Favorite Fight Scenes of All Time – Part 2

Everyone loves a good fight scene, right? I know I do. Hell, I LOVE a good fight scene. There’s something about a fight scene that just gets me going. Not to the extent that I’m going to start picking fights with strangers – at least not anymore – but seeing the hard work of training and filming for months and weeks just for our enjoyment is awesome to watch. So here is where I’m going to shout out some of my favorite fight scenes of all time. Obviously, this is my list and purely my opinion, so if there is a fight that I missed, it’s probably because I simply forgot. This is also, most likely, the first installment of many articles to come.

However, before we get to the list I want to say how I will approach this, at least fight wise. I’m not including battle scenes, which pretty much excludes anything from The Lord of the Rings or the great opening from Saving Private Ryan (another post maybe?). The fights will range from one-on-one or one-on-two, or something along those lines. Also, despite the order, I’m not ranking them. Finally, some of these fights, could be final fights so SPOILER WARNING!

Alright, let’s get cracking…bones…too much? Too much.

 

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy – News Team Street Fight

Oh, you thought this series was going to be just serious fight scenes? Oh no. Although, this arguably breaks my battle rule, this fight is too good to pass up on the list. It is fun and over the top in the right way possible.

 

The Raid 2: Berndal – Rama vs. Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Man

I briefly mentioned this fight in Part One of the series, and I thought I’d talk about it here considering this is a great lead-in to that final fight. Berndal really builds up the threat of Hammer Girl (Julie Estelle) and Baseball Bat Man (Very Tri Yulisman) – yes, those are their credited names – throughout the entire movie on more than one occasion. So when it came down to them versus Iko Uwais’ Rama, the threat is very real.

Behind-the-scenes it’s cool to find out that Julie Estelle, who had no background in martial arts, trained for six months before starting to shoot, and all her effort really showed. Of course, it helped that she had some great teachers. Also, expect to see her name pop up again in the future.

 

The Matrix – Neo vs. Agent Smith (Subway)

When The Matrix came out, it was groundbreaking on every level; from the story, the visuals, and the characters and, of course, the fights. While it’s easy to remember the building shootout, the thing I remember the most about the movie is the fight between Neo and Agent Smith in the subway. The fight proves the Neo could go face-to-face with an agent, and hold his own, despite the lack of real training. Also, it was a chance to show off the tremendous work on every level behind the camera.

 

Atomic Blonde – Lorraine vs. Thugs & Solider (Daniel Bernhardt)

David Leitch is now become a household name thanks to his work in John Wick, and the man has been going nonstop since then. The former stuntman, now director, obviously has an eye for directing action, and after seeing John Wick, it should have come as no surprise that Atomic Blonde would have great looking, hard hitting action and fight scenes. The highlight for me is the final big showdown between Charlize Theron’s Lorraine going up against kill squad and a character simply known as The Soldier, played by Daniel Bernhardt – another well-known or at least recognizable stunt man. The fight is made to look like a one-take, and it is seamlessly done.

 

Ip Man – Ip Man vs. Ten Blackbelts

Hey look, its Donnie Yen again! Anyway, throughout all of Ip Man we see Donnie Yen’s titled character show a tremendous amount restraint during his fights, but it was at this part of the movie where he finally cuts loose, and shows the deadly side of his character and of Wing Chun. The sight is masterful, brutal and a sight to see.

 

The Protector (Tom yum goong) – Kham vs. Madam Rose’s Men (Finale)

Tony Jaa made a name for himself here in the States with the success of Ong-Bak, which we’ll see later in the series, but I’m going to focus on his second movie The Protector (or Tom yum goong). More specifically, the massive finale when Kham lets loose after seeing his whole purpose throughout the movie is gone. The rage he lets out against Madame Rose’s men who dare cross him is almost cringe worthy to watch, but so damn good to not turn away (so if bone crunching or snapping is hard for…maybe don’t watch this one).

 

The Man from Nowhere – Cha vs. Henchmen (Finale)

The Man from Nowhere is a South Korean action thriller that stars Won Bin as Cha Tae-sik, a quiet pawnshop keeper who gets befriends a young girl, but when she gets kidnapped, his violent past and abilities come back out. It’s a really worthwhile film that you should check out – it even got a Hindi remake called Rocky Handsome – and was rumored to get an American remake (still in developmental-hell). One of the great things about the film is it’s a slow-build action film. There are action bits throughout the film, but it saves the big moments for the finale that sees Cha take on dozens of guys after they mess up pretty bad.

‘The Conjuring 2’ Review

Director: James Wan

Writers: Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes, James Wan and David Leslie Johnson

Cast: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Madison Wolfe, Frances O’Connor, Lauren Esposito, Benjamin Haigh, Patrick McAuley, Simon McBurney, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Simon Delaney, Franka Potente, Bob Adrian, Javier Botet and Bonnie Aarons

Synopsis: Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits.

 

*Reviewer Note: This will be a spoiler free review.*

 

James Wan surprised everyone back in 2013 with his surprise summer horror hit film The Conjuring. Based off the case files of real life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, the film put Wan back on the map. When it was announced that a sequel would happen, many thought that maybe Wan wouldn’t make an equally good film that The Conjuring was. Well, it turns out, it is, and arguably better than the first.

The Conjuring 2 is based and inspired (as some things were added for the sake of story) by the Warren’s case, the Enfield Poltergeist in London. The case follows single mother of four, Peggy Hodgson (O’Connor), who is just trying to get by. However, when her children in Margaret (Esposito), Johnny (McAuley), Billy (Haigh) and Janet (Wolfe) starts experiencing strange occurrences throughout the house and Janet starts showing signs of demonic possession, Peggy has no choice but to call for help. Enter Ed and Lorraine Warren (Wilson and Farmiga), who are called in at first to just oversee and report if this is truly a case of demonic activity or a hoax, which many believe it is. Of course, thing progress very fast and dangerously that the Warren’s have no choice but to help and save the family, especially Janet.

The Conjuring 2 had some big shoes to fill, but thankfully, the film steps up its game and brings a little more scares and ups the creepiness factor from the previous film. Wan has already established himself as a great horror director, but if it wasn’t clear by now, Wan is a great director, period. The way he sets up the shots and brings the story together is done effectively, and his collaboration with cinematographer Don Burgess makes the film feel more eerie than the first. There are a few particular shots that still give me chills just thinking about them, one of them involves an out of focus character.

Wan is also able to make some horror clichés work for him. Like his previous horror films, the jump scares are scattered throughout, but still manage to work and don’t feel like there are forced like other horror films. Also, the dreadful scenes are enhanced by the villains. There is Bill Wilkins (Adrian), the demon scaring the Hodgson family and seemingly possessing Margaret. The Demon Nun (Aaron), which is creepy in name itself, but more creepier in the film I assure you, and one of the standouts The Crooked Man (Botet), who I won’t ruin, and I sure many will think is mostly CGI, but he isn’t.

Like The Conjuring, the leads may be Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s Ed and Lorraine Warren, but the sequel spends a lot of time with the Hodgson’s that we feel emotionally connected to them and worry for them when things start to go down. However, we do spend most time with Janet, played impressively by Madison Wolfe. Wolfe really owns every scene she’s in and you can feel the dread along with her. Frances O’Connor’s mother character Peggy starts by not believing her children until she sees it herself and will do anything to project her children no matter the cost. Patrick McAuley and Laruen Esposito don’t really get too much screen time, but you can sense that they want will stand by their sister. Finally, Benjamin Haigh, who plays the youngest child Billy, is given a different trait than the others that shows that the family is dealing with their own problems.

Wilson and Farmiga, once again, are fantastic as the Warrens with Farmiga getting more of the meatier material. Lorraine is still struggling to adjust and control her ability to tap into the supernatural, but also trying to live a normal life with her family, which is always at risk with their line of work. Wilson takes a bit of a backseat this time around, but does have his moments to break through.

All in all, The Conjuring 2 is as effective, if not more, than its predecessor. The cast, more specifically Madison Wolfe, bring life to the dreadful and scary story of the Enfield Poltergeist. Filled with great scary moments and overall terrific cinematography, The Conjuring 2 is worth the watch for horror fans and people that love being scared alike.

The Conjuring 2

4.5 out of 5