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submitted 3 months ago by Moss@hexbear.net to c/movies@hexbear.net

I'm posting in c/movies but including tv shows, anime, comics, manga, etc.

Personally I think the final war rig sequence in Mad Max: Fury Road is the most impressive live-action fight I've ever seen. The practical effects and choreographing are incredible and the fight keeps moving along by having the stakes raised and characters dying, it doesn't meander.

In animation it's harder to say. Attack on Titan had a lot of really well animated action (it used be so good, goddammit). The battle in Shiganshina in season 3 is the best, the narrative weight is so strong, the characters all have really good moments, the stakes are really high and the production is incredible, animation, soundtrack, sound design, voice acting etc.

Mob Psycho has the most consistently incredible animation of anything I've ever seen, I think the group fight against the teleporting psychic in season 2 is my personal favourite, even if it's not the flashiest, it's really well directed and just such a cool fight, even though it's not that long.

The ChainsawMan manga has a lot of good fights, the Falling Devil arc is like my favourite arc of anything ever, but that's mainly because of the characters. The art is stunning, Fujimoto at his absolute peak, but the action is pretty straightforward. I mainly love it because it's Asa at her best as a character, and Asa is my favourite character of anything ever.

Wow it was way easier for me to choose a live action sequence than animated. Honestly there's so much lazy action in superhero slop that Mad Max stands out so, so much.

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[-] Frank@hexbear.net 24 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Without reviewing hundreds of movies the Subway Fight in The Matrix is my choice.

Alternately, the fight in Seven Samurai where the sword master is introduced.

Animated? The fight between Motoko and the puppet terrorist stands out, as it emphasizes a lot of the themes of the story; Invisible, super strong, and super-capable, Motoko completely and effortlessly defeats the puppet terrorist despite his installed martial arts abilities. He simply cannot meaningfully fight her, and when the fight is over she looks on with something like alien pity.

Oh that fight when Algren groks his sword training in The Last Samurai and defeats like four guys in the dark is really cool.

Oh, the fight in Pirates of the Carribean where Jack manipulate's Legolas' academic but inexperienced fencing to get to the other side of the room in an attempt to leave without hurting him. it says so much about who the characters really are. You get an early hint that Jack is much smarter, more capable, and more aware than his goofy persona suggests, and also of his weird humanism; He's no one's enemy, he just wants to go his own way. Plus that line "People arent' cargo, mate" is a great encapsulation of humanist philosophy, and you can extend it to anti-capitalism if you want.

[-] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 15 points 3 months ago

the Subway Fight in The Matrix is my choice.

Was going to mention the lobby shootout from Matrix 1 but I felt Jackie Chan and his stunts are still superior since it's all him.

[-] Frank@hexbear.net 13 points 3 months ago

Word. I don't think the Matrix would have happened without Jackie and other Hong Kong movie martial arts pioneers.

[-] Storm@hexbear.net 17 points 3 months ago

When I defeated Toad at the Statue of Liberty.

[-] HarryLime@hexbear.net 17 points 3 months ago

The hospital shootout in Hard Boiled fucking rules. There are probably a bunch of John Woo scenes I could mention though, like the shootout at the beginning of The Killer that sets the whole story into motion, which has incredible choreography and emotional impact.

@SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net already mentioned Police Story, so I'll just second it.

Kind of primitive by today's standards, but the duel that introduces Kyuzo in Seven Samurai is cool as hell (for some reason I can't find it unedited on youtube, so just watch the movie).

Car Chase scene in The French Connection- William Friedkin was firing on all cylinders.

Not really a single scene, but I love John McTiernan's very slick and interesting way of directing action in the 80s, with Die Hard and Predator. His action scenes are tense and almost like horror scenes, particularly in Predator.

There are lots of James Cameron action scenes I could list, so I'll just say the police station shootout in Terminator, and Ripley fighting the Alien Queen.

I'm also personally fond of the final sword fight in Rob Roy.

In animation, I think I've got to mention the fight between Aang and Katara versus Azula and Zuko in ATLA, for the animation quality, creative choreography, and story impact. As a kid I loved how it ended the second season on this massive defeat and tragedy, which reminded me of Empire Strikes Back. I could mention a ton of scenes across all of Avatar but that's my favorite.

Church shootout in Cowboy Bebop

[-] Wertheimer@hexbear.net 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Kind of primitive by today's standards, but the duel that introduces Kyuzo in Seven Samurai is cool as hell (for some reason I can't find it unedited on youtube, so just watch the movie).

Book recommendation - The Last Samurai, by Helen DeWitt (which is actually connected to this movie, and is obsessed with this scene, and has nothing to do with the Tom Cruise movie that came out later)

For my favorite samurai action scene (other than this one) I'll vote for the end of The Sword of Doom, or the hilltop duel in Harakiri.

[-] GrouchyGrouse@hexbear.net 6 points 3 months ago

The Rob Roy fight is a great one. Tim Roth is such a fucking asshole in that movie and the way his character arc ends is extremely satisfying.

[-] HarryLime@hexbear.net 6 points 3 months ago

Yeah, he's a complex but deeply hateable villain. Great character, great performance, underrated movie.

[-] GrouchyGrouse@hexbear.net 5 points 3 months ago

He definitely stole scenery. Great pick btw.

[-] Frank@hexbear.net 4 points 3 months ago

I saw hard boiled for the first time this year and hooooooooly shit.

[-] NephewAlphaBravo@hexbear.net 15 points 3 months ago

well I came in here to say "basically all of Fury Road" so looks like my work is done

[-] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 12 points 3 months ago
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[-] Poogona@hexbear.net 11 points 3 months ago

The rainy courtyard scene from Hero is a favorite of mine, tied with the very famous dojo scene from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Much sillier and artsy fartsy compared to a lot of the stuff in this thread so far but I can't help but love how perfectly constructed they are.

[-] TraschcanOfIdeology@hexbear.net 6 points 3 months ago

Crouching tiger hidden dragon really elevated the choreography part of "fight choreography". It's just like watching a beautiful and dangerous dance. I don't think they're any sillier than say, watching ballet or some kind of theater performance. You're not there for realism per se, but for artistry.

[-] Frank@hexbear.net 5 points 3 months ago

I love it so much. I think you can't ever really convey what a fight is like in a movie by trying for realism and 1:1 representation. You'll never get there. So when crouching tiger uses their fight choreo to tell us about the characters, who they are, what they believe, what they value, it's making very good and proper use of fighting in the visual art form of movies. Each fight has a purpose beyond tittilating violence.

[-] Frank@hexbear.net 5 points 3 months ago

Oh hero has so many good scenes! Have you ever come across Chinese discussion of the film? I read it as a message calling for national unity and emphasizing the importance of finding a cause beyond your own individual desires and I'd love to know how it's viewed in china.

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[-] AmericaDeserved711@hexbear.net 11 points 3 months ago

RRR Tiger fight

[-] PaulSmackage@hexbear.net 11 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

The hallway fight scene in Old Boy is my kneejerk reaction, but the hospital fight in Hard Boiled and the stairwell fight in The Raid is pretty good. Assault on Precinct 13 as a whole is pretty close to one long action sequence.

[-] Frank@hexbear.net 4 points 3 months ago

The lead up to the hospital fight is so brutally tense. It just keeps escalating and escalating.

[-] buckykat@hexbear.net 10 points 3 months ago

Ichigo vs Byakuya on the cliff over Soul Society from Bleach is my formative hype anime fight.

For live action, it's gotta be the opening of Ninja 3: The Domination, where a ninja kills like two dozen cops in a row.

[-] Red_sun_in_the_sky@hexbear.net 6 points 3 months ago

I love bleach. And yeah that arc rules.

[-] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 6 points 3 months ago

For live action, it's gotta be the opening of Ninja 3: The Domination, where a ninja kills like two dozen cops in a row.

Took all that gunfire like a champ then hid with a smoke bomb. RIP piggies.

[-] buckykat@hexbear.net 7 points 3 months ago

It's a major point of the movie's fiction that only a ninja can truly kill a ninja

[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 7 points 3 months ago

That's like saying it's a major point of the movie's fiction that there's a force of mutual attraction between objects with mass. Gravity exists irl and it's true outside of the movie thst only a ninja can truly kill a ninja, that's basic science, not some plot contrivance.

[-] Frank@hexbear.net 6 points 3 months ago

Because it's impossible to know where a ninja is and where he is going at the same time ninja/ninja violence is often used in particle physics research, such as at the dark smoke dragon infinity collider in Beverly Hills, California

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[-] Red_sun_in_the_sky@hexbear.net 10 points 3 months ago

I guess heat. I rewatched it recently and both heists are incredible.

The shootout in true detective season one with clan in da front playing in the background.

As for anime ones, luffy throwing crocodile into the sky while Dvorak's new world plays.

[-] TraschcanOfIdeology@hexbear.net 5 points 3 months ago

I watched heat for the first time a few years ago, and there was something about the heists that made them weird. Not bad, they just felt very different, like something didn't fit. Then I realized that the takes were so much longer than they would've been with most action movies nowadays. Heat as a whole has some really long shots, but even the more action-y bits are paced really slowly, compared to now. It makes the movie breathe better, and build up tension before releasing satisfactorily

[-] Red_sun_in_the_sky@hexbear.net 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Nah that's what made them good though, as it goes on it made skin crawl. And also the guns sound real good. Heat feels great to watch.

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[-] Frank@hexbear.net 4 points 3 months ago

Heat is often used as a showcase for how you're supposed to use an ar in urban combat. Val Kilmer did not need to go that hard and yet he did.

[-] Red_sun_in_the_sky@hexbear.net 4 points 3 months ago

Val kilmer is so hot in that movie.

[-] Vingst@hexbear.net 10 points 3 months ago

flcl has great action animation

[-] PointAndClique@hexbear.net 10 points 3 months ago

The Katara/Zuko/Azula showdown is pretty bloody good

[-] gay_king_prince_charles@hexbear.net 10 points 3 months ago

#1 is two scenes, but blues brothers car chase into huphuphup

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2quc-iQ96R0

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8VFIPCpocLk

#2 is the toilet fight in breaking bad because it's funny

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[-] HiImThomasPynchon@hexbear.net 10 points 3 months ago

Roddy Piper and Keith David fighting in an alleyway for like 15 minutes straight in They Live

[-] HiImThomasPynchon@hexbear.net 5 points 3 months ago

Wait no I change my answer to literally any action sequence from Big Trouble in Little China

[-] delirious_owl@discuss.online 4 points 3 months ago
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[-] Frank@hexbear.net 4 points 3 months ago

Oh yeah that is an amazing fight.

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[-] delirious_owl@discuss.online 9 points 3 months ago

Old boy. Fight in the elevator/hallway

[-] Pastaguini@hexbear.net 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Fight scene at the beginning of watchmen

Battle of the bastards in game of thrones

[-] Vingst@hexbear.net 9 points 3 months ago

The Matrix, which is heavily anime inspired. I guess my favorite sequence is the subway station fight.

[-] Findom_DeLuise@hexbear.net 8 points 3 months ago

Kill Bill: Volume 1, The Bride vs. The Crazy 88.

[-] GrouchyGrouse@hexbear.net 8 points 3 months ago

It's hard to pick just one as a favorite so I'll mention a few that haven't been mentioned.

Strange Days, specifically the scene where you find out what happened to Jericho One.

The opening heist/chase from Drive is a great example of music setting the tempo and the tension.

The big apartment/stairwell fight from Atomic Blonde which is fantastic because they actually show the combatants getting exhausted as the fight drags on. Fantastic change of pace from the usual frenetic stuff. You're on the edge of your seat screaming "GET UP!" at the screen.

The colony attack from Aliens when the power gets cut and the emergency lights kick on with that eerie red glow as the motion trackers count down until all hell breaks loose.

The opening battle from the Macross movie Do You Remember Love with the low gravity flight physics and the fantastic music I can only describe as "Battle Jazz"

Honorable mention to tank chase from Goldeneye because it's got a fucking tank in it. tankie

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[-] TillieNeuen@hexbear.net 7 points 3 months ago

I don't watch a lot of action movies, but there was a period when it seemed like my friends always had Michael Bay movies on. Dog shit action sequences, pure trash. I kept falling asleep, which is not the ideal reaction to an action movie. Then I saw the first Jason Bourne movie, and I was like, "oh, an action sequence actually has drama if you can tell who is hitting who and you know if you should be going, 'get his ass!' or sucking your teeth." So idk, that movie probably doesn't have the best fight scenes ever, but they're memorable to me by contrast.

[-] Beetle_O_Rourke@hexbear.net 7 points 3 months ago

Wick vs Ares CQC in the hall of mirrors at the end of John Wick 2

[-] booty@hexbear.net 7 points 3 months ago

Gogeta vs Broly in DBS: Broly is great just for the pure spectacle of the animation and the soundtrack and all. Complete slop, great action.

Kill La Kill has one of the best opening scenes I've ever seen in an anime, with Gamagoori just busting down the door and setting the tone for the entire show. It's not nearly as technically impressive as something like Broly, but the role it plays for the pace and themes and everything of the story while still being incredible action makes it a standout example for me.

[-] pumpchilienthusiast@hexbear.net 7 points 3 months ago

Seconding Blues Brothers, Hard Boiled, French Connection... You gotta give props to the Mission Impossible series, but I felt like the most recent one was just a little too broad. Ronin and Jack Reacher had great car chases, too.

[-] Frank@hexbear.net 7 points 3 months ago

The og car chase in Bullit is worth checking out. Very different from modern car chases and very suspensful.

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[-] SpiderFarmer@hexbear.net 6 points 3 months ago

Despite the rest of the movie being awful, the sled chase scene in Pathfinder. Also props to the scene on American Dad where Roger gets a faceful of cocaine.

[-] Frank@hexbear.net 5 points 3 months ago

For games, the final fight in Death Stranding was just exhausting, tiring, wretched in a way that real fights can be and much media fails to ever capture.

The final sequence in the first Stalker left me so drained after I finally made it to the other side it took me a day to really recover.

Blade and Sorcery's 1.0 boss fight is incredible for what it accomplishes. When I realized I was entirely upside down it hit me that this was something really new that only vr could do.

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this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2024
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