Posted by: spoonhammer
Your favorite fight scenes! - 05/02/06 10:22 PM
Hey folks, just lookin to kill some time and compare notes with other MA film fans...We all have our favorite movies, but what are your favorite fight scenes and why? Maybe a brief description, perhaps your own play-by-play!
I'll start off with a few from the top of me noggin...
Wong Fei-Hung vs. Prince Barac - Heroes Among Heroes, aka Fist of the Red Dragon
I hadn't seen the dude to plays Wong Fei-Hung in this flick prior, but holy crap! The fight near the end with that prince fella starts at insane and escalates from there! There's some wire work and the undercranking goes batty at one point, but the Kung Fu is golden, highlighted by a gnarly claw strike that was quiickly dodged and countered before both fighters go flying up to a scaffold in a non-stop barrage of attacks! This was a random rental, but as soon as I saw it, I rewound this scene (and the next one) repeatedly!
So Chan vs. Prince Barac - Heroes Among Heroes, aka Fist of the Red Dragon
Ah, Donnie Yen, my favorite screen fighter, even if he is a bit over hammy. This scene follows immediately after the Wong Fei-Hung fight, which makes the bad guy out to be a total bada$$ since he fought Wong Fei-Hung and held his own, then proceeded to hand Donnie Yen a plateful of his own butt, with trimmings. But never fear! So Chan suddenly remembers some advice that some drunk dude told him about being drunk and did I mention I was drunk when I watched this, so it made perfect sense at the time? Whatever, Donnie Yen busts out the phattest Drunken Boxing I've seen since Drunken Master 2. Color me silly, but I actually like this scene better than anything in DM2 just because its not preformed with that tongue in cheek, though very slick, style of Jackie Chan. Also, I want the hat Donnie was wearing in this scene....
Tony Jaa vs. TKD Gang Leader , Tom Yum Goong
At least I think it was TKD. After battling his way up several stories of spiral staircase (in one really long un-cut shot, wow) Mr. Jaa scopes some rich fatties eating endangered animals (cuz God knows if I win the lottery, I'm frying up some panda) and becomes enraged at the thought that his buddies, Bo-Bo and Khan might end up as someone's poop. Enter gang leader. Beatings abound in a surprising scene. By surprising, I mean its not exactly Tony Jaa kudgeling baddies like a Shins of Steel workout video, there's actually a fight! TKD dude actually displays some talent, with some showy flippin and gnarly kickin, even a counter or two!. Too bad he had no hand skills, cuz he might have lasted a few more minutes before getting domed like an extra in a Mel Gibson flick.
Van Damme vs. Crazy Dude w/ Sword, Wake of Death
Holy crap, a GOOD Van Damme movie! I love this scene cuz not only does the Hard Target actually act, he acts very well! Just sittin on the couch, minding his own business, mourning his dead wife then BAM! Dude with a sword comes flying through the living room window, tryin to cut Lionheart's head off! I don't even know how this scene ended, I was laughing so hard! Seriously, the word 'abrupt' should have a clip of that scene attached to it.
Jeff Speakman vs. Anybody, The Perfect Weapon
A man throws a fast roundhouse kick to your face, what do you do? I'll tell ya what Jeff did, he punched the dude's foot out of the air! Speed, much? Yah! Jeff Speakman immortalizes American Kempo Karate in practically every scene in this movie, thanks in part to his very real skill, but mostly to the credit of the late great Ed Parker who choreographed the fights in this film right before he died. A lot of people point out the gym fight scene as the big stand out, and rightly so, but I prefer the scene right after he finds his friend dead. Four punks surround Mr. Speakman with bad intent and ole' Jeffy proceeds to dismantle them with extreme efficiency. Four knockouts in 2 seconds? Not bad.
Tony Jaa vs. Everybody, Ong Bak
Knees, elbows, leg kicks, and elbows! Lots and lots of elbows! This flick does for Thai martial arts what Rocky did for boxing! With all sorts of domes actually getting tagged, guess who wins...Jaa, that's who...Ignoring some of the more flashy gymnastics stuff (though still very impressive) concentrate on the sheer brutality of getting shin kicked in the thigh about 12 times in a few seconds, while wearing a disco fro wig....Ouch.
Crap, I ran out of time! I'll be updating tomorrow with some Iron Monkey! To the dome, foo!
I'll start off with a few from the top of me noggin...
Wong Fei-Hung vs. Prince Barac - Heroes Among Heroes, aka Fist of the Red Dragon
I hadn't seen the dude to plays Wong Fei-Hung in this flick prior, but holy crap! The fight near the end with that prince fella starts at insane and escalates from there! There's some wire work and the undercranking goes batty at one point, but the Kung Fu is golden, highlighted by a gnarly claw strike that was quiickly dodged and countered before both fighters go flying up to a scaffold in a non-stop barrage of attacks! This was a random rental, but as soon as I saw it, I rewound this scene (and the next one) repeatedly!
So Chan vs. Prince Barac - Heroes Among Heroes, aka Fist of the Red Dragon
Ah, Donnie Yen, my favorite screen fighter, even if he is a bit over hammy. This scene follows immediately after the Wong Fei-Hung fight, which makes the bad guy out to be a total bada$$ since he fought Wong Fei-Hung and held his own, then proceeded to hand Donnie Yen a plateful of his own butt, with trimmings. But never fear! So Chan suddenly remembers some advice that some drunk dude told him about being drunk and did I mention I was drunk when I watched this, so it made perfect sense at the time? Whatever, Donnie Yen busts out the phattest Drunken Boxing I've seen since Drunken Master 2. Color me silly, but I actually like this scene better than anything in DM2 just because its not preformed with that tongue in cheek, though very slick, style of Jackie Chan. Also, I want the hat Donnie was wearing in this scene....
Tony Jaa vs. TKD Gang Leader , Tom Yum Goong
At least I think it was TKD. After battling his way up several stories of spiral staircase (in one really long un-cut shot, wow) Mr. Jaa scopes some rich fatties eating endangered animals (cuz God knows if I win the lottery, I'm frying up some panda) and becomes enraged at the thought that his buddies, Bo-Bo and Khan might end up as someone's poop. Enter gang leader. Beatings abound in a surprising scene. By surprising, I mean its not exactly Tony Jaa kudgeling baddies like a Shins of Steel workout video, there's actually a fight! TKD dude actually displays some talent, with some showy flippin and gnarly kickin, even a counter or two!. Too bad he had no hand skills, cuz he might have lasted a few more minutes before getting domed like an extra in a Mel Gibson flick.
Van Damme vs. Crazy Dude w/ Sword, Wake of Death
Holy crap, a GOOD Van Damme movie! I love this scene cuz not only does the Hard Target actually act, he acts very well! Just sittin on the couch, minding his own business, mourning his dead wife then BAM! Dude with a sword comes flying through the living room window, tryin to cut Lionheart's head off! I don't even know how this scene ended, I was laughing so hard! Seriously, the word 'abrupt' should have a clip of that scene attached to it.
Jeff Speakman vs. Anybody, The Perfect Weapon
A man throws a fast roundhouse kick to your face, what do you do? I'll tell ya what Jeff did, he punched the dude's foot out of the air! Speed, much? Yah! Jeff Speakman immortalizes American Kempo Karate in practically every scene in this movie, thanks in part to his very real skill, but mostly to the credit of the late great Ed Parker who choreographed the fights in this film right before he died. A lot of people point out the gym fight scene as the big stand out, and rightly so, but I prefer the scene right after he finds his friend dead. Four punks surround Mr. Speakman with bad intent and ole' Jeffy proceeds to dismantle them with extreme efficiency. Four knockouts in 2 seconds? Not bad.
Tony Jaa vs. Everybody, Ong Bak
Knees, elbows, leg kicks, and elbows! Lots and lots of elbows! This flick does for Thai martial arts what Rocky did for boxing! With all sorts of domes actually getting tagged, guess who wins...Jaa, that's who...Ignoring some of the more flashy gymnastics stuff (though still very impressive) concentrate on the sheer brutality of getting shin kicked in the thigh about 12 times in a few seconds, while wearing a disco fro wig....Ouch.
Crap, I ran out of time! I'll be updating tomorrow with some Iron Monkey! To the dome, foo!