I've wanted to do something like this for a long time and now that just about every 2018 title is available on home video/streaming, I can finally pull it off. The amount of work that goes into staging an action sequence is something that I feel never gets the proper amount of respect in the world of moviemaking and this silly little piece is my way of shining a light on these unheralded technical accomplishments. Below, you'll find a group of scenes from movies of varying production scales and subgenres that cover just about every type of action scene imaginable. Some are brutal. Some are intense. Some are essentially sizzle reels for the world's most gifted stunt performers. All of them made me glad that this artform exists. Hope you enjoy.
Honorable Mentions:
"Wakanda Battle"-Avengers: Infinity War
"Arthur Curry fucks up some pirates"-Aquaman
"Hospital Fight"-Mile 22
"Casino Fight"-Black Panther
Every scene from The Night Comes for Us and Upgrade not listed below
10."Queen Atlanna vs. Atlantis Guards"-Aquaman
James Wan's fantasy superhero epic got off to a really hot start with this quick, completely badass single take showdown between Queen Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) and a group of guards trying to take her back to her underwater kingdom shortly after giving birth to the half human/half Atlantean title character.
9."Chaos at the Café"-The Spy Who Dumped Me
The Spy Who Dumped Me was one of the more underrated movies of last year and the steady proficiency in which first-time action director Susanna Fogel staged chaotic setpieces like this was a large part of why this R-rated spy comedy worked so well.
8."Home Invasion"-Assassination Nation (Note: Sadly the full scene isn't on YouTube, but this New York Times clip with commentary from director Sam Levinson provides the gist of it.)
Assassination Nation was a mixed bag of a movie that is ultimately weighed down by its uneven attempts at social/political commentary, but this pivotal scene that set the bloody climax into motion is one of the most tense and interestingly shot home invasions I've ever seen.
7."Bathroom Fight"-Mission-Impossible: Fallout
While there are far more elaborate sequences along the way (HALO jump, rooftop chase scene, helicopter/mountain climbing finale) nothing in this acclaimed blockbuster had the sheer kinetic force of this bathroom fight that spawned the infamous Henry Cavill "fist reloading" meme.
6."Red Miller vs. The Black Skulls"-Mandy (Warning: Quality is very poor)
Nicolas Cage squaring off against a house full of bikers that morphed into sadomasochistic, not-entirely-human creatures after ingesting bad acid was the depraved peak of this gonzo revenge flick.
5."Alaskan Shootout"-Hold the Dark
Even though the film marked a bit of a regression in quality from his past couple of projects (Green Room, Blue Ruin) on the whole, Hold the Dark features yet another unrelentingly brutal and disturbingly realistic shootout from master suspense director Jeremy Saulnier.
4."Apartment Takeover"-The First Purge
I've never been happier that The Purge turned into an action thriller franchise after its horror-centric original than I was while watching this glorious scene where co-protagonist Dmitri (Y'lan Noel) finally gets an opportunity to take down the government-hired mercuries that have been terrorizing his Staten Island neighborhood during the trial run of The Purge (particularly during the stairwell sequence). If this is any indication of Gerard McMurray's capabilities as an action director, his new project with John Wick screenwriter Derek Kolstad that just got picked up by Sony should rule.
3."Warehouse Fight"-The Night Comes for Us
Picking just one fight scene from this jaw-dropping Netflix martial arts extravaganza was borderline torturous. Ultimately, I settled on this 3 minute slice of over-the-top carnage because it features the most impressive, insane and creative use of improvised weapons in addition to the always stunning traditional fight choreography/stuntwork of pencak silat master Joe Taslim.
2."Shot Down"-Overlord
Apparently they edited this scene out of the airplane version of Overlord. While I'm not usually a proponent of reworking the content of a movie under any circumstances, this is a move I can get behind. Watching this in a theater was harrowing enough. With the flawless sound design, editing and direction that makes the audience feel like they're on the aircraft while it's taking fire, I'd probably have a full-on panic attack watching this in the sky.
1."Kitchen Fight"-Upgrade
The beauty of this scene is the buildup. Grey (Logan Marshall-Green), who had recently become a paraplegic following a car accident, has just had a superhuman chip known as STEM implanted in his neck so he could walk again and this marks the first time he become aware of its full capabilities. Marshall-Green's ability to perfectly capture the confusion and shock of realizing he has a lethal weapon planted inside of him paired with the unique camera angles director Leigh Whannell employs throughout allows this to be more than just a typical fight sequence. The eventual graphic dispatching of the assailant serves as the unforgettable exclamation point that helped turn the strong grip this had on the top spot of this list into something insurmountable.
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