Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans appear to be perfect foes in the upcoming film,The Gray Man, directed byAvengers: Infinity WarandEndgamefilmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo. Gosling portrays Court Gentry (also known as Sierra Six), an elite CIA mercenary who is being tracked down by numerous assassins, including former colleague Lloyd Hansen (Evans), after discovering some dirty secrets hidden behind the agency.
Over the years, there have been some terrific one-on-one battles, from Al Pacino and Robert De Niro squaring off in Michael Mann’s crime drama,Heat, to John Travolta and Nicolas Cage fighting each other to death (and trading faces) in John Woo’sFace/Off.
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Sylvester Stallone vs. Wesley Snipes in Demolition Man (1993)
In the futuristic 90s feature,Demolition Man, Stallone portrays tough L.A. cop John Spartan, who goes after a dangerous killer and criminal named Simon Phoenix. While Spartan and Phoenix are foes on opposite sides of the law, both men end up being convicted for crimes against humanity and are placed in cryosleep for decades. They wake up in 2032 in a new dystopian Los Angeles (now called San Angeles), where crime is nearly nonexistent.
Stallone and Snipes are both funny and charismatic in their roles, while also displaying some high-octane action sequences, including gunplay, explosions, and hand-to-hand combat. Of course, as Phoenix, Snipes has the upper hand against Stallone’s Spartan due to his speed and expertise in martial arts, butlike many of Stallone’s memorable characters, Spartan is a fighter who keeps coming back and battles till the end. Not only are the confrontations between Spartan and Phoenix entertaining, but it’s also intriguing to see how a 20th-century cop and career criminal can adjust to a future with rules they’re unaccustomed to following (no foul language, no violence, no smoking, no toilet paper).
Leonardo DiCaprio vs. Matt Damon in The Departed (2006)
Martin Scorsese directed this gritty crime dramaabout a Boston cop named Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), who goes undercover to investigate Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) and the Irish mob. Colin Sullivan (Damon) is a Sergeant for the Massachusetts State Police but secretly works for Costello and his crew. When both men slowly learn about each other’s true identities, murder and mayhem ensue.
DiCaprio and Damon are two of the best actors of their generation and are capable of playing intense and hard-boiled characters. Costigan is a skilled undercover cop who comes from a family involved with crime but hates his stressful job due to anxiety and fear of getting killed. Damon (who generally plays good guys but sometimes tackles villainous roles likeThe Talented Mr. Ripley) makes Sergeant Sullivan appear to be a charming and charismatic detective, until he’s slowly revealed asa conniving traitor who primarily cares about his own interests. Costigan and Sullivan barely have any scenes together but are entangled in a chase sequence, a couple of mysterious phone calls, and a dynamic face-to-face confrontation in which Costigan physically dominates Sullivan (but also ends in a bloody mess).
Christian Bale’s Batman vs. Tom Hardy’s Bane in The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Bale’s Batman inThe Dark Knight Trilogyhas taken on several powerful villains, including mentor and traitor Ra’s al Ghul, the enigmatic Joker, Harvey ‘Two-Face’ Dent, and the creepily funny Scarecrow. However, when it comes to a villain who is both physically challenging and methodical in his plan to destroy Gotham,Bane has proven to be Batman’s greatest nemesisin this series. Batman and Bane are also a perfect match because they were both trained by Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Shadows, meaning that both foes have skillful fighting styles.
Bane obliterates Batman during their first fight scene by smashing his mask and breaking his back. Despite putting up a tough battle, the Caped Crusader underestimates Bane’s strength. However, during their final fight, the Bat is able to handle Bane’s punches and defeats the villain by putting up hard hits of his own, including a hit on Bane’s mask with his gauntlet. Batman’s fight against Bane is one of redemption and old-fashioned brute strength.
John Travolta vs. Nicolas Cage in Face/Off (1997)
Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo arguably made his greatest American feature to date in the form ofthe hardcore sci-fi action thrillerFace/Off. In the film, Travolta portrays FBI agent Sean Archer, who is nearly killed after being shot by terrorist Castor Troy (Cage). Archer is determined to take down Troy since his young son, Michael, was unexpectedly killed by the terrorist during the assassination attempt made on the FBI agent. While Archer defeats Troy during their initial firefight at the beginning of the film, leaving the terrorist in a coma, the FBI man is forced to literally become Troy in order to find a bomb that the terrorist has placed somewhere in L.A.
Travolta is tough and emotionally driven as Archer, while Cage is manically dangerous and darkly funny as Troy, but when both actors swap roles later on in the film, the story gets more twisted and intense. Troy gets the upper hand since he has Archer’s face and stronger body, capable of intimidating everyone in Archer’s life, including his wife, daughter, and coworkers. Archer, as Troy, is more vulnerable because everyone believes he’s the enemy, and has to go through tremendous obstacles to defeat the actual Troy and retrieve his identity. Along with violent fight scenes, massive explosions, and gunfights, Travolta and Cage each play both hero and villain roles very well, inspiring the concept of dual identity in later films such as the Hong Kong featureInfernal Affairs(and the American remake by Scorsese,The Departed).
Al Pacino vs. Robert De Niro in Heat (1995)
Michael Mann not only wrote and directed one of the greatest crime dramas ever made, but he also assembled a terrific cast, bringing together two of the best acting legends to ever grace the screen. InHeat, Pacino portrays Vincent Hanna, an LAPD detective who leads an elite police unit in order to investigate and track down professional thief Neil McCauley (De Niro) and his crew. Vincent and Neil are very good at their jobs, but are incapable of maintaining serious relationships, no matter how hard they try.
Neil and Vincent only share a couple of brief moments together, as well as an intense shootout during a bank robbery. They both know how to handle guns and weaponry, and are skilled, old-school fighters who know how to interrogate and beat down anyone who stands in their way. The best part about Vincent and Neil’s rivalry is that it’s not a fight about good versus evil, but a battle between a cop and a criminal who each have their own principles and agendas, as well as mutual respect for one another (like two sides of the same coin). Both men are professionals with meaningful storylines, but only one can make it out alive in the end.
