Why fight scenes in modern films are painful to watch

Over the years, an increasing number of exotic martial arts have been incorporated into fight choreography. However, it is not always possible to craft an engaging bout from a set of techniques. Some overuse repetitive combinations of strikes, whilst others simply choreograph fights without imagination, relying on set patterns. And some cannot find a balance between striking and blocking or parrying, turning the fight into something resembling a light sparring session.

Long pauses between blows, moments of stillness when struck. Slow pace, stiff movements, and blows that fly too far past the opponent (this is less common nowadays). All of this stems from a fear of injuring the actor or actress. Sometimes this arises simply because of the creator’s careless attitude towards the process (Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises illustrates this perfectly).

When a filmmaker wants to show off whilst shooting an action scene, it’s usually the cinematography that takes centre stage. Sometimes it works out well, and sometimes ambition outweighs talent. Shooting an action scene in one take is one of the biggest trends around. It’s even started to be used in TV series. But continuous shooting (or the illusion of it) doesn’t necessarily mean the choreography will be up to scratch.

Rapid-fire footage, or fast-motion filming, is used to create a slow-motion effect. It works well when used sparingly, allowing the viewer to feel the impact of a blow or the sharpness of a turn. But when it goes on for too long, the fight looks sluggish and the blows seem weak. A drop in momentum during a fierce battle is a death knell.

One of the most popular ways to hide flaws in the choreography is to break each scene down into small pieces, so that a single short segment consists of numerous cuts. This increases the dynamism and strains the eyes. This style is characteristic of director Olivier Megaton (‘The Transporter 3’, ‘Hostage 2–3’).

A battle against a high-calibre opponent—be it the main villain, his right-hand man, or perhaps a major henchman, as in Die Hard—needs to be a real contest. Otherwise, what’s the point if the hero breezes past every obstacle with ease? What’s the fun in watching a fight where one of the characters acts as a punching bag? Not everyone manages to strike this balance.

Even now, it’s not always possible to convincingly replace a human actor with a computer-generated model in a fight scene. And back when this first started, it looked absolutely dreadful. Modern fight scenes continue to suffer from the inappropriate use of computer graphics

The first-person perspective was used long before the Jason Bourne films. For example, in Saving Private Ryan, it worked well and didn’t make it difficult to see what was happening on screen. But for fight scenes, it was a novelty. And no matter how much you try to justify it with the ‘sense of presence’ or the desire to create atmosphere, it still looks awful