For anybody that follows this site on Facebook and Twitter, you will notice I post Awesome fight scenes every so often. Well, I thought I’d put together a list of The top 20 fights scenes of all time.
I did a bit of research and asked a few forums what they regard as the top fight scenes and the ones that got the most votes I have included but obviously, this is mostly down to personal opinion. In terms of an order, there really isn’t much to as they could really all be joint first place. Each is awesome in its own right but I have managed some kind of order. This is obviously highly debatable because everybody will have their favourites and dare say some I’ve missed or just haven’t seen. Anyway, let’s get started.
20. No Retreat No Surrender 3: Blood brothers (1990) – End Fight Scene.
First, we have Loren Avedon with Keith Vitali against Mark Russo and Rion Hunter. Another cheesy movie full of bad acting and worse haircuts but great fight scenes and an entertaining watch. This one narrowly edges out The King of Kickboxers end fight which is also a great fight. The end fight is the two brothers against the two main antagonists in a great fight.
19. Shaolin and Wu Tang (1983) – End Fight Scene.
No great fight list would be complete without this classic included. Gorden Liu shows off his masterful Kung Fu skills. The end climax consists of multiple short fights all awesome in their own right. The entire movie is available for free on YouTube. Go watch it.
18.Flashpoint (2007) – End Fight Scene.
The 1st of our Donnie Yen fights. I could probably fill half of this list with just Donnie Yen fights. He just never seems to make a bad one. Here he is against Collin Chou in a truly brutal fight.
17. Warrior King (2007) – Staircase Fight Scene.
Tony Yaa is truly a unique individual. The way he effortlessly pulls off acrobatic moves and kicks is just beyond me. What made this fight truly great is it was all done in one take. No scenes or changing cameras, just one camera following Tony Yaa up a very long winding staircase as he takes on all comers. I can only imagine the amount of time this scene took to complete when if they get one thing wrong they got to start all over again.
16. SPL: Killl Zone (2005) – Donnie Yen vs Wu Jing.
The next but by no means, the last Donnie Yen fight this time against Wu Jing. Another great and brutal fight scene expertly choreographed. I actually heard a rumour that the reason this fight was so realistic is these two were generally going at it obviously not with real blades trying to hit each other, blocking, countering etc which is just insane if true.
15. Snake in the Eagles Shadow (1978) – End Fight Scene.
Our fist Jackie Chan fight scene against the classic Kung Fu bad guy Hwang Jang-Lee. A lot of people seem to forget about this one as it’s hardly in any Jackie Chan top ten lists but it’s one of my favorites of his.
14. Shaolin vs Lama (1983) – End Fight Scene.
The Thing I loved about Shaolin vs Lama was there was literally a fight every 10 minutes. I’ve never seen so many fights in a Kung Fu movie. Here we have our hero Lo Rei against the seemingly unbeatable Chang Shan who has literally beaten and killed everyone including the hero’s master in a straight up fight. So, we are left wondering how the hell is the hero going to beat the bad guy. This epic end fight shows all.
13. Undisputed 3: Redemption (2010) – End Fight Scene.
Our favorites crazy angry Russian Boyka played by Scott Adkins against the highly skilled Marko Zarho. A truly great fight and site to behold like most of Adkins fights. An absolute must watch for any martial arts fan.
12. Fist of Fury (1972) – Dojo Fight Scene.
What is any kind of martial arts list of any kind without the man himself being mentioned? Pretty sure everyone has seen this multiple times. Bruce Lee takes on a dojo full of black belt students and shows them what’s up. Need I say more.
11. On-Bak 2 (2008) – End Fight Scenes.
Tony Jaa is at it again with his bone-crunching fights. This fight is pretty much in 3 parts. Yaa vs soldiers. Yaa vs main antagonists skilled Henchmen. Yaa vs soldiers again. I don’t know how he has the stamina. This could be Tony Yaa best fight to date. Truly awesome.
10. True Legend (2010) – Wenzhuo Zhao vs Andy On.
What I love about some modern Kung Fu movies nowadays is it’s like they are still making old school Kung Fu movies but with a modern take. True Legend is like an old Shaw Brothers Kung Fu movie. based on the true story of the mythical legendary Kung Fu master Beggar So (Su Can). Beggar So was one of the ten tigers of Canton. Also the name of Jackie Chans Master in Drunken Master. Whether he was real or not is up for debate but this battle against The Five Venom Fists is truly epic.
9. The Prodigal Son (1981) – End Fight Scene.
The movie that defined Yuen Biao. This final fight against Frankie Chan is a true masterpiece of fight choreography and a true Kung Fu showpiece. Each fighter effortlessly performs the moves with fast precision. A great watch.
8.Fearless (2006) – Restaurant Fight Scene.
Described as one of the best fight scenes ever made period. Jet Li against Collin Chou. It really is one of the most epic fights I’ve ever seen. Two grandmasters going at it. What more could you want?
7. Ip Man (2008) – 10 Blackbelts Fight Scene.
Donnie Yen again in one of his most iconic roles. Ip Man. After witnessing his good friend deciding to take on 3 black belts for food, losing, then getting shot and killed. Ip Man decided to take his anger out on 10 black belts and how he does it is truly a sight to behold. It’s hard to believe Donnie Yen first learned Wing Chun for this role. Seems like he’s been doing it his whole life.
6. Fist of Legend (1994) – End Fight Scene.
Arguably Jet Li’s best film and arguably his best fight. Only really beaten by Fearless as a movie. I absolutely loved this fight. I thought this was better than the original Fist of Fury, definitely a better end fight. Jet Li against typecast bad guy Billy Chow. There is really nothing in between this, the Ip Man and Fearless. Pretty much joint 6th place.
5. Ninja 2: Shadow of a Tear (2013) – End Fight Scene.
Scott Adkins vs Kane Kosugi. When I first watched this fight scene, straight away I thought that’s the best fight scene I’ve ever seen. Nothing is better. I’ve seen it so many times that you know when they say it’s never as good as the first time you see it. Well not quite like that but still definitely in my top 5. Truly breath-taking.
4.The Raid (2011) &The Raid 2 (2014) Fight Scenes
OK, now we are getting to it. Everybody knows exactly what fights I mean when I say the fights from Raid 1 and 2. Iko Uwais and Donny Alamsyah against Mad Dog Yayan Ruhian and Iko Uwais against Cecep Arif Rahman. Every fight in these two movies are truly epic but these two stand out the most. Brutal, bloody, painful looking. Masterpieces.
3. Wheels on Meals (1984) – Jackie Chan vs Benny The Jet Urquidez.
Possibly Jackie’s best one on one fight scene ever. Everybody knows this fight and it really is a sight to behold. Taking on legendary kickboxer Benny Urquidez, theres hardly any comedy involved in this one like most of Jackie fights. It really seemed like a serious affair. Battling out in a castle, you can practically feel the impact of every punch they throw. Some look like they have some serious force behind them.
2. Drunken Master 2 (1994) – End Fight Scene.
This has got to be Jackie Chans very best fight. Once against showcasing his drunken master skills this fight goes on forever which is great. Masterful choreography, Jackie starts out, as usual, getting beat until he starts drinking to fully utilize his drunken style. One of the best fight scenes ever made.
1. Way of the Dragon (1972) – End Fight Scene.
Come on what else could possibly be number 1 other than the man himself Bruce Lee taking on the other man himself Chuck Norris. What other movies back then did you see two guys getting undressed, warming up and slowing squaring up to find out who the baddest man alive is. Showing each other respect. Each first feeling each other out before fully engaging. Bruce coming off worse before switching to his Jeet Kune Do style. One of my favorite things about this fight was when it was all over. Bruce grabs Norris’s Gi and Belt, covers him and lays the belt on his chest as a mark of respect.
Some honourable mentions go to:
Blood Moon (1997) – End fight – Gary Danie vs Darren Shahlavi
Kiss of the Dragon (2001) – – Jet Li vs The Twins
Bloodsport (1988) – Jean Claude Van Damme vs Bolo Yeung
The King of Kickboxers (1990) – Loren Avedon vs Billy Blanks
Blood and Bone (2009) – Michael Jai White vs Matt Mullins
The Scorpion King (1992) All Fights
Police Story (1985) – Mail Fight
Project A (1983) – End Fight
