Visionary filmmaker Zack Snyder has become a bit of a divisive director among fans due to his unique original movies as well as his many adaptations of popular graphic novels and comics over the years, which has further extended both his fan base and his detractors.
And while Snyder's movies have reached into various genres, action is where he seems to thrive which has resulted in a number of amazing fight scenes over the years across all of his movies, which we'll be taking a closer look at today as we explore some of Zack Snyder's best cinematic fight scenes.
10 Dawn Of The Dead: Survivors vs. Zombies In Their Final Escape
Snyder has explored the zombie genre a couple of times now, beginning with his 2004 remake of George A. Romero's 1978 classic Dawn of the Dead, which followed a group of survivors as they found sanctuary inside a mall during the zombie apocalypse.
After an escalating series of events forced them to evacuate the mall on prepared buses built for war, the survivors tear through hordes of fast-moving zombies using chainsaws and explosives and good old-fashioned firearms on their way to the docks and potential freedom in one of the movie's goriest and most haunting scenes.
9 300: Spartans Put The Immortals' Name To The Test
Frank Miller's iconic graphic novel 300 was brought to the big screen by Zack Snyder in 2006, which gave the director the opportunity to showcase his signature style through a series of dynamic fight scenes that made the adaptation a huge hit.
While the Spartans who defended their land from the invading Persian army showcased their proven battle tactics, though it was when they encountered the warriors known as Immortals that they really proved how vicious they could be as they dropped a wall of bodies as their first attack before systematically taking apart the elite squad.
8 Watchmen: Minutemen Vs. Ozymandias In An Epic Final Showdown
Zack Snyder continued his successful and ongoing adaptations of graphic novels with 2009's Watchmen, which brought Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' influential 1986 examination of superheroes that led to alternate world history.
Watchmen featured a short-lived team of heroes called the Minutemen - Nite-Owl II, Rorshach, Silk Spectre II and Dr. Manhattan - who uncovered a deadly plot to unite the world against a common threat. While the prison breakout is a close contender, the battle between the Minutemen and Ozymandias was epic and comics-accurate.
7 Sucker Punch: Baby Doll Took Out Three Giant Samurai Warriors
The first original film from Zack Snyder was 2011's Sucker Punch, a steampunk fantasy fever dream about a woman named Baby Doll that is trapped in an abusive institution who creates a dark series of dream worlds to help her and her new friends escape.
Baby Doll's first mission in a further fantasy world pitted her against three giant Samurai warriors in a fight scene that perfectly set up the pace and action of the movie while also homaging classic samurai movies, filtered through Snyder's unique directorial vision.
6 300: Spartans Made Their Final Stand Against The Invading Persians
Snyder's take on 300 featured quite a few amazing fight scenes as the Persian armies commanded by Xerxes prepared to invade the Grecian countries including Sparta, which brought Leonidas and his finest soldiers to war against a much larger army.
The Persians attacked with Immortals and blacked out the sky with arrows and even resorted to magic in an attempt to break the Spartan's line, but the 300 battled harder than ever before they were eventually betrayed and slaughtered in the hard-hitting climax of the movie.
5 Man Of Steel: Metropolis Was Nearly Destroyed When Superman Fought Zod
Zack Snyder launched DC's Extended Universe in 2013's Man of Steel, which introduced a reimagined take on Superman's origin story as he first learned the truth about his own beginnings on Krypton before he became a target for other survivors of his home planet.
Superman was given quite a few opportunities to showcase his abilities in battle with the Kryptonian Phantom Zone criminals, though it was the final city-destroying fight with General Zod that really hinted at the true power of the Man of Steel.
4 Zack Snyder's Justice League: A Resurrected Superman Took On The Rest Of The League
While the theatrical release of Justice League was credited to Joss Whedon, Zack Snyder was given another chance with his work in 2020 with Zack Snyder's Justice League, which used old footage and new to bring his original vision to life.
The newly formed League featured in a number of battles with dangerous Parademons, though they were really tested when the resurrected but out-of-control Superman turned on the team and would have quickly taken them out if not for the arrival of Lois Lane.
3 Batman V. Superman: The Dark Knight Was Manipulated Into Battle With The Man Of Steel
2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice followed up on Man of Steel's debut and the destruction of Metropolis by introducing Lex Luthor, who was able to manipulate the recently returned Batman into a confrontation by tainting Superman's image and pushing Bruce Wayne's buttons.
After kidnapping Superman's mother Martha Kent, he was able to effectively pit Superman against Batman, who had rigged his battleground with devastating weapons in one of the best fight scenes in the entire DCEU.
2 Zack Snyder's Justice League: Superman Returned In His Black Suit To Stomp Steppenwolf
The assembled heroes of the Justice League were able to hold their own against the powerful threat of Steppenwolf, who was further developed to be even more menacing in Zack Snyder's Justice League as he tore through Amazons and Atlanteans alike.
One of the biggest and best changes to the HBO Max re-release of the movie was the new take on Superman in his black suit, who arrived during the final battle to stomp Steppenwolf quickly and almost effortlessly, which was further enhanced when the full League sent Steppenwolf back to Apokolips in pieces.
1 Army Of The Dead: Scott Ward's Climactic Battle With The Powerful Alpha Leader
Snyder's return to the undead came with Netflix's Army of the Dead in 2021, which saw a squad of mercenaries enter the zombie-infested city of Las Vegas in order to crack a vault and steal millions of dollars before the city is vaporized by a nuclear explosion.
While there were quite a few thrilling fight scenes as the crew moved their way into the city and tried to survive and a mayhem-filled opening outbreak in the city, it was the final battle between merc leader Scott Ward and the zombie alpha known as Zeus that ended with a climactic struggle aboard a helicopter as Las Vegas was destroyed behind them.
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