Riveting action is likely not the main draw for audiences of The Tragedy of Macbeth. Though violence and action more often than not dominate the box office throughout the year every year, it seldom proves to be the draw for critical or academic projects which typically favor artistic endeavor over an eliciting an adrenal response. But the truth is that neither are necessarily opposed, and works of thoughtful drama can contain breathtaking action sequences as good as any superhero movie. The Tragedy of Macbeth does just that. And while the action is sparing, what is there makes its impact.

Shakespeare's works are not without their doses of action, and there are many plays from the Bard that are considered the equivalent to summer blockbusters of his day. But even as far as action in Shakespeare goes, the story of Macbeth is not one rife with battles and duels. The story begins in the aftermath of a battle where Lord Macbeth learns of a prophecy that he will become the King of Scotland and subsequently grows psychotically obsessed with the mantle. And the story that unfolds from there primarily focuses more on him and Lady Macbeth's mental spiral into insanity than on fight scenes.

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The Tragedy of Macbeth

But the story does end with two climactic sword fights, both of which showcase that Cohen is no less a master filmmaker when it comes to fight scenes than he is in all the film previously. The first comes as a hidden army storms Macbeth's castle, leaving the King to face off against an armed soldier. Believing himself invincible due to a prophecy that claimed Macbeth could be slain by no man born of a woman, Macbeth goes into the duel unarmed and deftly navigates his way around the soldier's sword slashes. At last, fed up with the fight, he navigates his way around the soldier's blade before ending the soldier's life with their own dagger.

As with any good action, there proves to be a deeper point and place in the story beyond providing a thrilling fight for the audience. Immediately after the fight, Macbeth finds himself squared off against his true enemy: Macduff. Now armed with firsthand evidence of Macbeth's capabilities in a duel, the fact that he goes into his fight with Macduff seems to favor the king's odds and the legitimacy of the prophecy that grants him his invincibility. That is what makes Macduff's victory, immediately upon the revelation that he is not "woman born" because he was "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb, all the more effective.

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The ironic twist to the prophecy is the climactic hinging point of the story, and The Tragedy of Macbeth manages to build up to it perfectly by using the action to accelerate the excitement and the stakes. That same pacing would not be reproducible in a film that sprinkled action throughout its runtime, nor would it be as effective if the fights themselves felt dull or rote. Instead, Cohen's unique vision combines with Denzel Washington's magnetic performance as Macbeth to imbue the whole affair with an energy that makes the four-hundred-year-old story feel fresher than ever.

Taken as a whole, the action sequences prove all the more amazing because of how easily the film could have gotten away with barely trying in them at all. But the mark of a truly great film is to tackle every scene as though it needs to be done to perfection, and it is hard to imagine improving on either fight scene in The Tragedy of Macbeth. The result is an action sequence that fans of Shakespeare, action and filmmaking can all find immense satisfaction in.

To see the fight scenes for yourself, The Tragedy of Macbeth is streaming now on Apple TV+. 

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