jen gives her a cheap slash, so neither is truly victorious. However, due to the fantastic stunt work executed by the two actresses, we’d say we’re the real winners.
#14: Cave Troll
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001) Of all the fights on this list, this one might be the most underrated. That’s probably due to it being lost in an epic trilogy chock full of thrilling clashes, but let’s appreciate this one for a minute. Trapped in the Mines of Moria, the Fellowship are beset upon by a horde of vicious orcs and one VERY imposing cave troll. A claustrophobic fight breaks out, one where our intrepid heroes prove their mettle and skill. While none of the good guys are killed, the fast-paced editing and threat level had us seriously on edge and gasping in our seats when Frodo is stabbed. This is high-fantasy action at its finest.
#13: Kitchen Scene
“The Raid 2” (2014) There’s something to be said for a fight scene that starts off slow and gradually builds intensity. While Rama goes on to confront the film’s main villains afterwards, this bout with a top henchman in an immaculate kitchen sure feels like a finale. Director Gareth Evans had a high bar to clear following up “The Raid: Redemption,” which is essentially one feature-length fight scene, but this entry makes the plot’s more protracted nature feel worth the wait. Both actors’ physicality is stellar and the slowly crescendoing score gives the fight the epic feel it needs. By the end of it, the previously white floors and walls are splattered red and our jaws are virtually on the floor.
#12: Maximus vs. Tigris
“Gladiator” (2000) There’s a reason this Best Picture winner stirred up such a fervor in the summer of 2000. While it remains a visually compelling film with breathtaking cinematography, a lot of it had to do with the sword-and-sandals action scenes. The best of these come when Russell Crowe’s Maximus squares off against undefeated champion Tigris. The odds are stacked against Maximus, who has to fend off a handful of tigers as well. Initially overwhelmed, Maximus buckles down and gets some opportune cuts in, including a crippling sword to Tigris’s foot. While the crowd doesn’t get the execution they wanted, we think Maximus had it right earlier when he said... [broll: “Are you not entertained?”]
#11: Hallway Fight
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“Oldboy” (2003) Here’s a fight that’s won through sheer stamina and resilience. In the thinnest of hallways, Oh Dae-su is confronted by a gaggle of goons that seem insurmountable. However, Dae-su has been waiting too long to give up searching for his captor after fifteen years of imprisonment. In one extended shot, Dae-su is repeatedly swarmed and beaten on the ground, only for him to rise again more ferocious than ever. He even gets stabbed in the back and presses on with the knife sticking out. Eventually, every single thug is writhing on the floor in pain, too exhausted to continue. We then smile along with Dae-su when he’s greeted with an elevator full of more fodder.
#10: Rotating Room Fight
“Inception” (2010) To simplify a scene in a complicated movie as much as possible, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Arthur finds himself protecting a dream level in between dream levels from the projections within. Due to being in a car chase in the previous level, Arthur’s hotel design begins literally turning on itself. “Inception” could have been one of those movies that relied exclusively on CGI rather than practical effects. Instead, Christopher Nolan opted to literally turn a hallway over repeatedly to make the shifts in gravity realistic, which leads to a thrilling and wholly unpredictable fight scene. The environment created is just as impressive as the stunt performers. It’ll make you dizzy, but it’ll also knock your socks off.
#9: Restroom Fight
“Mission: Impossible - Fallout” (2018) As it’s gone on, the “Mission: Impossible” series has somehow topped itself over and over again, continuing to raise the bar for high-octane stunts. However, in what could be the finest entry, it’s this simple sequence in a nightclub bathroom that really stands out. Here, Ethan Hunt teams up with CIA operative August Walker in tracking down a nuclear weapons buyer known only as John Lark. They confront a man they believe to be Lark and a knock-em, sock-em brawl breaks out. Despite sending the supposed Lark through a mirror and a support beam, they’re given more than they can handle, and have to be bailed out by Faust. Also, this is where we get that iconic shot of Henry Cavill pumping his fists.
#8: Obi-Wan vs. Anakin
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“Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith” (2005) The prequels get a lot of flak - to say the least - but one thing they gave us were AMAZING lightsaber duels. Hell, the Darth Maul sequence at the end of “The Phantom Menace'' blew all our minds. However, if you want an emotionally charged showdown, you can’t do much better than the finale of “Revenge of the Sith.” Set on the thematically appropriate lava planet of Mustafar, Obi-Wan and his former apprentice Anakin have a duel for the ages. It’s as hot-blooded as the backdrop, and though we knew the outcome, we still held our breath. “Star Wars” had more thrilling moments ahead, but none quite so tragic.
#7: The Bride vs. The Crazy 88s
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“Kill Bill: Volume 1” (2003) The incredible fight between the Bride and henchgirl Gogo already had us gasping for breath. What follows however is an even more mind-blowing sequence pitting our heroine against the entire Crazy 88. If you thought those numbers were skewed unfairly, you’d be right. But the Bride absolutely slays. Limbs and heads are chopped off with bloody, reckless abandon. In fact, there’s so much red spewing, that the fight switches to black-and-white to avoid an NC-17 rating. Quentin Tarantino is known for his over-the-top violence, and here is where that style arguably became fully realized. There’s a ton of astounding fight sequences in this two-parter, so the fact that this one stands out the most is really saying something.
#6: Jackie Chan vs. Ken Lo
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“Drunken Master II” (1994) You’ve gotta know that we’d be putting Jackie Chan on this list at some point. While the martial artist has a long career of superb stunt work, his specific brand of action-comedy is never so dynamically exercised as in the “Drunken Master” movies. This climactic battle initially sees Chan being utterly manhandled by Ken Lo’s character, to the point that he’s seared on a bed of hot coals. Just when things are looking grim, Chan makes like Popeye and downs his secret weapon, which for him just happens to be alcohol. Reenergized, Chan flexes his acrobatic prowess by thoroughly pummeling his opponent in a variety of ways. With physicality like this, it’s easy to see why he became such an icon.
#5: Church Fight
“Kingsman: The Secret Service” (2014) When villain Richmond Valentine activates rage-inducing SIM cards in a hate church, Kingsman agent Harry Hart is caught in one of the most badass battle royales ever put to film. With Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” playing, and the camera jerkily shifting from one kill to the next, we’re instantly sucked into the mayhem. Hart’s bullets may eventually run out, but that doesn’t stop the mind-controlled kingsman agent from turning any object into a deadly weapon. The movie was already great, but this scene definitely cemented that fact!
#4: Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris
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“Way of the Dragon” (1972) It was the movie martial arts matchup to end all matchups. With the climactic showdown appropriately taking place in the Roman Colosseum, the bare-chested Lee and the decidedly not bare-chested Norris show the utmost respect for one another before the fight. But once the shirts drop, all bets are off. This fight is simple in the fact that it doesn’t require fancy camerawork and editing to excite, but rather puts two powerhouse fighters in frame and lets them do the rest. While Norris puts on a good show, Lee ultimately cripples his character and kills him when he stubbornly persists. Worthy of the gladiators? We say yes. Also… kitty! [broll of closeup of cute kitten]
#3: Ip Man vs. 10 Black Belts
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“Ip Man” (2008) We move now from Bruce Lee to the master who trained him, or, at least, an actor portraying him. Donnie Yen takes on the eponymous role in this famous biopic, which is fairly loosely based on real events. Though the movie fabricated some historical details, it led to one of the most entertaining and spectacular demonstrations of skill in a martial arts movie. Incensed over the death of his friend Master Liu, Ip Man charges into General Miura’s dojo and demands to fight ten karate black belts at once. His wish is granted, and the previously phlegmatic Ip Man holds nothing back. Absolutely decimating the forces in his path, he sends a clear message to the General: do not underestimate us.
#2: Nightclub Fight
“John Wick” (2014) The “John Wick” movies have boasted impressive fight choreography, from the home invasion in the first movie to the escape scene featuring trained dogs in the third. However, what really sold us on Keanu Reeves returning as a bona fide action star was his rampage through a New York nightclub in search of the man responsible for stealing his car and killing his dog. Though most of the killing is done through gunplay, there’s enough well-timed physical combat interspersed throughout for it to qualify for this list. Set to the perfect dubstep song if there ever was a thing, the sequence is as impressively staged and pulse-pounding as it gets while still feeling grounded. You get that dog killer, John!
#1: Subway Fight
“The Matrix” (1999) If there’s anything this list shows, it’s that Keanu Reeves is the apparent king of movie fight scenes, as he takes the top two spots on our list. His sparring match with Morpheus earlier on is definitely badass. But we really have to give it to this underground brawl for its elevated stakes and groundbreaking special effects. Neo finds himself at the mercy of Agent Smith in a subway, but ready to accept his destiny as the One, he puts up more of a fight than Smith expected, and boy is it a sight to behold. The slowed-down and sped-up visual flairs only add to the dynamic nature of the Matrix itself, creating one epic duel!
