In both real-life and movie scenarios, a casino is a place where people visit to place bets on something. But in the action scenes below, the protagonists chose to be there betting their lives on a physical altercation against powerful wicked forces. Which among the following would you declare as the best casino action scene?
Chris Vaughn vs The Casino Security: Walking Tall
The story revolves around the classic “lone hero vs the corrupt system” plot element. While most action protagonists wield guns and sharp objects against the enemy, Dwayne Johnson’s character chose a somewhat downgraded improvised tool – a piece of lumber that he believes could deliver a clearer message to the enemy.
Employing his size and bravery advantage against money-hungry thugs, this action scene from Walking Tall is one that’s grounded on realism but is very visually engaging nonetheless.
Inspector Lee vs The Bomb: Rush Hour 2
When it’s Jackie Chan who’s gracing the screen, everyone’s eyes are glued on the screen by default. But could there be a scene when such eyes are more glued to the screen than usual? There could be, if such a scene features a Jackie Chan who is on the edge of his wits and fighting skills because a small bomb is placed inside his mouth.
Fighting his opponents to retrieve the bomb’s activator, Inspector Lee still looks tough enough even though dread and fear are very visible in his countenance as he struggles for his own survival.
T’Challa and Nakia vs Klaw’s Gang: Black Panther
Sans his indestructible superhero suit, the Black Panther treks into a territory where a king like him rarely has time for – a gambling arena where delinquents and black market dealers are known to frequent. With the assistance of his female chief bodyguard, they take on gun-toting baddies.
In this particular scene, T’Challa may seem to hold back on his kicks and punches. Thankfully, Nakia is in full vitality as she knows for a fact that the fate of her king and of her nation may very well be sealed depending on the outcome of her actions.
Sherlock Holmes vs The Assassin: Sherlock Holmes, A Game of Shadows
Even the deadliest assassins are no match for the greatest intellect, and the statement is proven to be true by the master detective Sherlock Holmes. Employing the best that his wits and physique can deliver, he bested a skillful hitman while his bestfriend is just nearby playing card games.
It is a scenario where two buddies are fighting to win – the smart one is trying to defeat his fellow gamblers, while the smarter one is playing a much more dangerous game that may involve him killing, or getting himself killed in the process.
Rick Deckard vs K: Blade Runner 2049
When a fight scene or any other scene for that matter takes place in a casino, many people are present. But in this particular film snippet, there are only 2 people present: A father and a son battling it out, all in the name of superiority, but simply because they actually love each other though, the will do anything to deny it, on that specific scene.
They are both special kinds of law enforcers called “Blade Runners,” and they seem to uphold their beliefs and will battle anyone that will get in their way, even if it is family, or someone they dearly love.
Husband and Wife vs The Beast: Kung Fu Hustle
In typical action movies, we see a very able-bodied character battling a set of physically capable antagonists too. But in this particular scene, we see a couple of 50-somethings, a husband and wife at that, against a very tough kung fu master.
Rich with a kind of dance-like martial-arts choreography enhanced through CGI, you are on a treat with a cartoonish, yet lively engaging action sequence upon watching it.
Wolverine vs Gambit: X-Men Origins, Wolverine
What sets it apart from the others on this list is that the casino action scene itself lasts only a few seconds. It depicts the act when Wolverine, the movie’s main hero approaches a powerful and very skilled mutant Gambit, about how they can help each other.
Misinterpreting Wolverine’s intentions, Gambit then fired a barrage of energy-soaked playing cards that propelled the hero outside the building. Such a short, eye-catching scene then triggered another set of skirmishes that even non-comic book lovers would never ignore.
Nick Wild vs Gangsters: Wild Card
With lead actor Jason Statham who developed this film project himself, the movie is said to be not really about action, but of drama and character development. Statham plays a recovering gambling addict who happens to be an excellent hand-to-hand combatant too.
On the scene when some gangsters wanted to mess with him as he struggles to resist his gambling urges, he channeled that mental struggle into something physical instead. The result is scattered betting chips, broken furniture, and damaged body parts… for the hapless thugs of course.
Damien Tomaso vs Thugs: District 13
Some action actors don’t need a stunt double, because they were already seasoned stuntmen before their acting tenure. That’s the case for Cyrill Raffaelli who played the badass character who maimed and crippled the bad guys using a different kind of martial arts discipline, one that’s derived from Parkour.
Leaping, hopping and summersaulting – you’ll have it to the extreme in all of the fight scenes of the French film District 13. One notable scene is the casino fight where tables and game machines were used to cushion falling bodies, though we know for a fact that cushioning is not the actual purpose of it.
James Bond vs The Bouncer: Skyfall
A bouncer must be tough, ruthless, and very efficient in ejecting unwanted customers. But what if that unwanted customer is the legendary secret service agent James Bond? Such a bouncer must be super-tough and extremely valiant because the spy that bears the “007” codename is one of the toughest fighters in the history of brawling in almost any location one may think of.
But in this particular scene in Skyfall though, Mr. Bond didn’t win the fight by himself, because he got the assistance of two Komodo dragons that crawled into action -- perhaps for the sake of action, or just for the sake of fun.
Which do you think among these scenes should be ranked number 1?
