No one can deny that the best fight scenes in movies accomplish what they set out to do — to bring more fun to the viewers. The audience gets the chance to see fictional characters fight each other while sitting comfortably in their seats. The fight scenes in movies force us to sit on the edges of our seats, waiting for the victor to emerge. But what makes a good fighting scene great? What separates blockbuster movie fight scenes from cheap ones?
A brilliant fight scene mixes and matches tension, creativity, and pacing till the perfect balance is found. Some of the best movie fight scenes from the ‘60s and ‘70s have a combination of the three. They keep the audience intrigued by showing off some cool martial arts moves. Of course, we can’t write off the best fight scenes from movies that came out in the past few decades. John Wick and The Bourne series can keep the fights creative, tension-filled, and paced for the modern audience.
If you aren’t one to get into physical confrontations yourself, movies can provide the needed amusement through the best fight scenes ever put on screen. Below, we compiled some of the most amusing fighting scenes ever. Leave an upvote on the ones that you feel have the best balance of the three. On the other hand, if you have your own favorite fighting scene, share it in the comments below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#41 Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (Obi-Wan Kenobi And Qui-Gon Jinn vs. Sith Darth Maul)

1999 | 2h 16m | Directed by George Lucas
Starring Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson and Natalie Portman
This franchise is known for its deep lore, brilliant characters, and some tension and action-filled lightsaber fights. They are like sword fights, but with bright lights. The fourth movie in the franchise, Episode I, sees Jedi Kenobi and Jinn fight the cool lightsaber-wielding Darth Maul, which makes the three fight in a choreographed light show.
Report
8points
#42 Batman Begins (Batman vs. Ra's Al Ghul)

2006 | 2h 20m | Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Ken Watanabe
Batman would do anything to save Gotham City — even if it leads to destroying some of its infrastructure and buildings. Bruce constantly forgets Ra’s’ warning to be aware of the surroundings throughout the film. When they fight in a moving train, Batman turns the tables on Ra’s. Batman defeats Ra’s by destroying the train in the process.
Report
8points
#43 The Northman (Amleth vs. Fjölnir)

2022 | 2h 17m | Directed by Robert Eggers
Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman and Claes Bang
On a not-so-stable volcano, Amleth, the hero of the story, tries to finish the man that started the turmoil in his family — his uncle Fjölnir. These two men clash in a great duel, bashing their shields and axes at one another. The battle ends in quite a brutal way — with both of them losing their heads.
Report
8points
#44 Peking Opera Blues (Tsao Wan, Sheung Hung And Bai Niu vs. Crooks)

1986 | 1h 44m | Directed by Hark Tsui
Starring Brigitte Lin, Sally Yeh and Cherie Chung
What happens when you put a cross-dressing revolutionary, a musician, and a stagehand against a group of gun-wielding crooks? You get an awesome fighting scene. The fight doesn’t hold back on hilarious humor, unexpected violence, and some of the best slow-motion shots in the history of cinema.
Report
7points
#45 Saving Private Ryan (Private Stanley Mellish vs. Waffen SS Soldier)

1998 | 2h 49m | Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon and Tom Sizemore
Spielberg did a magnificent job of capturing the horrors of World War II, from the American side, in this movie. With no beautiful cinematography, impressive moves, or quick snaps of dialogue, Private Stanley Mellish, without any ammunition on him, fights a Waffen SS Soldier in hand-to-hand combat and sadly passes away.
Report
7points
#46 Superman 3 (Dark Superman vs. Clark Kent)

1983 | 2h 05m | Directed by Richard Lester
Starring Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor and Margot Kidder
Superman experiences horrible symptoms of desire, wrath, and self-loathing after coming into contact with red kryptonite, and finally, he separates into two personalities and engages in combat with them. To disclose the sparkling S hidden beneath his shirt, Clark regains his warrior spirit and strangles Superman until he disappears.
Report
7points
#47 Warrior (Tommy vs. Brendan)

2011 | 2h 20m | Directed by Gavin O'Connor
Starring Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte and Joel Edgerton
Tommy and Brendan, two estranged brothers, ultimately square off in the championship match of an MMA competition. With each hit, the very tense fight brings to the surface previously suppressed feelings. Tommy tries to release himself when Brendan manages to trap his left arm beneath his knee, but he reaches too far, resulting in a not-so-pleasant cracking sound.
Report
7points
#48 Million Dollar Baby (Maggie vs. Billie “The Blue Bear”)

2004 | 2h 12m | Directed by Clint Eastwood
Starring Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman
The hero of the movie gets what she's always wanted: a $1 million bout versus Billie "The Blue Bear," a notorious nasty fighter and the WBA women's welterweight champion. Once the round is over, the Blue Bear sucker punches Maggie, knocking her to the ground and breaking her neck, rendering her paralyzed.
Report
7points
#49 Freddy vs. Jason (Jason vs. Freddy)

2003 | 1h 37m | Directed by Ronny Yu
Starring Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger and Kelly Rowland
In this exaggerated crossover film, the two horror icons square off, with Freddie, in particular, displaying some hitherto unexpected gymnastics while Jason dives through the blazing scenery. Before smashing Freddy's head through a window and pulling it over a pile of shattered glass, Jason takes him up in his arms like a small child — total humiliation.
Report
7points
#50 Snatch (Mickey O’neil vs. Brick Top’s Fighter)

2000 | 1h 42m | Directed by Guy Ritchie
Starring Jason Statham, Brad Pitt and Stephen Graham
Some fights are already planned out by the organizers themselves. In the movie, Snatch, we see what happens when the match doesn’t go the planned way. Brad Pitt's Mickey engages in combat with a beefy opponent in a fight that Brick Top intended to throw. Mickey strikes Horace with an uppercut, sending him to Dream Street.
Report
7points
#51 Road House (Dalton vs. Jimmy)

1989 | 1h 54m | Directed by Rowdy Herrington
Starring Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch and Sam Elliott
Patrick Swayze can dance in Dirty Dancing and stand his ground in a fight. Swayze brought out his A-game in his role of Dalton, a doorman with a thirst for violence and fighting. The cherry on top is the pivotal altercation with Jimmy. There is even a Mortal Kombat-level finisher at the end of the duel.
Report
7points
#52 Bloodsport (Frank Dux vs. Chong Li)

1988 | 1h 32m | Directed by Newt Arnold
Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb and Leah Ayres
Jean-Claude Van Damme and the ‘80s movies are beasts in themselves. Combine them, and you get Bloodsport. Frank Dux, Van Damme's character, has to fight the champion and quite beefy-looking Chong Li, portrayed by Bolo Yeung, for the title in a martial arts tournament. This fight gives Van Damme a chance to show off some cool moves.
Report
6points
#53 Tom-Yum-Goong (The Protector) (Kham vs. A Small Group Of Henchmen)

2005 | 1h 51m | Directed by Prachya Pinkaew
Starring Tony Jaa, Nathan Jones and Xing Jin
Tony Jaa did a lot to popularize the Muay Thai martial art form in popular media. And with the help of Prachya Pinkaew, they topped a lot of movies with some epic fighting sequences using this fighting style. In this movie, Kham fights through multiple levels of a restaurant, destroying everything to avenge his elephants.
Report
6points
#54 RRR (Raju vs. Bheem)

2022 | 3h 07m | Directed by S.S. Rajamouli
Starring N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan and Ajay Devgn
The fight between Bheem and Ram is the ideal representation of this exhilarating three-hour epic. Both tragic and sensationally hilarious, our two heroes fight while attacking the British Raj's headquarters in Delhi with the help of animals. It includes a man hitting a tiger with a blazing arm cannon and manages to be both truly emotional and intense.
Report
6points
#55 Commando (John Matrix vs. Bennett)

1985 | 1h 30m | Directed by Mark L. Lester
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong and Dan Hedaya
Arnold is built like a machine, so it’s not a wonder why his characters in the movie can take quite a punch too. This movie fight sees the characters letting off some steam. Arnold Schwarzenegger responds as usual when Bennett commits the error of pointing a knife at him before he delivers one of his best payoff lines ever.
Report
6points
#56 Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning (John vs. Magnus)

2012 | 1h 54m | Directed by John Hyams
Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and Scott Adkins
The Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning has that touch of Apocalypse Now and feels like a dream come true. However, that dream soon became a nightmare when violence and fighting appeared on the screen in a fantastic fighting sequence. With Scott Adkins in the lead of the fight, cool moves get used in a sporting goods shop.
Report
5points
#57 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (James T. Kirk vs. Martia)

1991 | 1h 50m | Directed by Nicholas Meyer
Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley
Sometimes, the greatest enemy you can face is yourself… or a body-morphing alien who looks exactly like you. In the movie, William Shatner’s character, Kirk, has to fight the body-morphing alien Martia, who has transformed into Kirk. While they started off the fight with hand-to-hand combat, it ended with some quick-thinking decisions.
Report
5points
#58 Atomic Blonde (Lorraine Broughton vs. Stairwell Attackers)

2017 | 1h 55m | Directed by David Leitch
Starring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy and John Goodman
Even spies have to fight their own battles. The length of the fight and the savagery of the maneuvers are the key reasons why this scene is so stunning. During the conflict, one of the guys takes a blade out of his chest, but Theron repeatedly rams it down into his throat before throwing him down the steps.
Report
5points
#59 Watchmen (Comedian vs. Ozymandias)

2009 | 2h 42m | Directed by Zack Snyder
Starring Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson and Carla Gugino
You better “watch” out for who is attacking you. A bathrobed Comedian is attacked in his flat by an unidentified assailant in the opening sequence - a perfect way of establishing the narrative and tone. There is no consideration for the Comedian's furnishings in this thudding struggle, and everything gets used in the fight.
Report
4points
#60 Undefeatable (Kristi Jones And Nick Dimarco vs. Stingray)

1993 | 1h 32m | Directed by Godfrey Ho
Starring Cynthia Rothrock, Don Niam and John Miller
Despite the title of the movie, a fight always has a person getting the loser label. The movie focuses on Kristi Jones, portrayed by Cynthia Rothrock, and her gang members, who participate in a not-so-legal street fight. The most memorable fight of the movie is between Jones, DiMarco, and the villain — Stingray.
Report
4points


