Fight scenes in film can take all manner of shapes, but movies often come back to one in particular: a duel. As much as audiences love mass battle scenes or the entire cast of protagonists fighting together, it's hard to top the emotional intensity and sheer skill involved in a one-on-one fight between the hero and villain.
Even if these fights aren't pre-arranged and fought to a rigid code like historical duels, they often resemble them a great deal. The characters stand and fight, often armed with similar weapons and a personal note to the combat. With their smaller scale and higher intensity, many of these scenes are known as some of the greatest fights in film.
10 The Bride's Sword Duel With O-Ren Ishii (Kill Bill Vol. 1)
The archetypal duel takes place with swords. Whether it's fencing with rapiers or hacking away at each other with longswords, there is something undeniably epic about two characters relying on their skill with the blade to survive. Despite being a movie set in the modern day, Kill Bill Vol. 1 makes sure it ends in a beautiful duel with katanas.
After the brutal, pragmatic combat of the Bride's fight with Vernita Green and the mass melee against the Crazy 88, the final battle is a much more reserved, honorable affair. The Bride faces off against crime boss O-Ren Ishii, crossing swords. The duel is beautifully shot, well-choreographed, and has an underlying note of tragedy that caps off an incredible finale.
9 Neo Faces Down Agent Smith (The Matrix)
Throughout The Matrix, Neo is told that he has two choices when he comes face-to-face with an agent: run or die. He follows this advice for the most part but chooses differently in the climax. After rescuing Morpheus and surviving an earlier encounter, Neo chooses to stand and fight when Smith ambushes him.
The two empty their guns at each other before discarding them to fight with fists. Neo's powers as The One and Smith's innate abilities as an Agent make this more than just a brawl. Realistic, brutal blows combine with impossible kicks and rapid-fire punches to create an unforgettable climax that cements The Matrix as an iconic action film.
8 Dumbledore And Voldemort Fight In The Ministry Of Magic (Harry Potter)
Although magic is a powerful, incredible force in the Harry Potter films, it's often kept on the back burner. The protagonists are still at Hogwarts and coming into their skills, so most of the duels use unimpressive spells that are little more than flashes of light.
Things change when Dumbledore confronts Voldemort at the Department of Mysteries in Order of the Phoenix. The two are the most powerful wizards of their day, and they unleash their full potential on one another. Conjuring fiery snakes, transforming each other's attacks, and weaponizing the surrounding arena, they provide an epic visual spectacle and the best fight in the series.
7 Arthur Brawling As Gravity Breaks Down Around Him (Inception)
Most impressive duels take place between significant characters, typically the hero and villain. Inception bucks this trend, staging an impressive one-on-one fight between secondary character Arthur and a completely anonymous Projection, a henchman within a dream.
As Arthur holds the line in the hotel dream, he's forced to fight several Projections. As he battles the final one, Yusuf's aggressive driving in the next layer affects the gravity of Arthur's current dream. The result is a jaw-dropping piece where the two fight while they're tilted, thrown about, and made to run upside-down. This is mostly done with impressive and extensive practical effects.
6 Thanos Fights Doctor Strange On Titan (Avengers: Infinity War)
Avengers: Infinity War is short on duels because almost nobody can stand against Thanos by themselves. Once the Battle on Titan turns against the heroes, however, Thanos ends up fighting two heroes back-to-back. Of the two, his first fight with Doctor Strange is the most impressive.
Strange unleashes the full force of his magic against Thanos, which is matched by his opponent using all four of the Infinity Stones. The two trade impossible attacks, countering each other's manipulations of reality with their own. It truly feels like the fight is won through Thanos' intelligence, rather than his brute strength.
5 Maximus And Tigris Of Gaul Face Off In The Arena (Gladiator)
Gladiator has plenty of duels alongside its mass battle scenes, as it follows a Roman soldier who's forced to fight in the arena. Many of the film's fights are impressive, but the duel that stands out the most is Maximus fighting the renowned champion Tigris of Gaul in the arena.
A seemingly-simple fight between two champions is made more complicated when Commodus adds tigers to try to kill Maximus. Through its epic concept and its well-shot action, the scene transcends the other excellent fights in the film. It ends in a powerful storytelling moment as Maximus refuses to kill his opponent.
4 Jack Sparrow Gets His Revenge On Barbossa (The Curse Of The Black Pearl)
Pirates of the Caribbean's swashbuckling action is beloved, and this is never shown better than in the climactic fight of The Curse of the Black Pearl. After Jack Sparrow spends most of the movie backstabbing, lying, and playing the two sides off against each other, he makes a definite choice to fight Barbossa and save Will and Elizabeth.
Jack is one of the worst swordsmen in the cast and Barbossa is one of the best, so he evens the odds through trickery, improvised weapons, and making himself immortal just before the fight. With creative choreography and a thoroughly satisfying conclusion that still packs a punch, the scene caps off its film perfectly.
3 Rocky Balboa's First Bout With Apollo Creed (Rocky)
The Rocky franchise is all about modern-day duels, as its protagonists are boxing in a ring for the audience's delight. Even in the worse-received Rocky movies, the boxing action has some fans, but it's never better on display than the fight at the end of the original Rocky.
The entire film builds up to the event, and it more than pays off. It's a well-shot and crafted display of skill and stamina, and one that feels more brutal than a great many fights in other movies. Ending with an unexpected but satisfying loss due to a split decision, Rocky finds a way to have its titular character lose the match without selling him short.
2 The Man In Black's Match With Inigo Montoya (The Princess Bride)
The best duels tend to come at the end of a film. The Princess Bride thoroughly subverts this by having its most iconic fight happen in the first act of the movie and a heroic character on each side. Inigo Montoya stays behind to guard his group's back against the Man in Black, who has been doggedly pursuing them for hours.
The two have an earnest, friendly conversation before they agree to duel. What follows is a gripping, showy, and simply delightful bout as the two outmaneuver each other, switch hands, and banter through an epic fight. It's become The Princess Bride's best-known scene, and one of the most iconic sword duels in all of cinema.
1 The Duel In Cloud City Between Luke Skywalker And Darth Vader (The Empire Strikes Back)
Samurai films and Westerns are two key inspirations for Star Wars, two genres where duels play a major part. As such, Star Wars contains a huge number of duels as Jedi and Sith face off with lightsabers. Most of these are beloved in their own right, but few have the iconic status of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader's duel on Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back.
It's an uneven match from the start, with the in-training Luke outmatched by the dangerous Darth Vader. Nonetheless, it's a tense match as Luke deals blows despite being the underdog. Eventually, Luke loses the fight and also his hand. Cemented by the shocking twist at its end, the duel is a classic moment in cinema.