top of page
Writer's pictureStephanie Farnsworth

The best battle and fight scenes from TV, gaming and film

Hanzo vs Genji short

An emotionally fraught short, and one that was a perfect gift to the fandom who had waited a while to see just how the two brothers fell out. The animation is incredible and each scene is as powerful as both of their ultimates.



Dumbledore vs Voldemort

A lot of the films lacked the punch the books provided, including the scene directly before this choice where Sirius Black was murdered. Dumbledore versus Voldemort is one of the stand-out moments of magic the film franchise offered us. Voldemort’s screaming and then shattering the glass around the Ministry of Magic was a chilling and unforgettable moment.



Captain America vs his old bestie Iron Man

This film was largely a self-important dud but the one great thing it did give us was the fight scenes. When pretty much everyone is battling, it is fantastic, but the really spectacular scene saw Captain American and Iron Man beating the hell out of each other.




Lexa vs Roan

An epic fight scene that beats Gladiator and comes very close in style and feel to a later entry on our list. It’s brutal and bloody. Lexa has to grab a sword and push it away the blade with her hand, cutting deeply into it. The deathly commitment these two fight with is incredible and the twist when Lexa beats Roan but spares him and murders the Ice Queen is one of the best moments in television. What really sets this off though is Lexa’s young pupil, Aden, and his adoration of her. A little boy can cheer an incredible woman who is a warrior. It was a magnificent moment.




Goku Super Saiyan transformation

Maybe this isn’t the best transformation of the series stylistically, but in terms of context there will never be a battle scene that has more at stake than this. Frieza has murdered almost every single saiyan, Goku’s best friend, Piccolo is bleeding out and his young son could well be the next victim. Not only that, but Frieza has the power to blow up planets with complete ease (as he did to the saiyan world) and later in the fight, Frieza tries to destroy Namek meaning that he and Goku battle while the planet is splitting apart at its core. This battle lasts almost for an entire season because there is just so much drama to it, and to be honest, it’s the most impact a super saiyan transformation really has.




Rey vs Kylo

This is not the best Star Wars fight in terms of just mind blowing moves. It is, however, one of the most iconic moments in film because of what it represents – and very similar to Lexa’s and Roan’s battle in many ways. This ushered in a new and more relevant era of Star Wars with a much more diverse cast. While Leia had been the ultimate hero of the original trilogy, it was fantastic to see Rey assume that new role and actually pick up a lightsabre and go head to head with the main villain. For stunning importance and such poignant significance, this is a really tough moment for films or TV to ever beat.




Vader vs Obi Wan

The prequels were definitely hard to get through but the end fight scene really made up for the hours of boredom. The commitment from everyone who worked on the scenes was absolutely incredible. It is a spectacular watch no matter what you think of the franchise.




Black Panther – everyone, even the rhinos

The audience was spoiled as it did not just get Killmonger being taken down by the rightful black panther and king T'challa, but everyone got involved. The women largely led the fight, and even the rhinos got involved.




Lord of the Rings – Return of the King

For drama, music, use of extras, just sheer scale, this scene will always take some beating. It is an absolute classic battle scene that still can send shivers down the spine even after watching the films multiple times. No other battle scene in film has really come close to this for high impact drama.




Mass Effect 3 – return to Earth

When Mass Effect 3 starts, the player must abandon Earth to go get help to fight the reapers which as Zaeed states, are as tall as "goddamn skyscrapers". Mass Effect 3 features the best space battle ever shown. The scale of the fight Shepard faces is overwhelming. Returning to Earth will never fail to leave players in awe.




Comments


bottom of page