Favorite Fight scene?

[PhallicWarrior]

Mine would be a tossup between Jackie Chan vs "The Jet" in "Dragons Forever" and Bourne vs. the First Assasin in "Bourne Identity"

[Storm Bringer]

hmmm..... this is a tough one.

is this just one on one 'duels' or massive mega battles? Your post makes it seem like just 'duels' or small numbers of mooks vs. hero at most.

[Shifty]

Hmm... I'm going to have to go with Nameless versus Sky in Hero. Fantastic, slightly surreal kung-fu poetry.

Deserving of an honorable mention is the entire stairway scene in Tom Yum Goong (I think they called it The Protector in the states). That's a lot of improvised whoopin' in there.

Also, Crank had many absurd slapstick beat 'em ups, but it's hard to pick one particular moment out of the whole, as the entire movie was one non-stop action scene. Really, the whole movie. There's not more than 10 minutes of non-action in the whole thing.

[SurlySeraph]

The last fight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeHrq_Fs1vk) in Equilibrium is pretty awesome.

The first fight between Neo and Smith in The Matrix deserves a mention.

[BizzaroStormy]

The scene in Hot Fuzz where the two cops (cant remember their names) fight off the entire town. It was so awesome.

[PhallicWarrior]

hmmm..... this is a tough one.

is this just one on one 'duels' or massive mega battles? Your post makes it seem like just 'duels' or small numbers of mooks vs. hero at most.

Sorry if I made it seem restrictive, but you can choose any fight that involves a main character in some way. (Technically, this allows for war scenes, too.)

[Amiria]

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eMkth8FWno). Without question.

[Burrito]

As far as sword fight go, the duel beteewn Tim Roth and Liam Nielson(sp?) in Rob Roy. A guy wielding a claymore getting tired?! *gasp* Inconceivable!

Gun fights...probably the final showdown in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly It was like watching a three person chess match, with them sizing each other up. Who will shoot at who...etc.

Hand to hand, the fight scene in the high scholl hallway in Grosse Point Blank one of the more realistic and desperate fights I have seen.

[Kane]

In "Nine Princes In Amber" When Corwin, or, mostly, Bleys fight their way up the grand staircase. (This is a staircase that ascends a mountain, about five feet wide, and Bleys duels his way up against an army.)

[Don Julio Anejo]

The castle hall fight in Matrix Reloaded (the place with all these medieval weapons on the walls).

Bourne fights are also good, although I like chase scenes like the train station more.

[Pandaren]

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eMkth8FWno). Without question.


The scene in Hot Fuzz where the two cops (cant remember their names) fight off the entire town. It was so awesome.

Yes, and yes.

...tis a scratch.....epic..


Has ANYBODY here seen the movie the, um.... "Yellow.....Lotus? Crud I forgot it's name, it was a Japanese/Chinese movie about the emperors sons trying to overthrow him. In the end, the forbidden palaces' guards and the overthrowing son's army fight off. The son's army is completly slaughtered.

[Emperor Tippy]

Has ANYBODY here seen the movie the, um.... "Yellow.....Lotus? Crud I forgot it's name, it was a Japanese/Chinese movie about the emperors sons trying to overthrow him. In the end, the forbidden palaces' guards and the overthrowing son's army fight off. The son's army is completly slaughtered.

Yeah, that one had a few good fight scenes.

[Semidi]

I really like the lobby scene in the Matrix. It was cool despite not being over the top and boring like most of the scenes from Reloaded and Revolutions.

But seriously though, those guards went to Storm Trooper Academy.

Perhaps I just have it on the forefront of my mind as part of a paper I'm almost done with deals with that scene at length.

[ImperialGolem]

Definitely the fight between the operative and Mal in Serenity.
Also, the last chase scene in Mad Max: Road Warrior.

The worst goes to Kirk Vs. Monster (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1eFdUSnaQM)

[BatGrrl]

Kinda a tough one....

Michelle Yeoh vs. Zhang Ziyi in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (both of them)

Inigo Montoya vs. Count Rugen in Princess Bride - "I want my father back, you son of a bitch" - probably my favorite line in the movie.

[Sotextli]

Yes, and yes.

...tis a scratch.....epic..


Has ANYBODY here seen the movie the, um.... "Yellow.....Lotus? Crud I forgot it's name, it was a Japanese/Chinese movie about the emperors sons trying to overthrow him. In the end, the forbidden palaces' guards and the overthrowing son's army fight off. The son's army is completly slaughtered.

Curse of the Golden Flower? With Chow-Yun Fat and Gong Li? If so, then I agree. That entire movie was pretty epic.

My favorite has gotta be the duel between Erik and Einar at the end of the old 60's (or was it 70's?) movie The Vikings.

EDIT: Wow, it's even older than that! 1958.

[Paragon Badger]

The castle hall fight in Matrix Reloaded (the place with all these medieval weapons on the walls).

Bourne fights are also good, although I like chase scenes like the train station more.

Despite the complete irrelevance and unneccesary nature of that fight, it was damn well coreographed. The best I've ever seen; flowing, fast-paced, and graceful.

Too bad it lacked any real drama because we all knew Neo would win.

That, along with the highway chase would have made for a great movie if it didn't...you know...suck balls.

[Swordguy]

See, as a fight choreographer, I'm in love with this thread from the start. :smallbiggrin:

Robin Hood vs Sheriff of Nottingham in The Adventures of Robin Hood (Errol Flynn vs Basil Rathbone)

Danny Kaye's schizophrenic swashbuckler in The Court Jester (Danny Kaye vs Basil Rathbone)

The Man in Black vs Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride (Cary Elwes vs Mandy Patinkin)

As previously mentioned: Rob Roy vs Archibald Cunningham in Rob Roy (Liam Neeson vs Tim Roth)

Peter Pevensie vs King Miraz in CoN: Prince Caspian (William Moseley vs Sergio Castellitto) - note: this is seriously an incredibly good fight for all it's new. Fighters fight around the armor, and the armor actually functions as a protective device. This is now considered the prototypical way to film a fully-armored duel in the fight direction industry.

Andre Moreau vs the Marquis de Maynes in Scaramouche (Stewart Granger vs Mel Ferrer) - a six-and-a-half minute duel (the longest in cinematic history) done in a single take.

The entirety of Jackie Chan's perfomance in Drunken Master- a masterpiece of timing, comedy, and precision.

Mr Smith vs Mrs Smith in Mr & Mrs Smith (Brad Pitt vs Angelina Jolie) - these guys can't act that well; you can see where Brad left Jenifer Aniston for Angelina during this fight

Kyuzo's duel in the first third of Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai is about the single most accurate swordfight you'll ever see in cinema. It's over in 1.5 swings, which is about right when dealing with unarmored fighters.

Cassio vs Montano, Othello, Clear Stage Cincinnati, Cincinnati Aronoff Center (show ran Jan-Feb, 2008). Why? I choreographed it. :smalltongue:

[BooTheHamster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL-mR79GErU

Yeah.

More seriously though, I have a few:

300 - Pick one.
LOTR - Return of the King where Faramir Rides out with the horsemen and they're all shot. I'm not sure if it counts, but it was really powerful. Also the entire battle at Minas Tirith.
The Forbidden Kingdom - Jackie Chan vs. Jet Li(Amazing)
Star Wars: Revenge of The Sith - Obi-Wan vs. Anakin
Fight Club- Self-explanatory
Saving Private Ryan - Storming the beaches of Normandy.
Gladiator - Any of 'em.
Troy - Army scenes.
POTC At World's End - Final battle with the whirlpool.

That's all I can remember for now.

[comicshorse]

Well someone already took Wesley vs Inigo so ;

The opening shoot-out in the tea-house from John Woo's 'Hard Boiled'

The very start of 'Unleashed'. An off-screen voice jells 'get 'em' and Jet Li procedes to rip into a gang of thugs with little skill but just pure aggression. Not a stylish fight but a shot of pure adrenaline

[Freshmeat]

I second the Protector fight scene (http://youtube.com/watch?v=S2pH8hs-kgE).

[Gygaxphobia]

The opening shoot-out in the tea-house from John Woo's 'Hard Boiled'

Hehe, diving gun-toting gangsters rule. Also from John Woo, Last Hurrah for Chivalry has some awesome halberd-swinging fights.

My favourite fight scenes:

Gross Pointe Blank - John Cusack kicks butt in the school locker corridor fight. Totally brutal.

Fist of Legend - Jet Li version of Bruce Lee classic, any number of fights, but the Dojo fight versus the school that killed his master, or the hilltop fight against the great sensai

Zaitoichi tv series - loads of cool scenes, but one particular near the end where the blind swordsman is in a small hut and attacked from all sides through the walls.

[Dunesen]

-Tifa vs. Loz in the cathedral-FFVII: Advent Children. Of course it's mostly over the top and very stylized, but it's so pitch perfect. I can watch it countless times, it's easily my favorite fight scene.

-Jet Li vs. Donnie Yen in Hero was already mentioned, but I'm seconding it because I loved the entire "battle in the mind" part. A fight scene can be derailed if the characters talk too much about the mental side of the fight, how they have to prepare themselves in their minds. But the film got it right here by eschewing the dialogue and actually showing it. And then the fight is over so quickly.

-Neo vs. Agent Smiths-Matrix Reloaded. Let everyone else talk about how the sequels sucked, I loved them. I loved the Burly Brawl, I loved the freeway chase, I loved the final Super Burly Brawl. Direct rip-off of Dragon Ball Z? So what? But the one thing I loved about the fight in Matrix Reloaded was the fact that the multiple bad guys did NOT attack the good guy one at a time. They gang up on him, try to swarm him. Eventually Neo can't even keep up, and him flying away isn't anti-climatic, it's setting up the finale of Revolutions where Neo accepts that he can't win, and that he's not supposed to.

I'll stop now before I go into a rant.

-The climax of Dead Man's Chest. Getting more than two sides to a fight can be difficult to pull off; if you focus on just the main hero and villain the supporting characters will be underdeveloped, but if you try to give equal time to everyone things will get bloated and confusing. DMC did it right, and it helps that it had Curse of the Black Pearl to set it all up. Jack looks out for himself, Will wants to save his father, Norrington wants redemption. Then after that you have Elizabeth and the two other pirates and Davy Jones' men (all with much simpler motivations), and it all meshes together in the shoals before Norrington flees and everyone takes to the boats.

But not as simple as having everyone run into each other, no. You need one group fighting over a key, one fighting over a chest, a fight moving up through a cathedral and onto a giant wheel that then breaks off and starts rolling away. And just so happens to roll right to where everyone else is, so convenient, but who cares?

And I want to give special props to the shot of Jack about to be eaten by the Kraken, but he still wants to go down fighting. All three movies have memorable shots, which doesn't happen in blockbuster movies as much as you would think.

EDIT: OH SNAP! I forgot one of the greatest fight scenes ever: Old Boy, Oh Dae-su vs. a bunch of punks in a hallway. If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, you need to watch it. You'll know the scene when it happens.

[Storm Bringer]

Okay, here is my choices:

Best one one one duel: Nameless vs Long Sky, Hero (the frist piece of wuxia i ever saw, and arguebly the best. Broken Sword vs King of Qin is a very close second.)

Best hero vs. mook scene: The Lobby scene, The Matrix. (also winner of the Sheer Badassness award)

Best full-on battle scene: Battle of Pelenor Feilds, Return of the King

[Hoggy]

Personally, I'm quite partial to the two guys whose names I will never remember fighting at the end of House of Flying Daggers. The steady decline from technique to aggression throughout the fight is awesome to watch.

Also, the fight in the bar/resturant thingy and the final tournament in Fearless.

[Freshmeat]

Of course, there's the epic fight of tolerance (http://youtube.com/watch?v=9vk5pcjCwyQ&feature=related) from On Deadly ground, starring Steven Seagal. The latter half is quite cheesy, and therefore hilarious. :smalltongue:

[Cespenar]

Not sure if many people have heard this, but almost all of the fights in Ong-bak were really enjoyable.

Besides that, I pretty much second anything with Jet Li or Jackie Chan in it. Oh, and the original Matrix. Though I have heard that many of Matrix' fight scenes are ripped off of Ghost in the Shell, I can't say much because I haven't watched it (silly, I know).

[Jimorian]

The whole final battle in Leon: The Professional

[Spiryt]

Anyone mentioned fight scene between Luke and Vader in Return of the Jedi?

Kinda legendary one, without any fountains&fireworks, but truly dramatic one, so filled with emotions. And that quiet music... And Emperor's laughter...

^ Yes, Leon one is great too.

[Darke]

Has no-one mentioned Cloud Vs. Sephiroth?

the emperor Vs. horus.

Me Vs school.

"This is my boomstick!" if you know that, you know what I mean.

[Rare Pink Leech]

Many of these have already been mentioned, and are listed in no particular order:

Westley vs Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride

King Arthur vs the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Jack Sparrow vs William Turner vs James Norrington in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi

The Punisher vs The Russian in The Punisher

[Finn Solomon]

I loved the action in Ong Bak. The film that introduced the awesomeness of Muay Thai to the world. Intense, down and dirty, very much different than your run of the mill kung-fu movies.

That being said, I have a soft spot for Jackie Chan because well, he's Jackie Chan. Honorable mentions go to Rumble in the Bronx (the one in the construction yard) and Drunken Master (where he first uses Drunkedn Kung-Fu).

I pretty much enjoyed all of Kung-Fu Hustle by Stephen Chow. Every fight was hilarious while also sufficiently epic.

[2xSlick]

Ever since I watched the Evil Dead trilogy I've been a fan of chainsaw fighting.

Reggie the Ice Cream Man from Phantasm 2 not only uses a chainsaw but he makes himself a quad-barreled shotgun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvZQKoC3vc

Dennis Hopper wielding three chainsaws in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 was great. Here's the scene set to Meat Loaf. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VjnwBIJcac

But the greatest scene ever is from Tiger on the Beat which combines chainsaws and kung fu. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8_dY4rpjOc

[Dunesen]

Besides that, I pretty much second anything with Jet Li or Jackie Chan in it. Oh, and the original Matrix. Though I have heard that many of Matrix' fight scenes are ripped off of Ghost in the Shell, I can't say much because I haven't watched it (silly, I know).

Ghost in the Shell? I know the Wachowski's have anime fandom running in their veins, but I never saw a direction connection between Matrix and GitS.

Not sure if it's a direct relation to any specific anime. The choreography was done by Yuen Woo Ping, who may have seen his share of anime in his life, but I don't think he would try to directly rip-off/pay homage to any particular title.

[Revanmal]

Has no one mentioned Diego vs. Pasquale?!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3VTyPWvyAF8

The best fencing scene in cinema history is what it is!

[kamikasei]

Ghost in the Shell? I know the Wachowski's have anime fandom running in their veins, but I never saw a direction connection between Matrix and GitS.

I've seen one side-by-side showing scenes from the Matrix which match up very closely to scenes from GitS, but I hadn't heard the accusation leveled at the fights.

edit: I think this (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y3tF7TL0Qh4) is the comparison I saw. The one that really jumps out is the Agent landing on the rooftop in a crouch.

[Pronounceable]

If we're talking books, nothing beats Bleys and Corwin fighting up the stairway to Amber.

For movies I'd have to go with Vader vs Luke with Emperor leering from the sidelines. It's the Emperor who wins that scene.

After that a long list follows with a little bit of order:
Final showdown from Good, Bad and Ugly
Grown up Peter Pan vs Lost Children food fight (Hook)
Terminator shooting up the police station
Hasta la vista, baby!
Kevin vs Marv (Sin City)
Alley ambush (Sin City)
Masked Man vs Inigo Montoya (Princess Bride)
Ending of Leon
Davy Jones fight from last PoC
Bond vs Oddjob (Goldfinger)
Vader vs Luke on Cloud City


Honorable mention goes to King Arthur vs Black Knight from the Holy Grail.


PS: Does Redcloak vs High Priest of the Twelve Gods count?

[Callos_DeTerran]

Pretty much any fight scene from Fearless I will love. Even the ones that DON'T have Jet Li in them. Also the final fight scene from The One and the battle between Jet Li and a three black belts with some form of blunt sticks in Kiss of the Dragon

[Thiel]

I've seen one side-by-side showing scenes from the Matrix which match up very closely to scenes from GitS, but I hadn't heard the accusation leveled at the fights
The Lobby Fight from The Matrix and the Majors fight against the tank in Ghost in the Shell have a lot of similarities.

Anyway, I'm going to nominate that fight scene as the best fight scene. GitS is ripe with other good fight scenes, but this one takes the cake.

[Illiterate Scribe]

Basically the entirety of Story of Ricky. (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=story+of+riki&search=Search)

Especially the 'his kung-fu style is unorthodox' bit.

Furthermore, The Legend of Zipang (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvE6CZNxJpI) has possibly the best swordfighting known the man.

[Dunesen]

I've seen one side-by-side showing scenes from the Matrix which match up very closely to scenes from GitS, but I hadn't heard the accusation leveled at the fights.

edit: I think this (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y3tF7TL0Qh4) is the comparison I saw. The one that really jumps out is the Agent landing on the rooftop in a crouch.

Huh. I own the Matrix trilogy boxset and watched EVERYTHING on it, but I didn't really remember that.

Some of the stuff looks like an obvious homage (what you mentioned about landing on the rooftop definitely, maybe the jets of water shooting up from the bullets), but others are probably just coincidental (Neo being pulled out of the water the way the "doll" is rising up; someone crouching behind a pillar during a shootout).

[Mustiado]

Pretty much all of the fight scenes in Brotherhood of the Wolf. The movie is pretty epic.

[H. Zee]

See the link in my sig for an AMV which basically features all of my favourite fight scenes ever.

[WalkingTarget]

Well, Revanmal beat me to the punch on the fight from The Mark of Zorro.

How about the Saito fight from episode 30 of Rurouni Kenshin, or any of the Spike vs. Vicious fights from Cowboy Bebop?

[chiasaur11]

Who can forget the climatic battle of Evil Dead?
Zombies, flaming arrows, a cool car, good stuff.

And Kung Fu Hustle deserves mention. Gotta love the fights in that one.

[Cespenar]

Well, Revanmal beat me to the punch on the fight from The Mark of Zorro.

How about the Saito fight from episode 30 of Rurouni Kenshin, or any of the Spike vs. Vicious fights from Cowboy Bebop?

Animes don't count (I just came up with that (because you're opening a whole new can of worms, there)).

[Renrik]

Robin Hood vs. the Sherrif (Robin Hood: Men in Tights)

The Creature at the Cave vs. The Knights (Monty Python and the Holy Grail)

There wereactually a few goods ones in 'Five Brothers' and in 'Boondocks Saints', though I'm ashamed to admit to having watched either.

First fight against the zombies in Shawn of the Dead

Luke on Jabba's Sand Skiff, Return of the Jedi

Luke vs. Rancor, Return of the Jedi

[Irenaeus]

Both my favorite fights were mentioned on the first page. Cunningham vs McGregor in Rob Roy, and the fight against the japanese sensei in Fist of Legend.

If guns are included, then the heist firefight in Heat and the last fire fight in The Way of the Gun.

[Devon]

For those of you into Hong Kong "Heroic Bloodshed" - check out the ending of "A Better Tomorrow II". Highlights include:

The visceral way Ti Lung deals with many mooks armed with guns using only his katana.

Chow Yun Fat scaring himself with the High Ex grenades he throws.

Chow Yun Fat's Iai-Jutsu style duel with the enemy hitman using 45's - at point blank range.

In fact all of the better tomorrow movies are cool - not very pretty, but very very messy.

Devon

[comicshorse]

I must admit I thought the first 'A Better Tommorrow' was pretty weak aprt from the wonderful scene where Chow Yun Fat dances down a hotel hallway planting guns in the potted plants. Then kicks in the banquet room, assassinates the rival boss and then retreats down the hallway using the guns he planted earlier. Classic

[Arioch]

V for Vendetta: "No, what you have are bullets, and the hope that when your guns are empty, I'm no longer standing, because if I am... you'll all be dead before you've reloaded."

Also, anything in Avatar involving Toph, especially that one where she takes out an entire team of professional wrestlers earthbenders. Because Toph is awesome.

[Indon]

The entirety of the movie Shoot 'em Up, more or less.


If we're talking books, nothing beats Bleys and Corwin fighting up the stairway to Amber.

That is pretty awesome. But, so long as we aren't limited to just physical-based fight scenes, I nominate another scene from a Zelazny book: The last duel Pol Detson fights in Madwand is the best magician's duel I've ever read (to include those novels in the Dragon and the George series that I've seen, and they're pretty good).

The fight between Pol and that science guy at the end of Changeling is pretty awesome, too, come to think of it.

[Gaelbert]

The Forbidden Kingdom - Jackie Chan vs. Jet Li(Amazing)

Agreed.

At the end of V for Vendetta, when V takes on all those men with the submachine guns. Incredible. Some great lines too, but I can't remember them perfectly right now.

[rankrath]

Hector vs. Achilles in Troy, even though you know the outcome, it's still a damn good bit of choreography.

Agent Smith vs. Neo in the first Matrix, and the battle of Zion in Revolution.

the attack on the first Death Star

The opening of Saving Private Ryan, probably the only movie where the first scene is the best.

The last battle in Children of Men.

[Tengu]

Cool (and synchronised with the action!) music, robots, and innuendo that'd give Freud a field day! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmiFmW546Uc)

FLCL is made of win.

Also, TTGL (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s65n0PmvIm4&NR=1). The real man's kids' show. My eyes got a bit moist just watching this short movie.

[AslanCross]

Also, TTGL (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s65n0PmvIm4&NR=1). The real man's kids' show. My eyes got a bit moist just watching this short movie.

Amen.

Dias vs Darkness from Shadow Skill. The anime wasn't really impressive in general, but this particular battle---even without being overly flashy---shows just how badass Dias is. He defeats an elemental force of darkness, who admits that he would've been killed had he been human.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=y9QETL5LlP4&feature=related

Plus, Dias dies standing up.

[GrassyGnoll]

Bah; Kung Fu Hustle, Rikki-Oh, Leon, FLCL, and Cowboy Bebop (special props to the movie too) have already been mentioned. I loved the battle scenes from 300, LotR, and whatnot, but those are battle scenes.

Well put on your damn glasses (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqKFadyJxwg) and check out the last fight in Trigun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBQV2SX47AA&feature=related).

This really makes me realize how I lean on western nerd culture for humor and eastern for action.

[Verruckt]

I'm not really sure about the similarities in "The Lobby" scene and the end of GitS. One is an excellent gunfight, the other a brilliant monologue on the nature of technological post-humanism that just happens to involve a tank.

I digress, my nominee is an offering from SAC, due to the tantalizing "near future" sort of realism it has; as well as a reaffirmation of an old adage "You Do Not, under any circumstances, **** with Motoko Kusanagi."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq8-Z5kOpDc

[potatocubed]

Oh man, so many to choose from...

The scene with the musicians from Kung Fu Hustle.
The scene with no guns from the end of Shoot 'Em Up.
Donnie Yen vs. four evil monks in Iron Monkey.

I could probably go on, but I think I'll leave it with just those three.

[Jolly Steve]

Firefly - River Tan vs everyone.

[Project_Mayhem]

Tonight We Dine In Hell!!

[Tengu]

In heck. Heck. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNqiSkd1M6k)

[Project_Mayhem]

In heck. Heck.

Excellent.

Brush. Your. Teeth!

[Cespenar]

In heck. Heck. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNqiSkd1M6k)

Heh, nice.


-To clarify my earlier accusation (it was not really an accusation, but anyway), I've just watched Ghost in the Shell and couldn't find any similarities between their fight sequences. Couple pillars shattering under heavy firepower aren't enough to be a ripoff.

[Dunesen]

-To clarify my earlier accusation (it was not really an accusation, but anyway), I've just watched Ghost in the Shell and couldn't find any similarities between their fight sequences. Couple pillars shattering under heavy firepower aren't enough to be a ripoff.

Gotta agree there. A person taking cover and said cover getting shot up hardly started with GitS. The fact that both GitS and the Matrix are cyberpunk, highly stylized, and have a somewhat definite connection (the Matrix was influenced by anime in general, and GitS is a strong contender as one of the major influences) would lead to similarities that aren't necessarily meant to be a direct homage.

[RobotPerfomance]

Well my favorit anime sword fight is the episode 30 fight between kenshin and Saito just great.

The last fight scene in The Last of the Mohicans
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y9rRKaD_lqM

The final sword fight in Rob Roy is also made of win.

[Shifty]

And, having thought of another, I also submit the extremely short-range gunfight from the end of Equilibrium. Possibly the most interesting and high-speed take on pistol duelling I've yet seen, although I'm sure somebody will give (or already has given) a superior Hong Kong Blood Opera example.

[Swordguy]

Out of curiosity, why on earth do so many of you like animated fight scenes? I mean, there's no challenge there - it's whatever the fat guy behind the pen can draw.

With live action fight scenes, at the end of the day, even with CGI backgrounds and digital gunfire effects and wirework, there's still a couple of real guys actually going back and forth with a choreographed bit of fighting. THAT'S, for me at least, a huge attraction. Somebody actually went out and DID it - that's part of what makes it so awesome.

With animation or CGI, its no different than drawing stick figures in a flip book - its a high-quality flip book, and the stick figures have clothes drawn on...but in the end they're essentially the same thing.

It's like a few years ago, when the animated Sinbad the Sailor movie was reviewed by Gene Chalet, who praised the movie, saying "the stunts were fantastic". WTF?! It's a cartoon, there ARE no stunts!

[Tengu]

For the same reason people also write about book fights here. Because it might not be life-action, but it's freakin' cool.

[SilentNight]

It's probably been mentioned but I say Inigo Montoya vs. Wesely from "The Princess Bride". So freakin' awesome. The dialogue kicks butt too.

[Gaelbert]

After seeing Wanted...
The scene where Wesley breaks into the Assassin's Fortress? Freaking amazing, every moment of it. I couldn't get enough of it. My favorite action scene.

[Semidi]

I thought of another one.

Just about the end of 28 Days Later when:

The British army guys go nuts and start getting in the raping mood, and take the protagonist out to shoot him. Then he proceeds to kick their asses with the help of the zombies. Such a fantastic part of the movie.

[H. Zee]

That is pretty awesome. But, so long as we aren't limited to just physical-based fight scenes, I nominate another scene from a Zelazny book: The last duel Pol Detson fights in Madwand is the best magician's duel I've ever read (to include those novels in the Dragon and the George series that I've seen, and they're pretty good).

The fight between Pol and that science guy at the end of Changeling is pretty awesome, too, come to think of it.

Oh, so we can do books as well? In that case, the Gregor Clegane vs the Red Viper fight from the third A Song of Ice and Fire book. Never has a fight played on my emotions that much before. I was a quivering wreck for the rest of the day.

[mikeloop86]

Favorite 1 on 1 duel: Final Fight in Legend of Drunken Master. Jackie Chan drinks kerosine, crawls backwards through hot coals, and still manages to form enough hot-blooded drunken rage to kick the ass of an asian ubermensch businessman.

Favorite Protagonist Vs Mooks Fight: (cannot believe it hasn't been mentioned yet) Blade 2: Right after he gets out of the vat of blood at the vampire lab. Wesley Snipes is strolling out of the vat all casual, guards are surrounding him, and Crystal Method's Name of the Game starts to play in the background. Freakin' A man!

[kamikasei]

Favorite Protagonist Vs Mooks Fight: (cannot believe it hasn't been mentioned yet) Blade 2: Right after he gets out of the vat of blood at the vampire lab. Wesley Snipes is strolling out of the vat all casual, guards are surrounding him, and Crystal Method's Name of the Game starts to play in the background. Freakin' A man!

Ah, I love that fight. More precisely I love how it ends.

[Ecalsneerg]

The 'Don't Stop Me Now' fight from Shaun of the Dead.

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