Hey, I loved the fight in They Live. I even started a thread about it.
I thought many of the fight scenes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon were snore-fests, because when you have two combatants going at it for four or five minutes, and neither of them can land a hit, it doesn’t matter how dance-like the scene is, it’s still booo-ring!
Not quite answering the OP, but I saw an edited-for-time version of The Specialist. In the beginning of the film, Stallone hits James Woods once and he hits the ground. Woods’ face is now significantly beaten, and he has a conversation with a now bloody Stallone. Maybe the editors thought we wouldn’t notice?
I agree about Sonny beating up Carlo in The Godfather. Sure, it’s brutal. Or at least it would be if Sonny ever actually hit him. I know that they’re not really supposed to connect, but there’s not even much of an illusion.
I second the nomination of D’Artagnan’s Daughter. I always thought the French were supposed to be such sticklers about fencing. And Sophie Marceau’s character was supposed to have learned from the very best. Yet the fencing was dreadful. The fact that she loses her top twice mostly made up for it, though.
My own nominations:
Raw Justice. When David Keith pulls that giant dart off of the wall and throws it at the bad guy. You can see the look of “I can’t believe I’ve been reduced to this” on his face.
Invincible Barbarian. With a title like that, you know it’s gonna be bad. The special effects were nonexistant. Everyone’s swinging huge swords, and the bad guys fall over and die without so much as a scratch or a drop of blood. Pathetic.
There’s simply no beating The Quiet Man, though.
Father Paul: “Shouldn’t we put a stop to it, Father?”
Father Lonergan: (thoroughly enjoying the fight and not making a move to stop it) “Aye, we should. It’s our duty.”
For that matter, take a look at the original Avengers TV series. I know, everyone’s always talking about how awesomely kick-ass Diana Rigg was, and people wax rhapsodic about their memories of Steed and Mrs. Peel dispatching the bad guys with judo and sword-canes . . . but if you watch the DVDs, eventually you must fact the ugly truth: the fight scenes are, every single one, lame as crap. There’s no force to any of the blows, the choreography sucks, the stuntpeople look nothing like the stars, and I don’t think Steed ever actually used the sword-cane in a fight. I’m convinced that people just THINK they remember Emma Peel being a great fighter because they had nothing to compare it to at the time . . . how many other judo-kicking, leotard-wearing heroines were there?
Hey, I love the show, I love the characters, but those fight scenes . . . ugh! :smack:
I don’t know if this belongs here, but if we’re going to build a museum to bad movie fighting, we have to have a wing dedicated to Stephen Segal. I’m thinking of the scene in the first Stephen Segal movie I accidentally saw:
He wakes up from a coma after 10 years or something like that and eludes a “Professional Hitman” pushing himself around on a gurney with a mop. I think at one point – while lying there unable to get up he actually attacks someone with the mop.
He is one of the most unconvincing tough guys I’ve ever seen in films.
Matrix Reloaded was, in fact, boring as Hell.
I never sensed urgency in any of the fights. The bad guys never endangered the good guys.
The one that really made me roll my eyes was the one with Cherub. (what a stupid name!)
At the end he casually offers this little chestnut, “You never really know someone until you fight him.” (or some crap like that)
:rolleyes:
Hmm, that’s funny. I don’t remember anyone with the name ‘Cherub’ in the movie.
If you don’t like the movie, fine. Differing opinions and all that. However, would it really be that hard to check that the name you put down is correct before you start making fun of it?
The character’s name was “Seraph.”
“Cherub…” Bwa-hahahahaha.
There was an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which she skewered three or four vampires en brochette with a flagpole. If Adam West were dead, he’d be spinning in his grave.