I think I started thinking of this post after I saw Avatar the Way of Water. The final battle in that movie felt unending and tedious. It was a jarring comparison to the original Avatar film, where the final battle kept me on the edge of my seat.
So, I started thinking about the best battle scenes. In my opinion, any way.
For example, the battle at the end of the Avatar film. The heroes don't have many assets to work with, but they put everything to excellent use. Knowledge of terrain, a helicopter pilot with a few communicators, an ex-marine riding a huge dragon, and a lot of warriors with determination and skill. And though it has been done a million times, I still love when the cavalry arrives to save the day. In this case, all of the wild beasts. I bought the book about the creatures of Avatar. The thanator - the huge black panther creature, is one of the most feared creatures to the Na'vi. No one has ever ridden one. But the thanator comes to Neytiri and offers its alliance. I wish they mentioned that in the movie. It adds so much more to that scene!
Then there's the ewok battle. It does a similar thing, where the people without technology use determination and creativity to kick butt. I love that stuff!
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. This has another great end battle. All of the different creatures use their own strengths and skills. And it too has the cavalry arrive.
Lord of the Rings has amazing battles. My favorite part is when the ents take down Isengard. My parents love to come in and watch that scene, even if they haven't been watching the rest of the movie. And it's awesome when Gandalf brings the Riders of Rohan in to win the day (I told you, I love it when the cavalry comes to the rescue).
Princess Mononoke does it differently. You see the boars preparing for battle, but we see almost none of the actual fight onscreen. It's mostly told through the account of a traumatized survivor, which gives it a very different gravity.
Willow has some good battles. Like how Willow and Madmartigan single-handedly rig the abandoned castle with booby traps and manage to hold their own against an entire army for a good amount of time (and Willow does so while carrying a baby around! Not to mention the fact that he has absolutely no fighting experience, but still holds his own) My favorite part of the final battle in Willow is how it starts. Willow and Raziel stand alone, challenging the enemy. They're clearly not fighters, but it's the perfect trick to get the upper hand in the battle. And Willow's strategy works perfectly.
I'm not sure Mulan counts, because Mulan ends the big battle before it even begins. But wow, that scene with the enemy coming down the mountain is so awesome. I guess the scene in the palace doesn't really count as a battle. More like an infiltration. But it's awesome too!
The Twelve Kingdoms also manages to end the battle before it begins. But the buildup and execution is so awesome!
And in an extremely different direction, I might even choose "All You Need is Love." The words themselves become physical to defeat a giant flying glove. Which sounds so bizarre if you don't know what I'm talking about.
And ever since I was a kid, Brother My Brother from Pokemon: The First Movie" has always gotten me. It really drives home the message that there are no winners in these kinds of conflicts.
These are more fight scenes than battle scenes. They're between two people, or a few people, instead of entire armies. But I'll give them quick mentions.
The House of Flying Daggers, Hero, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon have stunning fight scenes. They're more like dances. Where people can almost fly.
Some of the lightsaber duels. Like Qui Gon and Obi Wan against Darth Maul. Or Anakin vs Obi Wan.
The battles in Doctor Strange were really cool. What awesome effects.
Pirates of the Caribbean. What awesome choreography. I think my favorite is at the end, between Jack and Barbosa, going in and out of the moonlight. Freaking awesome!
Same with Princess Bride. Westley and Inigo trained with a fencing master. They got so good that they could duel too fast. Which meant they had to extend the fight so it would take up more time.
The live-action Rurouni Kenshin fights.
The Mask of Zorro has some great fencing fights too.
Avatar: The Last Airbender has amazing elemental battles. Some of the highlights are Katara vs. Master Paku, Toph vs. the wrestlers, and Zuko vs. Azula. Though Zuko is awesome both in his bending battles, and his sword battles.
The end of How to Train Your Dragon. A dragon battle which leaves your heart in your mouth. I am so sick of the, "oh no, the character died! Oh, never mind. He's fine." But this movie nails it (though the live-action one milked it too much).
Fullmetal Alchemist has great battles.
Big hero Six, seeing them figure out how to get out of tight spots.
The Pixar short, Sanjay's Super Team, has a super cool animated battle.
And finally Stronger than You, with Garnet vs. Jasper. Hell yes. Best fight song ever.
So, now that we've mentioned the visual battles, what about the written ones?
Dramatic arrivals may be overdone, but there was a good one in the last Harry Potter book. They didn't really go into that as much in the movie. But the first time I read the book, that scene got me pumped!
Brandon Sanderson has amazing battle scenes. I haven't read all of his books yet, but Wax's fights have been my favorite. There was one in particular that I could see so clearly.
And in middle school, I was crazy about the final battles in Tamora Pierce's books. Her newer books don't have as much of that. I should reread some of those.
I have a few honorable mentions. These were less about particular fights and battles, but more the way the battles are portrayed.
For example, Howl's Moving Castle and The Boy and the Heron. Those bombs are chilling. And while The Wind Rises is an anti-war movie, you only see a couple seconds of the "cursed dreams," going down in flames. Then there's Grave of the Fireflies, which shows the horrors of war.
Wolfwalkers is fascinating. Not only are there flames and guns and wolves, but you can see the battle through different senses, like sound and scent.
This is more of an invasion than a battle, but I love it. Nightcrawler attacking the White House.
And I've gone this far, so I might as well throw in a couple video games!
My favorite game is Twilight Princess. The final battles in that game were awesome. I especially loved beast Ganon.
In Pokémon, I think Ghetsis was the most heart-in-my-mouth battle. I barely beat him the first time. (Cynthia in Brilliant Diamond is difficult too, but that was mostly just a tedious battle because it takes so freaking long to beat her Milotic).
And the final battles in Pokémon Colosseum and Gale of Darkness might be a bit hokey, but I was crazy about them when they came out.
Zack's last battle in Final Fantasy: Crisis Core. Mostly because you literally experience how he's given everything he had, until he can barely move. I'd never seen anything like that in a game before (and maybe not since, either).
And freaking Underale, which breaks all the rules of gaming. Particularly the battle against Sans, which you should never do.
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