Year in Review: The Ten Best Cinematic Fights of ‘07!

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 4, 2008

Hey hey and Happy 2008 friends! When looking back on a year in cinema there is only one question I have to ask: How much ass was kicked? And in 2007, our cinematical heroes kicked a fair amount of ass and I had the pleasure of compiling the best of the best for your viewing pleasure. I’ve selected the top 10 fights of 2007, a couple of honorable mentions, and a few of the absolute worst.

I didn’t want to limit myself or the list to just A versus B fights involving people on people. I opened it up to the grand spectacle that is war. So sweeping battle scenes count as fights, not just fisticuffs between rivals. Read on and be sure to tear my picks apart and champion your own below!

10. Predator vs Aliens – Alien vs. Predator: Requiem

Now this movie squeaked in just under the deadline and probably divides a lot of people. As a straight up fan boy action piece though, I was really impressed overall. The climactic final battle was a bit of let down and a little rush, but the Predator hunting the aliens, and dispatching several dozen in the hospital alone, was a good enough action bout to earn the number 10 spot.

Winner: The Predator

9. The Pirates vs The East India Trading Company – Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End

Another not perfect movie that had a great battle scene. I thought the final 30 minutes of this film were some of the best aquatic fights we’ve ever seen. We had an excellent battle between Jack Sparrow and Davey Jones while some of the coolest ships to grace the screen launched full broad sides at each other – all through a maelstrom + whirl pool combination! If that’s not bad ass, I don’t know what is.

Winner: Jack Sparrow and the Pirates

8. Helicopters vs Zombies – 28 Weeks Later & Planet Terror

This year saw not only one, but two examples of a helicopter dipping low and sending its blades of fury ripping and tearing through hoards of the undead, or well, in these cases, the infected. While I doubt it’s a plausible real world technique, these metal blades of death did a fantastic job of mincing bodies into a fine red mist that splattered eagerly across windshields. Realistic or not, it looked fucking awesome.

Winner: Helicopters

7. Dan Evans vs Ben Wade’s Gang, an entire Town – 3:10 to Yuma

A wildly hailed flick that had movie goers praising it, though some jumped shipped right at the end. I’ll agree that the end wasn’t perfect, but I’m a sucker for a running gunfight through town. Dan Evans, everyman and rancher, cowboyed up and blasted his way through town all the while in the sights of Wade’s gang, but also all the townspeople eager to earn a buck blasting him into tarnation. While Dan didn’t quite make it through the conflict, he achieved his goal and fired a lot of bullets while doing it.

Winner: Dan Evans (Philosophical) / Wade’s Gang (Physical)

6. The FBI vs Terrorism – The Kingdom

A film that I loved immensely for its action and sound design, director Peter Berg turned in what is probably the greatest shoot out since Heat and possibly the best shoot out recorded on film. The sound is deafening, the action relentless, and the knife wounds to the groin explicit. If I had to pick a single moment out for this spot, it would clearly be Jennifer Garner versus that huge dude because she fights dirty and hard, which is how I like my violence and my sex. But this overall scene, featuring machine guns, grenades, knives, and everything else you can think of was one of the best bits of action on film this year.

Winner: The FBI

5. Jason Bourne vs Desh – The Bourne Ultimatum

This is a fucking cool fight scene from a series well known for it’s fight scenes. A down and dirty yet highly technical fight ensues between our man Bourne and Desh, who’s out for blood. Caught in the middle, but throwing and receiving a few good hits, is the cute as a button Julia Stiles. This fight featured perhaps the coolest physical shot of the year with the window jumping scene, and perhaps the most novel use of a book – excuse the pun.

Winner: Jason Bourne (And Literature)

4. Nikolai vs Thugs – Eastern Promises

This deserves on the list purely because of the balls involved. You know I had to. Mortensen agreed to do the fight fully naked because realistically in a fight, there is no way a towel would stay on and the ladies thank him for it. Twig and berries aside, this is the real teeth clencher of the list as we see Nikolai take his more than fair share of slash wounds and the two baddies get a well deserved dose of knife themselves, as well as the humility that follows being trounced by a naked dude. A real gritty fight that wins points for its pure violence factor.

Winner: Nikolai

3. Beowulf vs The Dragon – Beowulf

In a movie where the main character identifies himself as both a ripper and a tearer, you know you’re in for one hell of a good fight, and more than a few appear in this marvelous 3D adventure. My personal favorite sequence was Beowulf fighting the dragon towards the climax of the film. If that didn’t drop your jaw and get your heart pumping, check your pulse – you’re dead. A real good bit of 3D fun that was both dramatic and entertaining, these fantastical beat down easily earns the number 3 spot in 2007.

Winner: Beowulf

2. Autobots vs Decepticons – Transformers

This movie could have easily been the biggest pile of the year if handled wrong, but I’m among the people who think Michael Bay and Co. nailed it on the head. A real fun adventure that has more hits than misses, the final battle, though confusing, is awe inspiring. There is nothing like seeing towering robots battering the hell out of each while missiles soar through the air. Say what you will about this movie and it’s director, but the final battle was truly epic and the prime example of CGI being done amazingly well.

Winner: Autobots

1. 300 Spartans vs The Persian Army – 300

300 is a hard film to break down considering when we’re with Leonidas and his men, it’s pretty much a constant battle with little breathing room, so the entire film gets the award, not just a sequence. There are several great fights, such as Leonidas vs The Monster, though overall the pounding score and Spartan epic battle scenes are what really inspire you to do more situps and or at the very least get out of your chair and thrust your hips at the screen. This is the single most ass kicking movie of 2007 and possibly of all time. Say what you will about this list, but there is little doubt that 300 deserves the top spot.

Winner: Spartans (And the Audience)

Honorable Mentions

Polar Bear Fight – The Golden Compass: This was a pretty wicked cool fight that was startlingly violent for a movie aimed primarily at youngsters. It was tough keeping it out of the Top 10 just because it was two fucking polar bears fighting, so it gets mentioned here.

Battle at the Ministry of Magic – Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix: This gave us a glimpse of how cool a wizarding battle could be. It reminded me a bit of Star Wars with people zipping around through the air and flashy lights going everywhere. The brevity of the battle, and the sissy way in which my main man Sirius goes out leave it off the top spots though.

Spider-Man vs Venom & Sandman – Spider-Man 3: What a horrible glass of piss this movie was, but the final scene did have its moments. Mostly the Sandman stuff was cool when he grew up to great heights. Nice to look at, but overall still disappointing.

The Worst Fights of 2007

Spider-Man vs Venom – Spider-Man 3: What, you say? An honorable mention and a Worst place award? Yes. Spider-Man 3′s treatment of Venom was criminal. His design was wrong, his character was wrong, and the fight scenes specifically involving him sucked the shit out of the ass of a Peruvian sewer whore. I will never forgive those involved for desecrating the coolest villain in Spider-Man’s gallery of rogues.

Ghost Rider vs Anyone – Ghost Rider: This movie was a pile of vomit served fresh on your lap with diced comic books sprinkled on it. How do you fuck up Ghost Rider? He is the coolest looking anti-hero of all. He doesn’t do anything but kick fucking asshole. The fight scenes in this film were atrocious and boring and repetitive. The first fight lasted about 60 seconds, and each one after that about 15 seconds. Rushed fights, no choreography, poor CGI, and five lackluster fights put this at the fucking bottom of the barrel.

Read more articles by Robert Fure