Boyka! Boka! Boyka! This English (not Russian) actor/martial artist behind the fictional character Yuri Boyka has trained in Gymnastics, Judo, Jujutsu, Taekwondo, Karate, Kickboxing, Wushu, Capoeira, Krav Maga, Jeet Kune Do, and even Ninjutsu. Having as varied of a martial arts background as other stars like Donnie Yen and Michael Jai White, he started out as one of the most underrated cinematic martial artists of this generation but has recently begun slowly breaking out into the mainstream. Scott Adkin's martial artistry is as skillful as is his acting range beginning his career in various television dramas before making his name known in the world of B-movie action which paved the way towards several minor Hollywood roles. He can act as either hero or villain without losing his personal charisma and has delved into virtually every subgenre of film from espionage thrillers like The Bourne Ultimatum, the military drama of Zero Dark Thirty, fantasy films such as The Legend of Hercules, sci-fi comedies like The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud, and even horror action including the zombie found footage film Re-Kill and this year's Netflix vampire slaying actioner starring Jaime Foxx, Day Shift. It only seems like the best is still yet to come.....so here are my 12 favorite Scott Adkins fight scenes.
#12. Debt Collectors (2020)
Also known as The Debt Collector 2 and directed by Jesse V. Johnson who you'll see quite often on this list, Scott Adkins (also executive producer) and Louis Mandylor reprise their roles as the debt collecting duo from the first film spending yet another film collecting debts for their boss while being hunted down by a notorious drug lord wanting to avenge the death of their brother. Bonded by blood throughout the course of the two movies in various bare-handed beatdowns and gun fights, these two still have their fair share of differences. This conflict culminates in an alleyway fist fight that Scott Adkins himself said was an homage to an obviously similar fight from the John Carpenter sci-fi classic They Live between wrestler-turned-actor Roddy Piper and the famously deep-voiced Keith David. But instead of a pair of alien-vision shades, the altercation hinges on a bag of money.
Scott Adkins and Louis Mandylor's witty banter turns to bickering finally becoming a full-on bruise-filled brawl. The older and less athletic Louis Mandylor brings his old-school boxing drawing from his real-life background as a 14-4 Melbourne boxer. Scott Adkins is of course the younger and more agile of the pair as skilled with his feet as he is with his fists but toning down the more acrobatic flash of his usual style for a more realistic fight sequence. Louis Mandylor acts as the Roddy Piper of the scenario attempting to de-escalate the situation pleading for Scott Adkins, sort of the Keith David here, to come to an agreement. Adkins even tries to prove MMA's superiority to plain boxing by putting Mandylor in a triangle choke but is denied his victory when his Aussie frenemy slams him into the windshield of a car. Fortunately he gets some minor revenge punching through a random bottle Mandylor picks up before knocking him down onto the pavement with a clean straight punch. More dialogue-driven than most Scott Adkins fight scenes and most fight scenes in general, it's humor and choreographic moments don't quite "live" up to that of They Live but there are enough clever comedic setups like Mandylor successfully groin-kicking Adkins on his second try to keep us entertained.
Gritty but not totally serious, this bloody bout shows that though Scott Adkins is certainly more than just another British brawler, he can also stage some convincing grounded combat even more so than he already had in earlier movies like Green Street Hooligans 3 emphasizing the element of fatigue as every major hit and combination causes each debt collector to clasp their bodies and roll around on the ground in pain. And what better man to choreograph this than Luke LaFontaine who was also behind the more brawl-centric fights of another Scott Adkins-led film Savage Dog. Only time will tell if we get a sequel to this second installment giving another chance for Louis Mandylor to display his film fighting abilities. And this was definitely not his first time as he played a season 1 regular in the television series Martial Law starring Sammo Hung as well as a small part in another Scott Adkins brawl actioner Avengement.
#11. Extreme Challenge (2001)
This next entry does not star Scott Adkins but rather he plays an opponent of the actual lead Jun Ngai Yeung, both competing in the world's first online broadcast fighting tournament (at least in the film's own early 2000s' universe that is). Their fight scene is a great showcase of Scott Adkins' weapon work complimenting the Taekwondo and MMA style he's typically known for. Adkins has mentioned many times that the high standards and high impact methods of Hong Kong cinema early on in his career has provided him the experience to easily adapt to the often lesser expectations of western action cinema. And what a way to gain that experience than with one of the premiere HK films studios Golden Harvest in only his second film Extreme Challenge under the direction of highly respected martial arts movie regular Stephen Tung Wai.
The clunky wood-on-metal sound effects and sometimes too close for comfort camerawork somewhat distracts from the fast-paced choreographic complexity of the scene. However Scott Adkins' nunchaku skills are undeniable, using his nunchuks to both block and kind of grapple his way into a closer quarters zone against his longer-ranged staff-wielding opponent. As is the fate of most western "villains" in Hong Kong films, Scott Adkins is ultimately defeated by his eastern adversary, victim to a unique but clearly mismatched weapons duel. Adkins' previous movie was with none other than Jackie Chan in The Accidental Spy and Extreme Challenge allowed him to continue his collaboration with Chan's team by working with an ex-JC Stunt Team member Jack Wong Wai-Leung who made a quick cameo as one of the tournament fighters. Another former member of the JC stunt team Chan Sai-Tang and action designer Anthony Carpio lent their hands for the fight scenes as well. I couldn't find any background information on Jun Ngai Yeung, Scott Adkins' opponent. Whoever he is, he's more than a capable screen fighter next to Adkins and it's a shame that this was apparently (based on my research) the only movie he has ever appeared in. Scott Adkins on the other hand we do know thankfully and this fight sequence is one of the few times (or even only times) we see him wield a nunchaku on-screen, and only a handful of instances where we can watch his weapon skills in general.
#10. Ninja (2009)
Besides Jesse V. Johnson, Isaac Florentine is one of the most frequent directors of films starring Scott Adkins ever since their first collaboration in 2003's Special Forces. So much so that there's a meta-joke in Debt Collectors where a henchman happens to recognize Scott Adkins' character as the star of the 2009 film Ninja, which takes the next place on the list. Ninja stars Adkins as an American Japanese-trained ninja who is sent by his sensei to New York City to defend the Yoroi Bitsu, the weapons and armor of the last Koga ninja, from a rogue shinobi who plans to kill their mutual sensei and destroy their dojo as revenge for being expelled. The movie's got loads of ninja-themed action demonstrating Scott Adkins' proficiency with various ninjutsu weaponry primarily the katana. An equal amount of open-handed combat is also included to balance out the weapon work, the best of them being Adkins' raiding of the headquarters of the rogue ninja's employer.
Most of Scott Adkins' fight scenes are 1-on-1 affairs but this one-against-all shows how well his style translates just as well when facing off multiple foes at once. Some cult members make the mistake of bringing guns to a Scott Adkins fight and he gracefully disarms them (a preview of what we might see from him in John Wick 4?) resulting in the remaining attackers whipping out their expandable batons. Director Isaac Florentine admitted to paying tribute to the dojo scene from Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury when visualizing this fight which is quite evident in several shots. One of which sees Scott Adkins consecutively single-kicking several henchmen from an almost isometric viewpoint. Adkins however is far more acrobatically skilled than the late Bruce executing all manner of flashy Taekwondo kicks including a scissor variation of the Guyver kick that he lands on two unwitting goons at once. Having come out several years after Adkins made the Guyver kick his own signature technique in Undisputed 2, Ninja had to one-up that iconic moment by combining two high-flying kicks into one. To avoid a repetitive kicking fest, Scott Adkins is allowed to use some stand-up grappling and throws straight from the very first martial art he ever learned, Judo.
This is the first fight scene on this list that represents the flavor of action that Scott Adkins is most recognized for designed by Power Rangers suit actor and fight choreographer Akihiro Noguchi who was also responsible for the fight sequences from Special Forces. Noguchi employs the same wide acrobatic movements framed by wide camerawork that defines all Power Rangers fights but with more adult-oriented brutality. Serving alongside Akihiro Noguchi as stunt coordinator is Fumio Demura, the man who stunt doubled for Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi and choreographed the fight scenes for the entire Karate Kid series. Demura also cameo-d as one of the ninjutsu school's masters in Ninja. Together with Akihiro Noguchi and Scott Adkins' own martial arts training, Isaac Florentine made sure to represent Japanese martial arts through the flair of modern action film-making filtered through Scott Adkins' own method of martial movement.
#9. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
Some have said that Scott Adkins is sort of a successor to Jean-Claude Van Damme; a western non-American cinematic martial artist with as much if not more movie magnetism than Van Damme but who unfortunately arrived on the martial arts movie scene a decade or two too late to achieve the global fame that JCVD had. It might've been because of that comparison that Adkins was chosen to lead the non-theatrically released sequel to Van Damme's action classic Hard Target as well as eventually trade blows with Van Damme himself in The Shepherd, Assassination Games, and for the 9th entry on the list, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. The final film in the Universal Soldier series and a direct sequel to the last film which was itself an immediate follow-up to the first film ignoring the events of the 3 sequels in between (complicated, I know). Jean Claude Van Damme reprises his role as the original universal soldier the franchise is named after who, in a dark twist, has become the head of a group of fellow uni-sols that have been liberated from the US military's control and wish to topple the government and create a new world ruled only by freed universal soldiers. Oh yeah, and Van Damme also murdered the wife and daughter of Scott Adkins' character. Among the various action sequences littered throughout the movie is a single take firefight through a narrow tunnel (more unintended preparation for his role in John Wick 4?) reminiscent of the hospital shootout in the John Woo gun-fu flick Hard Boiled. Scott Adkins' on-screen fights with Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren are the most high-profile scenes in the film but perhaps the most original fight scene is with former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.
Arlovski plays a newly activated uni-sol ordered by an FBI agent to hunt down all rogue uni-sols until he is reprogrammed by Dolph Lundgren to instead kill all opposition to Van Damme's movement landing Scott Adkins firmly in Arlovski's crosshairs. In a more conventional Scott Adkins fight scene these two would square off in a brutal but stylish MMA-style fight. Who wouldn't wanna see Yuri Boyka vs. an actual mixed martial arts fighter? Because Arlovski already adapted his mixed martial arts moves into the previous film as a different character, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning mixes things up by trading Arlovski's fists with weapons in a rematch against Scott Adkins in a sports store to settle the score for their first fight where an unarmed Adkins defended himself from Arlovski's axe. In this second bout, Adkins levels the playing field by matching weapons in a metal baseball bat duel. Arlovski is clearly physically stronger relying on brute force to man-handle the shorter but more athletic Adkins who gets to show off his usual backflip and spinning kicks yet resourceful enough to use a dumbbell plate as a defensive object. The standout segment of the fight is of course the bat-on-bat action as Adkins gains the advantage by wielding his own bat with the technical finesse of a sword without sacrificing the gritty body-smashing appeal of the bat itself.
Scott Adkins mentioned in interviews that Arloski picked up the choreography rather quickly which is not always the case for combat sports athletes transitioning into film fighting. Fighting that was conceptualized by the choreographic mind behind Undisputed 3, Larnell Stovall. Having directed the more straight-forward previous film Universal Soldier: Regeneration, director John Hyams opted for a more horror-esque atmosphere for this film creating a survival thriller like tone in what could've simply been an ordinary sci-fi action flick. Even Andrei Arlovski is depicted like a Terminator/Jason Voorhees type slasher villain swinging around a fire axe of all weapons as mentioned before. It's this survival horror feel and gory goodness that makes a great argument for Scott Adkins being a damn good fit for the currently radio-silent American remake of The Raid or at least his appearance in a future Gareth Evans or Timo Tjahjanto movie. The head-splattering fatality in this fight scene alone would warrant his fan-demanded casting as Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 2. If not, we at least got this beautifully brutal bat brawl. Top 12 baseball bat fight scenes anyone?
#8. Close Range (2015)
(skip to 1:25 for specific fight scene discussed below)
Ranking in at #8 is Close Range, another actor-director team-up with Scott Adkins and Isaac Florentine which Adkins also executively produced. An ex-soldier played by an American-accented Scott Adkins frees his niece from a Mexican drug cartel and flees to his home in Arizona where he finds his niece captured again along with her mother by members of the same cartel aided by a corrupt local sheriff. There's a bit more gunplay than most Scott Adkins movies like the close quarters firefight inside his sister's house, but as always some fist-fighting, or "foot-fighting" in Adkins' case, is included for good measure. One example is a medium-length one shot sequence across a cartel office building. The film's top fight scene however is with a cartel enforcer played by the movie's very own fight choreographer Jeremy Marinas, a member of the prestigious 87 Eleven Action Design team and fight coordinator for many major Hollywood productions like Hitman: Agent 47, XXX: The Return of Xander Cage, Gemini Man, and a certain film out next year I've been mentioning maybe too many times by now also featuring Scott Adkins, John Wick: Chapter 4.
As well-rounded of a movie martial artist as Scott Adkins drawing from a similar set of fighting styles like Taekwondo, Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, and Boxing, Jeremy Marinas mixes it up with Adkins in a mixed martial arts themed "close range" fight. You might recognize Marinas' form of film fighting to be pretty similar to what he used against Tiger Chen in Man of Tai Chi a couple years before. To change up the pace of the frenetic back-and-forth strikes, some grappling maneuvers are incorporated in which the two counter each other's Judo throws. Marinas is also able to display his own acrobatic takedown and a snippet of his tricking talent after being leg sweeped by Adkins (yes, I said "sweeped" not swept, it sounds cooler in my opinion). This empty-handed combat is the second half however as the beginning is devoted to a knife vs. belt battle interestingly reversing the roles where the antagonist unbuckles their belt to out-weaponize the knife-wielding protagonist. Jeremy Marinas is usually a background stunt performer or behind the camera helping shine the spotlight on the bigger stars he often works with. But when he does step onto the main stage in an actual fight sequence he sometimes outshines even the main actors he's trying to headline much like Tim Man. Marinas' choreographic approach also bears some resemblance to Tim Man's implementing fast-paced striking and grappling intensified by the old-school Hong Kong method of undercranking albeit with more dynamic camera movement that sweeps across the screen and encircles the fighters in focus. If there ever is an Undisputed 5, Marinas better be one of Boyka's opponents. Or else I will be very sad. I'll let this fight scene from Close Range be it's placeholder for now.
#7. Accident Man (2018)
Jesse V. Johnson takes the directorial seat again in this Scott Adkins film adaptation of a comic book of the same name. After stunt doubling Ryan Reynolds as the mouthless final form of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and a rogue sorcerer in Doctor Strange (but still not Batman?!), Scott Adkins decided he bring to the digital screen a far lesser known comic property that he himself was an avid fan of. Accident Man became this passion project also produced by Adkins where he plays a self-aware self-narrating hitman who executes his targets in a manner as to make them appear like accidents hence his character's titular nickname. His everyday work schedule is turned on its head when he is attacked by another inexperienced hired killer and later discovers his ex-girlfriend and unborn child were murdered by fellow hitmen employed by their mutual boss. This pair of mercenaries are played by two other underrated cinematic martial artists Michael Jai White and Ray Park. Though Adkins' specialty is in assassinations disguised as non-human caused tragedies, he's still essentially a Scott Adkins character in a Scott Adkins movie and so he happens to also be a natural expert in hand-to-hand combat which the film emphasizes with great liberty in fight scene after fight scene. Some of the best being against one of the most accomplished stunt women and femme fatales of this generation Amy Johnston, a frigid face-off against bodybuilder Martyn Ford acting as an on-screen rematch after their first meet-up in Undisputed 4, as well an apartment brawl with an axe-wielding Ross O'Hennessy.
But as mentioned before, the best fight sequence is a 2-on-1 where Scott Adkins takes on Michael Jai White and Ray Park playing two ex-spec ops soldiers. This would be round 3 against Michael Jai White after their very first set of film fights in Undisputed 2 and a second go around in the sci-fi series Metal Hurlant Chronicles. What is a first-time occurrence is in Scott Adkins' fight with world wushu champion Ray Park, the man known to many pop culture enthusiasts as Darth Maul, Snake Eyes, and Toad from the 2000 X-Men film yet still fairly overlooked compared to other film fighters. Michael Jai White and Ray Park seem to follow more traditional fighting styles that match their traditional gi attires despite White especially having as varied of a background of both modern and conservative martial arts as Scott Adkins. Adkins of course sticks with his usual MMA/ Kickboxing form. As masterful as the martial artistry of Michael Jai White and Ray Park are, their moves appeared to be slowed down a little more than usual which is a recurrent theme in speed throughout the whole movie in spite of some obvious undercranking. Scott Adkins is also subject to this slow-down but because he's the movie's leading man he's given the most show-stopping moves leaping from one flashy takedown to another including one technique that throws both his adversaries at the same time as well as executing a wide selection of aerial kicks from triple front kicks to 540 double kicks, double sidekicks and a jack knife.
Accident Man is Scott Adkins at his most comedic but still delivering his signature style of action thanks to the choreographic expertise of Tim Man who also cameos as a motorcyclist in a fight scene that gives Adkins a chance to try and replicate the off-the-bike sidekick Jackie Chan had pulled off back in the 80s' with Wheels on Meals. Tim Man does have a tendency to lower the overall pace of the movements in some movies and Accident Man is one of them but the grace and grit of its fight sequences particularly this 1-against-2 are crafted excellently enough to make for some satisfyingly superb Scott Adkins screen fighting. Further enhancing the fight scene is LA second unit fight choreographer Luke LaFontaine of the Debt Collector series and Savage Dog to name a few Scott Adkins films. The sound effects seem to evoke a comic book vibe incorporating the bass-heavy impacts of contemporary fight films but with the softer "pshh pshh" of older 90s' and early 2000s' movies helping to add to the action-heavy yet somewhat campy tone. This is not the last time Scott Adkins will probably play a hired killer as we'll soon likely see in John Wick 4 and even sooner than that, the Accident Man sequel set to be released theatrically and digitally in mid-October.
#6. Ip Man 4 (2019)
Spending the beginning of his career in the Hong Kong action industry particularly in Jackie Chan films The Accidental Spy and The Medallion, Scott Adkins had the fortune of crossing paths with many other of Hong Kong's best martial arts actors. Jet Li in Unleashed, Wu Jing in Wolf Warrior, as well as Andy On in Black Mask 2 and Abduction to name a few. Scott Adkins' Hong Kong filmographic heritage would eventually come full circle when Donnie Yen made a special request for Adkins to act as the relentlessly racist American marine sergeant in Ip Man 4. Adamant on banning any Chinese influence from their martial arts curriculum, Scott Adkins plays his antagonistic role more compellingly and convincingly than most other cartoonishly over-the-top western bad guys in not only the Ip Man series but the vast majority of Hong Kong martial arts films overall. Adkin's acting skill in particular makes up for the narrative setup that is basically rehashed from Ip Man 2 laying the dramatic foundation for Adkins' 2 main fight scenes. Wu Yue, portraying a Tai Chi grandmaster extremely hesitant on allowing both Ip Man and his disciple Bruce Lee from joining the local San Francisco Chinese martial arts association (pretty much Sammo Hung in Ip Man 2), he later puts aside his differences with Ip Man to maintain respect for all Chinese martial artists by facing the non-Chinese asshole of a fighter that is Scott Adkins' US gunnery sergeant (more or less Darren Shahlavi from Ip Man 2).
Donnie Yen and Scott Adkins may be a little past their physical prime by the time of this movie's release but there's little complaint when two of the greatest cinematic martial artists of our time have an excuse to finally cross fists on screen. The anachronistic yet undeniably awesome prospect of Ip Man taking on Yuri Boyka has always been a personal dream of mine to the point of me dedicating an hour long video on the topic. And this fight scene comes as close as it gets. Scott Adkins is in his familiar fighting form simplifying his more unorthodox acrobatic kicks for a more "practical" contemporary Karate-Kickboxing style mashed with a moderate mixed martial arts flavor to distinguish him from the other Karate stylists we've already seen throughout the Ip Man series. The most traditional Karate move he uses is in fact a downward knife hand strike in the beginning of the fight. Otherwise it's all modern striking and grappling from the kicks and punches to the takedowns and ground-and-pound. Unfortunately this means Scott Adkins' iconic Guyver kick is also excluded but maybe that would've been a little cliched by now?
Not nearly as brutal as are the fight scenes in the Undisputed franchise as we'll soon see, this no-holds-barred almost-to-the-death duel is the bloodiest battle so far in the Ip Man canon. Still recovering from a left wrist injury, Ip Man's weakness is mercilessly exploited by Scott Adkins pushing the Wing Chun grandmaster to resort to the most "forbidden" attacks at his disposal ultimately leaving the gunnery sergeant groaning in agony and restoring the respected status of Chinese martial arts. Coming back from Ip Man 3 is the king of choreographed kung fu Yuen Woo-Ping who made sure not to wire-enhance the aerial excellence of Scott Adkins and let his authentic legwork speak for itself next to the always immaculate wing chun of Donnie Yen. Serving by Woo-Ping's side are his brothers Yuen Shun-Yi, Yuen Cheung-Yan, as well as assistant martial arts directors Chan Siu-Wah and Darren Leung Tat-Yin. The normally quick motion of Yuen Woo-Ping and pretty much all the best Hong Kong action films is reduced perhaps to amplify the perceived power of Scott Adkins' fists and feet and to shift the perception of superior speed towards Donnie Yen as is one of Ip Man's key characteristics. In spite of this slow down, Yuen Woo-Ping and his choreographic team nonetheless create an epic climax to the 4th installment of a near decade-spanning movie series. All we need now is a pure MMA match-up between Scott Adkins and Donnie Yen, the two film fighters who have most entertainingly adapted MMA into cinematic form.
#5. Triple Threat (2019)
Waiting years and years for major martial arts movie actors to finally assemble is one guaranteed way to build up massive hype for a film and that is exactly what Triple Threat sets out to do. A movie I personally had the pleasure of watching in theaters during its very limited 1-day only theatrical release I might add. Scott Adkins is the primary antagonist, a Taekwondo terrorist leading a team of martial mercenaries. Two of those mercenaries being Tony Jaa and Tiger Chen who decide to leave the squad after regretfully massacring a village and in the process, unknowingly killing Iko Uwais's wife. Uwais has an expected and passionate hatred towards Jaa and Chen but the three resolve their disputes and agree to join forces forming the titular "triple threat" to put an end to Scott Adkins' senseless slaughtering of innocents.
A 3-on-1 against Adkins would have made an incredible and fairly unique fight sequence as triple team fights in films are few and far between. What we got however certainly sufficed in entertainment value; a mostly 1-on-1 between martial arts contemporaries Tony Jaa and Scott Adkins with a bit of Iko Uwais in the middle. Uwais' speedy Silat is slowed down to match the rhythm of the more strength-based move-by-move method of Jaa and Adkins. Sadly this means Uwais is relegated to a simple distraction to make room for the Jaa vs. Adkins portion of the fight that is clearly the focus of the sequence. But what a sequence it is. It's Scott Adkins' taekwondo vs. Tony Jaa's taekwondo in an amazing aerial display incorporating each of their trademark kicks. Adkins, being the final boss so to speak, gets the most impressive techniques like a 2-man double sidekick 540 and a backflip drop kick he borrowed from another Jesse v. Johnson directed and Tim Man choreographed film Eliminators. It isn't until the the cool blue first stage of the fight moves to the reddish orange second stage where Jaa manages to become fired up enough to execute some tricky counter kicks and his most iconic Muay Thai moves to set up a "Jaa-dropping" double knee knife finisher on Adkins. Jaa even throws in what can be interpreted as a bit of meta-humor criticizing Adkins' acting methodology by repeatedly telling him to shut the hell up. Ironically, Scott Adkins would double down on the hypertalkativeness in Accident Man which came out not long after.
Before Triple Threat, Scott Adkins, Jesse V. Johnson, and Tim Man had gradually established themselves as their own true triple team within the martial arts B-movie realm. That triple force of action talent is what finally lead to enough trust in their potential to adapt the real triple threat in cinematic form we see before us now. Assistant fight choreographer Eric Cullet tags along behind Tim Man in this endeavor and what results is some great modern martial mayhem ending in a finale bringing together 2 competing kings of contemporary martial arts cinema. You'll certainly find more choreographic originality in Scott Adkins' and Tony Jaa's own starring roles (keep reading and you'll know what I mean) but Tim Man made sure that Triple Threat was at the very least a tribute to their previous films retaining the stylized grit that defined Adkins and Jaa's martial aesthetic. I've talked about the Guyver kick being absent in many of Scott Adkins' fight scenes and while it may be overused in the case of most other films, Triple Threat might be the most truly missed opportunity as the final fight in particular is largely almost a compilation of Adkins and Jaa's greatest "hits", in the literal sense. Scott Adkins created a cult status around the Guyver Kick but Tony Jaa had done it first all the way back in the original Ong-Bak film which he himself had taken from the kick's namesake film Guyver: Dark Hero. When you have 2 champions of the Guyver Kick in a movie that is partly a mashup of choreographic references, something that historically significant should be implemented into the fight sequence. Ideally even a chance to invent a newer variation on the Guyver Kick. Or, like my friend Andrew Makatsaria once imagined, Jaa and Adkins Guyver kicking each other simultaneously. Regardless, this film and especially its finale fight are probably a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration that we're lucky to have gotten at all. A spiritual sequel for Triple Threat has been greenlit since the first movie's production wrapped up so perhaps I've spoken too soon but so far there are no updates on it so only time will tell if it even happens....
#4. Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013)
Also known as Ninja 2, Ninja: Shadow of a Tear sees the return of the actor-director duo of Scott Adkins and Isaac Florentine in this sequel to 2009's Ninja. Scott Adkins ventures out from Japan to Thailand to track down the murderer of his wife who was his shinobi classmate and damsel in distress in the previous Ninja movie. Ninja 2 is a non-stop fight fest that outdoes the first film with an alleyway 2-on-1, outdoors drunken bar brawl, sparring session against a fellow ninjutsu practitioner, night-time knife duel against the film's choreographic architect himself Tim Man, and a one-take dojo sequence featuring one of Jackie Chan's kicking opponents Ron Smoorenburg that would be one of several practice runs among various films for the eventual film-length one-take sequence that became One Shot about a decade later. The ninja-centric action reaches its peak in the film's climax when Scott Adkins finally discovers that his old shinobi friend played by unsung screen fighter Kane Kosugi was the one who had killed his wife all along.
Kosugi offers a worthy boss battle as a master of a wide range of martial arts many of which are shared by Scott Adkins himself like Ninjutsu, Taekwondo, Judo, Karate, Kendo, and Wushu as well as being the son of the legendary ninja genre film actor Sho Kosugi. As the head of his own dojo in the film, Kosugi handles Scott Adkins with a somewhat condescending hands-down approach waiting to calmly counterattack Adkins' furious kicks and punches with his own more traditional hand techniques and clean acrobatic legwork that almost gives Adkins a run for his money. But this is a Scott Adkins film of course so it's Adkins that shows off all the fanciest moves whether it be a 540 triple kick, double sidekick to single sidekick combo or an axe-kick to front flip scissor-head takedown. Stunt doubled by the amazing yet under-the-radar Brahim Chab, this movie was the most stunt doubling required for Scott Adkins at the time due to a back injury. But the moves he demonstrates in this finale must've been him as the camera is focused quite close to his face.
Tim Man choreographs Ninja 2's fight sequences at a higher tempo than some of his later films. Fight sequences are generally more choreographically complex than the first Ninja though the final fight is less about the continuous intricate exchanges and more about momentary bursts of movement punctuated by a slow-mo flashy finisher. But that applies more to the hand-to-hand first phase of the fight as it moves towards a weapons stage that has the most diverse weapon work in any single Scott Adkins fight scene switching from staff to double sticks to a katana. The type of action one would normally expect from a conventional ninja film. Ray Park's double-bladed lightsaber skills were obviously left out of Accident Man but it's Kane Kosugi who gets to wield a double-sided blade instead. A cool-looking sword isn't enough to take on Scott Adkins however who earns some slightly poetic justice killing Kosugi with the very weapon he used to kill Adkins' wife. Ninja 2 is a genuine display of Japanese martial arts as director Isaac Florentine is a high accomplished Karate exponent and he couldn't have picked two better cinematic martial artists to represent them than Scott Adkins and Kane Kosugi. To this day we're all still waiting on a Ninja 3 and after 2 films of ninjutsu-fueled action, it's a wonder why Adkins has yet to have been chosen to portray the most popular fictional ninja of all time, Batman.
#3. Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing (2006)
(first two fight scenes in the video are the ones chosen but the third featured is briefly mentioned and a bonus)
Helmed by Isaac Florentine, Undisputed 2 is a sequel to the boxing-only-based movie starring Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames. This is the series that made Scott Adkins the king of direct-to-video martial arts movies giving him his most iconic character in his most famous movie series to date. Undisputed 2 shifted towards an MMA concept and like Ninja 2, out-actioned its predecessor but vastly more so than in even the Ninja series. Starring Michael Jai White taking over Ving Rhames' role as a former champion boxer, White is framed for cocaine possession as a means to enter him into a a prison fight against "the king of prison fighters" Yuri Boyka played by Scott Adkins. The Boxing vs. MMA match between Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins is what introduced most fans to the Guyver kick becoming so synonymous with Adkins' character that it has often been alternatively called the "Boyka kick". Their rematch in the film's finale determines whose mixed martial arts style is superior and although Michael Jai White is the star and was a more established action actor at the time, Scott Adkins absolutely steals the show as a ruthless and ripped Russian underground fighter. In fact, his "Russian"/Eastern European persona was so appealing that he would be somewhat typecast as such in later movies like The Tournament and The Expendables 2. MJW's main 2 fights against Scott Adkins are exemplary of mixed martial arts' adaptation into cinematic form. But they are a better showcase of MJW's own film fighting talents.
Scott Adkins/Boyka's theatrical yet brutal skillset on the other hand is best appreciated in his rounds against 2 other inmates. And I'm going with 2 fight scenes because I make the rules around here. Scott Adkins had to bulk up and trim down body fat to appear as an intimidating nemesis to the massively muscled Michael Jai White while also maintaining his incredible agility. This required significant adjustment to his more lean and muscular body type when executing his spectacular aerial kicks and the 2 following fights are more than adequate proof of that. The very first fight is with Italian-Croatian martial artist and world champion Taekwondo stylist Silvio Simac whose hulk-like physique and leg flexibility presents a physically menacing opponent for Boyka. Simac had fought alongside Scott Adkins as the largest of the pool fighters in Jet Li's Unleashed a year earlier so the two were definitely acquainted with one another's abilities. This fight would also be the first to feature the punch combo that would appear in several variations in later movies like the fight scenes mentioned before on this list for Accident Man and Ninja: Shadow of a Tear. If that first fight against Silvio Simac was more about Boyka's standing Judo and Kickboxing, his second fight revolves more around Muay Thai keeping the clinch combat of the previous fight but creating a contest of leg kicks while retaining the flash and flair of Boyka's more high-flying techniques. The second fighter in this 2-for-1 entry is played by Trayan Milenov-Troy, member of the Alpha Stunt Team and fight coordinator for the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and the Marvel mini-series Secret Invasion. You just never know what random unnamed fighters in these kinds of movies are actually skilled stunt coordinators.
These early fights convey Boyka's cocky demeanor often letting his guard down to take hits to the face and even head-butting punches to humiliate his opponents. The fight scenes are the choreographic stagecraft of prominent Hoyllwood stunt coordinator J.J. Perry who mentioned his Texan upbringing gave him an exposure and admiration of the spectacular lucha libre acrobatic takedowns of Mexican Pro Wrestling which he incorporated in the form of Boyka's off-the-rope leg sweep. J.J. Perry's 5th degree black belt in Taekwondo also meshes well with Scott Adkins' own Taekwondo mastery. This familiarity with one another's martial arts backgrounds is why Undisputed 2 would be one among several other Perry-Adkins collaborations films the most recent of which is the Netflix vampire action flick Day Shift. The dark moody lighting of the prison grants Undisputed 2 a more gritty tone and J.J. Perry's choreographic style is like an updated Bloodsport film; more realistic ring fights that highlight powerful but individually fast movements combining ferocity with flash ending in slow-motion finishing moves. The higher-pitched whip-like sound of the flying of fists and feet and their impact contrasted with the amplified bass and blood-spraying sounds following the more heavy hits that end in a loud powerful thud onto the floor of the ring are what gives Undisputed 2 the most impactful sound design of all the Undisputed films. Every element of the fight sequences come together magnificently and it's these two introductory fights from Boyka that gave Scott Adkins the cinematic breakthrough he deserved. One of his best acting performances and best films in general, Avengement, also feels like a spiritual prequel to Undisputed 2. And even if it doesn't, it nonetheless owes much to his breakout role as Boyka.
#2. Undisputed 3: Redemption (2010)
Isaac Florentine directs yet again in this third entry in the Undisputed series where Boyka goes from antagonist to anti-hero not fully recovered from his fateful knee-breaking injury in Undisputed 2 and now fighting for his own freedom in an international prison tournament. Like most tournament action films are, this movie is a fight scene extravaganza that, like Ninja 2, surpasses its previous installment in all areas of action. The ring is larger and the camera much wider to maximize the acrobatic artistry of Yuri Boyka and the other prison fighters. A brighter golden-brown lighting covering the ring evokes the prestige of the higher level elite tournament. The opening match against the local prison's newest top fighter allows Boyka to rise up from his status as "champion of the toilets" to regain his title as the most complete fighter of Russia. Although the final fight with Marko Zaror, an arguably more underrated cinematic fighter (who is given a rematch with Adkins in Savage Dog), is possibly the longest and most narratively climactic fight sequence in the entire Undisputed series, it is a far better exhibition of Zaror's martial talents than Scott Adkins'. So once again I'm choosing two other fight scenes packaged into one entry on this list to more effectively market Adkins' martial artistry.
First we have the match against a French fighter played by Trayan Milenov-Troy, returning from Undisputed 2 but as an entirely different character though with a similar fighting style albeit less Muay Thai and more of general kickboxing. Having an injured knee and encountering more skilled opponents, Boyka is more defensive than in the fights featured at the beginning of Undisputed 2 but he still does take a few hits with his guard down as is his modus operandi. Bringing back old signature moves like the backflip kick and downwards knee strike to counter a front kick, he also executes all new ones like the backwards bending kick and off-the-ropes reversal. Demonstrating a wide set of striking and grappling in stand-up and on the ground mixed with acrobatic takedowns and aerial kicking combos, Boyka's first official Prison Spetz Competition fight is a great showing of his classic style against an average MMA opponent. The next fight and perhaps the best of the film is the semi-final round against Capoeira maestre Lateef Crowder as the Brazilian prison champion. Having already shown off his capabilities in a previous match against a Greek fighter, Lateef Crowder is indeed the real-life Eddie Gordo even portraying the character in the live action Tekken film a year before Undisputed 3. Crowder fought against Tony Jaa in Tom-Yum-Goong and now stunt doubling for Pedro Pascal in The Mandalorian, a testament to his cinematic martial gifts.
In Undisputed 3, he plays one of the most unique combatants in the series as his low stance and off-the-floor sweeping movements provide a nice stylistic contrast against Boyka's more upright leaping leg motions. Their beautiful gymnastic kicks perfectly compliment each other in a dazzling display of acrobatics immediately at the start of the fight. Lateef's character even gets his own distinctive background music with traditional Brazilian capoeira instruments. Because he cannot out-kick Lateef, Boyka takes him to the ground in a triangle choke. And while Boyka is the victor, Lateef happens to be the only opponent that Boyka has ever outright paid respect to after a fight. This is Scott Adkins' first choreographic collaboration with Larnell Stovall before Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning and the film that Scott Adkins is personally the proudest of. A multitude of slow-mo moments accentuate the more spectacular techniques connected by slightly more unbroken striking sequences than in the previous film. Impact sounds are less pronounced than in Undisputed 2 but the noise of air resistance against the fighters' limbs as they swing their arms and legs is much weightier. In terms of a balance of action and character development, Undisputed 3 might honestly be the most complete Undisputed film and the Capoeira vs. MMA fight between Lateef Crowder and Scott Adkins is symbolic of that very balance. You're probably really annoyed by me repeatedly mentioning the Guyver kick by now but I have to point out how it's nowhere to be seen here especially since this is the sequel to the movie that cinematically associated it with Yuri Boyka. Maybe it would've seemed overused if featured again?
#1. Boyka: Undisputed 4 (2016)
Due to the death of his wife, Isaac Florentine came back only as producer passing on the directing hat to Todo Chapkanov. Also titled Boyka: Undisputed, or simply Undisputed 4, the fact that this movie takes the top spot on the list and filling up the highest 3 rankings with the Undisputed films might be a little predictable, cliched, and even lazy. But they are undisputedly the quintessential Scott Adkins films at the very least when it comes to the fight scenes. The majority of the list could consist solely of Undisputed film fight scenes and it would be completely justifiable but for the sake of variety I can only limit them to 2 per film at most. Yet it's still a somewhat daunting task. So here we are now at the the very top of the list for Top 12 Scott Adkins Fight Scenes. Free from the shackles of his prison days, Boyka has been crushing the competition in the world of professional MMA. Sadly his savagery in the ring goes a little too far accidentally killing one of his opponents. His remorse leads him to finding his opponent's widow who is now held under the grip of a crime boss working off her deceased husband's unpaid debts. Boyka transitions from anti-hero into a true hero striking a deal with the crime boss to have the widow released granted he wins a series of underground matches. Undisputed 3 may have been the most complete Undisputed film but Undisputed 4 may have the most complete fight sequences of the whole series. Out of the excellent selection of fight scenes to choose from is the more boxing centric opening fight, a kickboxing-like match with fellow Taekwondo artist played by Emilien De Falco whose character would set Boyka on the path to forgiveness, a final fight against the oh so underappreciated movie martial artist Brahim Chab who receives an awesome 540 variation of the Guyver kick from Boyka, and the actual surprise final fight against bodybuilder Martyn Ford. However the 2 fights I've chosen are none of these.
My first pick for the top 2 fight scenes in Undisputed 4 is the first of 3 agreed upon rounds with the crime boss's top fighters played by Trayan Milenov-Troy who was the French fighter in Undisputed 3 and Boyka's second opponent in Undisputed 2 but now portraying yet another new character who uses a more Muay Thai/Wrestling based style. Boyka's utilizes his favorite tried-and-true techniques like punching down his opponent's legs to block front kicks but also completely new ones we've never seen in the Undisputed series before or possibly any movie like the double back kick, a front kick-knee-superman punch aerial combo, and a gymnastic-style backflip kick. The next and what I think is the most entertaining fight of the entire film is the first-ever double-team match-up against two brothers played by the movie's fight choreographer Tim Man and former Jackie Chan Stunt Team member Andreas Nguyen aka Andy Long, Tim Man's Wushu and Taekwondo skillset are more than a match against Boyka's own TKD kicks. And combined with the versatile martial arts background of Andreas Nguyen, the pair offer their own unique acrobatic legwork until Boyka separates his two opponents and eventually ends the round with an incredible double knockout. The previous fight emphasized singular movements and combinations so this fight is attempted a different approach by weaving in more non-stop strings of choreography making this the most fast-paced fight of all the Undisputed films.
To enhance this faster pacing is a more lively and slightly shaky camera utilizing a special form of slow-mo that slows down for only a split second before speeding up to real time complete. In order to highlight the more spectacular moments, the slow-mo is cued by their own time-slowing sound effect which is just one of several changes in the sound style. The impact of flesh on flesh and the occasional bone-crunching blood-spitting finisher are more or less the same but without the whirl of air rushing past the fighters' bodies like in the past Undisputed movies maybe to add a greater sense of realism. Undisputed 4 has by far the most colorful set piece of any Undisputed film as the final 4 fights are imbued in the radiant neon of the restaurant conveying just how far more lucrative this underground combat club is than the dilapidated prison tournaments of Undisputed 2 and 3. Once again Tim Man proves to us he is as talented behind the camera as he is in front of it giving Boyka a run for his illegally earned money. And it is absolutely awesome to see Andreas Nguyen take on as famous of a martial arts movie character as Boyka landing aerial kicks and takedowns that not even Boyka has yet to pull off. This wouldn't be the last we would see of these three amazing martial artists as all 3 are combining their martial creativity in Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday.
So, do you think I should've waited until after I watched Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday to make this list instead of lazily putting out before then? Knock my teeth out with a well placed Guyver kick if you think so and subscribe to my website so you can be emailed when the next article is out. I'll give you a clue as to who that one will be about. It was the leading man in Undisputed 2. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and watch Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday....
Comments