The 8 most epic fight scenes from martial arts movies

Zack Barangan

epic movie lead The 8 most epic fight scenes from martial arts movies

A great fight scene is really hard to perfect. There has to be a balance of slick choreography, the raw emotion of the fight, and storytelling. On top of all that, directors have to amass the right actors and stuntmen that can pull everything off. But when a fight scene is done right, it can look like art, a ballet of violence. Here are some of the best fight scenes ever produced on film.

1 Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris – Way of the Dragon

Some may argue that Lee’s final fight in Enter the Dragon is more iconic. But for the martial arts purists, this is as good as it gets. Forget all the Chuck Norris jokes, the guy is a great martial artist and to see someone of that caliber go up against the legend Bruce Lee is a pleasure. The fight is fistic poetry. Bruce Lee’s brilliance and all around mastery of many styles coupled with the sheer force (and chest hair) of Chuck Norris makes the duel an appropriately epic showdown. Throw in a Roman Coliseum, and you’ve got yourself the greatest fight scene of all time.

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2 The Bride vs. The Crazy 88′s – Kill Bill Vol. 1

Quentin Tarantino has never been known as a fight scene director. But in the classic Kill Bill Vol. 1, he proves he can do pretty much shoot anything he wants and be successful at it. The balance of gore, comedy, and artistic vision drive this one to the top of many lists. Just look at the colors of the background while the Bride is slicing and dicing her way through the Crazy 88′s. The music manages to make the scene a lighthearted, even soulful, bloodbath. What started as a tribute to martial arts films became a seminal classic in it’s own right.

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3 Tony Jaa vs. Everyone – The Protector

Remember that shot in Goodfellas where Ray Liotta leads Lorraine Bracco through the back on the restaurant and the camera follows them the whole way not cutting once? This scene is kind of like that but instead of a romantic dinner, it’s a video game-style brawl. Muay Thai expert Tony Jaa absolutely demolishes a gang of guys while making his way up to the top floor of the villain’s lair. Never mind the fact that the sets look like a fake room in Ikea, seeing that little dude toss his foes over the staircases is awesomely badass.

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4 Jackie Chan vs. Hwang Jang Lee – Legend of Drunken Master

Some of the younguns out there may not know that Jackie Chan is a martial arts movie legend and not just the guy who will be playing Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid remake. In the 1978 classic Legend of Drunken Master, his trademark comedy action shtick was introduced to the world. The director Yuen-Woo Ping went on to choreograph the fight scenes in The Matrix, so you know it’s top quality stuff. In the final fight, Jackie and his nemesis go through many forms of kung fu trying to defeat one another. Add some boozing during the battle, and you’ve got yourself a wonderful time.

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5 Colin Chou vs. Donnie Yen – Flashpoint

For the casual audience, martial arts will always mean stand up fighting. Whether boxing, kung-fu, or karate, stand-up fighting is easy to get. But as anyone who’s ever actually been in a fight will tell you, a lot of the time it ends up on the ground. Mixed martial arts introduced the concept of ground fighting (Wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu) to audiences, but it’s complex subtle nature has prevented it from breaking into the movies until recently. In this scene, Donnie Yen and Colin Chou duke it out on the feet, but also take it down to the ground where triangle chokes, arm bars and the like are shown off. Their fight takes them everywhere, and it’s a joy to watch.

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6 Jean Claude Van Damme vs Bolo Yeung – Bloodsport

If you were a kid watching this for the first time you were most likely a huge fan of Jean Claude and terrified of Bolo Yeung. Those wide murderous eyes, the pounding of the chest, these are the things nightmares are made of. And in the final scene of the fight, our hero is forced to take down this monstrosity. Cheesy though it may be, if you didn’t enjoy the hell out of those split kicks, you might be a robot.

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7 Ziyi Zhang vs. Michelle Yeoh – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

If anyone says that girls can’t kick ass, they need to immediately watch this fight. The two female leads of this film are really out for one another’s blood in this scene. The choreographing is a take on the Wushu style, and the fight operates on a very high technical level. In simple man’s terms: what they’re doing is really freaking hard. The storytelling here is on point as well: Michelle Yeoh, the more skilled fighter keeps gaining the upper hand in battle, but Ziyi Zhang possess a special sword that helps her defend herself. It just doesn’t get much better.

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8 Jet Li vs. Japanese Dojo – Fist of Legend

A legend in the Hong Kong cinema way before he made his way to our shores, Jet Li has a plethora of sick fight scenes under his belt. But this one may just take the title of his best ever. The scene is a tribute to Bruce Lee’s The Chinese Connection so we have to give him some extra props for that. It takes big brass ones to walk into an enemy dojo alone, and Jet Li does it here without a second thought. And if that wasn’t badass enough, he takes out the entire school and their master without a second thought. Then he leaves, having sent his message. Simply as gangster as it gets.

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