Knuckle up: The 25 best movie fights of all time

We kick off our list with a film that earns its epic status not so much for the fight itself but for the hilarious lead-up to it. Will Ferrell stars as San Diego newsreader Ron Burgundy, who, with his trusty news team, finds himself in the midst of a massive news brawl , featuring cameos from Tim Robbins, Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson, with more than a couple of surprises, or tridents. You make the call.

This fight makes our list not for its technical skill but for its sheer brutality. Martin Scorsese's portrait of championship boxer Jake LaMotta (Robert De Niro) doesn't shy away from the devastating side of the ring, and in this scene where LaMotta faces off against Sugar Ray Robinson, the battle goes bloody. Even in black and white, the result couldn't be more vivid or stomach-churning.

The first of a pair of films in which Clint Eastwood starred alongside an orangutan, "Every Which Way But Loose" features Eastwood as Philo Beddoe in a bare knuckle boxing match with local legend Tank Murdock. What makes the fight scene so memorable is the fact that Beddoe was clearly in control, handling the older and slower Murdock. To save face for the old man, Beddoe takes an honorable dive, but not before the pair paint the walls with each other in this memorable scene.

While there are more emotionally important fights in "Gladiator" none is as swift and brutal as this scene, a spectacle of blood and sand firmly establishing deposed general Maximus (Russell Crowe) as a force to be reckoned with in the arena. Violent, brutal and yet still poetic, the scene is capped with the iconic line bellowed by Crowe, "Are you not entertained?" Oh, we were entertained; yes we were.

Who doesn't like a robot vs. monster dustup? Guillermo del Toro brings the pain in "Pacific Rim" by bringing a geek's fantasy to life as jager Gypsy Danger faces off against a giant city-eating kaiju. The battle is epic and grand in its scale, with the denouement involving Gypsy Danger using a giant tanker ship as a baseball bat. That alone makes this fight a classic and instantly worth the price of admission.

In between his "Dark Knight" trilogy, Christopher Nolan dazzled audiences with his unique take on sci-fi with "Inception." Featuring an uncanny mix of digital and practical effects, the showstopper brawl has Joseph Gordon-Levitt facing off against his adversaries in a zero-gravity hallway that happened to be rotating. The end result is a fantastic fight, made all the more interesting by the fight scene boasting 100 percent practical effects. 

The third film in the groundbreaking trilogy by the Wachowskis saves the best for last, as the final battle between Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) comes to a slobberknocking head with some of the most dynamic fisticuffs at a time when superheroic battles weren't quite as commonplace in cinemas. As the pair battle it out in the rain, slinging punches so hard they literally move the rain, viewers are treated to a brawl that used to live only in imaginations.

Captain America (Chris Evans) takes on an elevator full of Hydra agents with one hand literally tied to the wall in this scene from "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." Not only is Cap outnumbered and in extremely close quarters, but he also manages to clean house with only a few inches to spare. Sure the scene is light on the heroics, but two-fisted action rarely gets better than seeing the Star-Spangled Avenger go to town on a bunch of baddies.

The climactic fight between unstable detective Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and the sadistic Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey) is about as stripped down as you can get, as  the pair duke it out in a front lawn while a busted fire hydrant rains down on them. The fight's realistic tone is thanks to members of the world-famous Gracie family, who choreographed the action using moves with their signature Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu flair, giving viewers a glimpse of MMA action long before it was popular.

Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass' "shakycam" extravaganza is neither shy nor short on action. This scene succeeds because it's not trying to be flashy or spectacular. Rather, it chooses to give a sense of the desperation from both Jason Bourne and his opponent, Desh, and how every single move can mean life or death. There are no cliche stare downs or fancy moves; just brutal action that delivers bone-crunching results.

Comparable to the memorable bathroom fight scene in James Cameron's "True Lies," the latest installment in the "Mission: Impossible" series gets our vote based on sheer brutality alone. The scene, featuring Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) teaming up with August Walker (Henry Cavill) against their target, is visceral with crushing blows and deafening sounds that give it an unexpected gravity (as far as action films go), providing a crowd-pleasing fight scene.

While it boasts a superhero battle royale ripped straight from a fanboy's fantasy, the best fight in "Captain America: Civil War" is the finale between Cap (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.). Everything feels extra personal, as Stark fights his friend and teammate with all the rage of someone who just had his heart broken as he learns Cap withheld information about the death of his parents. By the conclusion of the fight, the viewer feels the aftermath.

What makes this fight scene so enjoyable is its slow burn nature. Steven Seagal plays Nico Toscani, a New York detective who is on the warpath looking for information concerning the murder of friend and fellow cop Bobby Lupo. As he steps into a basement bar looking for answers, Seagal tensely needles many of the patrons until a climactic fight breaks out, featuring a cue ball used as a bludgeon. 

Martial arts legend Donnie Yen stars in this fictionalized take on Kung Fu grandmaster Yip Man, who would go on to train Bruce Lee. The film's best fight focuses on Yip facing off against 10 black belts with relative ease. The action is fast-paced, with Yip viciously beating his opponents with little effort and even less emotion. Yip seems to fight with an almost surgical style, dismantling each fighter decisively and with the calmest rage ever displayed on screen.

Tony Jaa shines in this uncut fight scene, following Jaa in one of the longest action scenes in cinema history. Major credit goes to the stunt team keeping up with Jaa as he delivers pain in the form of flying knees and flung bodies up and down staircases. Possibly most impressive is that not only is the fighting continuous, but there also are no wires or doubles to take away from the action — and there are the bona fides earned by Jaa as he positions himself as one of the best of the best. 

Jackie Chan will always be remembered as the clown prince of Kung-Fu films, but his best fight scene can be found in "Drunken Master II." As Wong Fei-Hung, Chan deftly mixes slapstick fighting with true technical skill. In the film's climactic brawl, Chan moves with precision and humor, creating a style both unique and entertaining. Watch for Chan falling onto a bed of hot coals and jumping right back into the fight.

Epic doesn't do justice to the spectacular fight between The Bride (Uma Thurman) and the Crazy 88s. Director Quentin Tarantino films a battle royale fully worthy of the martial arts films that serve as inspiration. For nearly 10 minutes, The Bride slices and dices her way through wave after wave of Yakuza killers with style, poise and grace, expertly choreographed by Yuen Woo-Ping. Thurman looks more than comfortable wielding Hanzo steel, and each swing is more deadly than the last.

Joe Taslim gleefully stomps and slices his way through five minutes of absolute mayhem in this scene from the Netflix gem "The Night Comes for Us." Facing off against a roomful of fighters, Taslim wastes no time breaking limbs, chopping necks and dealing out a truckload of pain in a scene that's certainly not for the weak of stomach but absolutely for those who like to mainline their action with zero punches pulled.

The newest release on our list is possibly one of the most brutal. In choosing fight scenes from the "John Wick" series, there's certainly no shortage, but this knife fight early in "John Wick 3" is possibly the best of the entire franchise. Keanu Reeves is at his deadliest, as he fends off two assailants with razor-sharp reflexes and even sharper blades. The coup-de-grace is certainly not for weak constitutions.

The crowning achievement of choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping's career, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" features a slew of wirework battles, giving audiences a full menu of ballet brawls, the highlight of which is this sword fight between Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) and  Jiao Long (Ziyi Zhang) as they engage in a beautiful dance with the possibility of death.

Unlikely action hero Colin Firth makes his mark on our list in "Kingsman: The Secret Service." This instant-classic fight scene features Firth as secret agent Harry Hart, who infiltrates an ultra conservative church as a device influences everyone inside to indulge in their most violent tendencies. In a no-holds barred brawl that features impalings, bludgeonings and Hart practicing his superior fighting skills, he decimates the church while under the influence of the violence device. It's a must-see brawl and definitely deserving of its place in our top five.

The third in the series of "36th Chamber" films makes our top five largely because it features a fight scene so well-choreographed, it's just a joy to watch. Many of the kung fu films put out by the famous Shaw Brothers studio follow a similar formula, but seeing lead Gordon Liu and co-star Hsiao Ho fight alongside one another while a bevy of stunt fighters fill in the action on the edges leads to a pulse-pounding scene that revels in the delight of kung fu perfection.

"Atomic Blonde" features girl power to the nth degree, as Charlize Theron puts her best feet forward in this single-take brawl that maybe isn't the cleanest choreographed but feels the most tactile as she and her opponents get more tired, sloppy, and slow as the fights go on. Each punch means something here, and by the end it's hard to imagine how she's still standing. But she does it with sheer aplomb.

The second-best fight scene on our list is certainly no slouch, as brothers (Joe Taslim and Uwo Ikwais) fight for their lives against the small but devastating Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian). The close-quarters battle is full of brutal moves and bone-crunching blasts, as the pair find themselves more than evenly matched against Mad Dog, who simply doesn't know how to die. In a film full of spectacular fights and action, this is the one that cements "The Raid" as a bona fide classic.

The best brawl on our list isn't fancy and it isn't choreographed with grace. It's simply an old-school, no-holds-barred battle of fists and wills. Roddy Piper and Keith David pick each other apart, and each blow can be felt on the other side of the screen. As a pro wrestler, Piper earns a fair amount of credit in selling the fight along with David, who is more than game to land a few punches that feel real, because they were. As fight scenes go, this simply feels the most real, and by the end the audience may be every bit as exhausted as Piper and David.