Top 20 Movie Knife Fights
Knives at the ready! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most thrilling and well-choreographed movie fight scenes involving knives or other short blades.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most thrilling and
00:09well-choreographed movie fight scenes involving knives or other short blades.
00:26Ronald Schwarzenegger in his prime doesn't need a knife to kill a bad guy, but it certainly
00:30helps.
00:31Colonel John Matrix confronts his friend-turned-foe Captain Bennett, who's holding his daughter
00:35hostage.
00:36After practically hypnotising his opponent into fighting him with a knife, the two of
00:39them party like old times.
00:46Considering that he looks like a guy auditioning for the village people, Bennett puts up a
00:50pretty good fight, slashing Matrix several times and nearly forcing his head into a boiler.
00:55Getting electrocuted just gives him a power boost.
00:57However, he's no match for a pipe and a well-placed one-liner.
01:01Is it as cheesy as the rest of the film?
01:03Yes.
01:04Do we still love the fight?
01:05Also yes.
01:14Time travel can lead to all sorts of crime, including this pretty good knife fight.
01:18The eponymous time cop, Max Walker, is ambushed in his home by a pair of assassins, one armed
01:23with a taser, the other with a pair of knives.
01:29Walker temporarily knocks out the taserman and gets a knife of his own to take on assassin
01:33number two.
01:34While some of the choreography is a bit lazy, like Walker just holding the knife still at
01:38one point, Jean-Claude Van Damme's specialty is his kicks.
01:41And once he gets to use them, he gets the upper hand.
01:44Or foot.
01:45Walker probably could beat the other guy up too, but he has to split.
02:06It might be known as die hard on a boat, but Under Siege has a pretty good final fight.
02:12William Stranix holds Chief Petty Officer Casey Ryback at gunpoint.
02:16Stranix explains there's nothing Ryback can do to stop the missiles he's launched,
02:20but he makes the mistake of getting too close during his monologuing, which lets Ryback
02:24knock his gun away, leading to a knife fight between them.
02:32The quick exchange of blows is well executed, and concludes with Ryback leaving his weapon
02:36in Stranix's hand, before delivering a one-liner for good measure.
02:40It's not the cheesiest one in Steven Seagal's arsenal, though.
02:56Leng Feng is a Chinese soldier pursued by a ruthless mercenary, Tomcat.
03:00After both run out of bullets, the duo's battle turns to close combat.
03:04They draw knives, and an intense fight ensues.
03:12Both are fairly skilled, with each wounding the other and the choreography finding a nice
03:16balance between close-up action and a few long-range attacks.
03:20When Tomcat has Feng down with his knife to his throat, he makes the mistake of mocking
03:24Feng's patriotism.
03:31And Feng slides the knife past his own neck to hit Tomcat's instead.
03:35Wu Jing and Scott Adkins are both underrated martial arts actors, and it is great seeing
03:40them face off with one another.
03:50Indie movies can have great fights too, and this one's a deep cut.
03:54In Kenny Zamakis' quest to save his brother from a cult, he faces one of its henchmen,
03:59Dominic.
04:00Using two butterfly knives, Dominic attacks Kenny.
04:09The choreography is the real star here, with several impressive long action takes of the
04:14two combatants exchanging swift blows.
04:16Kenny is caught several times, and Dominic eventually gets him against the wall.
04:20Fortunately, Kenny manages to exploit Dominic's prior facial injury to end the fight in a
04:25grisly fashion.
04:30What Death Grip lacks in production budget, it makes up for with some beautifully executed
04:34fight scenes, including this one.
04:44When most people think of the Wild West, they think of gunfights, but this knife duel proves
04:48that six-shooters aren't the only way disputes can be settled.
04:51Nicole Younger, as played by David Carradine, is challenged by Sam Starr after Younger gains
04:56the attention of Starr's wife.
04:58While she sits back to watch, her two lovers fight over her with huge bowie knives and
05:02a rope held in each of their mouths.
05:10Although the knives are used more as a threat, as they duke it out all over the bar, Younger
05:14does eventually stick his into Starr's thigh.
05:17The rope limiting the two combatants' moves makes for an uncommonly entertaining fight.
05:31Here he is again, Tommy Lee Jones, finding himself in yet another knife fight.
05:35LT Bonham is a veteran tracker who pursues his former student, Aaron Hallam, a murderous
05:40and disturbed ex-special ops soldier.
05:43After going over a waterfall, Bonham faces Hallam on the side of the river.
05:46Both wield improvised knives.
05:53Although Bonham cuts his ex-student a few times, his stone knife is broken, putting
05:57him at a disadvantage.
05:59When Hallam stabs him in the arm, Bonham uses his foe's knife to kill him.
06:02It's a gritty and fairly realistic fight, with no posturing or flair, just two men trying
06:07to kill each other.
06:15When it comes to fight scenes, it's only a matter of time before we mention Jackie
06:23Chan.
06:24In this film, Chan plays a prisoner who accidentally killed a man.
06:27The man's brother, Lao aka Iron Ball, is thrown into the same jail.
06:32The two engage in a battle of shivs in their cellblock.
06:34Chan's character loses his quickly, forcing him to fend off Lao unarmed.
06:43The battle takes them over the catwalk, where Chan's character is able to make better
06:47use of the environment, eventually seizing the remaining shiv for himself.
06:51While he is victorious, he refuses to kill Lao.
06:53Despite the serious tone of the film, this scene still showcases Jackie Chan's quick,
06:58resourceful style of combat.
07:07Much of the conflict in this historical gangster
07:20film is about young Amsterdam getting revenge on Bill the Butcher for killing his father.
07:25Just when their respective gangs were about to go to war, the US government opens fire,
07:29attempting to put down the simultaneous Civil War draft riots.
07:32Bill and Amsterdam don't let that stop them though.
07:41Amid the smoke and confusion, Bill repeatedly slices Amsterdam with his knives, although
07:46Amsterdam is able to get a few hits in, and Bill takes shrapnel, leaving him unable to
07:50fight and allowing his young protege to avenge his father.
07:54While the fight's choreography is basic, the setting, spectacle and emotion of the
07:57fight is top notch.
08:11Also known as King of Triads, this movie's best fight scene sees escaped prisoner Karth
08:15track down a triad gang member, Kong, at a gym.
08:18He's armed with a knife, but Kong turns out to have a hidden pair of cleaver-like
08:22blades.
08:29The choreography does all the talking in this fight, as their blades flash quickly and the
08:33duo frequently use kicks as well.
08:35The fight even enters the gym's boxing ring.
08:37Ultimately, Kong is disarmed, and Karth manages to kill him as he's running away.
08:42The speedy and creative moves help make this otherwise quick fight far from bad or bloody.
09:02The masked vigilante known as V kills many people with knives throughout this crusade
09:06to topple the fascist government in this alternate Britain, but his final hour is his most glorious.
09:12Confronted by Head of the Secret Police Peter Creedy and his men, V appears helpless after
09:17the cops unload their guns into him.
09:19But then, V stands back up.
09:30In an epic slow-motion action scene, V cuts the still-reloading goons to ribbons with
09:34his knives.
09:35Every kill is rendered in lavish detail, with the knives even leaving trails behind them,
09:40seeking for an awesome, show-stopping fight.
09:43Bringing knives to a gunfight is usually a bad move, but then, as V tells Mr. Creedy…
10:03There are several worthy knife fights in the Dune series.
10:05While Fade Rother's battle in the arena was a contender, for sheer hype alone his
10:09fight with Paul had to make our list.
10:12When it comes to stakes, this fight is easily the grandest, with these two cousins fighting
10:16for the fate of the known universe with knives.
10:24The lack of music and the setting sun in the background lend the fight a breathless, mythic
10:28quality as the combatants attack one another.
10:31However, just when Fade Rother appears to have defeated Paul, the young duke removes
10:35the knife and kills his opponent with it.
10:40The incredible atmosphere and callbacks to previous fights make it a legendary duel.
10:50An underrated crime thriller, Kate sees its titular character get into a mess with the
10:54Yakuza.
10:55Unfortunately, while she's holding one gangster at gunpoint, her weapon jams.
10:59This leads to an extended combat scene, as Kate fights through several rooms of a restaurant
11:04and more and more gang members join in.
11:12The scene features plenty of bloody action and grisly kills, as well as some creative
11:16camerawork.
11:17By its conclusion, Kate manages to fix her gun and get the info she wants from the terrified
11:22survivor.
11:23It's only a few minutes long, but this knife fight certainly makes a gruesome splash.
11:30When retired assassin Hutch Mansell notices some Russian mobsters harassing a young woman
11:41on a bus, he sees it as his lucky day.
11:43He decides to beat them up.
11:45While initially a little rusty, Hutch eventually gets back into the swing of things.
11:55He uses his fists, the gangsters' own knives and even parts of the bus to ensure they'll
11:59be eating hospital food for a long time.
12:01Gritty, gruesome and pretty comedic, this bus fight may not be our last stop, but it
12:05gets us where we want to go every time.
12:20Live-action anime adaptations tend to be hit or miss, but this one definitely hits with
12:25its fights.
12:26In this battle, ex-assassin Himura Kenshin faces Gain, a scared mercenary.
12:31After Gain's gambit with wire and guns doesn't work, he tries a knife instead.
12:40Kenshin skilfully fends off Gain's attacks, though the disfigured fighter doesn't make
12:44it easy.
12:45The creative and artistic cinematography showcases the film's manga roots, and the adversary's
12:51almost superhuman moves.
12:52The choreography throughout the fight is excellent, with Gain's low, animalistic stance making
12:57for some interesting combat.
12:59Ultimately, though, Gain falls beneath Kenshin's sword.
13:19When you go on a roaring rampage of revenge, you're bound to get into a knife fight sooner
13:23or later.
13:24The bride, aka Beatrix Kiddo, aka Black Mamba, goes after Vanita Green, aka Copperhead.
13:30With us so far?
13:34The two women fight in Vanita's suburban home, using everything from a table leg to
13:38a frying pan in their impromptu duel.
13:41But when Vanita starts using a kitchen knife, the bride draws one of her own.
13:44It's a vicious, bloody brawl whose ordinary setting makes the violence stand out even
13:50more.
13:51While the fight does get interrupted by the arrival of Vanita's daughter, it still ends
13:53with a knife.
14:08Trapped and cornered in an apartment complex run by drug dealers, special ops police officer
14:12Rama is confronted by four men wielding machetes.
14:16With nowhere to run, Rama faces them all head-on in a hallway.
14:25The action is brutal and fast-paced, with Rama effectively managing four opponents using
14:29his martial arts and one of their machetes.
14:32After bursting into a nearby apartment, their battle continues, until only the group's
14:36leader remains.
14:37Expertly choreographed to showcase lead actor Ika Waius' skills, the fight also manages
14:41to feel haphazard and dangerous.
14:44We would love it to last longer, but it ends on quite a dramatic note.
15:00The legendary assassin is attacked with knives many times throughout the franchise, but this
15:04fight takes things to another level entirely.
15:07Pursued by killers into an antique weapons shop, John disarms his foes with their guns.
15:11The fighters quickly take to smashing nearby displays and using whatever comes to hand
15:15on each other.
15:21The knife throwing is almost over the top, yet some of the kills are so grisly, especially
15:25the eye one, that we can't help but take it seriously.
15:28The top-notch hand-to-hand choreography doesn't hurt either.
15:30All in all, this fight is as effective as an axe in John Wick's hand.
15:38Inspector Ma Quan, played by Donnie Yen, is confronted by Wu Jing's Jack, an assassin.
15:51Ma draws a baton, while Jack is armed with a knife.
15:54The duo comes together in a shockingly fast series of blows.
15:59Ma's greater reach enables him to land a few blows to Jack's head, but Jack manages
16:05to disarm Ma.
16:07However, Ma ultimately uses Jack's own weapon to kill him.
16:10The spiritual sequel, SPL2, also has a pretty great knife fight that pays tribute to its
16:15predecessor, but there's very little to rival the original.
16:18The blinding speed, along with several fantastically creative moves, help elevate what could be
16:22a simple fight to a stellar level of quality.
16:46No, we're not done with the Raid movies just yet.
16:55Rama is confronted in a kitchen by the right-hand assassin of the gang leader he's pursuing.
17:00After testing themselves against each other, things get progressively more violent as the
17:04duo use parts of the kitchen around them in their fight.
17:13It escalates further when the assassin draws his wicked knives.
17:16The tension and bloody action build and build until the gloriously brutal finale.
17:20The spectacular choreography, length and perfectly rising stakes ensure that not only is this
17:25the greatest movie knife fight, it's a contender for the best movie fight period.
17:33So, is there a movie knife fight we forgot?
17:37If so, please cut us a break and tell us your favourite in the comments.