{"id":15137,"date":"2011-08-30T00:01:21","date_gmt":"2011-08-30T04:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=15137"},"modified":"2011-08-30T00:01:21","modified_gmt":"2011-08-30T04:01:21","slug":"bruce-lee-star-wars-more-the-best-movie-fight-scenes-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=15137","title":{"rendered":"Bruce Lee, Star Wars & More: THE BEST MOVIE FIGHT SCENES OF ALL TIME"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Gina L. Caliboso<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roar \u2026. Arrgh \u2026 an RSR deadline approaches. So, RSR fans, I\u2019ve finally recovered from my Vegas trip last week and then made it through the rest of the week. To catch up, I\u2019m still watching \u201cEntourage\u201d and HBO\u2019s Ring Life has me rooting for Victor Ortiz, but I now find myself just finishing up some articles I promised my beloved Managing Editor Geno. HBOGO and MAXGO are my new found rivals for my DVR. But it\u2019s August \u2013 there are no holidays this month, so let\u2019s again have some fun. <\/p>\n

As most of you RSR readers know from my bio, I\u2019ve practiced my own brand of mixed martial arts to include boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Kali-Silat, grappling, Savate \u2013 my own brand of MMA. But since I started doing martial arts, I\u2019ve also taken a closer look at the choreography of fight scenes and being able to break down what I see in a fight scene. From the Shaw Brothers films to Bruce Lee to the Yuen Wo Ping fight scenes in the \u201cMatrix\u201d films and even the light saber battles of Star Wars, fight scenes keep movie audiences riveted into the eventual showdown between the good versus bad \u2013 a finale of fighting skill, determination, and spirit.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s movie audience is a lot savvier about the originality and creativity of fight scenes. And now with CGI, audience expectations see martial arts or fight scenes differently. With this in mind, I began to think about some of my favorite fight scenes. I thought about, on instinct, and came up with my 5 Favorite fight scenes. I could name 10 but 5 would really force me to narrow down why I can watch these scenes over and over. Before you even ask about my criteria, I\u2019ll start with the obvious \u2013 I just love fight scenes and I especially liked those scenes where regardless if whether it was the hero or anti-hero, there is a mutual exchange of hits and misses \u2013 each character demonstrating skill and application in its form of defense, offense, and effectiveness. I also thought about the music and my favorite movies. So, really, I came up with these 5 out of sheer love and enthusiasm. Disagree with me RSR fans and let me know what you think.<\/p>\n

1) Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris (\u201cWay of the Dragon\u201d) <\/strong><\/p>\n

For all of you that watch Spike or G channel, this movie, \u201cWay of the Dragon\u201d is ALWAYS playing and I love it! It takes place in the Coliseum in Rome. There\u2019s a purring cat and Bruce Lee grabs a handful of Chuck Norris\u2019 chest hair. Yes, it is in the 70\u2019s so man-scaping hadn\u2019t hit its stride yet.<\/p>\n

In this well choreographed fight scene, Bruce Lee created a scene that had a bit of everything in it \u2013 classical karate, Chinese kickboxing, and Western boxing. Who can forget how Bruce Lee moved his feet in a rock and shuffle and executed kicks Muay Thai style to Norris\u2019 mid section, and showed a crisp jab and parry? There\u2019s even close quarter trapping and a blast of punches. Before Bruce Lee launched into his rock and shuffle, Chuck Norris had been beating him rather badly. But then the tide of the fight turned and Bruce Lee showed he could beat Chuck Norris in his own way. He beat Chuck Norris pretty badly. But there is a level of respect and in a touching moment, after Bruce Lee\u2019s character leaves Chuck Norris with a broken arm and leg, Chuck Norris eventually gets killed. Taking place in the Coliseum as witness to many warriors, Bruce Lee respectfully places Norris\u2019 gui on him.<\/p>\n

2) Darth Maul vs. Qui Goon and Obi Wan (\u201cPhantom Menace \u2013 Episode 1\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, my name is Gina Caliboso, Feature Writer with RSR and I have been a long time Star Wars fan. With loving reference to my sister and my good friend who both cringe when I make Yoda and Darth Vader references, both vehemently advise I should keep the Star Wars fascination a secret. I just can\u2019t. I love the fight scenes far too much to not aptly give credit to why I enjoy one particular light saber scene.<\/p>\n

In Episode I, the \u201cPhantom Menace,\u201d Master Jedi Qui Gon trains Obi Wan. Qui Gon (Liam Neeson) and Obi Wan (Ewan McGregor) combat against Darth Maul (Ray Park). Parks was in the X-Men as Toad and was later in the movie starring Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas called \u201cBallistic: Ecks vs. Sever.\u201d Lucy Liu played an excellent assassin and her final scene with Park had her doing some kali\/eskrima. But as for the light saber scene, the fight scene begins with Qui Gon, Obi Wan, and Darth Maul engaged in battle. \u201cDuel of the Fates\u201d plays in the background and the scene eventually ends between Obi Wan and Darth Maul. It\u2019s a vicious fight especially after seeing Darth Maul defeat Qui Gon. Put this as a great combination of music and fight choreography. I had in my memory, of course, the light saber scene between Luke and his father, Darth Vader, from \u201cReturn of the Jedi \u2013 Episode 6.\u201d In this scene, the use of the light saber absolutely had me wanting more. I had originally thought about the fight scene between Yoda and Count Dooku in \u201cAttack of the Clones \u2013 Episode 2\u201d and later the scene between Yoda and the Emperor in \u201cRevenge of the Sith \u2013 Episode 3.\u201d Decisions, decisions, but I\u2019ll stand by my decision on this fight. And I\u2019ll proudly stand up and say, \u201cYes, I am a Star Wars fan with Empire Strikes Back as my favorite.\u201d<\/p>\n

3) Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi) vs. Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) (\u201cCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am a woman, hear me roar \u2013 like a \u201cCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.\u201d In a well choreographed scene between two women, character Jen and Shu Lien find themselves battling each other over the rightful owner of the \u201cGreen Destiny\u201d sword. I am simply amazed by this fight scene as Shu Lien goes from weapon to weapon and the Green Destiny wins each time. But for me, the confrontation had more to deal with how I deal with two parts of myself. I relate to Jen because she yearns to do much more than her assigned role as an obedient daughter and eventual wife. I also relate to Shu Lien because she is an independent, strong, willful woman who lives in a warrior world and denies her heart. It\u2019s a tough thing to balance the soul of a woman and the strength of the warrior. I watch this movie now and see that the core of this film is really about love. I\u2019ll leave it at that \u2013 heaven forbid, I mention that love could actually be at the soul of any fight (wink intended).<\/p>\n

4) Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) vs. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) (\u201cRocky I\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first installment of the Rocky series revealed a depth of the character of the boxer. Sylvester Stallone\u2019s iconic performance as Rocky Balboa with the one shot for the heavyweight championship title of the world makes me cry and cheer at the same time. And who didn\u2019t like his trainer, Mick, gruffly played by Burgess Meredith that I remember as the Penguin in the old \u201cBatman\u201d TV Series.<\/p>\n

The fight scenes in \u201cRocky I\u201d were paced with the right amount of up close action. Additionally, the pacing of the fight for more than 12 rounds really showed the see saw of emotion between each corner. I think the touching part of the film occurred the night before the fight when Rocky went into the arena and saw that his trunks were the wrong color on the poster above the ring. Rocky suddenly realizes that he has his one shot and he wonders, \u201cWhat am I going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, the fight begins and I didn\u2019t expect it \u2013 he scores a knockdown with an uppercut. Rocky has the punch and the will to battle Apollo Creed and make the best, if not exceed his expectations to defeat the champion and earn the most coveted championship in the world. We all know what happens. However, in a recent discussion with training partners at my martial arts school, it would have been a great possibility to see Rocky fight Apollo for a third time \u2013 I mean, really fight \u2013 not at the end of the film as friends, but to make it the rubber match \u2013 kind of similar to the upcoming bout between Pacquiao and Marquez.<\/p>\n

5) Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) vs Assailant (\u201cThe Bourne Identity\u201d)<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the first installment of the \u201cBourne\u201d series, Matt Damon fights off an intruder in his Paris apartment. I DVR\u2019d the scene and it\u2019s recorded at approximately 2 minutes. To me, the fast paced energy of the close quarters, kali, and limb destructions shows deadly effectiveness. The two exchange harsh blows to the head, body, and leg. Finally, it\u2019s then weapon to weapon. The Assailant is armed with a finger blade until finally, Jason Bourne reaches for a pen. The two exchange blows and Jason Bourne uses the pen for stabbing and basically destroys the arm with punctures. Yes, beautiful and striking to me \u2013 pretty deadly to others.<\/p>\n

Like I said, in choosing my Top 5, I didn\u2019t use any guidelines other than my simple love for these particular scenes. It was a tough choice because, much like my own martial arts training, these scenes reveal a full range of emotions within me. Keep in mind, however, that since I have 5 favorite fight scenes, there could be a future article on my 5 favorite romantic comedies and chick flicks. But then I looked at my CD collection, I have more martial arts films than romantic comedies. For the record, I love \u201cPride and Prejudice\u201d and \u201cSleepless in Seattle\u201d \u2013 I\u2019m a very complex woman!<\/p>\n

Now, RSR Readers, let me know what you think. Let me know your favorite fight scenes \u2013 or your favorite romantic comedies!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gina L. Caliboso Roar \u2026. Arrgh \u2026 an RSR deadline approaches. So, RSR fans, I\u2019ve finally recovered from my Vegas trip last week and then made it through the rest of the week. To catch up, I\u2019m still watching \u201cEntourage\u201d and HBO\u2019s Ring Life has me rooting for Victor Ortiz, but I now find […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1533,167,1303,2332],"class_list":["post-15137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-bruce-lee","tag-chuck-norris","tag-movie","tag-star-wars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15137\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}