Top 10 Fight Movies

There are a lot of fight movies released every day from Hollywood. But there are few that have etched their names in our hearts.
With much further ado and in No particular order, I present my list of best fight movies.


10.  Enter The Dragon (1973)

Enter the Dragon was Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973.  The movie became iconic in the minds of movie buffs worldwide soon after its released shortly after Bruce lee's death.It featured some of the best fighters of its time. The first Hollywood produced Chinese movie and was well received by critics and is regarded by many as one of the best films of 1973.Enter the Dragon grossed an estimated $25,000,000 in North America,and an estimated $90,000,000 worldwide,on a tight budget of $850,000.(Wikipedia)

2. Karate Kid (1984)
Not the Smith remake but the original.The Karate Kid is an underdog story in the mold of a previous success, Avildsen's 1976 film Rocky. It was a commercial success upon release, and garnered favorable critical acclaim, earning Morita an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

3. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)

The Quentin Tarantino directed movie is is the first of two films that were theatrically released several months apart, the second one titled Kill Bill Volume 2. The movie drew inspiration from greats of the past like Bruce Lee's Game of Death.Thurman erases the flop of Cut Throat Island as she stars as The Bride, a woman who goes on a revenge rampage after surviving a head shot murder attempt by her lover Bill. 

4. The Fight Club (2008)

Is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk.In 2008, Fight Club was named the 10th greatest movie of all time by Empire magazine in its issue of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. The movie Featured stars like Edward Norton and Brad Pitt.

5. The Matrix (1999)

Everything has been written about this movie. Probably the most revolutionary movie of our time. Keanu Reeves plays Neo, the One. He who will save mankind from an unending nightmare in computer generated world.The Matrix grossed over $460 million worldwide. It was generally well-received by critics,^[and won four Academy Awards as well as other accolades including BAFTA Awards and Saturn Awards.

6. The Gladiator (2000)

Russel Crowe played the General,Maximus Decimus Meridius, who became a slave, then a slave who became a gladiator.Gladiator was a box office success, receiving positive reviews, and was credited with rekindling interest in the historical epic. The film was nominated for and won multiple awards, notably five Academy Awards in the 73rd Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.

7. Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon (2000).

This movie with its wire assisted stunts blew our minds.The film was directed by Ang Lee The film was based on the fourth novel in a pentalogy, known in China as the Crane Iron Pentalogy, by wuxia novelist Wang Dulu. Made on a mere US$17 million budget, with dialogue in Mandarin, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a surprise international success, grossing $213.5 million. It grossed US$128 million in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing foreign-language film in American history. It has won over 40 awards. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Taiwan) and three other Academy Awards, and was nominated for six other Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

8. Rocky (1976)

Rocky  tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rocky starts out as a club fighter who later gets a shot at the world heavyweight championship.The film, made on a budget of $950,000 and made over $225 million,becoming the highest grossing film of 1976, and won three Oscars, including Best Picture. The film received many positive reviews and turned Stallone into a major star.It spawned five sequels: Rocky II, III, IV, V and Rocky Balboa, all written by and starring Stallone, who also directed all sequels except for the Rocky V 

9. 300 (2006)

300 is a 2007 American action film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. Both are fictionalized retellings of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film was directed by Zack Snyder.

It was filmed mostly with a super-imposition chroma key technique, to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book.The plot revolves around King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), who leads 300 Spartans into battle against Persian "god-King" Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his army of more than 300,000 soldiers. 

The film received mixed reviews, receiving acclaim for its original visuals and style, but criticism for favoring visuals over characterization and its controversial depiction of the ancient Persians; however, the film was a box office success, grossing over $450 million, with the film's opening being the 24th largest in box office history at the time, and it has since developed a cult following.

10. The Warrior (2011)

Warrior is a 2011 American sports drama film directed by Gavin O'Connor and starring Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, and Nick Nolte. Warrior tells the story of two estranged brothers entering a mixed martial arts (MMA) tournament and deals with the brothers' struggling relationship with each other and with their father. The film was released on September 9, 2011, to overall positive reviews, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Nolte. Warrior is dedicated to the memory of MMA clothing brand Tapout co-founder Charles "Mask" Lewis, Jr.

Notable Mention

Blood Sport (1988)
Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts drama film directed by Newt Arnold, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme,Roy Chiao, Donald Gibb and Leah Ayres. The film is based in part on fiction as well as in part inspired by claims made by American martial artist Frank Dux. It sold well at the box office, grossing $11,806,119 domestically on a budget of $1,100,000. Bloodsport was one of Van Damme's first starring films and showcased his athletic abilities. He performs numerous physical feats such as helicopter-style, jump spinning heel kicks, and a complete split.

Sources: Wikipedia


by Chinedu Efoagui