Yeah agree, filmmakers assume that people are stoopid and need to be told every-thing. That fights last 20 minutes...not seconds.

Taken- sheer awesomeness!! I almost bought a copy of it yesterday, it had extended scenes or directors's cut or something like that, even though I already have a copy!

Back to sword fighting, anymore, if there's a movie with sword fighting, I just try to avoid all the innacuracies, jedi-like moves, the script, the plain B.S., and just hope that I like at least 70-75% of it!

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USCM- The Colonial Marines- A Brotherhood of Bad Asses!

Seen the 1st vid before.
I reasoned he'd be dead at 0:44 seconds (swordman's second swing) if this were a proper fight. Those bendy moves are just too slow and it sucks of choreography and camera angles. Second one even worse. Just pure dancing and obvious misses.

But definitely shows off the athleticism!


Here's a pure fun favourite of mine (for obvious reasons)... The guy in this also reminds me a bit of Ricco Ross's wry smile:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud3Gx_IJhUU

Yeah, it's pure "show-off Jason's athletic ability" moves. In hand to hand, one can move at the last second to avoid a fist to the head, and repeat it, if the opponent's hand speed is slow. Swordfighting, is, much different I agree. The reach of a blade, makes the above sequence unrealistic. Cool - looking, he must have pysched the guy out...

Couldn't get the damn link to load, came up with "Server problems, a team of trained monkeys have been dispatched to deal with the situation"

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USCM- The Colonial Marines- A Brotherhood of Bad Asses!

I would disagree... Both fight styles work on the same basic principles, wherein judgement of distance is king.
The reach of a weapon allows more time to create a safe distance, allowing you more time to move, but the same is held for unarmed combat. Watch how Ali fought - He's always going backwards, making his opponent's attacks slower. The exact same method is described in a lot of the historical fight manuals I read.

The cinematic trick here is speed, which the brain equates to danger. The faster a fight sequence is, the more dangerous it looks and the better you think it is.
Closer observation reveals classic moves, like a MASSIVELY powerful sword swing, where the actor obviously stops the swing short as per the sequence, but then the opponent apparently blocks it with a tippy-tap move that wouldn't stop a butterfly in reality. Such things are easily hidden by the speed of stage fights.

Something else that gets hidden by speed and camera angles is distance. Stage fights have to be safe, so attackers aim blows short or wide of teh target and pull them to avoid killing their fellow actors. Other times they bob and weave when they are clearly within range and should either be hitting, getting hit or backing off.

This is why a reasonably unfit man with good judgement of distance can still be a sound fighter, but also why a stunning stage fighter has to be as fit and athletic as a professional dancer.

Credit where due, Momoa and several others out there do a fantastic job of entertaining sequences!

Outstanding! I couldn't agree more!

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USCM- The Colonial Marines- A Brotherhood of Bad Asses!

Interesting discussion, guys, but you're forgetting one key aspect.

Arnie's Conan had Basil Poledouris' music. And THAT gave it its actual epic feel. It was so good and sweeping and grandiose that it turned a good but somewhat cheesy flick into pure legend.

Momoa's film, regardless of any other consideration, doesn't have that. And I felt it fell flat.

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I think it was 'epic' from the moment that Chronicler kicks in with, "Between the tiiime when the OOOOOOOceans drank Atlaaaaantis.... and the riiiiiiiiiise of the sons of Aryus" - He actually makes it feel grandiose!

Morgan Freeman is just..... Morgan Freeman. He does spoken word well, but he's just Morgan Freeman. Like that scene he narrates in Family Guy!

Add in Max Von Sydow and James Earl Jones, you just have Instant Win!