One thing that sells action movies is great fight choreography. That was no more apparent than in the brand-new action movie Bullet Train, which sold itself with non-stop fighting on a moving train, with and without weapons. However, while the fight scenes in that movie were impressive, action fans have a high bar for any new movie to live up to.
Movie fight scenes have become more elaborate over the years, as evident in the John Wick franchise, which has each movie trying to up the action from the previous ones. However, these are also nothing new, with kung fu movies in the 1970s showing Western audiences how it is done and lower-budget action movies in the 80s throwing everything at the screen when it comes to inspired fights.
The Turkish Bath Fight — Eastern Promises (2007)
David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises had some of the most relentless violent scenes of his movies, but the Turkish bath fight easily sits on top as one of the best. One thing that stands out in this scene is that Viggo Mortensen is naked during the fight, exposing his vulnerability when two men enter and attack him. The camera then keeps close to Mortensen, showing his injuries and his quick reactions in fighting back, until the brutal end.
For this scene, several Redditors agreed it is one of the best fight scenes in movies. When someone recommended the scene, skoomski added to the reasoning, calling it "brutal and visceral, no dancing around just Viggo fighting for his life."
Michelle Yeoh Vs. Ziyi Zhang — Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon brought Wushu fighting styles to mainstream audiences and had some of the most beautiful fight scenes and choreography of any movie. The scenes fighting across treetops was brilliantly executed, but it was the weapons room right that remained the best.
After someone mentioned the weapons room fight between Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang, Fit_Faithlesness_61 wrote what the movie was so great. "The fight scenes in that movie do what so many others try and fail to do- reveal character through action. It could be a silent film and be just as powerful."
Corridor Fight — Oldboy (2003)
There is a lot of violence and tension in the original Oldboy, but many fans point out one scene that stands above the rest. This was the scene where Dae-su sets out to gain vengeance for his 15-year imprisonment.
This took place in a corridor and saw Dae-su brutally take out countless enemies. On Reddit, PvtPimple wrote, "I love the scene, it's claustrophobic and the single long take makes you really engaged and anxious."
The Machete Fight — The Raid (2011)
If there is one movie that based its entire success on fight scenes, it is facing danger on each floor, almost like video game levels.
The best fight in the movie was when Rama had to battle a gang called the Machetes, who had machetes as weapons. Redditor eternally-curious called it one of his favorite action movies, writing, "You can clearly tell exactly what is happening at each instance of the fight. The viewer is never confused at any point in the movie, but is able to actually enjoy the crystal-clear action."
The 6-Minute Fight — The Live (1988)
John Carpenter made his name with his horror and visceral action movies. While many fans him for one fight scene in They Live that remains one of the most brutal in movie history.
The fight lasted for six minutes and just had Roddy Piper and Keith David beating each other up the entire time. On Reddit, bob1689321 wrote, "The sheer length of it is exhausting as a viewer and you feel the same frustration the guy does ... Keith David is fighting to hold onto the reality he knows and Roddy Piper is fighting to wake him up to the truth."
The Kitchen Fight — The Raid 2 (2014)
It is one job of a movie sequel to one-up what made the original movie so great. In The Raid, it was all about fighting up a high-rise apartment building and each level growing more dangerous. In The Raid 2, the movie had to match and sur those fight scenes.
The one scene that did so in the movie was the kitchen fight. After one Redditor called it the best fight scene in movies, MacyTmcterry agreed, writing, "that fight is straight after another amazing fight with the baseball bat and hammer twins.. which is right after another sick fight with random goons. The kitchen fight is like the boss level."
The Nightclub Scene — John Wick (2014)
While The Raid movies had some of the best fight scenes in movies, the John Wick movies tried to do the same thing in a more big-budget, colorful, theatrical manner. Mostly, it succeeded, and nothing was as impressive as the entire nightclub scene, where Wick was a one-man killing machine.
When talking about the scene, TheKokoMoko said that the music score made it even better. "Him snooping around dropping dudes to “Think” by Kaleida is great. A lot of people are really critical of the series but they’re really great movies if you just want to see some good cinematography, choreography, and sound design."
Subway Fight — The Matrix (1999)
While most of the fight scenes that Redditors loved had people fighting hand-to-hand, often with weapons, and brutally and violently, some also loved the more fantastical fights in movies. The Matrix turned fight scenes into high art.
The most notable in the first movie was the subway fight between Neo and Agent Smith. TheThightyMor described it, writing "Superb choreography, well shot and as well as a few cool lines thrown in. Feel like it was the last ‘proper’ fight scene in The Matrix films before everything went overboard."
The Church Fight — Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
In Kingsman: The Secret Service, the entire story was about a secret organization that saves the world and often does so through intense violence. However, the most violent scene in the movie came in the church, and was all because of the evil Richmond Valentine.
Using a hidden signal in cell phones that causes humans to become increasingly violent, he sets it off in a hate church. What resulted was a mass fight where everyone killed each other, which smirpt called the best movie fight scene he had ever seen, simply answering, "Kingsman, church fight."
Max Vs. Furiosa — Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
There are a lot of reasons why fans loved Mad Max: Fury Road. The intense action and practical effects, including the massive explosions, excited a lot of fans of the original movie. The story was also great, and it was a rare sequel done right decades after the last movie hit.
However, one other big reason fans loved it was because of the fighting action. Redditor Redjeezy pointed out his favorite fight scene in movies, writing, "Mad Max: Fury Road - Max and Furiosa." This was the scene where they first met, and she tried everything she could to kill him, while he fought to stay alive, using anything and everything they found on the ground around them.
