Daxtreme

Nope! The final fight is pretty good though I refer to it a couple times though, since Jing Wu made this top a few times!

I'm feeling generous today so everyone who guessed this sequence will get something! @TwoMisfits you were the 2nd person to guess this, so a Silver account it is for you! @titanic2187 you were 3rd so you win copper! Congrats guys and thanks for participating @Slambros you will win copper as well but obviously since you already have a Gold account well, we'll figure something out. If you want I'll simply donate $5 to the site edit: please be patient however since I'm out of town this week-end!

#1 Ziyi Zhang vs Michelle Yeoh | Final Fight Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Taiwan (Mandarin) Directed by: Ang Lee Fight Choreography: Yuen Woo-Ping Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang Worldwide Box office: $213,525,736 ($128,078,872 Domestic) Synopsis: A young Chinese warrior steals an unbreakable sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation. My rating for this movie: ★★★★½ My rating for this specific fight sequence: ★★★★★ I fucking love that wire bit above. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, perhaps known best here on BOT as being the highest-grossing Foreign Film in the US, is a great entry point for those who have an interest in the martial arts movie genre. It is a critical darling, having won 4 oscars, offers a unique take on what a historical drama can be, opened American audiences to Chinese cinema... and features one of, if not the best fight sequence ever put on screen. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon holds the record for most oscar nominations for a foreign movie with 10 nominations, and is the only martial arts film to be nominated for a Best Picture oscar. It is also #1 on this list. Coincidence? I was 12 when it came out, and I've been a huge fan of martial arts movies since then. It also showed younger me that women can be absolute ass-kickers too. A significant portion of my favorite kick-ass actors are women, and that's largely due to martial arts movies being years (and in some cases, decades) ahead of the curve, as this top highlights with the likes of Michelle Yeoh placing like 4 times. So, there's everything in this movie -- emphasis on Chinese culture and martial arts, wire fu fighting (divisive but historically important), classical fighting (in general more loved), and a talented director at the helm (Ang Lee) making it all work. The action sequences in this movie hold up really well, largely due to the extensive use of practical effects throughout. They're a bit of an acquired taste though, I have to concede that. Here's a short and sweet review from Josh Larsen on letterboxd: Fun fact -- in some Chinese video releases, they re-dubbed over most of the actors speaking Mandarin (most notably Chow Yun-Fat) as their accents were horrible. The reason for that is because this movie was mostly filmed with a Hong Kong crew and they speak Cantonese there. Ziyi Zhang (pictured in the gif above), however, is a native Mandarin speaker from Beijing. What's so thrilling about this fight This isn't the first fight between Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang, the stars of this fight. They meet up earlier in the movie in another great sequence, but this one is something else. It even gets better each time you watch it, due to the attention given to small details throughout and the flawless editing. Clocking in at just under 5 minutes, but not overstaying its welcome, this fight is the absolute best the world of movie fight choreography has to offer, in my opinion. And it's not the best only because of the choreography, but also because it works on a number of levels. Anyone who's been following this list so far knows that Michelle Yeoh is an absolute legend, so what else makes this fight so special? Yuen Woo-Ping (The Matrix, Kill Bill, and too many Hong Kong credits to list) was at the top of his game for this movie. Really, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Yuen Woo-Ping would top this list. The amount of passion that went into filming the fight sequences in this is something that should inspire most Western directors, who I'm sorry to say, but still have much to learn from our friends in the East, as this top also highlights. The DVD bonus features for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon have a lot to say about that. The "Every Frame a Painting" video on Jackie Chan's way of filming action also has a lot to say about this. In this fight, Ziyi Zhang wields the indestructible "Green Destiny Sword", the best sword in the world which she stole from Chow Yun-Fat. Michelle Yeoh must bring every weapon she can lay her hands on against Zhang's invincible sword. Interestingly enough, all the weapons Michelle Yeoh picks throughout the sequence fighting Zhang are known as natural counters to the sword, especially the second to last weapon, which is a Chinese weapon named "Jian" meaning "The Sword Breaker". Both actresses set aside a full year, ditching everything else to work full-time on preparing for an obviously very physical role (and also in Michelle Yeoh's case, to learn spoken Mandarin as she speaks only Cantonese -- and can't read Chinese at all). In Chinese cinema, it's standard for actors to spend months and months working on fight sequences, as they want to nail them so much that they often film just 1 sequence for weeks, making sure that it's right (like Gareth Evans did with both final fights in his The Raid movies). Michelle Yeoh was already well-known as a kick-ass action movie star in Hong Kong, but Ziyi Zhang was new to fighting. She was a professional dancer and used that as a catalyst to learn the proper choreography needed, and the end result shows just how dedicated and talented she is since it doesn't show. Other dancers have tried, often with poor results. That's what's incredible about movie fight choreography -- what matters is the end result. That's also the beauty of film-making. An unassuming female dancer is part of the best movie fight sequence I've ever seen. She had help from legends, of course, but still, that's impressive and only possible because it's a film. You can watch the sequence in Full HD here (only link I found to the complete sequence, sadly without subtitles): If you're wondering what the characters are saying mid-fight, it's something like -- Michelle Yeoh: “This isn't your sword, give it back.” Ziyi Zhang: “Come and get it if you can.” Michelle Yeoh: “The sword does all the fighting for you.” Ziyi Zhang: “Don't blame the weapon if you can't win. Pick any weapon... go on...” So why is this sequence #1? The bests of movie fights have a certain rhythm, a visual melody to them, and although they can be elevated by having the bests of martial artists of all-time star in them (like Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, etc), it's certainly not the only element that matters! This particular Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fight sequence is awesome, thrilling, rhythmic, relevant to the story, and beautifully choreographed, scored, edited, and directed. It's like watching an hypnotic dance session doubling as a deadly sparring contest, with an Oscar-winning soundtrack to boot. Plus it's from arguably the overall best martial arts movie around. What more do you want? Congratulations to @Brainbug for winning a Gold account. It won't take into effect immediately, I'm very busy this week-end but know it's coming! Cheers guys, and thanks for following!

So I'm really happy about this guys, we have a winner! Gonna announce the #1 shortly

#2 Donnie Yen vs Jing Wu / Jacky Wu SPL: Kill Zone (2005) Hong Kong (Cantonese) Directed by: Wilson Yip Fight Choreography: Donnie Yen, Jack Wai-Leung Wong Starring: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Sammo Hung, Jing Wu Worldwide Box office - $954,211 (never released in the USA) Synopsis: A near retired inspector and his unit are willing to put down a crime boss at all costs while dealing with his replacement, who is getting in their way. Meanwhile, the crime boss sends his top henchmen to put an end to their dirty schemes. My rating for this movie: ★★★½ My rating for this specific fight sequence: ★★★★★ SPL: Kill Zone isn't known for the richness of its story, nor its clever writing. This is an action movie first and foremost, and although the plot may surprise more than a few viewers, it's all about the action... which is fine with me if you know what to expect. Here's an interesting review from matt lynch on letterboxd on this movie: The sequel landed a spot in this list, albeit significantly lower. What this fight's all about After going through this top, just reading "Donnie Yen vs Jing Wu" above should tell you all you need to know about why this sequence landed at #2 on this list. They actually shot the whole sequence in one night, which suffice to say, goes against most Chinese fight sequence standards. According to CineFix, it was mostly improvised and was actually a contest between Jing Wu and Donnie Yen to see who would hit the other first, seeing as they both know each other's stances well. Donnie Yen apparently broke 3 of his police batons on Jing Wu's forearms while filming this scene! It's a one-of-a-kind fight sequence, and upon release, was instantly hailed as an all-time classic by martial arts fans, and I'm inclined to agree. It's probably the most realistic, kinetic, and legitimate fight sequence in this whole top. In a sense, we owe this sequence to Tony Jaa as it was revealed in an interview with Donnie Yen that Ong-Bak's popularity in 2003 led to him feeling he needed to top it, not only for himself but to bring China back on top. And he did! Hopefully Jing Wu does martial arts again too, but that's highly improbable now that he directed, produced, and starred in the highest-grossing Chinese movie of all-time (Wolf Warrior 2). Breaking bones in his body performing stunts doesn't seem like the best move to do nowadays The full sequence: The fight right after that between Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung is also pretty damn good! Watching them back-to-back with a bowl of chips seems like a good evening plan to me. I think I'd just forget about the bowl 30 seconds in though.

#3 Donnie Yen & Cynthia Khan vs the bad guys| Final fight sequence In the Line of Duty 4 (1989) Alternative title: Red Force Hong Kong (Cantonese) Directed by: Yuen Woo-Ping Fight Choreography: Yuen Woo-Ping, Donnie Yen, Yuen Shun-Yee, Paul Wong, Wing Cho Starring: Cynthia Khan, Donnie Yen, Michael Wong Box office: HK $12,100,193 Synopsis: A Hong Kong cop and two American cops are onto a suspected harbor worker and are forced to team up when they discover that the suspect is a witness on the run from CIA agents and their schemers; two corrupt cops. My rating for this movie: ★★★★½ My rating for this specific fight sequence: ★★★★★ This is the third time a movie from the In the Line of Duty franchise makes this top (after #36 Royal Warriors and #11 Yes, Madam!), and this is the big one. This is the movie from the franchise that's firing on all cylinders on the action front, and with a new action girl in the starring role too: Cynthia Khan, who replaced Michelle Yeoh from the 3rd one and onwards. This is the only appearance for Cynthia Khan in this top, but a worthy appearance it is. Here's a review by one of my favorite reviewers on letterboxd, Tao A, on this movie that I can only agree with: There's a stunt performed by Cynthia Khan in the middle of this movie that's so mind-bogglingly dangerous I can't believe they did it (the sequence inside, under, on the side, and on top of the ambulance on the highway). One slip of the foot and under the wheels it is! In typical Hong Kong fashion, no one has any safety on while performing. And believe it or not, but it's not even the most dangerous stunt performed by a woman in a Hong Kong movie, or any movie ever in fact. That award still goes to Michelle Yeoh for the WTF stunt she performed in Jackie Chan's Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) AKA the most dangerous stunt ever performed by a woman where, while riding a motorcycle, she jumped on a moving train with a helicopter rolling on it. And Jackie Chan's own stunts in this movie are even worse. Quentin Tarantino went on record to say the stunts performed in Supercop are probably the greatest ever put on film, and I'm inclined to agree. Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) missed this top because the main focus is clearly on the stunts. Anyway, back to this movie, I clapped not once, not twice, but three times watching this movie! It's pure bonkers! You know that move in Austin Powers where Goldmember kicks his leg past his head? Well Donnie Yen does that FOR REAL in this movie and he does it 3 TIMES!!! In the Line of Duty is definitely one of my favorite film franchises right now. 7 installments, all starring kick-ass girls roundhouse-kicking left and right, with great male sidekicks too (like Donnie Yen here) and everyone doing death-defying stunts one after the other. But this installment absolutely takes the cake. Sadly this franchise isn't really known in the West, although it has its fans. This one really is THE hidden gem of action movies and this top overall. Hong Kong were really ahead of the curve with this. So many kickass female performers! What this fight's all about This fight sequence is long and brutal. This is that kind of fight where you might have to pick your jaw off from the floor about halfway through, only to realize it's not done yet. Ohh noooo it's not done, not even close... because that's when the huge, deceptively agile black guy comes in! Then Donnie Yen gets his shirt ripped off and you realize that the size difference between the 2 of them isn't quite as big as it seemed.... because Donnie Yen was fucking RIPPED back then! Damn can they film a fight in Hong Kong. I lost count of how many reverse roundhouse kicks happen in this sequence. And apparently there's a sword fight too, because why not? Yuen Woo-Ping in his early days... man, I appreciate what he has done later in the 90's, and in the 2000's, but as a director, In the Line of Duty 4 (along with the similar Tiger Cage and Tiger Cage 2) are the magnum opus of his work in my opinion. Tiger Cage 1's opening shoot-out scene alone cements that fact for me. In case that wasn't clear, yes you should watch both Tiger Cage movies. I left them out of this top only because I watched them for the first time fairly recently, after this top was finalized, but the action and fights are truly incredible. Donnie Yen stars in both of them. Oh and, the main villain in Tiger Cage 2 is Liu Kang! Sold? So the whole final fight in this is on YouTube because well, the full movie is currently on YouTube, so watch the sequence there if you're intrigued. But c'mon, you can rent the movie in HD for $2 on amazon (it's even free with Prime)... do it?! :D Or buy the DVD or something? I promise to you, you will never ever regret watching (and paying for) this movie if you've enjoyed any of the fight sequences in this top so far... or action movies. So basically everyone reading this.

And we're up!

It definitely has its own style, one which is quite different from the fights in this top so far!

So that's it for today, tune in tomorrow around 11 AM EST for the grand finale!

#4 Tony Jaa vs The Bar Ong-Bak (2003) Thailand Directed by: Prachya Pinkaew Fight Choreography: Panna Rittikrai, Tony Jaa Starring: Tony Jaa Worldwide Box office - $20,112,926 ($4,563,167 domestic) Synopsis: When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it. My rating for this movie: ★★★★ My rating for this specific fight sequence: ★★★★★ Ong-Bak is known as the modern martial arts movie which reinvigorated the love for fight sequences filmed without wires, without huge special effects, just 2 martial artists punching each other in awesome fashion (along with an incredibly dedicated stunts team). It brought Tony Jaa to international audiences in spectacular fashion. Ong-Bak could have made this top twice with the ending sequence (different from the bar). - Quick action movie review by yours truly - Stunts - 95/100 | Panna Rittikrai (RIP) said in an interview that his idol was Jackie Chan, and that he watched his movies hundreds of times. If the quality of the stunts in this movie are any indication, he was paying attention. Narrative - 69/100 | Doesn't flow really well, but I liked the build-up in tension to the bar sequence. Just for that, the movie gets a thumbs-up from me on the narrative part. Fight Choreography - 100/100 | Those guys... it seems like they're taking those elbows and knees head-on to the face. And they probably are? Unreal choreography. Enjoyment - 90/100 | Might have something to do with the hilariously bad French dub, but damn that was something. The girl with her constant stream of "Moi j'ai 9 points!!!" (I have 9 points!!) had me in stitches! She says that sentence at least 10 times. What this sequence's all about The bar scene in this film is really something else. The whole movie so far has been building up the tension up to this point, and although there are other awesome fight sequences in it, like the cavern sequence, it's the most popular and well-remembered one, and for a good reason. Watching it without context sort of undermines its value, but if you really want to know what this is all about, just search for it on YouTube. The videos are low quality and incomplete so I highly recommend popping this movie in your player instead. It's special in its own, charming way and Tony Jaa is hilarious in his fish-out-of-water kinda role. The dub is definitely in the "so bad it's good" category. If you understand and can watch it in dubbed French, please do so, you won't regret it. It's pricelessly bad but oh soooo good at the same time. I could post gifs of the bar sequences but I think it would undermine the build-up to that point, hence the kata training from the beginning instead! Just know that Tony Jaa is the epitome of athlete-built and that this sequence is legendary.

#5 Jackie Chan vs Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez | feat. Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Pepe Sancho, Keith Vitali Wheels on Meals (1984) Hong Kong (Cantonese) Directed by: Sammo Hung Fight Choreography: Sammo Hung Starring: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao Box office - HK $21,465,013 Synopsis: Cousins Thomas and David, owners of a mobile restaurant, team up with their friend Moby, a bumbling private detective, to save the beautiful Sylvia, a pickpocket. Action and humor abound in the streets of Barcelona, culminating with a battle in the castle hideout of the evil gang. My rating for this movie: ★★★½ My rating for this specific fight sequence: ★★★★★ Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung strike for one final time in this top with this action-comedy that takes place in... Spain. Wheels on Meals is a mostly comedic movie following the unfortunate adventures of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung being involved in all sorts of random things. It's silly, over the top, but it's a lot of fun and Jackie Chan is at the top of his fighting game here. Think Rush Hour but replace Chris Tucker with Sammo Hung, and more fights. A nice little review from Dave Edwards on this movie that I fully agree with: What this fight's all about Benny Urquidez's kick to Jackie Chan is so fast it actually extinguished a set of candles on the table behind! You can't fake awesome. Also, there was a sort of rivalry between them as apparently, they didn't get along very well on set. Bennie Urquidez is reported as having toured the local dojos to challenge the black belts, and hopefully, win (he did). Here, Jackie Chan does his classic furniture fighting but mixed in with impressive MMA-style fight choreography, as his opponent is a tough one! In Dragons Forever (1988), featured earlier at #9, these 2 have a rematch (since it came out after). Sammo Hung meanwhile has an impressive swordfight with Pepe Sancho. You also have the added presence of Yuen Biao, who fights various people throughout. 3 for 1 package deal! Sequence: The quality is pretty terrible. My recommendation would be to watch the movie instead It's on Amazon (rent), Amazon Prime, and iTunes Movies. In all, I think this is the best fight scene in Jackie Chan's career! And what a career he's had.

#6 Jet Li vs Donnie Yen Hero (2002) Hong Kong/China (Mandarin) Directed by: Yimou Zhang Fight Choreography: Siu-Tung Ching, Wei Tung, Jack Wai-Leung Wong, Cai Li Starring: Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Ziyi Zhang, Donnie Yen Worldwide Box office: : $177,394,432 ($53,710,019 domestic) Synopsis: A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors. My rating for this movie: ★★★★ My rating for this specific fight sequence: ★★★★★ If you love Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon (1950), you'll probably love this too. Hero was Hong Kong's biggest budget martial arts film ever at $30M and the widest asian release of all-time in the US (2175 theaters), and achieved #1 rank the week-end of its release, something which no other Foreign Country Movie release has ever managed (not even smash hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). It's a movie known for its superb cinematography and non-linear -- if not plot-defying -- structure. It was nominated for a Best Cinematography oscar. Of course I love this movie. Here's a review by Raul Marques on letterboxd that I think strikes home for me: What this fight's all about I love that this fight mostly takes place in their minds. I love the old man and the music he plays, I love the black and white shift, I love the choreography, the feel, the flow, the cinematography... it's just an amazing looking fight starring legends Jet Li and Donnie Yen. I guess I don't have much else to say except that it's freakin awesome. Watching Donnie Yen and Jet Li fight is always a treat. Behold: Even the 'Wire-Fu' fights in this movie are something to behold, visually. Really, this is a martial arts movie you don't wanna miss. Definitely the most beautiful-looking film in this whole top.

3 more entries coming tonight! The first is the most beautiful-looking movie in this whole top

Is 1B OS-china possible?

I have a bit of unexpected free time so might as well present the 3 fight sequences that were cut for redundancy! Would be number ~25 My Lucky Stars (1985) Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Dick Wei, Sibelle Hu, Michiko Nishiwaki - Final Royal Rumble Choreography: Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah Hong Kong (Cantonese) This one was cut because I think there are enough Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung fight sequences in this top already, and the sequel already made the list. (Small) and funny part of the fight sequence in question, starring one of my favorite Hong Kong actresses Sibelle Hu: The sequence lasts like 10 minutes. The whole movie is on YouTube. _____________________________________________ Would be number ~30 Police Story 4: First Strike (1996) Jackie Chan - Ladder fight Choreography: Stanley Tong, Vic Wilson Hong Kong (Cantonese & English) Cut for the same reasons as above, except this time no Sammo Hung. _____________________________________________ Would be number ~45 Winners and Sinners (1983) Sammo Hung - Final fight sequence Choreography: Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Billy Chan, Ching-Ying Lam Hong Kong (Cantonese) Enough with Jackie Chan/Sammo Hung/Hong Kong movies already! Also, this is basically Lucky Stars 0 so all the more reason to cut it. The sequence is not on YouTube.

So I'll be back later in the evening (Eastern time) for more entries

#7 Jackie Chan vs Ken Lo Drunken Master II (1994) Alternative title: The Legend of Drunken Master Hong Kong (Cantonese) Directed by: Chia-Liang Liu Fight Choreography: Jackie Chan Starring: Jackie Chan, Lung Ti, Anita Mui Box office: HK$40,971,484 + US$11,555,430 (domestic) Synopsis: A young martial artist is caught between respecting his pacifist father's wishes or stopping a group of disrespectful foreigners from stealing precious artifacts. My rating for this movie: ★★★★ My rating for this specific fight sequence: ★★★★★ Only released in the US in 2000, Drunken Master II was a huge hit for Jackie Chan as it was very popular in VHS/DVD sales and rentals. In a way, this movie has probably been the first step into a larger world for many martial arts movie fans, even more so than Rumble in the Bronx, as it's viewed as a classic now and often referred to as Jackie Chan's best. It also marks the end of the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema era, which ended because of various reasons, all of which are economical. See entry #39 She Shoots Straight for more detail on that. In this, Jackie Chan fights under a moving train, jumps off buildings, falls on smoldering fire wearing plain clothes, in addition to all the efforts of the stuntmen throughout this movie. Typical Jackie Chan, eh! What this fight sequence's all about Ken Lo is a friend of Jackie Chan and a stuntman who replaced the original actor temporarily because of injuries (for rehearsing), but he was so good they kept him for the final movie! He really kicks ass -- literally -- and I'm glad they kept him because his kick work is amazing. Jackie Chan once again employs his mix of action/comedy here for a simultaneously dramatic and funny finale, as you can see in the teaser gif above. If you like Jackie Chan's fighting style, this movie is a no-brainer. He actually fired the original fight choreographer because he wasn't satisfied with his work, and went on to choreograph it himself (and Jackie Chan is a terrific fight choreographer). Ken Lo definitely should have starred and fought in more martial arts movies. There are all sorts of callbacks to previous fights in the movie in this sequence, various moves Jackie Chan made, and I love how it all comes together. Definitely an all-timer. Plus in this sequence there's his famous "falling on smoldering fire" stunt which, believe it or not, isn't even the craziest stunt he's ever performed. Behold:

#8 Iko Uwais & Donny Alamsyah vs Yayan Ruhian The Raid: Redemption (2011) Indonesia Directed by: Gareth Evans Fight Choreography: Gareth Evans, Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian Starring: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Donny Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian Worldwide box office: $9.14 million ($4,105,187 domestic) Synopsis: A S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs. My rating for this movie: ★★★★ My rating for this specific fight sequence: ★★★★★ Here's a review from our very own @Telemachos on The Raid: This movie jumpstarted everyone involved's careers (Iko Uwais is now set to star in Triple Threat, an all-star team-up movie of martial artists duking it out), and Gareth Evans directed a sequel too, which was featured earlier in this list. The whole movie is awesome to watch and features incredibly tense moments as Gareth Evans has more talent than just knowing how to film people beating the crap out of each other. He basically schooled 99% of modern directors working today on how to film action scenes. Where do you think he takes that? The Raid is a great action movie all-around, not just an awesome martial arts movie. What this fight's all about In terms of movie fight scenes filmed in the last few years, this one's a real winner. The choreography and stunts on display here are simply amazing for such a constrained setting. Like the sequel, the only true drawback to this sequence is that they never really knew when to stop, but to a much lesser degree than The Raid 2. This is a very, very minor complain. Tighten it up a bit and this would become a real contender for #1. Instead, right now it has to settle for only one of the best fight sequences I've seen ever! What a shame Final fight: I would just recommend the whole movie at this point though. It's one of those few action movies that are well-made all the way through. There's another sequence near the middle where Iko Uwais fights a bunch of thugs in a hallway that's so awesome, and gruesome (in a good way), it's pretty much equally as great as this one. Here it is: It's just so consistently good throughout. An adrenaline shot of a movie in its purest, distilled form. A great sequence and a great guess @Premium George !

Next entry coming up, and another #1 guess missed!

#9 Jackie Chan vs Benny 'The Jet' Urquidez feat. Yuen Biao & Yuen Wah | Final fight sequence Dragons Forever (1988) Hong Kong (Cantonese) Directed by: Sammo Hung Fight Choreography: Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Kar Lok Chin Starring: Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao Box office - HK $33,578,920 Synopsis: Three successful Hong Kong lawyers are hired by a chemical company of questionable ethics and must eventually make a difficult decision when their employer's motives become clear. My rating for this movie: ★★★★ My rating for this specific fight sequence: ★★★★★ Like Carlo V said on letterboxd: There are many Sammo Hung movies on this list, and none of them are "normal" movies by any Western standards. This is the 3rd one, and is no different, but contrary to many of them, it's actually pretty damn good! They had pretty much figured out the formula by 1988. - Quick action movie review by yours truly - Some thoughts... There's legit a stunt at the end of this movie I was wondering just how the hell do you survive this?! I'm not exaggerating. The judge in court is the most retarded judge to have ever lived that's for sure (and also quite homophobic). Fight Choreography - All the fights in this movie are of the highest caliber. All-star cast -- Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Dick Wei, Benny Urquidez, Yuen Wah, James Tien... all incredible martial artists. If you're a fan of Jackie Chan, absolutely don't miss this one. What this fight sequence's all about Lots of Acrobatics, the Jackie Chan - Yuen Biao duo fighting together for the last time in a movie, broken glass, people falling 3 stories and slamming onto everything, a girl swinging a mic around acting as nunchakus, Acrobatics, Benny Urquidez's kicks, more Acrobatics, more broken glass, and Yuen Wah (known for Kung Fu Hustle) lighting up a new cigar for every flip, kick, or move he performs. All of that in a narcotics facility. While Sammo Hung is basically dying on the side. Jesus. I fucking love this sequence. Starts here: Continued here: Oh and Sammo Hung also fights earlier in the movie in the same spot and it's a great sequence too. And Jackie Chan fights a bunch of people on a boat earlier and it's great too. In fact, this whole movie is great if you're a fan of action, especially fights! It's the last movie for the Jackie Chan + Yuen Biao + Sammo Hung trio. They went separate ways after that.

So that was a very nice #1 guess @ZeeSoh, although Enter the Dragon didn't place #1, it is an incredible sequence! Thanks for participating

#10 Bruce Lee vs the whole factory Enter the Dragon (1973) USA / Hong Kong co-production (English) Directed by: Robert Clouse Fight Choreography: Bruce Lee Starring: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly (with Jackie Chan/Sammo Hung cameos!) Worldwide Box office - $90,000,000 ($22,000,000 domestic) Synopsis: A martial artist agrees to spy on a reclusive crime lord using his invitation to a tournament there as cover. My rating for this movie: ★★★½ My rating for this specific fight sequence: ★★★★★ Enter the Dragon is perhaps the most influential martial arts movie ever made. It brought martial arts to worldwide attention in explosive fashion as it was a huge box office success with $90M in 1972 worldwide box office (a loose estimate in today's dollars would be $400-500M, which is insane for a martial arts movie). It's also Bruce Lee's final movie before his unfortunate death at the age of 32, and showcases his immense talent as a martial artist. Without this movie, martial arts movies wouldn't be what they are today. Funny excerpt by Tao A on letterboxd: Enter the Dragon is also a very rare USA/Hong Kong co-production. What this fight sequence's all about Bruce Lee enters the factory disguised as a ninja investigator with a snake in his knapsack, so you just know something special is gonna happen eventually. Bruce Lee has always been known for his minimalist approach to martial arts sequences. He strikes hard and fast, and in his signature fashion, takes down all his opponents in one blow. He never does it better than in this movie. This sequence also features Jackie Chan in one of his first movie roles as an extra who gets hit by Bruce Lee. Sequence: My main gripe with the movie is that the antagonist is meh and his final fight sequence with Bruce Lee is a bit underwhelming. But the rest of the movie really works, including of course this sequence. It's an absolute must-watch for martial arts movie fans. Mortal Kombat (1995) basically copied the plot of this movie by the way. More on that:

And now... to the top 10! Our first entry is a true classic

#11 Michelle Yeoh + Cynthia Rothrock vs Dick Wei + Fat Chung | Final fight sequence Yes, Madam! (1985) Alternative titles: Police Assassins, Police Assassins 2, Supercops, In the Line of Duty 2 Hong Kong (Cantonese) Directed by: Corey Yuen Fight Choreography: Corey Yuen, Sammo Hung Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock, Tsui Hark Box office - HK$ 10,019,862 Synopsis: A relentless inspector (Michelle Yeoh) and a Scotland Yard detective (Cynthia Rothrock) investigate murders linked to microfilm in Hong Kong. My rating for this movie: ★★★★ My rating for this specific fight sequence: ★★★★½ Boy, just look at that poster! First of all, yes this movie is simultaneously called Police Assassins and Police Assassins 2. It's also called In the Line of Duty 2 in some territories but was actually made before In the Line of Duty 1. More on that below. So what's better than having Michelle Yeoh kick ass in your movie? Apparently, bringing in another kick-ass chick for a beatdown session of epic proportions! Yes, Madam! is the movie that propelled Michelle Yeoh/Khan to action stardom and launched the kick-ass female cop/Girls With Guns genre that was to become popular during the 80's and 90's in Hong Kong cinema. It also kickstarted a franchise of 7 installments. A few of these movies made this top because the fight sequences as well as the action sequences in pretty much all of them are, quite simply, batshit insane. The kinda high adrenaline stuff you only see in the movies made at that time, even more so in movies directed by Corey Yuen (also more on that below). It also introduced American martial artist and 5-time world champion Cynthia Rothrock to Hong Kong cinema, who trained in China, won several competitions, and achieved Black Belt level in 7 different martial arts. Cynthia became really popular in Hong Kong as a result of this movie and was offered movie roles, and she rocked in them. She even had her own Chinese name, 羅芙洛 (Foo Lok Law). Sadly, she eventually went back to filming American movies after a while where her talents were mostly wasted in dull B-movies. She now owns a martial arts dojo in Los Angeles, which burned to the ground but re-opened 3 days later (different location). The character Sonya Blade from Mortal Kombat was designed after her. The success of this film in Hong Kong resulted in several sequels and spin-offs, and so much confusion as to these movies' titles that it needs a detailed explanation below (source: http://kungfukingdom.com/police-assassins-movie-review/) takes a deep breath Did you keep up with all of that?! Here's a popular review by Sean Gilman on letterboxd that summarizes this movie quite well: Complete with an epic synth score. This movie is so weird. If you wanna be flabbergasted at what you're seeing for 1h30 straight in a strange, mesmerizing way, this is the movie for you. If action movies are like driving a racecar, then Yes, Madam! is like driving a podracer in The Phantom Menace. There are very, very few high-octane action movies like this. Corey Yuen in his early days was really one-of-a-kind. It's kinda hard to explain why and how, but watching the first ~4 minutes of this movie should tell you everything you need to know about that. The sequence in the airport in this has to be the biggest surprise of my recent years watching movies. Okay, maybe not as surprising as some of the stuff in The Last Jedi but yeah, it was quite the shock! What this fight sequence's all about It's hard to believe now that the final confrontation in this movie predates Jackie Chan's iconic 1985 movie Police Story that is now a landmark of Hong Kong action cinema. Still, it did, and damn is it impressive. Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock are every bit as talented and insane as their male counterparts here and even trade some sexist remarks with them because why not? The stunts pulled in this sequence and the amazing martial arts skills of all the fighters involved coupled with director Corey Yuen's eye for action lead this movie to an explosive finale that I will never forget. I actually watched this one for the first time a few months ago with a few like-minded friends and boy we weren't ready. Clapping and "WAIT, WHAT?"s were standard procedure, if you can forgive a 20-minutes lull near the middle. When Michelle Yeoh crashes through a panel of glass upside down to throw 2 guys down from a balcony I knew without a doubt that I was watching an instant action classic. 80's Hong Kong action cinema... jesus. Every time a sequence blows your mind, the next one tops it! These movies are ruining my grading system. By now I hope I convinced some of you guys in here who've never watched any to at least check out just one of these movies -- my personal recommendation: this one if you're open to a unique experience (a truly unique experience), the original Police Story for something more classic, but still crazy, or any of the Hong Kong movies still left in this top. Yes, Madam! is on iTunes, Police Story is everywhere. Prepare to be not prepared for what's coming if you've never watched an 80's Hong Kong movie.