With Covid having delayed the releases of many highly anticipated films that otherwise would've come out in 2020, this year finally saw the widespread availability of some of the biggest movies worldwide audiences have been patiently waiting with bated breath for. The action genre in particular has satiated its dedicated fans with The Fast & Furious franchise reaching its highest level of absurdity yet with its ninth installment literally taking its vehicular insanity into space (at least briefly). Daniel Craig reprised his role as agent 007 one last time in No Time To Die ending his distinguished era in the James Bond series. The MCU spread its success even further by dominating both theaters and streaming. Though other superhero properties also satisfied the comic book fandom whether within the Marvel world like Venom: Let There Be Carnage or their friendly rival the DC universe with the mythic Zack Snyder cut of the Justice League and MCU director James Gunns' appropriately R-rated rendition of The Suicide Squad.
Chris Pratt lead the Amazon Prime sci-fi time travel movie The Tomorrow War. Jason Statham's crime thriller Wrath of Man reunited him with director Guy Ritchie. Nicolas Cage has recently experienced a kind of acting renaissance appearing in the post-apocalyptic Prisoners of the Ghostland as well as Willy's Wonderland which may secretly be his live-action playthrough of Five Nights at Freddy's. It was even a historic period for anime as Demon Slayer: Mugen Train became not only the highest grossing anime film but also the highest grossing Japanese film of all time. And lastly, the "Rebuild" reboot of the classic Neon Genesis Evangelion series concluded with its fourth and final installment Thrice Upon a Time.
After two paragraphs of needlessly summarizing some of the most important releases of the action subgenre I'm going to give you a break and get to what all of you really came here for: fight scenes. Like any catchy song that can be replayed for hours on end, a great fight sequence can be endlessly rewatchable. However, the best fight scenes provide both entertainment value and act as a physical representation of narrative conflict and character development. And so it is these fight scenes we now turn to for our annual list. Films released internationally may have come out in their native countries before this year but as long as they were given a wider release in 2021 they will count towards the list. Sadly, two movies specifically that show particular promise won't be considered simply because they've arrived so late that I haven't been able to see them as of the writing of this article. They are, with much disappointment, The King's Man (Dec. 22) and One More Shot (Dec 28; digital release). Considering the nature of these listicles, I've decided to publish it towards the end of December at the latest before it becomes somewhat irrelevant which unfortunately means leaving out some likely high-ranking fight scenes. Unless of course you want me to wait until January to post these lists (let me know if you do). Anyways, let's not stall any longer. Here are my 12 favorite fight scenes of 2021 which I have laid out for you on my unpaid lazily designed website.
#12. Godzilla vs. Kong
In an age where cinematic universes are all the rage the MCU has been the only one to consistently enjoy success. Many others have tried and failed but Warner Bros. is among the few to fairly compete against Marvel's massive money-making machine with the DC Extended Universe as the main comic-based competitor. The other major Warner Bros. property is the Monsterverse and though not having as many films to their name as their DC cousin, 2021 brought us the crossover the entire franchise was designed to lead up to: Godzilla vs. Kong. The two titular titans have not appeared on screen together since 1963 and thanks to the risky yet generous move on the part of HBO Max, moviegoers were treated with the option of seeing it on either the small screen or silver screen on the same day. The battleship beat 'em up and final team-up against Mechagodzilla are two of the biggest monster-on-monster fights the movie has to offer but my personal pick goes to Godzilla and Kong's Hong Kong rematch.
Some time after the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla has recently begun attacking various facilities owned by Apex Cybernetics for unknown reasons leading to the company recruiting the help of rival alpha Kong. Following behind Kong, a team is sent deep within Hollow Earth to a relatively undiscovered subterranean ecosystem revealed to be the original home of all Titans, colossal prehistoric creatures that once ruled over the planet. The team learns that Kong and Godzilla's species, the two most dominant races of Titan, were involved in an ancient war millennia ago. Kong soon acquires an ancestral battle axe crafted from the bones, scales, and dorsal plate of one of Godzilla's ancestors. Meanwhile, an Apex lab in Hong Kong runs an activation test for the newly created Mechagodzilla which is eventually detected by the real Godzilla who proceeds to destroy the site and the city around it. Moments later however Godzilla is intercepted by a massive and mature Kong who, after having grown since over 50 years prior during the events of Kong: Skull Island, is now almost the same height as Godzilla, the largest version of King Kong in cinematic history. The two last surviving members of their respective kind clash in a cataclysmic second round to definitely prove who is the undisputed King of the Kaiju. Director Adam Wingard imagined Godzilla to be like the Undertaker, a lone wolf that only appears when needed to defeat a major opponent while Kong was compared to John McClane, an underdog who has most of the odds stacked against him. Given Godzilla's body type, his fighting style is meant to resemble the aggressive behaviors of crocodiles and bears though with greater intelligence. Naturally being at a size disadvantage, Kong compensates by being the more agile of the two swinging from building to building and using the surrounding skyscrapers as cover. Utilizing his simian ingenuity, Kong does whatever he can to stop Godzilla from unleashing his atomic breath which includes cranking open Godzilla's mouth with the handle of his axe and even attempting his signature jaw-snapping move. The real twist is when Kong realizes his axe possesses the ability to absorb Godzilla's atomic breath and release it into a powerful shockwave. In spite of Kong's best efforts, Godzilla ultimately overpowers him with his sheer mass and muscle but spares Kong's life having determined the true victor.
Director Adam Wingard had in mind the winner since the very beginning when working on the film motivated by his desire to finish an argument he started with his friend in second grade on who would beat who. This petty playground dispute brought to the big screen resulted in a reversal of the outcome between Godzilla and Kong in their 1962 encounter and hopefully settled all heated online fan debates. Rather than resembling two random monsters rampaging through a miniature set, a sense of scale is emphasized through the perspective of the terrified Hong Kong residents witnessing the destruction and even the protagonists flying past Godzilla and Kong at one point just barely dodging one of Godzilla's atomic breath blasts. The beautiful neon night-time cityscape of Hong Kong was another one of Wingard's earliest wishes for the film's visuals originally intended to be the setting for what was to be the movie's climactic battle with Godzilla and Kong looking as though they were popping out of a "synth album cover". You may also notice it bears some aesthetic similarities with a certain other Hong Kong battle scene from Pacific Rim, an excellent choice as the dark yet brightly contrasted urban lighting amplifies the blue glow of Godzilla's atomic anatomy and Kong's radioactive axe. Can we just get a crossover between the MonsterVerse and the Pacific Rim series already? A common complaint has been made of Godzilla's previous appearances being hidden in shadow and smoke prompting much of Godzilla vs. Kong's monster mash-ups to take place during the day. Yet the single night sequence present in the film manages to "outshine" all of Godzilla's earlier scenes. Most of this list will be comprised of more choreographically complex martial arts sequences but some immense appreciation is due for the army of CGI artists that painstakingly produced this computer-generated mayhem and the motion capture work of Allan Henry as Kong and T.J. Storm as Godzilla granting us the most significant crossover event since Avengers: Endgame (to date that is, ignoring a very recent MCU film).
#11. Castlevania Season 4
(unless you have Netflix, only individual fight scenes in separate videos can be watched, but don't worry, I'v placed them all in order)
Moving from 3D animation to 2D, anime has become more mainstream than ever before with many talented animators making use of the latest animation technology and techniques to craft some of the most visually stunning action out there. This attention to detail is even more incredible when it comes to the meticulously choreographed hand-to-hand combat with Boruto continuing the legacy of its father series Naruto through its occasional fast-paced and intricate melee fighting as well as 2021's sci-fi dystopian newcomer Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song also raising the bar for anime fight sequences. The past decade has also seen a newfound interest in adult-oriented western animation focusing more on the drama and action breaking out of its stereotypically popular sitcom format like Rick N' Morty or South Park. Influenced by anime, these non-Japanese animated productions provide the same level of maturity as their live-action counterparts. The science fantasy samurai tale of Yasuke, the novel-turned game-turned Netflix series-turned animated film The Witcher: Nightmare of The Wolf, the relentlessly violent yet earnest coming-of-age comic adaptation Invincible, the simian savagery of Hit-Monkey, Batman: Soul of the Dragon's tribute to 70s' Kung Fu, and possibly the best example of cel-shaded animation so far, Arcane, are all representative of this year's western animated works. Standing out over all of these is the Netflix original adaptation of a long-running video game franchise, Castlevania.
The verdict is still out as to whether it's credit as Netflix's first "original anime" is correct or not but in the last few years video game characters have started to translate remarkably well into the cinematic realm and Castlevania is near the top of this new epoch of transmedia franchising. It is one of the most popular and well-received game adaptations and supposedly the first to receive a "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with season 4 especially winning a 100% approval rating. Even outside the game-to-film context, it is an artistic triumph in and of itself expanding upon its source material with compelling characters and an engaging narrative with social commentary on science, religion, and the moral complexities of humanity all penned by writer and comic book legend Warren Ellis. Produced by Frederator Studios of Adventure Time and The Fairly Odd Parents as well as PowerHouse Animation Studios, the creators of two other Netflix animated originals Blood of Zeus and Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Castlevania's visual style is based on that of artist Ayami Kojima's work in the retro side-scroller Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The animation team was assembled from various anime-tors of anime studio Madhouse, a few anime artists from Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, and even the animation director of several of the Berserk films. The fourth and final season is full of ghoul-slaying supernatural spectacle highlighted by a sword-on-sword fight pitting Trevor against the notorious vampire warrior Ratko and a blood-soaked throne room battle between Isaac and Carmilla. Though the latter serves as a fitting conclusion to Isaac's arduous soul-searching story arc, there is but one fight that truly exemplifies Castlevania's distinctive style.
After Alucard had made his father Dracula's castle a safe haven for nearby human survivors, he crosses paths with his old allies Trevor and Sypha in an awesome reunion to stave off Dragan and his army of vampiric soldiers and night creatures gathered from every corner of the globe who are attempting to summon a hermaphroditic being composed of the souls of Dracula and his wife. Once the trio is able to put down a huge fire-breathing behemoth, they split up to eliminate all remaining vampiric forces including a mummy-like spike-hurling demon that can intangibly move through solid surfaces and a burly Norse vampire who teleports with his throwing axes. The three eventually converge onto Dragan and his necromancers whose abilities range from manipulating steel wire-like threads, columns of skeletal remains, and black magic. With these lesser vampire lords slain, they finally confront Dragan himself who is able to handle all three warriors at once with his double-ended chained mace and enough brutal badassery to tear off his own arm and toss it towards Trevor before it explodes. The fluid weapon work of Trevor's morning star whip and cross-knife as well as Alucard's shield and telekinetically controlled sword blends smoothly with the incredibly creative applications of Sypha's combined elemental powers of fire, ice, and lightning into a supernaturally symphonic dance of coordinated teamwork. Castlevania does not hold back at all on the blood and gore as of course it shouldn't being a dark fantasy/horror action series putting it above this year's other action horror titles such as the unexpected police station murder spree in Malignant and the zombie killing gunplay of Army of the Dead as well as its prequel/spin-off Army of Thieves. Animation director Giesok Choi and his crew from Korean animation studio Tiger Animation have woven together one hell of a prelude to the series finale and we can only hope that the same amount of passion will be put into the upcoming sequel set during the French Revolution.
#10. The Swordsman
And now, the first fully live-action entry on this countdown. South Korea's action subculture is more known for their contemporary thrillers like the past year's Fist & Furious and the Netflix series My Name sometimes venturing into other subgenres like action comedy (The Therapist Fist of Tae-Baek). Rarely do they focus on swordplay however and Korean writer/novelist Choi Jae-Hoon's directorial debut The Swordsman does just that. Theatrically released in South Korea and a few other Asian countries back in 2020 but not widely available for streaming until this year, the movie takes place in the Joseon period of Korea where Jang Hyuk plays the king's bodyguard who is exiled after being defeated by a fellow bodyguard. Escaping a rebellion seeking to overthrow the current dynasty, Hyuk lives his life out in the wilderness with his daughter until Qing invaders, led by Joe Taslim (who plays a Chinese-speaking character, strangely) begin enslaving the local Korean citizens.
Jang Hyuk spends most of his on-screen time partially blind with his eyes having been injured by the broken shards of his own blade in the movie's opening sword fight and now defends himself by brandishing his cane like a tonfa. We don't really see what he's capable of until the second to last fight sequence when he single-handedly takes down an entire battalion of rifleman. Struggling with a visual handicap, he duels Joe Taslim in the film's climax taking up the sword he had thrown away years earlier. Korean actor and rapper Jang Hyuk is a practitioner of Jeet Kune Do and has a competitive background in Taekwondo allowing him to tweak his martial arts experience for the purposes of cinematic swordsmanship. Lee Sang-Ha choreographed the film's fights working with Jang Hyuk and the rest of the stunt team including Jaw-Woong Lee and Seok-Jin Yon to present a novel sword art. Not as blisteringly fast as the 2-on-1 sword fight from Revenger, there is a slower grace to The Swordsman which also conveys the calm stoicism of Jang Hyuk's personality. This also marks the first time Joe Taslim has wielded a sword in a film with his previous movies mainly demonstrating his Judo and Silat skills. Taslim's Judo history is still evident in his grappling maneuvers and throws whilst taking advantage of his unorthodox sword attached with a second shorter blade underneath the handle giving Taslim his own personalized sword style. Jang Hyuk's own sword has a split section running down from the top of his blade allowing him to scissor and lock Taslim's sword opening up a more diverse set of techniques to avoid the monotony of what could've been a much plainer sword duel. A great deal of Korean cinema from 2021 might've been overshadowed in the west by the most watched Netflix series of all time Squid Game, and the underrated period drama The Swordsman's is but one and hopefully not the last of Korea's sword-driven action films.
#9. Mortal Kombat
As was already explained earlier with Castlevania, video games have more and more successfully made it onto the cinematic medium and this year Ryan Reynolds continued to capitalize on his action comedy persona with the video game parody Free Guy. Hulu also gifted us another video game inspired action flick, Boss Level, starring the under-appreciated Frank Grillo trapped in a time loop. But it's the actual video games that we're concerned with here and while Castlevania may have persisted through multiple console generations, there is one other massively popular game series that has lasted almost as long but has had far more staying power in the current generation: Mortal Kombat. The animated ballet of bloodshed that is Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge is a faithfully fun straight-to-video film but it's the live action movie that became a game-changer for the..um..games. (some puns are more awkward than others) Overtaking Godzilla vs. Kong as HBO Max's #1 simultaneous theatrical/streaming release, 2021's Mortal Kombat casted rising martial artist and actor Lewis Tan of Into the Badlands, Wu Assassins, and Iron Fist in his first major lead role as an entirely original character named Cole Young. An MMA fighter who is long past his glory days but is chosen, with the help of other specially selected warriors, to defend Earthrealm from total conquest by Outworld through a tournament of...Mortal Kombat! (theme song plays in background....I will not apologize)
In the final act, Cole's family is endangered by Bi-Han, or as most of us know him as, Sub-Zero, but summons the aid of his ancestor (spoiler...not really though because I'm sure you saw that coming) Hanzo Hasashi. Now calling himself Scorpion, Hanzo had lost his entire family and Shira-Ryu clan (except for his daughter) to a sudden massacre by his ninja nemesis Sub Zero and his Lin Kuei assassins. As a round 2 for both Cole and Scorpion against Sub-Zero, this intergenerational shinobi duo fight to avenge and continue their bloodline. Cole also activates his arcana, an ability unique to each Earthrealm warrior, literalizing his reputation as a "human punching bag" by manifesting as an Aquaman-like armor (maybe not a coincidence considering that the producer is James Wan, director of 2018's Aquaman) along with a pair of tonfas. Scorpion yells out his signature attack phrase pulling out his trademark chain blade, apparently an infernally repurposed form of his original rope dart seen in the film's introductory scene, a weapon that acclaimed Japanese actor and highly accomplished martial artist Hiroyuki Sanada had never used until this particular movie. In further preparation for his role, Sanada had also played the Mortal Kombat games to familiarize himself with the world and its characters to display as authentic of a portrayal of Scorpion as possible. Indonesian actor Joe Taslim portrays an intimidating and cold-hearted Sub-Zero whose versatile use of ice is more than a match for the two Hasashi fighters freezing Scorpion's own blood into a dagger and forming a large frozen blade functioning like a jian (Chinese double-edged sword) to counter Scorpion's katana. This is already Taslim's second sword fight taking him further beyond his usual resume of unarmed kombat having come a long way from his role as Sergeant Jaka in The Raid. In fact, Taslim may have unknowingly played two characters which is referenced in his sporting of a black suit by the film's end. A subtle nod to another MK ninja Noob Saibot. Lewis Tan brings his diverse martial arts skills into the fight as well which includes Muay Thai, Kung Fu, Jiu-Jitsu, and Kenjutsu.
This live action reboot is undeniably more faithful than the 1995 kult klassic keeping its hard R-rating with no restraint on the over-the-top karnage and gloriously gory fatalities which could've been even more gruesome were it not toned down a bit to avoid an NC-17 rating. Even the small references pay their respects to the games no matter how obscure like Liu Kang spamming leg sweeps on Kano, a move that has surely upset countless online gamers. Primarily koreographed by Chan Griffin and stunt koordinator Kyle Gardiner, former Jackie Chan stunt team member Max Huang who played Kung Lao (check out his YouTube channel for more awesome fight scenes from him) also kontributed to the fight sequences raising the movie's koreographic quality above its 90s' predecessor helping to guarantee a sequel that is already well underway. Honestly, the only other thing it needs is Scott Adkins as Johnny Cage, a prospect that both Adkins and MK star Lewis Tan are both incredibly enthusiastic about.
#8. Sanak
(skip to 2:55 for specific fight scene discussed below; many parts have been cut out unfortunately)
(a more complete clip of the store room segment)
Indian action films are quite infamous for their explosively nonsensical nature with the Tamil-language ones in particular being the most unabashedly bombastic. Though in the last decade, they have improved quite a bit and one superstar who has made the most headway among others is Vidyut Jamwal who starred in 2 films this year: The Power and the 8th spot on the list, Sanak. Jamwal plays an MMA coach whose wife is in dire need of a cardiac surgery but the hospital she's admitted in happens to have a patient who is secretly a black market arms dealer. A terrorist group arrives to retrieve the dealer and hold the entire building hostage until they can escape in what is basically a Bollywood version of Die Hard in a hospital.
The film's best fight scene is arguably when Jamwal is snuck up on while on the 3rd floor by a terrorist with especially excellent kicks (if you know who the stunt performer is please tell me because I couldn't find any info about him anywhere). Jamwal is soon double-teamed with an entrance by Felix Fukuyoshi Ruwwe (who has his own YouTube channel) showing off some Tiger Kung Fu. A 3rd terrorist played by nunchaku expert Tanguy Guinchard (unfortunately doesn't get to put those skills to use in this movie but you should check out his YouTube channel as well) joins the fight firing his SMG forcing Jamwal to hide inside a store room. Army crawling under the shelves and hanging onto the ceiling, Jamwal does his best to maintain a degree of stealth until a drop of blood alerts one terrorist to his presence (kinda like with Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe in Spider-Man). Jamwal takes on all three with some geriatric martial arts by humorously weaponizing a walker. Toxic chemicals are then spilled onto the floor filling the air with dangerous fumes causing all four fighters to battle for oxygen much like a similar scenario between Jet Li and Collin Chou in The Bodyguard From Beijing.
Action director and Jackie Chan stunt team alumnus Andreas Nguyen, also recognized by his YouTube/internet alias Andy Long, is the one responsible for Sanak's Hong Kong influenced action and had worked with Jamwal before in Commando 3. The inclusion of stunt coordinator Daniele Balconi, who was featured in a parking ramp knife fight, only adds to the skilled stunt crew of Sanak. Since Jamwal acts as an MMA trainer, the fighting is kept fairly grounded yet flashy not necessarily showcasing any mixed martial arts per se but instead Jamwal's in-depth knowledge of the Indian martial art Kalaripayyatu which he had begun training in as a 3-year-old allowing him to display some seemingly physics-defying agility in spite of his bodybuilder physique (somehow as a Vegan). Andreas Nguyen's Jackie Chan inspiration is pretty obvious with Jamwal grabbing hold of every imaginable object in his environment with earlier fight sequences turning an MRI machine and even a medicine ball into martial props. All proof that India might develop into the next big country for high-quality action.
#7. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
(only samples of the fight scene are on YouTube probably due to copyright reasons)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe smashed the box office and home TVs' everywhere this year with their methodically planned Phase 4 films and Disney+ limited series. Playing it safe but also taking calculated risks, the MCU applied its familiar formula to the martial arts subgenre in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It did what the Netflix series Iron Fist couldn't do with its significantly improved second season sadly being too late of a comeback. It's also worth mentioning that there aren't many other Kung Fu superhero movies in general with a few notable examples being Dragon Tiger Gate and Black Mask, an exclusive category that Shang-Chi has officially made it to the top of. Actor Simu Liu is Shang-Chi in his very first starring film role as a valet living in San Francisco going by the alias "Shaun" in order to hide his identity as the son of a powerful warlord named Wenwu otherwise known as the mythical "Mandarin". Leader of the infamous Ten Rings organization that had been alluded to throughout the Iron Man series and played by legendary Hong Kong actor Tony Leung. As any true Kung Fu flick should be, Shang-Chi is packed with fantastic fight scenes. The beautifully colored wuxia inspired forest fight between Wenwu and his eventual wife, a Jackie Chan style bus fight, and an emotionally climactic anime-like father vs. son face-off are three of the movie's top fight sequences. But my personal favorite is actually another one altogether.
Moments after an underground fight club match with Shang-Chi's sister Xialing, Ten Rings assassins infiltrate the building armed with electrically charged hook swords sending our heroes into an acrobatic parkour infused fight across the skyscraper's bamboo scaffolding with Shang-Chi's BFF Katy, played by the lovable real-life personification of a water bottle brand Akwafina, desperately trying to avoid capture until she is saved from falling to her death by Xialing. This scene was a homage to all the various bamboo scaffolding fights in other martial arts action films except they have never taken place on as tall a structure as this one before which was created with a smaller set piece coupled with blue-screen CG effects. Half-way through the fight, a window is blown open by an explosive kunai thrown by the masked executioner who directly trained Shang-Chi as a child assassin, Death Dealer, played by member of the MartialClub YouTube team and tricking extraordinaire Andy Le. Life imitated art in a way as Andy Le also helped Simu Liu himself train for the movie. The two engage in some intense knife fighting, blades flying through the air with one neon-background silhouette wide shot somewhat aesthetically similar to Daniel Craig's fight with a henchman in Skyfall. Aside from another Asian American martial arts tale released this year, The Paper Tigers, Shang-Chi was a big break for Andy Le and it's unfortunate that he was relegated to a minor role. However, this fight scene alone is a testament to his big screen potential where a student faces their teacher confronting their traumatic past as an adolescent assailant.
Simu Liu performed many of his own stunts having been a skilled gymnast as well as having learned some Taekwondo and Wing Chun prior to working on the film. Although he was assisted by stunt double and parkour specialist Jesse Turner for the more difficult maneuverings. For his role as Shang-Chi, Liu also trained in Wushu, Tai Chi, Boxing, Muay Thai, "Street Fighting", Silat, Krav Maga, and Jiu-Jitsu shaping himself into an all-around martial artist rather than solely a master of Kung Fu and by no means just a Bruce Lee rip-off. One positive connection to Lee though being in an adherence to the multi-disciplinary and adaptive spirit of Bruce's Jeet Kune Do philosophy. Liu also gained 10 pounds of muscle to his already lean muscular form which, complimented by his adept acting skills, won the audition over others that were considered for the part like Lewis Tan and Ludi Lin (Liu Kang) both from Mortal Kombat further down the list. The great Stan Lee even wanted Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee's son, to portray Shang-Chi decades ago before the establishment of the MCU. In the end, Simu Liu has earned this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and has journeyed quite a ways from his days in the Korean-Canadian sitcom Kim's Convenience. Shang-Chi was also only made possible by a talented team of fight choreographers headed by Jackie Chan stunt team alumni Brad Allan and Andy Cheng. The remaining team consisted of fight choreographer Gao Xiang, fight coordinator Junchang Lu, fight coordinator Zhang Peng, second unit fight coordinator Guillermo Grispo, action designer/stunt coordinator Chris Cowan (check out his YouTube channel RivenX3i), action designer Yung Lee (once known as the YouTuber GakAttack), and action designer Joseph Le (YouTube channel: Team Red Pro). Director Destin Daniel Cretton drew from a large body of martial arts filmography, anime, and video games for the film's visual style making sure to maintain the speed and complexity of the Hong Kong action films it was inspired by. The film is dedicated to the memory of the late Brad Allan paving the way for greater Asian/Asian American representation as Black Panther did for Africans/African Americans. A huge step forward for martial arts cinema as a whole casting martial arts film legends like Michelle Yeoh and Yuen Wah, Shang-Chi burst onto the mainstream in much the same way as its predecessors The Matrix, Kill Bill, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
#6. Dune
(director Denis Villeneuve's commentary on the full sequence)
(shortened sequence without commentary; couldn't find an uncut copy on YouTube)
A handful of simultaneous theatrical/HBO Max releases will be taking up this list and two of them are from particularly prestigious sci-fi sagas. The Matrix Resurrections resurrected both the franchise and Neo himself as Keanu Reeves proved he still kinda knows Kung Fu although his age is starting to show with slower-paced fight sequences as well as shorter shots and comparatively closer camerawork than the original trilogy. Expectations should be reasonably lowered of course since the venerable Yuen Woo-Ping was replaced with the not as reputable but still capable stunt coordinator of Netflix's femme fatale flick Gunpowder Milkshake. In terms of originality though, HBO Max's other big science fiction movie Dune takes this spot on the list. Director Denis Villeneuve's attempt at this film is the 4th and most successful cinematic adaptation of one of the most celebrated pieces of science fiction literature after David Lynch's panned 1984 film, Alexander Jodorovsky's own movie which never saw the light of day, and a not-too-terrible 2000 Sy-Fy channel mini-series. Paul Atreides is the son of the leader of House Atreides which holds dominion over the planet of Arrakis, the only world known to supply a substance called "spice" that is vital to space travel and enhances one's psychic aptitude. This sci-fi story is chock full of epic futuristic battles and terrifying building-sized sand worms but it also faithfully adapts the small-scale action and close combat including a heroic last stand by Jason Mamoa. Yet the 6th entry on the list will be instead Paul's training sequence with his mentor and weapons master Gurney Halleck.
The scene introduces us to the Holtzman shield; a personal defensive forcefield that renders all projectiles inert upon contact resulting in the reliance on melee weaponry to penetrate through them. Since all fast-moving objects are nullified by the shield, combatants must use a series of feints and misdirective movements to distract their opponent in order to slowly position their blades into a lethal strike. Famed American fight coordinator Roger Yuan stated this fictional combat system is based on Filipino Kali, Hollywood's knife-fighting system of choice, which is also one of the many Southeast Asian combat arts featured in this year's Raya and the Last Dragon, another contender for the animated category of this list. Kali is actually a term encompassing all Filipino martial arts but the specific style used for Dune was one developed in the 1950s'called Balintawak. With quick, intricate, efficient, and subtle hand-trapping techniques, you can tell actors Timothée Chalamet and Josh Brolin, who portrayed Paul and Gurney respectively, trained intensely for their roles. Plenty of close-ups and steady sustained shots of their faces emphasize both the close-range fighting and dedication to performing their own fight. Josh Brolin had competed in Taekwondo in his younger years and along with other disciplines learned throughout his extensive acting career, he was able to adapt to the knife work required of Dune. Adding to the film's visual brilliance is how the Holtzman shields create an intriguing audiovisual effect bending the light around it, changing color, and producing low-frequency vibrational sounds depending on the fighters' contact with one another. Paul's reluctance to land a killing blow in his sparring session sets up a later sort of rite of passage death duel with a native Fremen which forces him to shed his merciful naivety and abandon his sheltered royal status for the survivalist mentality of Arrakis' indigenous people in preparation for the harsh realities of war. As far as knife fights go, the choreographically extravagant ways of Shang-Chi makes for an incredibly exciting watch but sometimes there is a lot of merit in the nuanced and pragmatic. Maybe Dune Part Two will find its way onto a future end-of-year list...
#5. Nobody
As we climb further up the list we also move further up the spectrum of realism with the grittiness of Hugh Jackman and Cliff Curtis' building breaking scrap in Reminiscence and the tragic and visceral medieval armored combat between Matt Damon and Adam Driver in The Last Duel. But instead we'll be looking at Nobody, something of a surprise hit this year. Directed by Ilya Naishuller of the entirely first-person actioner Hardcore Henry, Bob Odenkirk temporarily leaves the legal battlefields of Better Call Saul to enter the urban battleground as a Liam Neeson-esque vigilante, Hutch Mansell. An "auditor". One of the US government's top assassins.
With his family having no knowledge of his past, they begin to lose all respect for him after Hutch decides to let go a couple of burglars in their home. Frustrated by the loss of his reputation and deeply bored by the soul-sucking daily urban tedium, he cathartically releases this pent-up anger on a group of drunk men who Hutch assumes might potentially sexually harass a young woman. Hutch unloads his revolver and all of his rage on the unsuspecting belligerent bus riders using his fists, metal rails, a seat belt, and even the stop request cord on one of the windows. The ensuing beatdown is more realistic than your average retired agent action thriller. Despite being one of the most notorious killers in the world and ultimately beating down all the thugs, he still gets his ass handed to him quite badly throughout the fight being punched, drop kicked, thrown out the window, and even stabbed. The last injury of which only gives him a free knife to subdue the would-be passengers with. A semi-stylized yet possibly accurate depiction of how a real fight would go between a highly skilled yet considerably aged agent and some random punks off the street. In a John Wick like twist (unsurprising considering how the movie was written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad and produced by co-director David Leitch), one of these men is the younger brother of a Russian mafia boss who subsequently orders the capture of Hutch propelling him from a relative "nobody" to a thug-bashing badass.
The film's premise was interestingly formed out of a fantasy imagined by Bob Odenkirk who had personally experienced two home invasions and had wondered how he himself would've handled the scenario if he were to be someone like Hutch. Odenkirk endured two long years of training so he could perform most of the fight scenes and stunts all on his own which is made clear with the longer takes and frequent visibility of his face on screen. One of the film's co-fight coordinators Daniel Bernhardt, a Swiss martial artist, who played the oldest member of the bus gang as well as Agent Johnson in The Matrix series, assisted in Odenkirk's training for his role. Canadian stuntman Alain Moussi, star of the Kickboxer remake/sequel series, also cameos as one of the rowdy bus invaders. Ip Man: The Awakening Master and Shang-Chi both had their very own bus brawls, but thanks to Daniel Bernhardt, co-fight coordinator Kirk A. Jenkins (the guy with dreads who throws the first punch), supervising stunt coordinator Greg Rementer, and stunt coordinator Dan Skene, Nobody takes the cake with a fight scene that has humor, style, and grit. Bob Odennkirk proves he is as funny as he is deadly. I bet "nobody" saw that coming (ok, no more puns).
#4. One Shot
(obviously since the whole movie is one extended fight scene I can't post it here, so I'll just leave you with a trailer)
Scott Adkins has always remained within the realm of cult action cinema and us fans are dreaming for the day he lands a career defining role like the aforementioned Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 2. Until then, he'll be pumping out a few smaller projects every year like the ode to old-school video games and sci-fi adventure films The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud, a construction site clash with co-star Dolph Lundgren in Castle Falls, and the 4th top fight scene for this annual list, One Shot. Scott Adkins stars as the leader of a squad of Navy SEALs who are tasked with escorting a suspected terrorist from a CIA black site to Washington D.C. This seemingly straight forward mission goes awry when the base is abruptly attacked by insurgents who are also seeking the same suspect.
Filmed at Bentwaters Park, a former Royal Air Force base off the coast of London, the movie's setting in a remote island was in fact Scott Adkins' own idea. Adkins also teamed up with Tim Man who has worked with Scott Adkins on numerous films including Ninja: Shadow of a Tear, Boyka: Undisputed 4, Accident Man, and Triple Threat. If it weren't self-explanatory, the movie's title is self-referential in the literal sense by being shot in one continuous take and in the metaphorical sense with the escorted prisoner deemed the "one shot" the team has of gaining the necessary intel to prevent a planned bombing and bring down the organization responsible for it. Though multiple long takes were confirmed to have been strung together and edited to give the illusion of a single unbroken sequence, they are transitioned through very well to seamlessly blend one scene after another fully immersing the audience in the intense literal non-stop action. Adkins and his spec ops team navigate through the outdoor fields and claustrophobic halls of the island's underground bunker holding off the militant extremists with both their firearms and their fists. As you'd expect, Scott Adkins steals the spotlight in point blank gun fights and some hand-to-hand engagements including two tense knife fights with six-time kickboxing world champion Lee Charles and former UFC fighter Jess Liaudin as Adkins shows off a more grounded form of his signature MMA stylings. Tak Sakaguchi's Crazy Samurai Musashi fending off an entire army is an epicly cool concept in and of itself but the swordplay often became very repetitive making the one take format into more of a technical gimmick and choreographic experiment. Whereas One Shot fully utilized its cinematographic style to pull together its politically charged and emotional dialogue with gripping firefights and nail-biting stealth segments. This'll probably be the only time I'll be choosing an entire movie as an entry simply because its more or less a singular extended fight sequence. Moving forward, we may witness the birth of a new niche in action cinema. Each subsequent one shot movie pushing the notion of a feature film long take to its limits.
#3. Hydra
Knife fights sure are popular on this annual list aren't they? Originally released in Japan back in 2019 but not given a wider release until this year on the martial arts cinema and Asian action streaming service Hi-Yah!, Hydra fell under the radar of those not closely paying attention to the more obscure corners of action cinema this year, going for a more realistic approach to knife-play like Dune (disregarding the not so realistic forcefields). Masanori Mimoto plays a stoic and reserved chef working at a sushi bar who has chosen to leave behind his past history as a hitman but is pulled back into his previous career when his former employer threatens the bartender. Sure enough, the bartender also happens to be the daughter of Mimoto's close friend and colleague. An ex-assassin forced into his past persona. Aside from a knife fight, perhaps there is one other thing it has in common with Shang-Chi.
Among the various fight sequences between multiple contract killers, the final fight pits Mimoto against a rival hitman played by Naohiro Kawamoto. The MMA imbued unarmed combat brings to mind Donnie Yen's Flash Point but with much tighter arguably faster and more precise movements at the same time displaying some intentional sloppiness to visualize a hypothetical fight between two elite killers. Even the loud rustling jackets is meant to ground the sound design in reality evoking a cacophony of controlled chaos. Mimoto and Kawamoto were also the action choreographers working with one of Japan's best fight choreographers Kensuke Sonomura in his directorial debut who has an extensive background as action director in a long list of Japanese films and video games including Bushido Man, Ninja Hunter, Resident Evil: Vendetta, Gantz: O, and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Sonomura was taken tutelage under Japanese martial arts star Yasuaki Kurata who took his decades of experience in Hong Kong action to found the Kurata Action Club combining both the Hong Kong and Japanese traditions of fight choreography to create his own distinct brand of action. Kensuke Sonomura evolved this choreographic style further growing into its current form in Hydra.
#2. Raging Fire
(not the best quality, I know, but it's all I could find)
Long gone is the heyday of Hong Kong action cinema but its legacy is abundantly clear in the several other martial arts movies on this list that have taken influence from it. Many have tried to bring back the golden years with Philip Ng and Andy On in the Hi-Yah! exclusive Undercover Punch & Gun and Louis Koo in Dynasty Warriors (yes, another video game adaptation). However, Donnie Yen is one of the few martial arts megastars who holds the charisma to truly carry on the Hong Kong torch and though his days are also waning, the 58-year-old shows no significant signs of slowing down. Even in 2021, younger actors have attempted to make a name for themselves by stepping into Yen's most iconic role with not just one but two "Ip-sploitation" films, Ip Man: The Awakening Master and Young Ip Man: Crisis Time. As famous as Donnie Yen is for his portrayal of the Wing Chun grandmaster, a large percentage of his movies are crime thrillers with his latest being Raging Fire. This was director Benny Chan's final film before falling ill in the middle of filming. It's disheartening to know that two prominent members of the action film industry have passed away this year with Brad Allan having also died during production of Shang-Chi. Benny Chan was instrumental in keeping alive the spirit of Hong Kong action in the declining days of the late 90s' and 2000s' working alongside Jackie Chan in Who Am I?, New Police Story, and Rob-B-Hood. Benny also directed the Donnie Yen led 1995 television series Fist of Fury and films with Raging Fire co-star Nicholas Tse in Gen-X Cops, Invisible Target, and Shaolin.
Donnie Yen stars as a Regional Crime Unit officer who soon discovers his former protege, played by Nicholas Tse, was responsible for the massacre of almost an entire squad of cops during a trade deal with a Vietnamese gang. At about 2-hours long the film includes several shootouts and a few instances of hand-to-hand combat with one in which Yen turns his bulletproof vest into a boxing glove. Much of the runtime is devoted to dramatic backstory revealing a mutual friend and fellow officer of Yen and Tse having died at the hands of a group of criminals causing Tse to accidentally kill a suspect during a rainy outdoor interrogation in a bout of blind anger. Yen regretfully testifies against Tse in court for his manslaughter causing Tse's years of imprisonment and his deep disillusionment with the police department's methods. The final showdown takes place in a church which is cliched yet appropriate symbolizing both a physical and moral struggle where Yen's faith in justice and law conflicts with Tse's lack thereof. The fight sequence is a call back to Yen's earlier police thrillers like SPL with Yen whipping out his expandable baton and Tse doubling the deadliness by dual wielding butterfly knives instead of opting for the single-bladed preference of Wu Jing. Short flurries followed by brief pauses with Yen ducking and weaving while attempting low strikes with his baton also liken it to SPL. What distinguishes Raging Fire's climactic fight from the famous SPL fight though is how its weapon work is combined with realistic unarmed combat. Hydra captures the feel of Flash Point but focuses more on the fast and frenetic yet with notably (and possibly purposely) weaker hits. Every punch, kick, and takedown in Raging Fire on the other hand has a palpable sense of power behind them and Tse's use of the sledge hammer makes the full contact fighting even more impactful. When it comes to choreographed mixed martial arts, no one really does it better than Donnie Yen, the man that helped in making MMA movie fights mainstream. Cantonese pop-star turned action star Nicholas Tse also deserves a ton of respect as an experienced martial artist and Wing Chun practitioner having learned from Hong's Kong's greatest like Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Nicki Chung Chi Li, Andy On, and Philip Ng strengthening his reputation as an intimidating yet sympathizable antagonist. Choreographing this climactic cop confrontation is Donnie Yen himself and action choreographers Kenji Tanigaki (who you will see later) and Ku Huen-Chiu as well as assistant action choreographers Fung Wai-Lun and Chan Tat-Kwong. Reuniting Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse after co-starring together all the way back in 2006's Dragon Tiger Gate, Raging Fire honors the lasting life's work of director Benny Chan.
#1. Rurouni Kenshin: The Final
Manga and anime are not always successfully adapted into live action and some admittedly awful American attempts have made that clear. Japanese adaptations however do tend to translate a little better than those from overseas. Rurouni Kenshin is by far one of the best to come out of the Japanese market. As is implied by the title, Rurouni Kenshin: The Final adapts the final story arc of the manga releasing 7 years after the previous installment Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends and filmed back to back with the prequel Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning. Yukishiro Enishi, leader of the Shanghai mafia, arrives in Tokyo to avenge the death of his sister who was allegedly killed by Himura Kenshin. The origins of Kenshin's cross-shaped facial scars finally unfolds as he is haunted by his past as a ruthless assassin and the realization of his creation of a cycle of vengeance that would fuel Enishi's obsessive vendetta. Former assassins trying to leave behind their past lives is a common trope that has made its way onto many an entry on this list but Rurouni Kenshin: The Final executes this plot point with the greatest emotional weight.
The entire movie series has a reputation for spectacular swordplay and this penultimate installment is no exception saturated with superb sword fights all serving as sideshows for the fateful duel between Kenshin and Enishi. Takeru Satoh is as impressive as ever reprising his role as the battousai but the newly introduced antagonist Enishi, played by Mackenyu Arata, son of Japanese martial arts superstar Sonny Chiba, is a worthy physical and dramatic counterpart having trained in Kyokushin Karate since the age of eight. Enishi's sword form is taken straight out of the anime often relying on a reverse grip and a one-handed Chinese style of swordsmanship characterized by spinning slashes and full body rotations. A very exotic type of blade work in comparison to the two-handed Kenjutsu of Himura Kenshin and most other swordsman throughout the series. Enishi spent much of his life after his sister's death rising through the ranks of the Chinese triad heirarchy to wield a hybrid sword named the "wato" consisting of a Japanese katana blade mounted atop a Chinese jian handle. Based on the manga where he invents a martial art called "Watojutsu" which incorporates Chinese and Japanese sword techniques, this fictional martial art itself is derived from a historical sword style centered around the "wodao". A Chinese sword modeled around Japanese blades.
Enishi is able to equal Kenshin's wall-running and floor-sliding agility overwhelming his opponent with his maddening ferocity and immensely powerful kicks fueled by the torment of losing his beloved older sibling. There is a beauty and brutality to Enishi's enraged attacks and though not explicitly mentioned in the movie there is a hint of his Kyokeimyaku, or "Nerves of Insanity" from the manga. A state of being which greatly heightens his physical attributes marked by Enishi's exaggerated vasculature. Kenji Tanigaki, a frequent collaborator of Donnie Yen and now one of the foremost Japanese action directors, is the choreographic artist behind this manga mayhem more than making up for the choppily edited Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins likely ruined by directorial interference. Like his choreographic colleague, Kensuke Sonomura of Hydra, Kenj Tanigaki also studied under the great Yasuaki Kurata melding the more minimalistic draw-sword style of traditional samurai flicks with the ultra-fast and elaborate Hong Kong approach to weapons combat to produce a wholly unique cinematic sword fighting aesthetic. The Rurouni Kenshin series is without a doubt his crowing achievement and its fourth film finale the #1 fight scene of 2021.
So, do you think I should've waited until I caught The King's Man in theaters instead of prematurely finalizing this list? Because judging by a teaser clip of one of the fight scenes already available online, it certainly seems to live up to the standards set by the previous Kingsman films. Darn these Covid-caused delays. We could've also gotten John Wick 4 by now. Oh well, until next year....I've got the sampled fight scene for The King's Man and trailer for One More Shot down below just to see what you're (and I'm) potentially missing out on after having excluded them from the list due to time constraints...Also, please subscribe to the website for more top 12s. I was on a multi-month hiatus for work-related reasons and I mentioned Top 12 Spear Fight Scenes being the next list but I had to put that on hold to complete this article. So just keep in mind that the very next listicle will be on spears. Hope to see you there and enjoy the New Year!
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