Bad Movie Fights vs Good Movie Fights
Vložit
- čas přidán 29. 06. 2024
- The Raid, Atomic Blonde, John Wick, The Matrix, Enter the Drago, IP Man all have some of the worst and the best fights ever committed to film!
But which ones really stand out?
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @marcusflemmings
Follow me on Instagram: / marcusflemmingss
My films: londonnewwave.com
Follow me on X: / marcusflemmings - Krátké a kreslené filmy
When I saw the kitchen fight scene from The Raid 2, I knew I would watch this to the end.
You should 100% check out the final fight scene in Donnie Yen's Flashpoint. Even better IMO.
YES! Always gets the blood pumping! Stick around!
I need to get on that!
Hey man, watch Ong Bak 2003@@MarcusFlemmings
All of the raid and raid 2 is some of the best action ever put to film. Period.
I like how chuck norris stopped sawing machine using his bare hand 😂
He's a LEGEND!
He wasn't acting. He actually did that
@@hank1556 ik the memes lmao
I mean, the guy plays hacky sack using a bowling ball
@@hank1556 nah, its fake, CGI'd, if it was really Chuck, the sawing machine would not have stopped, it would have blown up.
Almost every Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2 fight scene is perfection.
Not seen them :(
Wait, you make a video about movie fights and HAVENT seen Kung Fu Panda?? Credibility is now being questioned
@@MitchSchulte1776 😂😂
No LMAO
What do you mean almost?
A fight is a story within the story, it should either progress the plot, show character or hopefully do both. One of the best examples is the subway fight in the Matrix, it gives you so much information about each character and their motivations. Smith becomes increasingly frustrated and angry as he can simply beat Neo and has the pull out more and more tricks to get the upper hand and Neo shows his self belief and his resilience. Willing to stand and fight instead of running. And moves the plot forward of Neo becoming the “one”
Wow! Brilliant example! I was reluctant to use any scenes from the Matrix as its sci-fi/gravity defying - but it's a fantastic example of storytelling fighting.
@@MarcusFlemmings agreed the choreography hasn’t aged well, but it’s pure storytelling.
@@davidkhan1626 Storytelling is 10/10!
Well said.
Can I add another? Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Michelle Yeoh V Zhang ZiYi
@@GhilenPeek great choice, that’s one of the best fights ever.
Oldboy has one of the best action sequences in a hallway scene ever!
Yeah so good it's still emulated til this day! Was playing a videogame the other day that was pretty much that exact scene
@@mgiebus1869 Yeah, discovered that in Sifu.
YES! I play that game literally everyday! Sifu!!!
YES! Sifu is so underrated!
@@MarcusFlemmings yep sifu is a pretty good game. Hard but good
What Keanu did Right with John Wick, that he did he's Own Stunt!
Keanu is a legend!
Keanu Reeves makes a point of emphasizing that he doesn't do "stunts," and giving full credit to the professionals that get hit by cars in his place.
czcams.com/video/UYZy228sgBU/video.html
Charlize Theron "Stairwell sequence" in Atomic Blonde is often overlooked when people compare film fights.
Shares a strong DNA with John Wick, which of course is all inspired by Gareth Evan's work.
She could have had her own franchise similar to Keanu off the back of this film
I just love when you can see everything that’s happening. Nothing worse than a horrendous amount of jump cuts.
Raid 2 is the greatest fight scene ever filmed. It’s flawless. The angles, cuts, stunts, speed, and intensity is second to none.
I was gonna say that. One of the best in modern cinema? Wtf, it's the single best fight I have ever seen, and I have seen them all. The second best is probably somewhere in the same movie and/ or in Raid 1. The mission impossible one was pretty great as well as the first matrix. Some HK movies in the last 20 years by Donnie Yuen was pretty rad too (Ip Man, some other movies when he played cops or the ones with Jet Li in The Legend of China and others). I am missing some things but yeah The Raid 2 fight was the absolute peak
The Zoe Saldana scene.. the classic move of de-powering one character to empower another. I cant talk for the edits etc but none of his fight moves had any follow through, none of his physical actions had any strength. No hits sent in her direction, no hits received. Pure, unbelievable, overpowering
YES! Purely overpowered! Completely unrealistic!
Unclear fights have their purpose. In Batman Begins I believe it helps portray how quickly and unexpectedly Batman strikes. As if the camera sees the fight how the person being attacked experiences it.
I don't agree too much with this ...as evidenced by the way they improve the action and that type of action in the sequels :) Thanks for the comment!
Yeah, shaky cam makes fights chaotic. It shows how the person being in the fights perceive it. Just blurs of things coming their way as they scramble to get the right answers.
I prefer a proper wide shot with details but shaky cam can work and it kinda fits Jason Bourne etc.
Could not agree more. At this point in the film, we are seeing one of Batman's very first outings against criminals. He has been developing this entire persona and style based on his phobia of bats, and his experience with the league of shadows (essentially ninjas). The idea is 1000% to payoff that effort by portraying this fight from the criminals perspective, wherein they can't figure out what is happening to them, who is attacking them, or where he's coming from. They're shaking in their boots, and we FEEL that due to the direction and editing choices. If it was just "bad shaky cam filmmaking" then I ask why we get plenty of clear, steady shots of the villains, but none of the protagonist? Why do we see the protagonist almost not at all?
In The Dark Knight, we DO see Batman well lit and clearly visible much more often, both in action scenes and otherwise, but this serves the story and his relationship with the antagonist. The same tactics that worked on petty criminals and gangsters don't work with The Joker. This is made pretty explicit during the interrogation scene, where Joker laughs at Bats (under bright fluorescent lights, mind you) and informs him that all his strength and intimidation tactics are meaningless. Wouldn't make much sense to continue to portray those tactics for the rest of the movie. It also serves the theme of "escalation," wherein the presence of a masked vigilante is sort of normalized, inspiring copycats (as seen in the opening scene) and of course more extreme villains, like The Joker.
Hell, they even redesigned the suit at least partially because they knew they were going to be including a lot more clear visuals of batman in action, and needed more mobility and natural movement to support that.
@@danielshults5243 great post. Batman's weapons are fear and intimidation. He is perceived as more than just a man and like a monster of the night.
We all sawt his during his training where he was taught to be invisible (stealth).
He basically jumps out of nowhere and they have zero clue what is happening to them as they get demolished. It shows the fear and terror he inflicts. And later this is confirmed with Dr'. Crane's goons who immediately panic the moment the lights turn off.
The last Batman movie was way different as the Vampire Batman marches out of the darkness like an army, his boots stomping the floor. He is clearly visible, introduces himself and gives the clown gang all the time to look at him, identify him as a human in a suit, even organize themselves against him before he finally starts to fight them. I felt it did not fit the earlier introductions of vandals etc running in terror and looking at the dark as soon as they saw the Bat signal.
Batfleck also used more terror and fear to the point that people thought he was a urban Myth and criminals were terrified of him.
I feel Batman as this nightmarish creature works best.
@@danielshults5243 great post. In the movie he is taught to use fear and intimidation as his main weapons. They taught him to be invisbile (stealth).
We see this in his fight scenes where he hits them out of nowhere and they get bludgeoned without knowing what hit them.
He is appearing as more than just a man. A symbol, terror etc.
In the scene with Dr. Crane's goons we see how much his tactics work. The moment the lights go out the goons panic and lose their composure.
Similar with Batfleck. Most people think he is an Urban legend and criminals are terrified of him. One of the women from the human traffickers called him a demon and they did not dared to escape their cell as Batman was still out there.
The Batman with the vampire guy was a bit weird. Criminals were terrified once his bat signal hit the sky and were scared of the dark.
Yet when he confronts the clown gang he marches out of the shadows with pounding boots, making more sound than an army, he clearly introduces himself, gives them time to see he is clearly a human in a suit and not a monster, they are able to even talk to him, get over their initial suprise and even organize their attack against him before he finally starts fighting them.
It seems a stark contrast to Batfleck and Nolan Batman who appeared like monsters to criminals.
Wait...oh man you telling me the Raid 2 is already 10 years old?!
Crazy right?! Thanks for the comment! Stick around!
I mean, sure, Steven Segal could stand up whenever someone attacks him with a sword, but why bother if he wins either way...
Only a master can fight using the way of the chair.
A true master!
Steven is king!
Countless of body double
I don't think people talk enough about the fight sequences in "the night comes for us" starring joe taslim and iko uwais, the choreography is actually insane and keeps you on the edge of your seat
Meant to put that movie on my comment lol every fight is perfection 👌
The fights in the Captain America trilogy are still the best to me in the MCU
The raid movies, especially part 2 are phenomenal.
Also check gangs of london from Gareth Evans. The action is tight
I think that Bourne Identity scene is pretty bad to be honest, the constant cuts drive me nuts. Bravo for the Raid mention tho, best hands ever in a movie. The first one is amazing too
The first is better than the 2nd in my opinion :) big love for the comment!
@@MarcusFlemmings I think the first is more rewatchable, but I really prefer the ending of the 2nd. Love your content btw
@@Ez.bake_evan huge love!!
5:18 agree with this comment 100%. if the protagonist doesn't seem particularly in danger or worried about it, that's the surest pathway to viewer boredom.
Always!! Honestly, it's so silly that they make the protagonist so strong sometimes!
@@MarcusFlemmings i think part of the reason why The Raid succeeds is because Rama is reasonably afraid of the situation he's in. Sure, he's capable and skilled, but Gareth Evans directed it to show that Rama knows he's in a lot of danger and can't make a single critical error if he wants to get back home to his family.
really enjoying the video essays, keep up the good work!
I’m so glad you put Tony Jaa’s Protector fight scene in here!
My favorite fight scene of all time!
Subscribed!
My personal favorite fight scenes are "Oldboy" movie corridor fight scene for showing every bit of the fight and action with a single take and "The Killer" movie fight scene by David Fincher with his perfect camera movement and technically sound cinematography and camera shaking with every fist punch and heavy steps. Would love to know your opinion on theses scenes.
Yes, that was a great fight! (The Killer) - very clinical with some economical filmmaking by Fincher. Brutal af. Oldboy's fight is incredible and so much so that Daredevil copied it.
One of my personal favorite fight scenes is the 10 minute one take Atomic Blonde Apartment fight scene, where it's all in one take, showcasing not only how tiresome it is to fight hand to hand (or all fighting really) but how you need to fight dirty in order to win. Since as you mentioned in this video, the characters are fighting to the death trying to kill one another. So while it is cool to see honorable fights, in real life/at some point you'd be so exhausted, injured, angry, and or in a hurry (depending on the context) that you just stop caring about fighting fairly and just want to get it over with as soon as possible.
A awful fight scene to me was in Taken 3, specifically the store fight scene where there are cuts every 2 seconds. The whole fight is nothing but jump cuts and close ups in which you can't understand whats happening and can't see the action well. Honestly its throughout the whole movie, and it's also a terrible sequel.
Great spots! Atomic Blonde is a pretty average movie with great moments like the one you mentioned. And Taken 3 is so poorly edited from top to bottom. And the cheesy ending is laughable! Thanks for the comment! Stick around!
I love the Bourne movies, but "disorientating" is the perfect description of its fight scenes. I also heard that the making of those movies was a whole story in and of itself, to the point where the first one barely even got finished, and they had to redo the entire final bit a couple months after wrapping up the shoot.
Yes, the first one! Because the director Doug Liman is a bit strange...apparently! They replaced him. The other two films were directed by Paul Greengrass who is a great director. (In fairness, Liman has made some solid films too)
I love the hotel fight scene in Inception, such a creative use of the circumstances of the dream being used to create incredible shots. With the characters fighting the environment as well as eachother.
I loved Black Widow in Iron Man 2. Scarlett did an amazing job in that scene. For the longest time I had no idea she preformed all of it.
Great shout here! Stick around!
The bus fight in Nobody I think is the best fight scene I’ve ever seen in a movie. Also the gym fight in the season 2 of The Punisher is one of my favourites in a show.
Yes! NOBODY Is great!
Matrix Reloaded’s fight scene in the castle is top tier choreography and cinematography
Yeah, love that scene! Watching it again, it's a bit TOO choreographed, but is still way better than a lot of fights nowadays!
@@MarcusFlemmingsI think it fits within the matrix universe. It’s not really REAL
All of the Matrix fight/action scenes are top tier. Just rewatched all three of them, and the fights scene have a touch to them that don't make them feel overly choreographed and pre-vizzed (which, to me, is what makes every fight scene nowadays look exactly the same). While the fight scenes are obviously choreographed, there isn't a single movement in them that feels _telegraphed._ In all of these hyper-martial arts movies, with all the crazy choreographed fights, the choreography is almost too apparent, as if you can see where the performers are expecting the next move. Nothing takes me out of a sequence quicker than seeing a performer anticipating the next punch, throw, or kick because they've practiced that sequence over and over again. You don't see any of that in The Matrix films. The choreography comes off as intuitive, as if they trained each performer individually and then had them go at it with each other when the cameras rolled.
They do a great job at showing how fake it is. Because its in a simulation there is no limit to what they can do.
Yep.
Old Boy, original version of course.
Your spot on with these choices but I prefer the real fights over fast, brutal and tiring.
Films never realise that noses and cheeks collapse, eyes close and swell, enough with the perfect jaw spattered with jam.
In the Old Boy hallway everyone is knackered, broken and scared.
For me, the James Bond film; "You Only Live Twice", the fight scene with Sean Connery fighting the big dude. He picks up sofas like it was weightless, slamming into the opponent. For me as a young person, then was awesome! I like your list! Nothing but really well, chorographic fights. Thank you.
Big love for this!
The "big dude" was Dwayne Johnson's grandfather, Peter Maivia, himself a pro wrestler.
@@jonathancampbell5231 Cool!
The Raid 2 final fight is my all time favorite!
The Raid 2 is brilliant and the mud fight too!
I’d say that fight scene in Bourne Supremacy finished that way was because it was a way to censor it. Showing the antagonist’s face as it was getting choked violently and dying would’ve been too much for the movie to be rated PG-13 in the USA, hence would’ve made less money at the box office (especially at the time Hollywood executives wanted to be safe on that as much as possible)
Love the reasoning! Might be the case indeed! Still a very jarring edit :)
So I guess the first thing is to say why the Bourne Supremacy style of fighting became so popular for Hollywood directors. Though I'm not sure if it was the original intention, but it was a way for directors to make their films PG-13 and give the illusion of a fight (even if done badly). The worst example I can think of in this category is taken 3, which has a ridiculous amount of cuts for the fights, but i dont think you ever see anyone get directly punched in the face or stabbed. However yes, this style of filming is extremely jarring and hard to watch.
Also, in terms of great and interestingly shot fight scenes, I'd like to mention old boy, it's not a very smooth or skilled fight, but it's all in one shot looking at a corridor fight from a tracking side perspective. Also, the protagonist (if you can call him that) takes an absolute beating and every punch has to be earned.
I think it partly inspired the Netflix Daredevil fights, which became very popular because of its gritty fighting style, and he also took a fair beating in his first few fights.
The original matrix as well, became popular for two specific scenes, first is obviously the gunfight scene in the government building, but I'd argue the fight scene in the subway was quite revolutionary for the time it was made because of how clear and well choreographed it was.
Glad you mentioned IP man, and for Tony Ja I was going to say Ong Bak, but yeah the protector was a good choice.
There'll also always be a special place in my heart for Kung Fu hustle and it's exaggerated style of fighting, and the Non Diegetic music used for it is perfect, almost as much dancing as it is fighting.
Top comment!
Of course the Oldboy is the protagonist, he's just an anti-hero.
LOVE this comment! Oldboy is great, and Daredevil copied it but just changed the direction of it.
I enjoyed the Raid, Raid 2, and many other martial arts movies. But part of the problem, despite good camera work and direction, is that many times they still look like choreography or even dances. It also challenges disbelief because they often take on so many people or the fight goes on for so long. Oldboy gets a pass because they're in a narrow corridor and you see it taking a toll on everybody involved. It does make a little bit more sense if you have an excuse like super powers or you throw a flashbang into the room full of guys before you walked in there and took them on.
The worst movie fight ever put on film would have to be that red throne room scene in The Last Jedi.
Jet Li in Kiss of the Dragon when he walks into the police station at the end of the movie is absolute gold standard stuff!
Another one that springs to mind as mind blowingly brutal is the fight between Mellish and the ww2 bad guy in the apartment at the end of Saving Private Ryan
The Last Jedi looks fantastic on a first watch and then you slow it down and it's absolutely pathetic. It's deffo top 20 worst ever!
The Saving Private Ryan scene you mentioned is fantastic! Such an underrated scene. And so well acted.
Thanks for the comment!
Great call on "Saving Private Ryan." That was a nightmarish scene, perfect in its conception and execution
I recently watched Dune 2 (put it off after not being much of a fan of the first one) but the fight between Paul and Fayd I thought was done beautifully, especially with how there was just silence. Only the sounds of their blades and them as they dueled
Dale and Saul versus Red in Pineapple Express is one of the best fight scenes between people who can't fight
I love your videos. As a film aficionado, I'm learning so much about the techniques and the simple things that make a difference between a good scene/filmmaking and bad.
Nobody’s bus scene was fire
One dude in cinema back then actually said "FATALITY" when the raid 2 protag combo'd the dude with the kerambit😂
That scene from the the Bourne Supremacy, "she's standing right next to you", always gives me chills.
Great video dude.
+1sub
HUGE love my friend!
My favorite fight scene is from the Daredevil series, episode 2. It's commonly referred to as 'the hallway fight scene'.
Thank you for pointing this out. I really really really hate the Hollywood's shitty editing of 10 cuts a second to show how fast a scene is happening. I couldn't tell what's going on and lose interest
Big love for the comment!
What are the worst parts about the Bourne fight, is that you can't tell whenever it's a cut or when it's just the camera moving away from the thing it's supposed to be filming. If they just held the camera still and let the actors do their thing, it may not have been amazing, but at least you could have told what was going on.
My personal favourite fight scene is the one in Mad Max Fury Road.
Where Max was carrying warboy and fights with furiosa.
That was well done
One of my absolute favorites is the first coliseum fight in Gladiator. I'll need to rewatch the scene again with a more critical eye for the way they shot and edited it, yet I think the ultimate reason I was so thrilled by the scene was more for storytelling reasons. There are so many character motivations and conflicts involved in that one scene.
We have the motivations of the arena master who wants to see Promixo's gladiators get annihilated as a recreation of the Carthaginian battle in conflict with Proximo, we have the motivations of Maximus who is now finally settling into becoming a crowd-pleasing gladiator, of Juba and Hagen who are growing on us as characters and friends of Maximus (with Maximus saving Hagen's life in the scene), of Commodus who wants to win over the hearts of the Roman mob through gladiatorial games, of Lucius who has taken a liking to the Spaniard, of the crowd who initially boos for Proximo's gladiators, of Lucilla who is blissfully unaware that the Spaniard is Maximus, etc.
I often find spectated fight scenes some of the most exciting to watch in this way, as we not only get engaged with the character motivations and conflicts of the people directly fighting each other, but even the spectators as well who have their own deep interests for seeing one side succeed over the other. I often find them maximally dramatic and pivotal in this way.
Another example is the duel between Oberyn (Red Viper) and the Mountain in Game of Thrones; the stakes aren't just about the survival of one of these two characters, but also whether or not Tyrion will be found guilty or innocent, the motivation of characters watching like Tywin, Cersei, Jaime, Ellaria Sand, the vengeful reasons Oberyn has against the Mountain for killing his sister (Elia), etc. It's such a pivotal scene with all the conflicting character motivations involved.
Chuck holding chainsaw and staring the dude kindest way possible 😂😂
Legendary moment in film history!
This man managed to get all of my favorite fight scenes in one video. The raid, protector, ip man. This makes me happy.
Huge love :) stick around!
Should have included the fight from tennet where he fights himself. It’s genius that he wins both times. (Hard to word this but if you’ve seen the movie you know what I’m talking about)
Spot on regarding the Bourne films, which overall were outstanding entertainment because of the strong narrative and superior cast. But the fight scenes were difficult to watch because of the frenetic seizure-inducing jump cuts. In the clip you break down, you can see the actors moving in slow motion while the editing is used to suggest rapid movement. It doesn't work. Off the top of my head, I would have to say my favorite fight scene is the night fight between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Zhiyi in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" for all of the reasons you list. The editing and cinematography never interferes with the action and the choreography was beautifully balletic. The brief overhead shot of their contrasting fighting styles was unforgettable. If we did a deep dive into the Hong Kong and Japanese cinema we could come up with several dozen more examples pretty quickly. "Come Drink With Me," with its magnificent tea shop fight -- which Crouching Tiger pays homage too -- deserves recognition.
Love your reference here - I didn't include Crouching Tiger because it has weapons. But what an incredible film. Do stick around!
@@MarcusFlemmings Ah OK, I misunderstood. My mind goes right to that scene on any discussion about movie fights. Love your videos and the discussions they generate. I'm in for the long haul!
@@steele41 BIG love!
THANK YOU for bringining up snyders batman fight scene vs Nolans first batman fights
Great video, didn't want it to end!
Thanks for the comment! Big love! Do stick around!
a recent action sequence i really loved was in finchers "the killer", the house fight scene was really brutal and the sound effects were amazing.
Agreed! It's a great fight sequence in a film that's not Fincher's best. Thanks for the comment :) stick around!
Agree about the Bourne Supremacy fight. The fight in the Bourne Ultimatum was better. As for Nolan’s Batman; those films are more art films than superhero films, so the fighting is understated and less comic-booky. That was the point. In a lot of the Nolan Batman fights, he purposefully made Batman look more like a real dude in armour fighting. The suit has a lack of manoeuvrability and moves very awkwardly.
I quite like the fight scenes in Serenity.
It’s really interesting that you have these two amazingly trained fighters in one film, but they never fight each other.
Great analysis of the Raid 2 scene. That movie's plot blows but you're so right about the story in that fight. In fact, I would say there's even more narrative layered in there. The two characters barely know one another coming into it, but there's this growing exchange as the villain tests the hero and essentially comes to respect him. It's really well done!
Great scene! Thanks for the comment as well :) stick around!
Excellent video. This is the 2nd video I've watched from your channel (saw the car chases as well) Very professionally put together and narrated. Easily mainstream T.V quality. If only!!!
My friend, huge love for this!! Stick around!
I know it's maybe not the best, but i kinda like Colombiana. It's fun enough for me.
You might be the only person who says that, but love the boldness! Thanks for the comment!
There's nothing wrong with appreciating a film that most consider inferior.
The alley fight in They Live certainly deserves its place in great fight history!
There is a movie called Animal I saw recently and it has a hallway fight and while the choero isn't some Raid level divine necter its still good. But the sequence makes it up by narrative importance.
It is the first melee action scene in the movie and its brutal as heck.
But importantly it shows how much of a monster the protag is. Not just in power (he takes down 50 people at once, in that scene alone he kills about 300) but as a person.
He isn't killing out of necessity. He enjoys it. When he drops the axe and takes the fire extinguisher he stops having fun because its not brutal enough.
The movie is pretty clear he lacks a lot on the moral department but this is when we see that in the action.
The enemies are scared shitless but have to fight or run and die either way.
Shout out to Grosse Pointe Blank - the fight between John Cusack and Benny Urquides is one of the best fight scenes in a 'non-action' or 'non-martial arts' movie
Jett Li's final fight scene in Kiss of the Dragon, Jackie Chans final fight scene in Who Am I, and Wesley Snipes Blade 2 Last Fight Scene
Love these! i would say Blade 1's final fight scene is better though! Thanks for the comment - stick around :)
In my opinion, a good fight scene has to be both entertaining and tell a story at the same time. For example, Jackie Chan has perfected this formula for almost all his films. First, his opponents always are someone who knows how sell a fight whether its trained martial artists or his stunt team. Secondly, he always sets up the location so we have an idea of where the action is and see the props he'll use. Then he always starts at a disadvantage whether he's outnumbered, outclassed, handcuffed, or naked so the payoff is bigger when he eventually wins. Finally, he always shoots everything very clearly- the camera is still, both fighters are always in center, and he cuts to a close up setup of a significant hit so the impact is highlighted.
you should have included Vince Vaughn's fights in Brawl in Cell Block 99.
Oh yes! Wow! All of them are great!!!!
Craig Zahler is such a good director he actually made a good use of Mel Gibson's piece of shit aura. Now that's an Oscar worthy job.
@@volodymyrbilyk555 He is a brilliant director - so far, I've loved all his films!
@@MarcusFlemmings Bone Tomahawk is by far the best of Kurt Russell's informal Mustache Trilogy started with Tombstone and finished with Hateful Eight. For once Kurt dusted off his lived in badass acting style and delivered realistic rough and rugged character
@@volodymyrbilyk555 video on this time, coming in the next couple of days!
Tony jaa’s the protector has an awesome spiral ascending stairway restaurant fight sequence recorded in one take and over a four minutes long, still impresses me to this day
Great as always
BIG love!!!
also tony jaa in ong bak, jackie chan in who am i roof top fight, jackie chan in drunken master (both versions) . sami ramis spiderman vs green goblin, the end fight is pretty brutal you can feel the hits spiderman takes fro. the goblin. pirates of the carribean when jack and will first meet. that fight scene is so well done, doing multiple things at once. story doesnt come to a halt it progresses it along. and of course neo vs agent smith in the subway and morpheus vs agent smith in the bathroom .
great video and channel! :) I think a shout out to the Matrix 1 and 2 action scenes is in order :) The first is brilliant, the second raises the bar and although some of the cgi is a bit cartoony, from a fight perspective, I think Matrix Reloaded still holds up. the chateau scene is really fantastic.
The chateau scene is SO good! Great shout! Thanks for this and please do subscribe!
The greatest fight ever shown on camera is Jackie Chan vs Benny Urkides in Meals on Wheels.
The candle getting blown out was real. That's all that needs to be said.
i swear when i watched the thriller scene i got a really bad headache
pahahahaaha! Beautifully shot!
Glad you brought up the awful shakey camera of the Bourne sequels. That everyone at the time was singing the praises of.
I'm surprised more anime fight scenes haven't inspired or made its way to Hollywood by now.
When done right, since animation has no physical actors, the action has to be premeditated all the way. Spielberg mentions that animation directors, the best ones, are the best directors because they have to imagine the scenes all the way through and it makes them have a more complete vision because in the traditional animation forms, you couldn't waste paper, ink, or other resources "trying something out", you had to think about what you wanted and do it right (more or less) the first time and commit to the scene.
The Wachowskis said they wanted Akira (or maybe Ghost In The Shell) but in live action form when they did the first Matrix.
And I think had they kept going, it would have been a different new era for Hollywood in action. But Hollywood instead just copied the slow-motion, the 360 camera, and the green mono-chrome style rather than using the same inspirations that made the Wachowskis big directors in the first place.
The only thing to look out for is that Anime is a different medium; some things work great in animation, but look dumb in real life--as long as you know the limits, you can take great inspiration from such action scenes, but I don't know that many directors would understand that.
Plenty of youtube videos imitate the anime fight scenes into real ones, and it seems they don't understand what makes a good fight scene or what makes the difference in live action vs animation good--so their imitations in real life come out as half baked.
The Batman Begins sequence you showed intentionally cut everything to only give us small glimpses of Batman so his intro later could work
I think it's better to look at what makes a bad fight scene than a good one. There is no "one way" to do great action. But there are definitely ways to make them bad.
Like, rather than thinking "Clarity is good", thinking "lack of clarity is bad" is better. Because otherwise, you might fall into thinking your action has to be super statically shot, have long shots, have no obstructions, boring and minimal cuts, etc. It's too easy to become sterilized and scared to do something cool and unique because you are trying to catch the "good" when you should just focus on not making things actively "bad".
Great comment! Thanks for the comment - stick around :)
One of my all time favourite fights is in jet li's fearless, where he has the sword fight with master qin in the restaurant. Amazing brutal choreography.
I need to watch that film, it's been mentioned before! Thanks for the comment - stick around :)
@@MarcusFlemmings if you havent seen it then yes, you need to watch it. It's easily my favourite kung fu movie.
My favourite fight is the barroom fight from "Shane". The fight has been avoided for the first forty minutes of the film and there is so much riding on it that it takes on a gravitas that is so often lacking in modern movies. There is a real sense that Shane, played by the smaller Alan Ladd is going to get his ass handed to him by the larger, rougher Chris, played by Ben Johnson. If Shane loses, and you kind of expect he will, the homesteaders are pretty much done for. The entrance into the fight, two shots of whisky splashed onto Chris by Shane is followed by a slight pause where the audience and Chris are both wondering "did that just happen?". Then comes a nose shattering straight right from Shane that even though I've seen it a half dozen times still makes me stand up and cheer.
Love this comment 😍 true passion!
That's why the fights seemed better in Identity since you can see everything going on
9:15 “a damp squid”? 😂😂
The Legend of the Drunken Master has an incredible final fight
I’ve always had a soft spot for different fights in RAIDERS 1 & 3.
I personally love the shaky cam used in the Bourne films because they understood it. Practically everyone else who tried it just did it because it became a trend.
how whytf did you forget undisputed series. literal god of all action movies
Did you not consider that shaky cam can be used in fight scenes to convey the chaotic feeling of being in a fight? I don't know if Greengrass did this explicitly, but Nolan definitely did with Batman Begins. The first fight on the docks is shot that way because it's from the thugs' perspective. They don't know what's happening other than something is attacking them. That's not Nolan lacking experience, he's using the language of film and editing to convey an experience rather than just showing one. If you want an exceptional example of this, look at the nightvision fight from Kick-Ass where Vaughn intercuts shaky, quick edits from the mobsters' POV and smooth, deliberate first-person shots from Kit Girl's POV to contrast how each combatant experiences the fight.
I loved fight movies like The Raid or the Protector and am glad theyre considered as the good ones here. I recommend Ong Bak with Tony Jaa or Merantau with Iko Uwais, both are great
As an actor and stunt choreographer, I think the best directors of action scenes are either ones who hand everything over to second unit or directors who have trained in martial arts themselves.
SO TRUE!!! Hence the John Wick films are so good! (Or rather the action is)
Or directors who are fans of martial arts films.
Hey Marcus, any recommendations from someone who knows fight action scenes, where to look at to learn appealing fight choreography? I am looking for inspiration for my Taekwondo 2. DAN exam in March next year, where I have to show a self defence sequence against attacs with grabs, punches, kicks, sticks and knives.
Thanks, Phil
The reason I don't fault the Bourne fight scenes as much as I probably should is because it matches the character and story. We get a shaky cam view because that's how Jason sees it himself. His body moves on its own, he beats people despite the lack of conscious thought behind it. That being said, it would have been infinitely better if the fight editing improved as his memory did. Instead we got a decade of rather poor fight choreography in every mainstream movie.
If you do a part two one of my favorite fight scenes is in the movie Upgrade, I'd love to see you break it down. The apartment scene in particular may be my favorite fight scene in cinema.
I also thought there were a number of fight scenes in Tenet that were improvements compared to Nolans past work (the kitchen scene with the cheese grater or the wacky fight between the protagonist and himself come to mind). It might be interesting to cover those and see how Nolan has improved as a fight director.
For me, one of the best fighting/action scene I've ever seen is from Tsui Hark's Once upon a time in China, this brilliant fight in the barn at the end.
Jet Li's old movie Black Mask is also a good showcase of character through action. He's basically Batman in this movie and he literally doesnt feel pain, but he never feels overpowered - he actually wins fights with his lateral thinking and theres a lot of feeling out in his fights simply to read an opponent and break his patterns.
Not seen this one! I'll have to give it a try! Big love for the comment!
@@MarcusFlemmings it's Tsui Hatk production with Yuen Woo Ping doing action sequences. The plot is basically a riff on Universal Soldier but with more Roadhouse Kicks and the villain is Chinese Ozzy Osbourne.
@@volodymyrbilyk555 oooo might be one to view for me!
@@MarcusFlemmings there's also a sequel that goes off the deep end into full on camp mayhem
I think the greatest action hero is Jackie Chan. His movie Meals on Wheels fight between him and Benny the Jet Urquidez is in my opinion the greatest fight scene in movie history. Both actors were in their prime, both are excellent martial artists, it is shot extremely good, punches were real etc.
Love this comment! Not seen this scene - may have to check it out! Stick around and sub :)
@@MarcusFlemmings thanks! Already did ;)
I personally love the Morocco fight in Bourne Ultimatum.. that might be more to do with the roof run build up and smash entrance through the window.
Underrated fight scenes have to go to Aquaman 2 with the end fight with the black manta and Arthur or when Arthur and his brother Orm fight the Manta again in his secret base. Another underrated one has to be 2 from the original Mortal Kombat movie, either the Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion fight or Liu Kang vs. Reptile.
More than the kitchen scene, I love the 2v1 directly before that one. So much more raw and the pacing is just perfect. Not too long not too short or "clean" looking. Just my preference though.
If you had seen the behind-the-scenes of the fight of Bourne supremacy.
The choreography is incredibly great, but it’s completely been messed up by the editing room .
And many jump shots.
It’s kind of a shame that the majority of the choreography was removed .
A great example of this phenomenon is a Jackie Chan fight scene from 1985's "The Protector" (unrelated to Tony/Jaa Phanom's elephant movie).
There are two versions of the fight (both available on CZcams) -- one directed by James Glickenhaus, and a Hong Kong edit where Jackie "fixed" the scene ---
the difference is astonishing.
The choreographers for the Raid also did the choreography for Captain America Winter Soldier.
Really?!? That's epic, if so!
Don't think the Raid fight tilt was a mistake because if you watch it there are a couple of times it happens and it seems to be when a powerful high or low kick or a movement that throws the balance off so the angle is used to follow and show the whole thing. Like the kick to the head, it went up and to right the angle, but just before he dodges a low knife swing and there the tilt is to the bottom right following the leg and knife.
One of my favorite fight scenes is the hospital shootout in hard boiled
On the topic of standout fight sequences, i have seen all 3 seasons of netflix's Daredevil a couple times, and the long takes in each season were the standoits. While i havent seen The Protector yet, I feel that if you are gonna make a video about it then Daredevil MAY be in it too? They got enough similarites based off what you said about The Protector here. Also i've seen Extraction and the long take there was also nooooiice! Triple Threat was also a fun ride in the action department.
Agree completely. You need to advance the story (ie, the fight has to have meaning with "emotional" weight), good camerawork so we can see the fighters, and combined with key editing that further advance the story of the fight.
Huge love! Thanks! Stick around!
Watching the tenet fight scene in theaters for the first time blew my mind
Which one?
Did you say, "damp squid"? 😂😂
immediate validation of the video essay by putting up The Raid 2 as the first discussed example 😄
What an incredible bunch of fight sequences in that film!
@@MarcusFlemmings and an intense car chase to boot!
I dunno. Paul Greengrass's fight scenes are the perfect example to me of "If you're good enough you can break the rule and it'll work" in regards to shaky cam. Most of the time it's nauseating and awful, but I'm gonna have to respectfully disagree with you and posit that with Greengrass, he manages to pull it off. I think all the Bourne fights are excellent.
The Bourne fight scenes are NOT good. He improved it in the sequel but in this film it's very poor - especially that scene. Thanks for the comment :)