A Glean movie guide
Masterclass Combat: The Best Fight Scenes
Pure adrenaline, no shaky cam.
From legendary martial arts to modern tactical brawls, these films define choreography.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Raid: Redemption
A relentless, claustrophobic showcase of Indonesian Pencak Silat and brutal hand-to-hand combat.
Deep in the heart of Jakarta's slums lies an impenetrable safe house for the world's most dangerous killers and gangsters. Until now, the run-down apartment block has been considered untouchable to even the bravest of police. Cloaked under the cover of pre-dawn darkness and silence, an elite swat team is tasked with raiding the safe house in order to take down the notorious drug lord that runs it. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and news of their assault reaches the drug lord, the building's lights are cut and all the exits blocked. Stranded on the sixth floor with no way out, the unit must fight their way through the city's worst to survive their mission. Starring Indonesian martial arts sensation Iko Uwais.
- 02
John Wick
Redefines modern action with 'Gun-fu,' blending tactical firearm use with fluid Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Ex-hitman John Wick comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.
- 03
The Legend of Drunken Master
Jackie Chan’s masterpiece features intricate, prop-heavy choreography and a legendary 20-minute finale.
Returning home with his father after a shopping expedition, Wong Fei-Hong is unwittingly caught up in the battle between foreigners who wish to export ancient Chinese artifacts and loyalists who don't want the pieces to leave the country. Fei-Hong must fight against the foreigners using his Drunken Boxing style, and overcome his father's antagonism as well.
- 04
Ip Man
Donnie Yen delivers a graceful yet devastating performance highlighting the speed and precision of Wing Chun.
A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan between the 1930s to 1940s during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Wilson Yip, the film stars Donnie Yen in the lead role, and features fight choreography by Sammo Hung.
- 05
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
Tony Jaa stunned the world with high-impact Muay Thai stunts performed without wires or CGI enhancement.
When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.
- 06
Atomic Blonde
Features a breathtaking, ten-minute continuous stairwell fight that feels visceral and exhausting.
An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.
- 07
Police Story
A classic of Hong Kong cinema known for Jackie Chan’s death-defying practical stunts and mall-wrecking finale.
Officer Chan Ka Kui manages to put a major Hong Kong drug dealer behind the bars practically alone, after a shooting and an impressive chase inside a slum. Now, he must protect the boss' secretary, Selina, who will testify against the gangster in court.
- 08
Extraction
Chris Hemsworth stars in a gritty thriller famous for its ambitious, twelve-minute simulated single-take sequence.
A hardened gun-for-hire's latest mission becomes a soul-searching race to survive when he's sent into Bangladesh to rescue a drug lord's kidnapped son.
- 09
Fist of Legend
Jet Li shines in this technical Kung Fu classic featuring some of the genre's most polished one-on-one duels.
Chen returns to his school when he finds out that his martial arts teacher has died. When he learns that his school students are harassed by some hooligans, he gears himself up to save them.
- 10
The Raid 2
Expands the scope of the original with complex multi-person brawls and a legendary kitchen showdown.
After fighting his way through an apartment building populated by an army of dangerous criminals and escaping with his life, SWAT team member Rama goes undercover, joining a powerful Indonesian crime syndicate to protect his family and uncover corrupt members of his own force.
- 11
Nobody
Bob Odenkirk surprises in a grounded, gritty film featuring a standout close-quarters bus fight.
Hutch Mansell, a suburban dad, overlooked husband, nothing neighbor — a "nobody." When two thieves break into his home one night, Hutch's unknown long-simmering rage is ignited and propels him on a brutal path that will uncover dark secrets he fought to leave behind.
- 12
Oldboy
Famous for its iconic, side-scrolling hallway fight filmed in a single, grueling continuous take.
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.