Fists flying, blood splattering, bones crunching—great movie fight scenes get your heart racing like nothing else. Far from mindless violence, these cinematic moments involve meticulous choreography, intentional camera work, careful editing, and, of course, scene partners who infuse the confrontation with emotional truth that moves the story forward.
Here, we take a look at 10 essential watches for actors looking to study the best fight scenes in movies. They run the gamut of style and genre, from classic kung fu clashes to the funny and the flirty.
Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris, “The Way of the Dragon” (1972)
Can you imagine a list of great movie fight scenes without Lee? Perish the thought. Lee’s only solo directorial effort features perhaps his most thrilling martial arts matchup. (No shade to Kareem Abdul-Jabar in “Game of Death.”) At the climax of “The Way of the Dragon,” hero Tang (Lee) and gang lackey Colt (Norris, in his film debut) battle it out in a stunning, 10-minute sequence set at Rome’s Colosseum. Observe the tight choreography; Norris was a student of Lee’s, so it’s no surprise that they move like two halves of a whole. Those kicks feel like a wordless conversation.
Robert De Niro vs. Johnny Barnes in “Raging Bull” (1980)
Blood sprays. Sweat pours. Smoke rises from beyond the ring. It’s difficult to imagine a boxing match taking better advantage of the cinematic medium than this moment from Martin Scorsese’s biopic. The final bout between De Niro’s Jake LaMotta and Barnes’ Sugar Ray Robinson is a grueling watch. It’s raw, brutal. Oscar winner De Niro behaves like a masochistic demon in the ring; Barnes’ battered face cycles through fury and disbelief at his stubborn opponent. It feels so real partially due to how unreal Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker make the scene look. The crowd’s roar drops out of the mix as if life outside the ring has stopped. The actors bob and sway in perfectly centered frames, shot in luminous black and white. De Niro’s delusional, slurred refusal to accept defeat ties it together: “You never got me down.”
Jackie Chan vs. Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, “Wheels on Meals” (1984)
Much like Lee, a film-fighting hall of fame must include Chan. The Hong Kong superstar developed a unique style of cinematic combat, blending martial arts with death-defying acrobatics and broad, Buster Keaton–inspired slapstick. In this action flick directed by costar and longtime collaborator Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Chan plays a vigilante food truck vendor named Thomas who meets his gravity-rejecting match in a thug played by Urquidez, an IRL karate and kickboxing champion. Kicks extinguish candles. Feints and flips abound. Both combatants use each other’s hair as fulcrums. It’s the platonic ideal of kinetic, in-character stunt work.
Nicolas Cage vs. John Goodman, “Raising Arizona” (1987)
Comedic fights work best when they’re both funny and ferocious, as is so often the case in Joel and Ethan Coen’s absurd crime stories. Exhibit A: this dust-up between baby-swiping robber H.I. McDunnough (Cage) and Gale Snoats (Goodman), his former criminal colleague, set in a mobile home. The Coens take advantage of these actors’ inherently ridiculous size difference. Burly Goodman crashes through the trailer like a wrecking ball, punching through walls and spinning a weedy, wild-eyed Cage around like an Olympic hammer throw athlete. Don’t sleep on Cage’s screwball comedy instincts, especially the howl of pain after scraping his knuckles on the ceiling. It’s cartoonish. It’s violent. It’s like watching live-action Looney Tunes.
Antonio Banderas vs. Catherine Zeta-Jones, “The Mask of Zorro” (1998)
Some of the most memorable tussles move a romantic plot forward—think hot-blooded, not cold. Banderas and Zeta-Jones demonstrate the fusion of flirting and fighting in director Martin Campbell’s take on the classic masked hero. As a bonus, their steamy encounter is also an impressive example of swordfighting choreography. As Banderas’ Zorro and Zeta-Jones’ Elena parry and thrust around a barn, they play every flick of their blades like a come-on.
13 Onscreen Duos That Define Desire, From the Kinky to the ChasteMichelle Yeoh vs. Zhang Ziyi, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000)
What do you do if you lose your weapon mid-fight? If you’re Yeoh, grab another. And another. In this wuxia masterpiece, Ang Lee directed martial arts scenes like dizzying aerial dance sequences. Here, master warrior Shu Lien (Yeoh) and upstart thief Jen (Zhang) spin and soar while throwing down over the purloined—and very sharp—Green Destiny sword. The actors execute moves with crisp precision, yet they still convey fierce emotion. Neither loses sight of the complex animosity swirling around the frenetic duel. The viewer can tell how much satisfaction Jen gets from slicing apart more-experienced Shu Lien’s parade of deadly instruments.
Choi Min-sik vs. a hallway full of goons, “Oldboy” (2003)
Onscreen melees are their own beast. Park Chan-wook’s revenge thriller made history in a hallway with this famous sequence. Vengeful Dae-su (Choi) enters a gauntlet of enemies with only exhaustion and a hammer on his side. But over a single take, he smashes skulls and tanks blows. The camera’s refusal to cut mirrors the character’s own lack of escape routes. Choi staggers, winces, and swings, but he never backs down. Watch to see how a character with nothing to lose puts up a fight.
Uma Thurman vs. the Crazy 88s, “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” (2003)
Where “Oldboy” went for grit, Quentin Tarantino made this climactic skirmish all about sweeping scale and a swingin’ soundtrack. Also blood. Lotta blood. The “Kill Bill” films overflow with cool fights, including the final duel in the snow between the Bride (Thurman) and yakuza queenpin O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu). For pure spectacle and visual interest, though, it’s hard to beat the yellow-tracksuited assassin’s one-against-88 fracas with O-Ren’s sharp-dressed personal army. The steel in Thurman’s eyes might be harder than her blade. Much of the slicing and dicing comes courtesy of her stunt performer Zoë Bell, who delivers a hyperkinetic bloodbath. The cherry on top? The Bride’s balletic balustrade showdown with Crazy 88s leader Johnny Mo (Gordon Liu).
Danai Gurira vs. casino criminals, “Black Panther” (2018)
Big brawls in superhero movies often rely on CGI light shows and wire-assisted flights. Perhaps that’s what makes the comparatively grounded Busan casino fight in Ryan Coogler’s first “Black Panther” installment so satisfying. Wakandan badasses T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) get their licks in against arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) and his gunmen, sure. But it’s Dora Milaje general Okoye, played with dry wit and a vibranium spine by Gurira, who steals the scene with stunning spear combat. Plus, see cinema’s most cathartic use of a wig as a weapon. If this were a list of great car chases, we’d also include her following feat: surfing on a moving vehicle.
Tom Cruise and Henry Cavill vs. Liang Yang, “Mission: Impossible—Fallout” (2018)
In spy movies, henchmen need to be credibly dangerous, but not more impressive than a hero who thrives on cool. Tom Cruise’s secret agent Ethan Hunt always seems unstoppable—even surrounded by harshly lit urinals. “Mission: Impossible” fans revere the sixth installment’s bathroom fight. Cruise and his iconic grimace put on an exemplary show against a terrorist’s deadly decoy (Yang), especially when trading punches in the tight quarters of a toilet stall. But Cavill, playing urbane CIA operative August Walker, is the scene’s secret sauce. As his character gets back into the proverbial ring after a knockout, the brawny, mustachioed Cavill makes a physical acting choice best described as “reloading his fists.” See? Cool.