Because I rewatched Guy Ritchie‘s 2009 rendition of Sherlock Holmes over this weekend – it was just added to Netflix’s slate of available content, and given that it’s one of my most-watched guilty pleasure movies, I strongly recommend it – I’m going the way of the listicle this week to pursue a post idea I’ve had for a while before the summer movie grind keeps me from writing about it. As something of an action fan myself, especially during my younger years, I’ve seen many a hand-to-hand combat fight scene, with a select few of them indulging me to the point of repeatedly looking them up on YouTube. In no particular ranked order, here are some of my most-repeated favorites.
Sherlock Holmes – Bareknuckle Boxing: As already mentioned, a recent rewatch of this film formed the impetus for this post, and while there are a number of great brouhahas in Sherlock Holmes (released at the early height of RDJ’s comeback, circa the ancient-seeming Iron Man), the somewhat gratuitous but nonetheless impressive use of slo-mo for this particular scene is one of the things that gets it on the list. Holmes’ voiceover description of the mentality behind his moves, the prediction of adequate countermoves, and the prognosis of his victim’s continued physical efficacy became a trademark staple of a few scenes throughout Holmes as well as the follow-up Game of Shadows, which actually employed Gavin Free of the Slow-Mo Guys YouTube channel for its equally gratuitous use of slo-mo. This particular scene’s authenticity is also strongly aided by the fact that Robert Downey Jr. is himself a practitioner of Wing Chun, the martial arts style that he employs to dispatch McMurdo.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Highway Fight: When I was first thinking about immortalizing this list online, a ground rule I set for myself was “no comic book movies.” After recently rewatching this scene, which may be the single best on this list, I had to go back on that promise to myself. Featuring a few Oscar-nominated visual effects shots, some incredible knife work, and of course a boatload of Steve Rogers’ shield-based combat style, it’s a breathless five minutes in a film punctuated by a number of other noteworthy scenes showcasing Rogers’ superb hand-to-hand abilities (the elevator scene, which is also excellent in its own right, comes to mind). Winter Soldier is most likely my favorite MCU film to date – perhaps a ranking of all 22 of those films deserves a post of its own…
Jack Reacher – Bar Fight: Sure, at 5′ 7″, Tom Cruise doesn’t exactly fit the physical description of Reacher that exists in Lee Child‘s source novels, but he portrays the weariness of someone who has experienced – and presumably won – countless barfights in the past quite well. The mechanics of this scene are also matched by few others, if any, on this list in terms of their gritty realism, which fits the setting. Having read some of Childs’ Reacher novels, this scene certainly fails to capture the brevity of a typical boxing match featuring the former military policeman, who due to his stature always seems to completely cream a nameless henchman with one critically-placed punch, but that may just be because lengthier fights are much harder to write engagingly than they are to show. Either way, it does still end fairly quickly.
The Bourne Ultimatum – Book vs. Candlestick: One of the fights from the original Bourne trilogy in all its Paul Greengrass shaky-cam glory had to make it onto this list, and the fight between Desh and Bourne – which serves as the culmination of a phenomenally paced chase scene through Tangiers – is probably my number one. Not only is the use of household objects for lethal purposes – a hallmark of any good Bourne fight, if the devastatingly effective use of things like pens and magazines in the previous films are any indication – notable, but the end of this fight features a rather visceral strangling sequence. Solid 8/10.
Raiders of the Lost Ark – Plane Fight: A classic occurrence of the giant guy vs. average-size guy trope, this scene evokes quite a bit of nostalgia for me, and that may be the main reason it makes the list. The vintage shooting-the-swordsman scene, which has a fun backstory involving food poisoning that you’ve probably already heard, is probably more widely remembered for its charm, but I’m a bit more partial to the plane fight and its “always mind your surroundings” finish. On top of that, this scene showcases how the use of musical cues from the incomparable John Williams can add to a fight scene, and also how the introduction of a ticking clock to raise stakes (here, the exploding plane) can heighten the drama.
The Equalizer – McCall vs. The Russian Mob: This sequence, which features a brief and more subtle “calling your shots” mechanic that’s similar to what’s done in Sherlock Holmes, probably has the most gore of any scene listed here (I’m really referring to the corkscrew bit). As combatants go, Denzel Washington – who’s moving a little slow as of late – has a bit of a hard time selling this convincingly, but the fluidity of his motions do manage to suggest a man who at one point received special forces training. Outside of this scene, though, The Equalizer is a fairly average movie in every respect, and its sequel – which I started watching on a plane and failed to finish – is below that even that low mark in terms of quality.
The Rundown – Club Fight: I mean, who among us hasn’t frisbee-tossed a record player at someone while trying to obtain collateral for a gambling debt? This scene sets the tone for The Rundown – an absolutely ridiculous early-career Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson movie that serves as perhaps my guiltiest guilty pleasure – quite well, and the football player intro effects are just delightful. On top of that, there’s no better way to grant gravity to every single punch in a fight scene by making all of them capable of literally shattering concrete, given that they’re all being thrown by 250+ pound linebackers and The Rock.
Inception – Hallway Fight: In terms of inventiveness, Christopher Nolan has certainly done something special here, opting for practical effects and creating a full-scale rotating hallway for Joseph Gordon-Levitt – who did all of his own stuntwork for this sequence – to fight in. The actual fighting itself isn’t particularly impressive, but the fact that it’s happening on the ceiling, then on the wall, then on the floor, is to me. While Inception certainly has its share of confusing and inconsistent plot points, there’s no doubt that it has an appropriate amount of fun with the occasional absurdity of its premise.
Rush Hour 2 – Spa Fight: My younger self simply wouldn’t allow me to avoid putting one of the Rush Hour fights on this list, and the spa fight probably showcases the ability of Messrs. Chan and Tucker most effectively. Rife with good old-fashioned flipping kung-fu and a sprinkling of buddy-cop banter, the fact that the fighting is happening amongst a bunch of guys wearing towels and nothing else provides an opportunity for a penis joke that’s obviously capitalized upon. I also really love the coordinated secret handshake at the end.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout: Bathroom Fight: I mean, give it up for the guy who essentially beats the living crap out of Ethan Hunt and August Walker, who are trained IMF agents and CIA agents respectively, and whom also double as human jackhammers. Henry Cavill‘s cocking of his arm-guns made waves when it first appeared in the film’s trailer, and it’s every bit as good in the midst of the chaos that is this scene. Also, congrats to Tom Cruise, the only guy who manages to get onto this list twice.
Some honorable mentions as well: the “manners maketh man” scene from Kingsman: The Secret Service, the subway fight from The Matrix, and Batman vs. Bane from The Dark Knight Rises. Which of your favorite fisticuffs did I miss? Drop me a comment!
Tuesdays with Cory 