In the 2000s, Charlize Theron had only a few action movie credits to her name with Aeon Flux Y Hancock. However, since the past decade, the Oscar-winning actress has established herself as a full-blown action star with box office releases such as Mad Max: Fury Road Y Atomic blonde.
Last seen on Netflix The old guardThus, Theron has been a part of many high octane fight sequences. In fact, for the latter, he performed most of his stunts on his own, the consequences of which also led to some surgeries. His encounter with the genre only seems to continue as he reprises the role of Cipher in F9, the new Fast and Furious movie.
10 BEST: Desert Duel (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Weather Mad Max: Fury Road has many ambitious vehicular scenes with cutting-edge practical effects, one of the best scenes from Imperator Furiousa (Charlize Theron) is his hand-to-hand duel against titular hero Max (Tom Hardy). The two engage in an intense fight against the backdrop of a vast desert.
Throughout the fight, Max is chained to the ‘War Boy’ known as Nux (Nicholas Hoult). As Max waits for one of the Five Wives to cut his chain, Furiosa attacks him, and what follows is a very realistic display of visceral combat skills. Since Nux is still chained to Max, even he is drawn into the fight. Ultimately, Max dominates Furiosa despite being a very close competition.
9 WORST: Final Duel (Snow White and the Huntsman)
Rather than just being a damsel in distress, this film’s version of Snow White (Kristen Stewart) becomes an armored warrior seeking revenge on the evil queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron).
The film’s final fight scene between the two isn’t particularly bad, but it might be too formulaic for some. It seems like an unfair battle since Ravenna has the upper hand for the most part. Despite having magical powers, she only relies on simple punches and strangles to dominate Snow White. When all the odds seem to be in the Queen’s favor, Snow White stabs her with a hidden dagger in what seems like a very convenient ending.
8 BEST: Stairwell Fight (Atomic Blonde)
Atomic blonde is arguably the best movie in Theron’s career when it comes to stunt choreography. MI6 spy Lorraine Broughton is tasked with protecting an informant named Spyglass (Eddie Marsan), a Herculean task that involves going against KGB agents and their henchmen.
On a claustrophobic staircase, he takes on two of those adversaries in a perfectly edited hyperviolent fight. They kick, hit and stab each other falling down the stairs, from one floor to the next. What is commendable in this fight is an attempt at realism. Both sides are exhausted after taking a few hits. Just because Theron’s character is the heroine doesn’t mean she’s indestructible. Thus, it has even been shown that he sometimes takes a breather instead of continually fighting.
7 WORST: Removal of earrings (Æon flux)
Æon Flux’s The visuals, production, and action scenes may seem a bit dated to today’s audience. Unlike Atomic blonde, the film presents Theron in very convenient settings that offer little to no challenge to his character.
The fight in the library between the protagonist and Freya (Caroline Chikezie) can even be unintentionally laughable at times. Continuous jump cuts and swinging kicks keep the scene from being as smooth as the fights from its animated source material. After a fast-paced match, Freya lunges at Flux and the two appear to be caught in a hug. And then, to free himself from Frey’s clutches, Flux sticks his tongue out and bites his earring.
6 BEST: Church Massacre (The Old Guard)
In some of The old guardIn the action scenes, Andy of Theron is a seemingly immortal warrior with regenerative abilities, while his fighters are mostly mere mortals.
When surrounded by several of Steven Merrick’s (Harry Melling) soldiers, Andy slaughters the crew with ease and finesse. Leaning on a sword and a pistol, he nails them all to the ground and even dismembers some limbs. Ruelle’s haunting track “The World We Made” plays in the background and adds to the dark atmosphere.
5 WORST: Æon Flux Vs Sithandra (Æon Flux)
Similar to the aforementioned scene from Aeon Flux, this is another one-on-one fight that unfolds in an unforgettable way. Both Æon Flux and Sithandra appear to have similar fighting styles to the point of almost looking like clones. If Flux cartwheels onto a ledge, Sithandra would do the same.
What happens next is a surprisingly smooth fight that viewers would probably get tired of watching given the entire movie is riddled with such choppy showdowns.
4 BEST: Apartment Fight (Atomic Blonde)
Atomic blonde It has some of the best indoor fight sequences and if the ladder fight wasn’t enough, the apartment fight is a close contender. Lorraine needs to escape her apartment in Berlin, but some policemen pose as threats. So she does her best with the tools in front of her to immobilize them. For example, she uses a hose to wrap it around a policeman’s arm so that he drops his gun.
Also, use the hose to strangle one of them while hitting the others with kitchen utensils like pans. With all of her enemies on the ground, Lorraine once again uses the hose to go down the building.
3 WORST: Deflecting Torpedoes (The Fate of the Furious)
This is a scene that doesn’t directly involve Charlize Theron in action, but it is an ambitious fight that is orchestrated by her character, master hacker Cipher. Throughout the entire third act, Cipher can be found in an airplane control room orchestrating the actions of the terrorists below her. These terrorists operate nuclear submarines and torpedoes, but of course the heroes of the franchise save the day by speeding up their sports cars.
And if these fast cars aren’t enough, Luke Hobbs himself gets out of the car and redirects a torpedo by hand! While fans of the series would expect such incredible scenes, others might find it a bit over the top.
two BEST: Destruction of the City (Hancock)
Hancock find Will Smith playing the title role, an amnesiac with superhuman abilities. When Mary Embrey (Charlize Theron) gives Hancock a hint of her own hidden powers, he tries to shake her up to see her true potential. This turns out to be a bad idea, as they go head-to-head in a boundless display of reckless and flying destruction.
Property is damaged and civilians are intimidated. Theron’s Mary then goes on to pick up a complete truck and smashes Hancock directly to the ground. Finally, it also manipulates the weather to create a series of cyclonic disturbances. The scene is hilarious, ridiculously destructive, and yet it fits the satirical tone of the film.
1 WORST: Merrick’s death (The Old Guard)
The old guard unleash the best of Charlize Theron as an action star. However, after multiple fight scenes, the conclusive fight turns a bit underwhelming. While the film offered immense strength to its immortal heroes, Harry Melling’s villain Steven Merrick was too weak to serve as the “final boss.”
After defeating his many henchmen, Andy and his protégé Nile (KiKi Layne) shoot themselves off, confusing Merrick, who is later stabbed by Andy’s ax. Nile continues to jump out of the building’s window along with Merrick. And, of course, Nile survives while the chief pharmaceutical executive dies in seconds.
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