Best duel?
The first Bane vs Bats fight.
It was such a well directed moment. None of that flashy, over-the-top, hollywood choreography, devoid of any real power. Instead we got two juggernaughts, pummeling at each other. Christian Bale's characteristic fury, slowly being replaced by agression born of helplessness, as Batman is roaring like a cornered animal, desperately trying to summon some last reserves of strength. The whole thing was fantasticaly raw and gritty, with real power behind all the punches and charges. The trilogy made a point of showing Batman fighting style as very aggressive "elbow to the face" approach, which is very fitting. The direction of the fight was also sublime. No music, the only sounds were the pummeling of fists, growls of anger, the waterflow of the sewers and the rattling of rusty chains, hanging from the celing. Catwoman and Bane's men, the only witnesses to the whole thing, watching in scilence. Very atmospheric.
Although I must also mention their re-match, which I like the more I think
about it.
Obviously it didn't had the excitement, the dark mood and the visceral atmosphere of the first one. But the image of Bats dueling out with Bane against the background of a city-wide street war was great. Plus we get to see some few cool shots of Batman scowling at Bane, and Bane looking at Bats like he was going to tear him apart. Plus there was that great moment when Bane gets Batman pinned against the collumn and releases that flurry of shots to the body(it's nice how the drums in Zimmer soundtrack intesify in that very moment). For some reason I especially liked the view of Batman trying to block them. And finally the moneyshot - Batman manhandling Bane and Bale roaring at him like a ****$% animal. It was probably one of the best, if not the best use of the bat-voice. WHERE'S THE TRIGGER?!!! goosebumps...
BTW - does anybody know what music played during that fight? I tried looking for it on the soundtrack, but to no avail.
Best group fight?
Batman vs SWAT team in the Previtt building.
It was exciting, it was dynamic and it was fantasticaly filmed. Seriously, all those beautiful night shots of the city were wonderfull. Seeing Batman do what he does best, with the "glass jungle" of Gotham serving as his background.
A second ex equo win, would probably be Batman first group fight in BB, when he takes out all the Falcone's goons at the docs. First we get to see all the "Batmany" tricks of screwing with the men, as he takes them out one by one, in the maze of shipping containers. The famous "where are You?!" moment, the image of Wayne hanging in the air like a real bat. And the finally drops right in the middle of the group and takes them all out, keysi style. I know that this fight gets a lot of bad rep, from the moment Batman drops right in the middle of that group of goons, but I believe that tha chaotic montage was intentional. Acctually I think it's quite obvious, that it was meant to show him as that quick, terrifying, wraith and shade, that takes man out before he even knows what hit him.
Also, one final fight scene of note. Although I don't consider it to be a "combat scene" per say, but it's been added to the voting pool, so I have to mention it. The finish of Batman vs Joker interrogation. The way Batman looses control is absolutely fantastic. The scene is riveting and despite the pg-13 lack of blood, the violence is palpable. In fact, to this day I remember the shudder and recoil that went trough the whole cinema audience, when Batman hammered Joker'ms mug into the glass. The way he roars "WHERE ARE THEY", the way he pummels him with fists, the way Zimmer's Joker theme is constantly building up(making it all the more powerfull and adding to the tension) and finally the way Joker just doesn't give a ****, cackling maniacaly. Powerfull stuff. In fact I believe the whole Joker/Bats interrogation, combined with the death of Rachel(the dramatic moment as Batman rushes to the rescue and an even better one when he realises he been tricked) was probably the single best sequence in the entire trilogy. I remember the brooding silence that engulfed the theater when Harvey was screaming "No! No! Why are You coming for me!(to the sound of building up Joker theme) and the total shock when his face was burning. What other director would have killed off the superhero's girl and in such a dramatic fashion?
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