I came in to name two I see already got repeated mention, so I’ll settle for talking up that bit in JESSICA JONES where — spoilers? — she’s suddenly facing Luke Cage: you can forgive any bad moves from Cage, since he’s arguably struggling against mind control (which gets David Tennant’s narration into the mix); but it also just plain works as two ‘superstrength’ brawlers countering each other with some brains, if not exactly with skill, like you’d maybe expect from folks who routinely floor guys in one shot; and all with a decent range of emotion on display, even.
”That was a pretty good plan.”
The MCU films distinguish themselves by not just having good action setpieces but great charcter-building interludes which punctuate the CGI with a human element. The fight for Manhattan in The Avengers was fantastic not for the scale of destruction but the quiet moments like Stark telling Banner to ‘suit up’ (“That’s my secret; I’m always angry,”) and Hilk punching Thor. (There is a good argument to be made that The Avenger is really a Hulk film.) The elevator fight in Winter Soldier was also great (“It feels kind of personal,”) but my money is on either Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2 with Yondu killing his mutinous crew set to “Come A Little Bit Closer” or Tony Stark taking down Killian and company in Iron Man 3, which is a nominal MCU setpiece with Shane Black trope twisting.
Stranger
I think my favorite character-bits in the Battle of Manhattan were Cap mobilizing the police, and “You and I have very different memories of Budapest”.
That was an exchange between Hawkeye and Romanov.
Stranger
Yes, both of whom are characters. I was referring to two different bits, if that wasn’t clear.
Winter Soldier is unbeatable. Every single one of the fight scenes are amazing.
Small scale:
- Cap’s elevator fight scene.
- Cap vs Bucky in Winter Soldier.
- Romanov vs the Russian gangsters.
- Romanov vs a hallway full of Hammer goons.
- Daredevil vs a hallway of Kingpin goons.
Large scale:
- Battle of New York - the way the fight flowed from one character to the next was downright elegant.
- Airport fight.
Agent Coulson: We need you to come in.
Romanoff: [tied to a chair and being threatened with torture] Are you kidding? I’m working.
Agent Coulson: This takes precedence.
Romanoff: I’m in the middle of an interrogation. This moron is giving me everything.
General Luchkov: [to his cohorts] I don’t… give everything.
[Romanoff gives Luchkov a skeptical look]
Romanoff: Look, you can’t pull me out of this right now.
Agent Coulson: Natasha, Barton’s been compromised.
Romanoff: Let me put you on hold.
[Romanoff proceeds to demolish three Russian thugs with fists, feer, and hair, and hang Luchkov from a chain.]
How Black Widow hasn’t gotten a standalone movie I don’t understand. She’s a great character with plenty of opportunity for a spy thriller or chase movie, and Johannson is a bonafide good actress who has unfortunately picked some poor projects to headline.
Stranger
Thor vs Hulk in Ragnarok has to be in the top 5.
OK, so we all know that the X-movies aren’t in the MCU for legal reasons (yet!), so this doesn’t really count, but I finally watched Logan last night, and DAMN! The first fight between Logan and “X-24” was incredible. My armpit hurts just thinking about that one part… (#SentencesINeverThoughtI’dSay)
That is a good one. They took a well-worn trope of the evil clone sent to kill the hero and infused it with a shock twist and a brutal fight.
Screen Junkies has a fun video that collects all of Marvel’s epic punches - check Youtube for it.
As for fight scenes, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is my favorite MCU film and it has great fights scenes throughout - Cap’s infiltration of the ship (“Um, was he wearing a chute?”), his quick fight with Batroc The Leaper, the elevator fight, the fights with Bucky…
I’m going to miss the Russo Bros…
Well they are doing the next two Avengers… Have they announced they’re leaving the MCU after that?
I’m guessing you may be talking about Daredevil, but the new Black Panther has a fantastic, long uninterrupted shot in the casino that involves a fight scene with myriad stunt people, action in foreground and background and a half-dozen principal characters that also jumps fluidly from one story (floor) to another. Really impressive (though given Coogler did an entire boxing match in Creed in one uninterrupted shot, also not surprising at all).
I think Cap and Bucky v. Iron Man in Civil War was pretty solid, if a little overly choreographed.