Sometimes during a fight scene there’s just no real need for so much talking, don’t you agree? There are those times when it kind of adds to the whole scene and enhances it somehow, like a well-placed taunt between fighters, but there are other times when the general attitude is ‘just get in there and fight’. For reasons that are likely only known to the directors and writers however, dialogue appears to be seen as necessary in some instances when it really doesn’t make a lot of sense and despite being hilarious is undeniably wrong since in real life it would likely swing a fight in the favor of those that AREN’T talking and are just there to fight and get the job done. It’s true, sometimes a bit of humor or a bit of explanation can make a fight that much better, but there are those times when a person can’t help but wonder just why there’s anyone talking during a fight, except perhaps to let the audience know what kind of emotions are going through the minds of the combatants in that moment. Still, there are plenty of movies with excellent fight scenes that don’t require a lot of dialogue, while those that are given the kind of back and forth banter that one might be expected before or after a fight make for a bit of confusion and a general thought to ‘just get on with it’.
Here are a few examples of ridiculous dialogue during a fight scene.
5. Fast and Furious: Hobbs & Shaw
Deckard has the right idea of it while these two different fight scenes are going on simultaneously, as he’s keeping his mouth shut and simply getting down to business as he battles the men that have been sent to take him out. Hattie and Hobbs on the other hand appear to be flirting in some way as they enter into combat, with Hattie throwing some truly ridiculous items at Hobbs as he scolds her not unlike a misbehaving cat when he says “No!” as she picks up a car battery. But after breaking a bottle over his head, which is funny since it should have injured him a lot more than that, the two of them proceed to talk, and talk, and talk their way through the fight even as they do their best to subdue each other.
4. Commando
This is one of those borderline examples when a bit of dialogue might have been thought to be a good thing since the male bravado that’s put on display in this fight scene is something that a lot of action movies are known for. Matrix saying that he eats Green Berets for breakfast is enough to earn a definite eye roll since not only does it show that both men are trying to have a serious pissing contest during the fight, but that their egos are every bit as big as their muscles. Unfortunately the dialogue is so cheesy that it could have been sponsored by Velveeta and people wouldn’t have held it against anyone.
3. Aquaman
You couldn’t take the time for a heartfelt kiss after the battle? Granted, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing, but thinking that there would be a pocket of peace within the battle where they could have this discussion and then take the time for such a passionate kiss kind of defies any type of logic that one might try to use in this case. Given that they would both be seen as enemies by someone it’s likely that they’d both be taken out during their moment and the movie would have had a very different ending. Passion is great and all, but there are moments in the movie when it’s better served, and they don’t involve being in the middle of a battlefield.
2. Captain America: Civil War
This can be chalked up to Spider-Man’s lack of experience in this movie since he hasn’t seen what Bucky is all about and he doesn’t know that much about the other Avengers, much less how to fight them efficiently. Otherwise he might not have prattled on about Bucky’s metal arm and Falcon’s wings that long, and he probably would have noticed Sam’s surreptitious movements when he was calling in his drone to distract and then remove Peter from the situation. Unfortunately for the character he’s always had a motormouth problem since his days in the comics and it’s not likely to change.
1. Lethal Weapon 4
Again, the protagonists are in the middle of a battle, a gun fight no less that has bullets whizzing around every which way, and Riggs takes this moment to question Roger about Internal Affairs thinking he’s on the take? And of course Roger has to fess up to Riggs that his wife is writing sleazy romance novels under a different name, prompting Riggs to make a wisecrack about it that Roger finally sees the humor in. Guys, if you survive to the end of the movie, as everyone knows they always will, then it’s time to talk about such things.
Sometimes it’s best to zip the lip until the fighting’s done.
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