Fight Sequences

Everyone has seen at least one film, probably many, where the fight scenes are extremely bad. Or possibly they were well done, you just can’t see what’s going on because of the camera work. When a fight scene is done correctly, it can be amazing but, it’s surprising how easy it is to mess up, and how many filmmakers fall for these traps.

For example, Ip Man 3 (2015) was a good film for one reason; the fight sequences. Anyone who has watched that movie would agree with me that the plot was horrendous yet, we still enjoyed it. Why? Because the fight scenes were phenomenal. I give a lot of credit to action films from the Asian community because they know how to do fight scenes and it’s not just because of their use of martial arts. So, let’s dive into a few points, shall we?

1. Cast actors who are willing to do some of their own stunts. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched a movie in which an actor is cast for a physically demanding role and I find that the stunt double has more screen time than the actor. When an actor is willing to do their own stunts, it adds realism and quality, also expanding the options for the type of shots they can take in the sequence. Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise are both excellent examples of actors who do their own stunts. Keanu Reeves is amazing in fight scenes and he makes them believable because we know that he’s the one doing the stunts. He pushes things to the limit and the cinematography in his fight scenes are great because the director doesn’t have to hide a stunt double. Tom Cruise has surprised everyone with the Mission: Impossible series with the insane stunts he’s done. Would the Burj Khalifa scene in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) have been as exhilarating if the audience didn’t literally see Tom Cruise hanging on the outside of the building? Probably not. Like anything, a good foundation is the key to success which is why casting an actor who will do stunts is just a important as the choreography itself.

2. The fight should be rehearsed, but not too rehearsed. This sounds confusing but it’s important. I’ll use two different films to explain this. First, it makes sense that a fight scene should be rehearsed. Lack of rehearsal creates slow moving, animated fight sequences that are visibly fake. They lack realism and intensity which is everything a filmmaker shouldn’t want. Dragonball Evolution (2009) had this problem among its many. It was clear that they had practiced this fight yet, it lacked the flow and urgency that a fight scene should have. People knew it was fake because it looked planned. On the complete opposite side of the spectrum there is the final fight scene between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi from Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (2005). Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen had rehearsed the fight to the point where it where it looked like Obi-wan and Anakin could tell where the other person was going to strike even before they had moved. It looked more like a dance in all honestly. A choreographed fight scene should look like it hasn’t been rehearsed but it still has to be executed with some level of confidence.

3. Camera work is important because if a filmmaker has a well choreographed fight scene but the audience can’t tell what’s going on, there’s a problem. I’m going to start with something that really annoys me which is shaky cam. Shaky cam is when the camera man literally shakes the camera while filming, not to be mistaken for handheld shots in which the camera man just naturally holds the camera. When filming a fight scene, using shaky cam is almost like attempting to add intensity to the fight scene after realizing that it’s not a well done fight. When filmmakers use shaky cam to film a fight scene, it takes away from the fight because there’s too much for the audience to focus on. A fight scene has enough spontaneous fast movements on its own without a camera shaking. It makes it difficult to focus on what’s happening in the scene. That’s not to say that one shouldn’t ever use shaky cam, just as long as they use it sparingly and with purpose. On the same idea, having too many cuts in a fight scene can also be distracting since the angle is changing too often to process what is happening.

An excellent example of a fight sequence would be the knife fight between Captain America and the Winter Soldier in Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014) because it has a clean look, there aren’t any unnecessary cuts and despite being done using handheld camera techniques, it’s easy to follow what is happening. The actors are doing their own stunts and you can tell they’ve practiced the choreography yet, as characters, they look like they are really fighting for their lives.

Fight scenes can be difficult to make but they don’t have to be appalling. Using actors who are willing perform all or at least some sections themselves can be one of the first steps for success. Having confident yet, not over rehearsed performances and keeping the shots clean add up to make a fight scene worth watching.

Cheers,
Meggan S.