TOP TEN Lists - This Week: Movie and TV Show Directors

That's a good one. I forgot about that one. Surely worthy of my honourable mentions list!

 

You do realise you can include songs from video games/PC games as well, don't you?

As I did with WarCraft III, StarCraft and Thrones of Britannia.

 

Always a rebel.

 

Are we still waiting for @Killer Angel to finish his list for the current category, or has @NIGHTBRINGER run out of lists?

 

Good one! If you haven't seen the Magnum PI opening replaced with Star Wars characters it's totally worth it.

 

I still have PLENTY of lists ready to go!

 

Topic #13 - Top Ten Movie Fights/Battles/Duels

This one should be interesting!

Rules:

• Movies Only! (no TV shows, Video Games, etc.)
• fights can be one on one, large scale battles or anything in between!
• live action and/or animated

Let's see what you fine lizards come up with!

 

You wanted a new topic... have at it! Let's see your list!

 

I don't see yours yet

But if you want a list, you shall have it!

1. The Battle of Naboo (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace) - Honestly still my favourite film battle of all, combining the land battle between the Gungan Grand Army and the Droid army of the Trade Federation, Queen Amidala's attempt to storm Theed Palace, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's Lightsaber duel against Darth Maul, still the best Lightsaber duel ever done, and the sallying of the Naboo Starfighters against the Droid Control Ship. All those different arenas of combat occurring at once, plus the continual fluctuation of the tide of battle between the heroes and villains having the edge, make this easily my number 1.
2. The Battle of Geonosis (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones) - Again the fluctuating outcome of this battle, plus being able to witness so many Jedi fighting at once, the triumphant arrival of the Clone Troopers and the duel with Dooku make this one a worthy no. 2 candidate, though the superior Lightsaber duel in Episode I (plus being a fan of the Gungans) means it still plays second fiddle to the Battle of Naboo.
3. The Battle of the Five Armies (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies) - Unpopular in the eyes of many people I know, but I honestly loved seeing the last battle in Middle-Earth where Dwarves and Elves were front and centre fighting the forces of darkness (after they had resolved their differences with each other of course). Plus the battle became the catalyst for Thorin's redemption, prompting him to finally understand why he and the Company were there in the first place, abandon his hoard of gold and fulfil his tragic destiny to end Azog's rampage.
4. The Battle of Scarif (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) - This fully brought the 'War' back into Star Wars after the soulless and woke rehash that was Episode VII, and took the franchise to newly gritty lengths, killing off most of the main characters and turning what had previously been lauded as a triumph for the Rebellion in Star Wars lore into a thoroughly Pyrrhic victory.
5. Po VS Tai Lung (Kung Fu Panda) - Though Kung Fu Panda 2 edges the first one out in a lot of things, for me the first one still has the funniest duel in the form of Po defending the Valley of Peace from Tai Lung, with the latter getting sat on, his tail bitten by himself, a wok thrown into his face and ultimately 'skadooshed' to the Spirit Realm via the Wushi Finger Hold.
6. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) - Though many will likely disagree with my stance on the Hobbit, I have no doubt that they will agree that the Battle of Pelennor Fields is thoroughly deserving of a place on anyone's Top 10 list. Like my favourite Star Wars battles it keeps up the suspense by fluctuating the outcome of the battle, with the Rohirrim crushing the Orc phalanxes only to encounter the Mumakil, before they are in turn defeated by the Army of the Dead, and acts of heroism from our favourite characters abound.
7. Obi-Wan vs Anakin and Yoda Vs Darth Sidious (Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith): Like the Battle of Scarif this one deserves a mention for the darkness and tragedy it brings to the Star Wars saga, with one of the Prequel Trilogy's big heroes descending to become a cyborg monster and the big bad of the franchise succeeding in making his ambitions a reality.
8. The Battle of Hogwarts (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2) - The tagline for this film was 'It All Ends Here', and this battle very much fulfills this in spectacular fashion, with the forces of Lord Voldemort coming close to but failing to break the valiant defence of Hogwarts, and Tom Riddle finally falling to his nemesis.
9. The Battle of Helm's Deep (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) - If it were not for the mighty Battle of Pelennor Fields this would have likely claimed the mantra of Best Lord of the Rings Battle, where the last resistance of the Rohirrim met the Uruk-Hai of Isengard at the eponymous citadel, and even though Pelennor Fields without a doubt takes the title, this one is still solid, with the Uruk horde close to victory, only to be beaten by Theoden's sally and Gandalf and Eomer's reinforcements.
10. Lord Shen and his army VS Po, the Furious Five and Masters Shifu, Ox and Croc (Kung Fu Panda 2) - Lastly I have to give a mention to my favourite villain of all time and the beginning of his attempted invasion of China, with his fleet and army facing down all comers and making it to Gongmen City's harbour, only to be halted at the last minute by a certain panda and his discovery of inner peace, with Shen ultimately accepting his fate, ironically involving one of his own beloved cannons.

Honourable Mentions: Lord Shen VS Masters Ox, Croc and Thundering Rhino (Kung Fu Panda 2), Second Buzz VS Toy Zurg (Toy Story 2), Po VS Kai (Kung Fu Panda 3), Duel in the Department of Mysteries (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), The Battle in Balin's Tomb (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), The Breaking of the Fellowship at Amon Hen (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring), Tai Lung's Escape (Kung Fu Panda), The Battle of Yavin (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), The Battle of the Black Gate (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), Obi-Wan VS General Grievous (Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith), the Escape from Goblin-Town (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), The Battle of Azanulbizar (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), The Battle of Waterloo (Waterloo), The Battle of Rorke's Drift (Zulu), The Battle of Isandlwana (Zulu Dawn), The Battle of Austerlitz (Napoleon)

 

Actually, all my lists are complete. This was a little exercise that a friend and I had played a couple of years back. It was fun, so I thought I'd introduce it to the forum. Sometimes I like to start off a topic with my list, while other times I like to hang back and see what everyone comes up with.

The fun part for me, is going back to my already completed lists and seeing if any re-ordering (or new additions) are in order.

Interesting, your list is comprised of...

Star Wars - 40%
LOTR/Hobbit - 30%
Kung Fu Panda - 20%
Harry Potter - 10%

Always the rebel!

 

Kind of tough to pick. I think I tend to choose duels over battles. Some recency bias, as always. Plus, I KNOW there will be some good classic fights/battles I'm going to miss. This is just want came to my mind here at my keyboard.

Empire Strikes Back: Luke vs. Vader (I love this whole encounter. It holds a special place from my childhood to today)
The Princess Bride: Westley vs. Inigo (A classic!)
The Matrix: Neo vs. Agent Smith or Neo vs. Morpheus (either fight is VERY cool)
The Phantom Menace: Qui-gon & Obi-wan vs. Maul
The Avengers: Battle of New York (The whole last half of the movie is well choreographed and edited. An exciting finish)
Return of the Jedi: Battle of Endor (The way the whole last part of RotJ is shot and edited is also very exciting)
Saving Private Ryan: D-Day (That first scene is intense and emotional)
The Two Towers: The Battle of Helm's Deep or maybe Fellowship: Battle of Amon Hen
Kill Bill (Vol. 1): The Bride vs. O-Ren (that whole tea house scene is equal parts wacky/gory/cool)
Casino Royal: Intro scene where Bond chases the African bomb maker. That's exciting and fun to watch.

 

Damn, I forgot Waterloo and both Zulu and its prequel!

But I can easily add those into my Honourable Mentions list.

 

Very well, let be done...

1. Darth Maul versus Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon [SW: Episode I] - *only the lightsaber fight, not the intermixed space battle or Gungan vs droid battle.
2. First battle at the Hot Gates [300]
3. Battle for Minas Tirith [LOTR: The Return of the King]
4. Battle at the Colosseum [Gladiator]
5. Mines of Moria [LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring]
6. Achillies versus Boagrius [Troy]
7. Anakin versus Obi-Wan // Sidious versus Yoda [SW: Episode III]
8. Rocky versus Drago [Rocky IV]
9. Batman versus Superman [Dark Knight Returns]
10. Battle of Stirling [Braveheart]

Honourable mentions: Luke versus Vader [SW: Episode VI], Battle of Helms Deep [LOTR: The Two Towers], Neo versus Agent Smith [Matrix], Achillies versus Hector [Troy]