Over the years, fighting has become an integral part of films. Going all the way back to old westerns and Asian martial arts films, it has a long rich history on the silver screen. More recently, films have been developed to simply focus on fighting. Films like "Fight Club" and the recent "Fighting" are dedicated simply to that genre. Then there are films like "The Matrix" that make fighting a very significant part of the story. It is impossible to reference all the great fighting movies out there but let's talk about some fairly notable examples.
Tom Yum Goom aka "The Protector"
Never heard of Tony Jaa? Note the name down because he is definitely something else. Don't worry about the plot of "The Protector," because all you will be doing is watching Jaa with your jaw dropped. Some of his acrobatic moves are too astounding to be described in words. His primary style is known as Muay Thai, but he is also proficient in many other forms. "The Protector" has him doing all his own stunts in unique and over-the-top ways. You may just believe that this guy is a superhero.
"Fight Club"
"The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club." This phenomenal film adaptation of a novel has equally stunning performances by Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. The brutal simplicity of the movie is an illusion: What appears to be a film focused on brawn ends up becoming a witty and engrossing tale of self-discovery. Anyone not surprised by the conclusion is either kidding themselves or just supremely intelligent.
The "Bourne" Trilogy
The current trend of sharp, exact and brutal fighting in films like "Casino Royale," "Quantum of Solace" and "Taken" all owe that to "The Bourne Identity." The moment we see Jason Bourne take a few guys with a simple ballpoint pen, we realize that this is not James Bond. Matt Damon proves to be an able-bodied action star in these films, and never lets up for a second. The use of efficient and tactical fighting proved to be very unique, authentic, entertaining and disarmingly fresh.
The "Matrix" Trilogy
Who knew that Keanu Reeves could actually be made to look like a competent fighter? The Wachowski brothers and company really brought their A-game here to revolutionize the way fights are choreographed and filmed. The slow motion and silhouette styles used in all three films make many of the story's shortcomings dismissible. Within the premise of the film, fighting is actually used in a variety of ways, ranging from practical to even spiritual. The final scenes between Neo and Smith are truly spectacular.
"Rocky"
This is arguably Stallone at his finest. This classic film has yet to be dethroned as the best boxing film of all time. The movie pioneered plenty of plot points that are now considered to be stereotypes and clichés in sports movies. Underdog tale aside, the brutality of the fight sequences are hard to forget. The final fight with Apollo is especially notable with the disturbingly realistic injuries to Rocky's eyes and Apollo's ribs.
"Equilibrium"
Sometimes I was not sure if they actually choreographed some fight scenes in this film or if they just had Christian Bale go crazy on his enemies. The film is set in a future where mankind is devoid of any emotion thanks to strict societal values, and a drug known as prozium. The remarkable part of this film is that they create and employ a completely unique and exclusive fighting style known as gun kata. It is essentially a fighting style that allows the fighter to anticipate an opponent's moves based on memorized probabilities of how gun combat can actually end up. The result is something visually and conceptually distinctive.
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