The 10 best fight scenes of all time
The regular onslaught of hard-hitting action movies has left both general audiences and genre diehards alike desensitised to the idea of on-screen violence, which, as a result, has made it increasingly difficult for any hand-to-hand combat sequence to stand out from the pack.
In the age of CGI and franchise fare, the urgency and immediacy of frenetic scraps between enemies desperate to destroy each other at all cost has become harder and harder to come by in modern mainstream cinema, even if the likes of the Mission: Impossible and John Wick brands are flying the flag for old-fashioned feats of practical carnage.
History is littered with spectacular showdowns that leave a trail of bodies, broken bones, and bludgeoned characters in their wake, but it takes something truly special to be elevated above the extraordinary and into the pantheon of all-time greats.
Trying to determine ten such scraps that deserve to be called the best of the best is no easy feat, but there’s no denying that each of the brawls listed below packs more than enough of a punch to leave viewers wincing, whether they’ve seen it one or a hundred times.
The 10 greatest fight scenes:
10. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie, 2018)
So much more than just the meme of Henry Cavill reloading his arms, the bathroom fight in Mission: Impossible – Fallout encapsulates everything that’s seen the long-running spy saga go from strength to strength ever since Tom Cruise first debuted as Ethan Hunt back in Brian De Palma’s 1996 original.
Rooted in the franchise’s mythology by way of the setup revolving around one of those iconic masks failing to load, it seamlessly segues into the sort of bone-crunching practicality Tom Cruise thrives upon despite the massive budget theoretically making it all too easy to allow doubles and digital touch-ups to fill in the gaps. Instead, it’s stripped-down and brutal, with debris strewn everywhere as the wildly-swinging trio utilize different fighting styles to try and achieve their respective goals.
9. The Raid 2 (Gareth Evans, 2014)
The sequel may not be as lean, mean, and frenetic as its predecessor, but Gareth Evans‘ decision to pivot into epic crime thriller territory with The Raid 2 ensures the visceral impact of its climactic scrap between Iko Uwais’ Rama and Cecep Arif Rahman’s The Assassin comes right at the movie’s dramatic and narrative apex.
For close to ten minutes, the vastly skilled and lightning-fast duo battle to the point of both attrition and exhaustion, with neither managing to gain the upper hand. Propulsive and shot with the immediacy that became The Raid dulogy’s trademark, it’s breathless merely watching it happen.
8. They Live (John Carpenter, 1988)
As a veteran professional wrestler, Roddy Piper was no stranger to delivering staged combat that thrilled fans all over the world, with John Carpenter’s cult classic sci-fi turning something as trivial-sounding as one man’s desperation to make another wear sunglasses into an iconic and unforgettable fight.
With wrestling moves thrown in for good measure, Piper’s John Nada and Keith David’s grounded and gritty throwdown was only scripted to last for around 20 seconds, but Carpenter found himself so won over by the physicality of his stars that it ended up stretching out for over five pulverising minutes.
7. The Bourne Ultimatum (Paul Greengrass, 2004)
Matt Damon’s globetrotting adventures as Jason Bourne didn’t settle into what would soon become its signature stylistic groove until Paul Greengrass took over behind the camera for The Bourne Ultimatum sequel, but its preference for handheld closeup chaos would soon define the action genre for the rest of the decade.
Innovatively staged and immersive on account of Bourne’s preference for grabbing anything within reach to use as a weapon – in this instance, a pen – his mission to protect Julia Stiles’ Nicky Parsons from Joey Ansah’s Desh plunges the viewer into the thick of the action as the elite-level assassins fight in, on, around, and eventually across the rooftops of Tangiers.
6. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000)
As breathtakingly beautiful as it is immaculately executed, Michelle Yeoh’s Yu Shu Lien taking on Zhang Ziyi’s Jen Yu in the face of increasingly dangerous odds remains the standout fight scene from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, no mean feat considering how many jaw-dropping sequences it contains.
Utilising many different weapons in an attempt to try and survive the might of Yu’s Green Destiny blade, the rivals even find the time to exchange barbs and verbally scold each other before diving headlong into another round of sword-swinging majesty.
5. Ip Man (Wilson Yip, 2008)
On paper, a sole fighter casually strolling into a dojo to challenge no less than ten black belt martial artists would end in disaster, but Donnie Yen’s title hero isn’t in the mood for considering odds that sound nothing less than insurmountable.
Driven by revenge in the aftermath of Xing Yu’s Lin having been savagely beaten and killed, the fact Ip Man is always going to emerge on the winning side does nothing to dampen the way in which he dispatches his foes. The camera can barely keep up with Yen as he decimates a double-figure number of opponents, with the choreography more than compensating for the inevitable outcome.
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
Sometimes, the most simple fights can be the most memorable, and that’s certainly the case with Harrison Ford’s ingenious method of emerging victorious in his battle with a hulking mechanic. Not just one of the most iconic fights in cinema history, it’s also a masterclass in economical storytelling.
Indiana Jones isn’t a hardened fighter, leaving him with little option but to throw his best punches and hope for the best. Just when it seems as though his days are numbered, the archaeology professor gets that signature twinkle in his eye after lulling his foe into a false sense of security and watching them be turned into mush by way of an aeroplane propellor.
3. Police Story (Jackie Chan, 1985)
Jackie Chan has put himself through the wringer more than any other action hero after decades of doing his own stunts, so it’s only fair that he would end up directing, choreographing, and taking the brunt of the physical damage in Police Story’s seminal mall sequence.
Shattering a quite frankly ludicrous volume of glass, the highlight comes when Chan’s death-defying Chan Ka-Kui slides down a pole covered in lights before crashing to the ground below, an escapade that was as deranged as it was stunning. The actor suffered second-degree burns, a back injury, and a dislocated pelvis when all was said and done, but the stunt was quickly enshrined in history as a result of his efforts.
2. Kill Bill (Quentin Tarantino, 2003)
Quentin Tarantino’s two-part epic may have been powered entirely by Beatrix Kiddo’s unquenchable thirst for revenge, but it was her one-woman war against the Crazy 88 that made it abundantly clear there was no number of obstacles she wouldn’t cleave in two in order to get the job done.
Dealing in everything from precision-engineered swordplay to jet-black comedy and even a couple of slapstick moments along the way, Uma Thurman and her yellow jumpsuit were cemented as an iconic and formidable duo by the time she’d dispatched the last of her enemies, leaving nothing but geysers of blood and severed body parts in her wake.
1. Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003)
At first glance, it doesn’t look as though Choi Min-sik’s Oh Dae-su has a chance of escaping from captivity, seeing as all he’s got is a solitary hostage, one exit, and almost two dozen opponents in the way of his freedom. That is until he unleashes his unbridled fury.
Shot in 17 takes across three days with no hidden edits and only a solitary instance of CGI when Oh Dae-Su is stabbed in the back, the mesmerising fight is perhaps the most instantly recognisable and iconic moment in a classic revenge thriller that’s packed to bursting point with them.
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