The Matrix (1999)

None of the actors in The Matrix were martial artists and, as a result, the kung-fu fighting (choreography by Hong Kong legend Yuen Woo Ping) was just so-so in my opinion, but the Wachowski brothers deserve the fame (and Academy Awards) they received for bringing their hyperstylized gun fights and bullet time to cinema.

It's been almost a decade since this movie came out, but I still love this scene in the lobby of the government building where the Agents are holding Morpheus ...

LotR: The Return of the King (2003)

Orcs got you feeling down? Need some inspiration?

This speech by Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) at the Black Gate to inspire the men of Rohan and Gondor gets me pumped up every time!

Rob Roy (1995)

To be honest, I only caught the end of this movie once on TV, so I have almost no idea what it was actually about. All I know is that this swordfight (arranged by respected fencing choreographer William Hobbs) between Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth) and Rob Roy MacGregor (Liam Neeson) was awesome!

For most of the duel, Cunningham toys with MacGregor, Cunningham's finesse with the smallsword seemingly too much for MacGregor, who wields a heavier and clumsier claymore. This mismatch makes the ending all the more shocking!

Equilibrium (2002)

This movie, sandwiched between The Matrix (1999) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003), only received a limited release and was panned by critics, but deserved better in my opinion.

Equilibrium has a great visual style and unique action choreography featuring gun kata, a fictional firearms-based martial art.

Christian Bale's character kills 118 people in the movie, giving him the third highest body count in cinema. But he does save the life of a puppy, which sort of balances things out ...

Pretty Boy Bam Bam

OK, technically this isn't an action movie, but this kid is only six years old! Unbelievable!

Dragon Tiger Gate (2006)

Dragon Tiger Gate was adapted from a comic book of the same name.

In this scene, Tiger (Nicholas Tse) battles gangsters, then comes face to face with his long-lost brother, Dragon (Donnie Yen). While Donnie Yen is a veteran martial artist and choreographer, Nicholas Tse is best known as a Hong Kong pop singer/songwriter. (Nice kicking though!)

The Princess Bride (1987)

How could anyone not love this duel between Inigo Montoya and the man in black atop the Cliffs of Insanity? Mandy Patinkin and Cary Elwes learned to fence both right-handed and left-handed for this movie

Note the references to Ridolfo Capoferro, Camillo Agrippa, Girard Thibault and Rocco Bonetti, actual 16th and 17th century fencing masters.