Fight Film Trivia: Fighting Back Edition

Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio in a scene from the film The Karate Kid. | Photo by Columbia Pictures/Getty Images

Nothing gets to the heart of a fight film more than the story of an underdog who learns how to fight back

There is nothing better than sweet, sweet revenge. When that revenge is delivered by an underdog, it’s even better. Here are a five movies that look at fighting as a vehicle for vengeance.

1. The Karate Kid The ultimate movie about fighting back, The Karate Kid became more than a summer popcorn flick, it spawned a cultural phenomenon. Pat Morita, a stand-up comedian without a Japanese accent, was a casting long shot, but won the role of Mr. Miyagi with an impressive audition. Toshirō Mifune, the great Japanese actor and longtime collaborator with legendary director Akira Kurosawa, was one of the actors Morita bested. Ultimately, Morita was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award, in large part because of the “drunk Mr. Miyagi” scene—a scene director John G. Avildsen had to fight for. In it, Mr. Miyagi reveals he was a member of WWII’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team. In real life, this combat team was comprised of Japanese-Americans, most of whom had been in internment camps. Fighting in Europe, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team became the most highly decorated unit in United States military history, accumulating 21 Medal of Honor awardees, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, 560 Silver Stars, 4,000 Bronze Stars, and 9,486 Purple Hearts. In The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi’s uniform is seen, as are medals on the wall. Among his many awards are the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart, revealing Mr. Miyagi to be a next level hero.

2. Kick Ass (2010) - A superhero movie about scrappy vigilantes, Kick Ass was somewhat controversial for its inclusion of the character Hit-Girl, played by Chloë Grace Moretz. Trained by her father, Big Daddy (played by Nicholas Cage), Hit-Girl is an incredibly effective assassin—despite being a young girl. To prepare for her role, Moretz trained with Jackie Chan’s stunt crew for three months prior to filming. In addition to the stunt and fight work, Moretz did extensive weapons training with both guns, crossbows, and melee weapons. As it turns out, Moretz had a natural talent for fighting. Her co-star, Aaron Johnson, put in his own training, primarily in boxing and jiu-jitsu. By the time Kick Ass 2 rolled around, Moretz’s continued training had turned her into a beast. Johnson told UPI, “I went on set and Chloe would kick the [expletive] out of me. ... No matter how ripped or how in shape I’d be, she could still throw me across the room.”

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3. Never Back Down (2008) - Nobody was screwing around when it came to making this film about a high school fight club. Lead actor Sean Faris gained 15 pounds of muscle while engaging in a crash course in muay thai, jiu-jitsu, and tae kwon do. Cam Gigandet, who plays the villain, has a black belt in Krav Maga, making him a natural casting choice for the role. Cast in the role of the coach, Djimon Hounsou had a background in kung fu and boxing, and had long been a fan of MMA. He modeled his MMA mentor character off of Royce Gracie and trained with Erik Paulson, a founding father of the sport. Despite Hounsou’s dedicated preparation, things went awry in a fight scene with lead actor Sean Faris. Hounsou body slammed Faris, breaking his L3 spinous transverse process. Meanwhile, Never Back Down’s lead actress, Amber Heard, recently made news for delineating between “hitting” and “punching.” (Turns out “punching” is worse. Who knew?)

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4. The Last Dragon (1985) - A martial arts comedy, The Last Dragon was a critical flop, but became a cult classic. Leroy Green is obsessed with Bruce Lee, and wants to achieve a final level of martial arts success that his master tells him is called, “The Last Dragon.” Once achieved, the martial artist will be able to manifest “The Glow,” a supernatural energy that shows itself as a visible light. Standing between Green and “The Glow” is Sho’nuff, a martial artist and bully who calls himself the Shogun of Harlem. The opening training sequence shows Green karate chop an arrow out of the air. This was a real stunt that took two hours to successfully complete. Julius Carry, who played Sho’nuff, had a steep learning curve on the film—upon the start of filming he had no martial arts training whatsoever. This is in stark contrast to Taimak, who played Leroy Green. Taimak began his study of martial arts at age 6 and was inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2010. He is a 7th degree black belt in kung fu, and has studied nine forms of martial arts. In 1983, Taimak was 18 and had just won the NY State Kickboxing Championship. Around that same time learned Berry Gordy was making a martial arts movie that needed a black lead. While he had no acting experience, his audition won him the role, beating out Billy Blanks, Laurence Fishburne, Mario Van Peebles, Billy Dee Williams, Carl Weathers, Wesley Snipes, and Denzel Washington.

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5. The Art of Self Defense (2019) - A low budget black comedy, The Art of Self Defense did just about everything differently from most martial arts movies. Star Jesse Eisenberg “trained” for three weeks in karate, but there was no effort to make the actor look proficient. His ineptitude was the point. (Unsurprisingly, Eisenberg took karate as a kid for only a brief period, never progressing past white belt.) Writer-director Riley Stearns is himself a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt and coach. He choreographed the grappling fight work himself, with the rest of the stunt work placed in the lap of Mindy Kelly. Kelly is an accomplished martial artist, with black belts in kenpo and tae kwon do. She also has plenty of experience as a stunt coordinator. However, it was a challenge to be a one-woman stunt department for an entire film heavily dependent upon stunt work. The movie is about a weakling accountant who is beaten up by a motorcycle gang and decides to learn self-defense, only to discover a dark underbelly to the humble dojo. Director Stearns based the story off his own life experience. He watched UFC in secret, and spent three years walking past a jiu-jitsu gym before getting the courage up to go in. The movie has an 84% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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