Joe's Picks
-OldBoy: The Hallway Fight
At this point in the movie we know that
Dae-Su Oh is a badass. Now we really see just how tough he is while
he takes on an entire pack of thugs. We have seen one against many a
few times (notably in Matrix: Reloaded,
which was a let down what with Keanu's N64 face), but when Chan-Wook
Park does a panning side shot we all think of the original NES (and
this time it's a good thing.) Dae-Su's weapon of choice is a yellow
hammer. A yellow hammer. None of the thugs have guns, instead they
carry chains, sticks, bats, and knives. Half-way through this fight
he gets stabbed in the back with a giant knife, and the attacker
leaves the blade in. He drops to his knees, seemingly surrendering.
We all think the fight is over. Whoops! Wrong! He continues fighting
the mob with a long knife protruding from his back. Did I mention
this goes on for four minutes? And it's in one take, one shot.
-Eastern Promises:
Sauna Fight
This is what happens when you put amazing material in the hands of David Cronenberg. Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) walks into a
sauna. He drops his towel and sits down, getting ready to relax.
Fool! Two thugs walk in after him, fully clothed with knives. Nikolai
knows what's up, and the punching ensues. One naked guy versus two
and they have weapons. One of the best parts of this is when Nikolai
punches his wiener will helicopter into the lower frame. What's
manlier than penises? Not a lot. Maybe not even anything. The lack of
dialogue gives this over-the-top scene a sense of grounding. We can
believe the three-way fight because of the grunts. While he tries to
fight the two thugs he gets cut up, but in the end, we know exactly
who not to fuck with.
-They Live:
The Alley Fight
This fight goes on for six minutes. My
favorite parts are the one liners and the fact that every time we
think it's over, it's not. They just keep fighting. It's like
watching the WWE version of The Return of the King.
Roddy Piper and Keith David show us how the working man really fights
in an alley.
Jeff's Picks
-Fight Club: Edward Norton &
Brad Pitt's parking lot fight.
This fight is awesome for many reasons.
After kicking back a few pitchers and concluding that consumerism is
ruining humanity, Tyler Durden has Norton punch him with the
reasoning they’ve never been in a fight and need to so they can be
considered men. After a botched punch to the ear of Durden, the two
engage in a parking lot fight where knees, elbows, and punches are
thrown and plenty of blood is shed. The breaking of the monotony of
everyday life transforms Norton. He goes from being a “do what
you’re told,” insomnia ridden, support-group-attending loser to a
no-fucks-giving badass and all it took was one punch. There’s
nothing fancy about it, just a booze fueled punchfest with
himself in the parking lot.
Here is a taste:
-Scott Pilgrim vs the World: Scott Pilgrim & Ramona Flowers vs Roxy Richter.
I had seven fights to choose from and
this is the winner. If you haven’t seen the film, it revolves
around Scott Pilgrim battling Ramona Flowers’ seven evil exes to
win her hand. Roxy is ex number five and boy is she a doozy. Taking
place in a bar after the Sex Bob-Omb/The Clash at Demonhead show, Ramona's 5th evil ex Roxy appears and
challenges Scott, but Ramona intervenes and the two do battle. After stating that this is a
“league game” Scott must face Roxy but cannot bring himself to hit a girl because “girls are
soft.” Ramona controls his arms and legs and Roxy is ultimately defeated after being tickled on her
knee (her weakness) and climaxes. The scene, along with the entire movie, is littered with
jokes, one liners (Well, I'm a little biFURIOUS), and video game references. Coupled with an awesome
soundtrack and visual effects, this fight scene is pretty silly, but just as awesome. And who
could ignore the fact that Roxy is played by Mae Whitman, who played Ann on Arrested
Development…awesome.
-The Dark Knight Rises: Bane &
Batman finally meet in the sewer.
SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen
TDKR
yet, get off your computer, drive to
a theater, sit down, watch. I’m serious.
What happens when the immovable object
meets the unstoppable force? This scene, that’s what. Bane, the
baddest man in the history of the Batman films has shown that no
fucks are given and he will beat anybody who stands in his
way. Before their encounter, Alfred shows Bruce the footage of Bane fighting and Bruce
responds with, “I’ll fight harder, I always do.” When Bruce and Bane finally meet, there is little
discussion before engaging in fisticuffs. Bane immediately exclaims, “Peace has taken your
strength! Victory has defeated YOU!” and proceeds to beat the living shit out of Batman. He makes it
well known that the usual tricks and darkness of the Batman do not work on him all while ridiculing
Bruce. Bane then shows Bruce he has made a lair under the R & D department of Wayne
Enterprises and when Bruce finally stands to fight again, Bane says “I was beginning to wonder which
would break first, your mind or your body” and breaks Bruce’s back. This scene is one of my
favorite moments for a myriad of reasons. It stays pretty true to the Knightfall moment, except
Bruce doesn’t become a cripple. Bane shows he’s not afraid of Batman leaves Bruce in a desperate state. The whole movie has a theme of breaking points and
Bruce’s breaking point is physical and never mental, and that is
what Bane is hell bent on exposing. Great fighting with better dialogue sets up a great model of how any hero movie fights should
go.
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