It may sound a bit barbaric, but it’s undeniable that human beings love to watch one another fight. The magic of the movies allows us to enjoy that pleasure safely in the knowledge that, at least most of the time, no one actually got hurt. On the big screen, fighting takes a wide variety of different forms. Sometimes it’s boxing, sometimes it’s kung fu, and sometimes it’s much more street-level, down-and-dirty battling. All of these styles of fighting can be done well, and many of them have made it into some great action movies over the years.
For this list, though, we’ve narrowed down the focus specifically so that the films involve some form of combat sport. We’ve also gathered some of the best sports movies of all time that you should check out if you’re looking for something a little broader. For now, though, check out this list of the best fighting movies ever made.
Never Back Down (2008)
Bloodsport (1988)
Fight Club (1999)
Fight Club is certainly one of the best David Fincher movies. Based on Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, the film follows some young, aggravated men who decide the best way to solve their problems is to kick the crap out of each other. Thanks to a famous twist ending, Fight Club is remembered as one of the best movies of the ’90s, and it also features one of Brad Pitt’s best performances. He is somehow charming, disgusting, sexy, and terrifying all at once, commenting on the social expectations and outlooks of young men in a sometimes very meta way.
Real Steel (2011)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Winner of four Oscars, Million Dollar Baby certainly ranks among the best Clint Eastwood movies. The movie is about a veteran boxing trainer named Frankie (Clint Eastwood) who has devoted his life to the ring at the expense of virtually everything else in his life. When Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) walks into his gym demanding a trainer, Frankie refuses on the grounds he doesn’t think much of women boxing. She won’t take no for an answer, however, and as Frankie turns her into a viable fighter, the two develop an emotional bond that will shape them for the rest of their lives.
The Karate Kid (1984)
The Fighter (2010)
Based on the true story of Micky Ward, The Fighter is all about a young boxer struggling to escape the shadow of his older half-sibling. His older brother, Dicky (Christian Bale), who has fallen from greatness due to drugs and crime takes Micky (Mark Wahlberg) on as his student to help him achieve his dreams of greatness. The juxtaposition of a great fighter falling from grace while his younger brother rises through the ranks is a classic story, but the actors in the film make it seem like something entirely unique.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Warrior (2011)
Ip Man (2008)
Rocky (1976)
Creed (2015)
The Wrestler (2008)
Raging Bull (1980)
One of Robert De Niro’s definitive performances also happens to be a great boxing movie. Telling the story of a middleweight boxer who finds success in the ring, even as he struggles to express himself outside of it, Raging Bull is really an examination of the ways masculinity and anger can destroy your life if you let it. Raging Bull is not always an easy movie to watch, but every moment set in the ring is a genuinely wonderful piece of filmmaking, and up there with the best stuff Martin Scorsese has ever done.
Southpaw (2015)
The plot of Southpaw is pretty conventional, but the performance of Jake Gyllenhaal in the role of Billy Hope is what makes the film memorable. Gyllenhaal excellently portrays the struggles of a man who is trying to keep his head above the water both inside of the ring and outside of it. Marital distress is one of the main themes in the movie.
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