Love Those Fight Scenes!

Not only do I love writing fight scenes as part of a book's action, but also after a stressful week, sometimes I like to watch a movie with a good fight scene. Talk about being therapeutic. One can let off steam by seeing the bad guy get his just desserts. Sword or gun fights, superpower fights, sibling rivalries, or hand-to-hand combat can all heighten action and move the plot forward. However, a great fight scene can also deliver the ultimate emotional punch.

Here are a few of my favorite movie fight scenes:

1) The opening scene in Casina Royale (2006) ushered in the Daniel Craig’s James Bond and a reminder why this secret agent had a license to kill.

2) Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone’s sword fight in “The Adventures of Robin Hood”. A swashbuckling duel only the golden age of Hollywood could produce. Despite al l the acrobatics, Robin Hood managed to verbally one-up his opponent.

3) Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader’s light saber fight in “The Empire Strikes Back”. Darth not only showed how ruthless he could be, but Luke’s spectacular retreat by freefalling into the airshaft could have been a deadly choice not to go the dark side.

4) The airplane on the runway fight in “The Raiders of the Lost Ark” matched Indiana Jones with a Nazi mechanic overdosed on steroids. Down, dirty, grisly ending for bad guy. Perfection.

5) How can one not mention the final round in “The Karate Kid”? After all, an ordinary kid can fight back against bullies, and that crane kick. What a brilliantly sweet victory.

6) Have to list at least one Rocky movie and none better than the original “Rocky”. He took a beating from Apollo and in the end he proved he wasn’t just a bum.

I’ve barely scratched the surface. What are some of your favorite cinematic or literary fight scenes?

Carol Stephenson

The Legal Weapons Series: Courting Danger, Courting Disaster & Courting Death
http://www.carolstephenson.com