Mission Impossible! RRR! More of The Raid! Hear me ramble about even more of my favorite fight scenes in the Nebula-exclusive companion to this video: nebula.tv/videos/jacob-geller-i-want-to-tell-you-about-even-more-of-my-favorite-fight-scenes
Hey i know this is random... but i really think you would enjoy my book. Its not perfect by any means, but your opinions mean a lot to me. Not asking for promotion or anything, I just think you would like it.
You seen Hardcore Henry? It’s a cyberpunk-esque take on the FPS to cinematic genre, and the mention of movies being video games just reminded me of it.
Interesting that this essay is just about punching and kicking guys and not existentialism. I’m going to watch this video with the expectation it won’t turn into a profoundly moving piece on the poetry of martial arts and how we equate violence with narrative closure. Edit: You’ve bamboozled us once again, Jacob.
A random thing about the Matrix scene but I've always appreciated Hugo Weaving's acting in that moment. Like Keanu being largely bored by an opponent that nearly killed him earlier in the movie is a great moment, but I think what really sells it is the fact that Weaving really convincingly looks like he's putting in maximum effort even though in real life he was moving deliberately slowly to make the fight choreography work.
there's nothing more existential than clashing with another human one on one. Humanity's had a deep philosophical connection with fighting and conflict for as long as we've been around
This combination makes me think of that one Ross Scott bit, where he said "wasn't it Descartes who said "I punch, therefore I am"?". He was talking about how you didn't need to know who you were in order to kick someone's arse, but he accompanied it with a picture of Descartes with a fist raised, and it was very powerful imagery.
One of the goals of my life is to work on the "kind of game you would see Jacob Geller talk about in a video". I think, maybe, this video means I've partially achieved that? I was an outsourced VFX Artist on Mortal Kombat 1, seeing it shown in a Jacob Geller video, even briefly, is so cool to me. Loved the video as always, thanks for everything you do!
I'm commenting here so that in 5 years when Jacob Geller eventually talks about one of your games, everyone will know I believed in your game before it was cool
Another video essayist described Ip Man as a Superman story: the character is more than strong enough to overcome physical challenges, but is put through many non-physical challenges. The awesome action movie Equilibrium has a similar philosophy. It builds a lot of momentum leading towards a fight between the hero and the main henchman -- you see them sparring earlier and they appear to be equals -- but in the real life-and-death fight the hero calmly *slices his face off* in 3 fluid motions.
My favorite thing about Jacob Geller's essays is that he can make them about anything he wants and somehow make it the most interesting thing in the world for the next 25 or so minutes. It's like the next level of artistic freedom.
For real, he could be like "I want to talk about my favorite paperclip" and we'd all be enraptured for the next half hour wondering how we never pondered the humble paperclip that way before
That little bit about disabling the enemies limiters between 12:12 - 12:56 reminded me of something Timmm said in his Ace Combat Video. _"Not to capture the reality of aerial combat, but to understand the fantasy of it."_
When you just saw your buddy (who trained to be the best martial artist he could be for most of his life just like you did) get folded up like an origami pretzel, it tends to introduce a measure of hesitation
There's a scene in a western, Wyatt Earp, where a mob forms outside of a jailhouse. The mob demands that the hero of the story, Wyatt, let them lynch the man in the jail for the crime he has committed, and they tell him "You can't stop us all!" He replies to them "Yes, but I'll get one, two, maybe three or four of you. Is it worth it?" The mob disperses. I haven't watched enough action movies to not ask the question "why don't they all rush him?" In spite of my lack of experience, I tend to find that there are lots of reasons for why. They aren't coordinated enough, they are afraid, there's a sense of honor in the one on one, there's too many people to just gang up on the protagonist without tangling together, and of course, because it doesn't look good. Why don't the group of guys all just gang up on the one guy? Because it's better if they don't in every way.
Couldn't it also mean that your experience comes from reality instead of film? Like, I've seen a LOT of shootings, but not a single one of them ever looked like the movies.
@@Namewriter Or the ending of Unforgiven. Where William Munny rides out of town alone, with an entire town's full of murderers pointing guns at him, all of them scared to be the one to take the first shot.
I really enjoy all the core mechanics of MGS4 and honestly wish there were a game where I could just engage with those for longer without getting a series of cutscenes, minigames, then an ending. Even MGSV doesn't feel as tight in terms of movement and interaction with the enemies.
@@crimson-foxtwitch2581 just by the amount of time spent in cutscenes you are right. I remember some pretty fun gameplay segments tho, particularly the south America and shadow Moses parts.
I am so happy you included the MGS4 fight. It is pure catharsis and resolution from the buildup of the whole series' antagonistic relation between the two. Killing the AI was the game's ending, the fight with Liquid Revolver is the fan's ending. It exists solely to put an end to the feud, to give closure not only to the characters, but to the players aswell.
The entire final two hours or so of MGS4 are genuinely some of my favorite hours of gaming I've ever experienced. MGS1 came out when I was like eight or nine, and there was absolutely *nothing* else like it in 1998. It blew my tiny little child brain to smithereens. So I played it obsessively, and continued to do the same with the PS2 games. But I'm not exactly rolling in money now that I'm an adult so I didn't get a PS3 until several years after it came out, and I didn't play MGS4 until like 2014. And man, I have never mashed a button harder or for longer in my life than I did while crawling through that microwave hallway and watching the carnage that my friends and allies of the last fifteen years endured on the other half of the split screen. I got to the end and was just as exhausted and relieved as Snake was when it was all over. And then the fight scene from the video happened. I was involuntarily shouting at the TV during the cutscene, "Yes! Fuck you, Ocelot! Eat this!", my brother on the chair next to me doing the same. And then they stuck the syringes in each others next and without even thinking I literally jumped up, cheered, and high fived my brother. I genuinely think that unless you were a kid in 1998 and had been following along with the series the whole time, you simply *can not* understand the complete, overwhelming catharsis of that entire sequence. It is completely unrivaled and nothing else will ever reach the sheer emotion of it.
@@4QIcehole If anything, those two last hours are the *reason* why MGS4 exists the way it does. Long cutscenes and all, it truly is both a love letter to all the fans that had followed Snake(s) games throughout the years and the inevitable end for the series as a whole. At the end of the world, in the last days of a long war, two brothers following in the footsteps of their fathers and teachers settle the scores once and for all
I am super excited as an Indonesian once you mention The Raid here. It truly is one of the most prominent cultural marks we have in the international world and deservedly so. As a native Indonesian speaker, I genuinely loved how you tried to pronounce names such as Jaka, Yayan Ruhian, and Cecep Ari Rahman with the best of your ability.. Kinda bummed that you left out the most iconic line from the clip at 19:01 - "Ini baru asik....ini baru ada *gregetnya.* " Roughly translated it would be "Now this is the thing...THIS has the *thrill* to it." We Indonesians memed the shit out of the word "greget" for years, lmfao. Also the fact that you included John Wick 4's top-down scene pretty much is the cherry on top of this thing. You can't imagine how EXCITED I was seeing it in the cinemas with my very own eyes.
Your experience with Sifu reminds me of my own with Ultrakill. At some point, the fodder projectile throwers that terrified me early on completely ceased to be threats. Not only did they become entirely ignorable, I somehow knew exactly where they were and what they were doing without looking. Developing that spatial awareness is so satisfying
so true. when i first tried the demo i was so slow and missed half my shots, getting completely devastated by the malicious face boss (likely due to playing on violent for whatever reason), getting so tense yet getting nowhere, thinking this game is not for me due to that. but damn was i wrong!! 170 hours and counting, still gotta get p-ranks everywhere on brutal though.
@@ryllo2886 there is a really good essay about Scorn by a youtuber called DJ Peachcobbler who, while seemingly crazy and insane, also has really good videos on the history of Rome and the Native Americans.
23:35 Sins of the Father slowly fading in as the Old Snake and Liquid Ocelot fight gets more and more intense was great editing, timing, and voice over work. Got me pretty hyped to watch the fight again
The context to ip man fighting 10 people is really what makes it so good. He didnt even go there to fight people, he went there because thats where his student went, and never came back. He then sees his friend get killed amd knows his student shared the same fate. Then he goes in demands to fight ten men, refuses his reward and takes the bag if rices soaked in his friends blood, and when asked who he is, he says "im just a chinese man" *chefs kiss*
Everything in this video is a perfect encapsulation of the enherent appeal of pro wrestling. The quote "Punches and kicks can exist as a dance, a song, a palette, a ritual, an exclamation point, a period." Gives words to an emotion and impulse ive felt for a long time without you even intending to (I think.) Anyways, jacob geller is cool, pro wrestling is cool, and this video is very good.
Never understood the appeal of fighting matches, be it real or not. It feels so boring, so slow. The rules kinda push it to a lvl where a newbie (me) thinks:' why aren't they doing something, just giving out one punch and wait "
@@Exel3nceI don't personally get it either, but I'd still recommend Super Eyepatch Wolf's various vids on the subject. He does a good job explaining what a WWE fan sees in that stuff, even if you ultimately don't get it.
as a fellow newbie, I try to appreciate wrestling less as a sports event but more of a theatre stage play with stunt men performing about a fictional wrestling match
@@Exel3nce It's theatre where you get to see the characters age as the performers age. If Super Eyepatch Wolf's video on The Undertaker doesn't make you "get" it then it's probably not for you.
"this isn't about existentialism, its about punching things" Anyone whos ever had an existential crisis before will know that everything from then on will be about existentialism, lol.
The stimulants in MGS4's final brawl make a lot more sense in hindsight when you consider what you just said: They're nanomachines inhibitors. As you're going through each phase, you're not just going through the legacy of the franchise up to that point, you are undoing Liquid's personality in Ocelot, that's why he goes from Liquid, to Liquid Ocelot, to finally just Ocelot, you're beating Liquid's personality off him as the nanomachines that held that personality together are slowly shutting down for good with the system gone. So the signficance of that fight is not the stakes, the vendettas, the personal grudges, Ocelot just wants one last fight to end this story. Rest in Peace, the greatest villain.
Yeah, this is a really important aspect of the fight. It's not really Liquid's fight at all, it's Ocelot's. That's why Ocelot kisses Snake, because he loved Big Boss.
Love the repeated use of the phrase “I want to tell you about my favorite fight scene”. Such a great nod to Kaufman’s I’m thinking of ending the things! And a really fun way of adding another layer/tie-in to existentialism
I'm glad that one of my favorite video essay peeps is finally talking about Ip Man, my dad was obsessed and I've watched this scene several times throughout my life
I love the fact that your videos always get existential, or at least talk about the poetry of life, no matter what you might say at the start. It's such a beautiful aspect of the way you think and the way you craft these essays. Additionally, I love the style you have, where it's clear you're so passionate and in love with so much, that you're talking over yourself to share even more of what you love, with the way you're like "let me interrupt you to talk about a fight scene i love, and then I'm gonna interrupt *that* fight scene with another one I love." It's such a beautiful part of these essays, and why you're one of my favorite essayists.
Sifu is still somehow underrated imo. One of my favorite games I’ve played in the 35 years I’ve been playing games. I absolutely agree about letting them come to you being a big part of mastery of that game. Parrying and throwing enemies around in Sifu is very satisfying and absolutely necessary for high level play/the harder challenges.
It just makes me happy to see people talking about it again. Seems like it sparked some tired difficulty option discussions and then mostly died out Really wish more people played and talked about it
I suppose that is because Otacon and Solid Snake are more obvious a pair on Solid Snake’s end, and Ocelot and Naked Snake/Big Boss are more obvious a pair on Ocelot’s end?
was going to look up the amount of archive of our own fics they have to happily tell you that they have x amount of fics but no, it's absolutely meager compared to other games that have enemies who are each other's life purpose. Hell, I don't know shit about Metal Gear but I almost wanted to go write one myself
because ocelot is in love with big boss and not solid snake, their final fight was just him gaining lucidity minutes before his death and using solid to say goodbye to big boss, that's one of the reasons the name on the health bar says "naked snake" besides the obvious callback, the final portion of the fight is from ocelot's POV as solid beat liquid out of him
I first watched the Ip Man series in 2020. Since then, I’ve made a habit of rewatching all four of them once a year. Ip Man fighting the 10 black belts has not lost an ounce of its impact for the exact reasons here. Thank you for putting into words something I have never been able to articulate as eloquently or succinctly!
I recently was mind blown by the airport fight scene in Tenet. As it happened I was in awe with my mouth agape and my eyes glued to the screen. It was just so unbelievably executed it was hard to believe the thing I was watching was even possible to film in the first place. Ultra creative and amazing.
This fight in Ip Man is always the example I use for story telling through a fight scene. This is the first time we see him try to hurt people because all the shit he's going through finally gets to him. Powerful.
I have studied at about 14 different martial arts schools (and that is the wrong way to train because you just get a bunch of beginner level technique). I am a martial arts nerd. And if you haven't watched 'True Legend' you should do so. It contains one of the best fight scenes in cinematic history, and I'm not going to tell you which one it is because you'll know. Lastly, this was an excellent video. Thank you.
Don't worry jacob, idk about others, but I watch you because your ramblings are coherent, there is nothing more beautiful than a person showing their passion as a nicely written story
I literally just broke 4 minutes in your video, and I can already conclude that I have not heard such good praise for this fight scene other than from myself. There is SO much fueling that scene and it makes me cry, especially after he goes back to his wife and tells her how useless he feels. He can take down any man, but he can't end the occupation, he can't change the world, because he is only one man. Unstoppable, but cannot make the change he wishes to see. The quintessential Super Man story. GOD it is so good.
Best fight scene in cinema history was Rowdy Roddy Piper vs Keith David in They Live. I may not be willing to die on this hill, but I will have an extended 10 minute fist fight on it.
Man, I'm goddamn tearing up as you explained the fight between snake and ocelot. That fight just knows how to hit every single one of my nostalgia buttons
"why dont they all just rush in at once" Two reasons. One: thats actually *really* hard to do in a fight effectively in any way. Two: the fear. They're hesitating *because* they're scared.
When you were talking about Snake and Liquid’s battle in Metal Gear Solid 4, I was heavily reminded of Tekken 7’s final battle. For as underwhelming as that game’s story mode is, it knows how to use legacy to its advantage in the final standoff between Kazuya and Heihachi. And without spoiling anything, Tekken 8 takes this idea of using legacy to enhance the storytelling of a fight, and pushes it to a new extreme.
Hi Jacob, I know it probably doesn't count (because its animation) but the fight scenes from "blue eyed samurai" feel heavy and painful, in the best way! Just had to comment about it, it's really good
I feel like there's a video/discussion like this for every "kind of scene" - particularly car chases, there's just so many different ways to handle it after all the vocabulary that's been built up
I love that your recent videos have been getting more and more personal with time. It is almost as if you are elucidating your essay on the future of writing about video games by example and I'm here for it!
Your Sekiro video got me back into playing guitar, and now this one has me wanting to get back into martial arts. Dammit, why do I not have more time to pursue my Geller-inspired hobbies?
I was sending this video to my friends at the 15-minute mark saying "You'll love this, I'm halfway through and it's already one of my favourite Jacob Geller videos", and THEN you whipped out the MGS4 finale... Jacob, why are you so goddamned good at making videos?
I'm practically live on UA-cam and I am never so excited as when I see you post something new. Keep up all this incredible work. You're raising the bar!
I absolutely love the first Ip Man movie. My favorites personally is the gauntlet of fights the farmer martial artists takes in the beginning, and the intense fight to end the first act.
So glad to see Yayan Ruhian get some love here cause he's just so good in everything he does. That scene in the raid where he fights both brothers solo is so damn good.
SIFU was my favorite game of 2022 and you definitely nailed why. It gives you a sense of clarity to progression that I don't think games like Dark Souls have ever accomplished. With Dark Souls you just get it right once...and that's it. You won. For SIFU you are asked to power through failure and get it right...EVERY TIME. Through that excercise I am allowed to achieve a state of flow I never got in Dark Souls formula of 1 death restart...learn the traps and then eventually you can get through it 1 time and move on...the game makes the world a chore, something to get out of the way without skill or practice...just memorize the tricks and get through. With SIFU you are given the decency of progression and a release from repetition with the promise that eventually you will be the master of the space if you continue to push forward and I think, as a metaphor it is BEAUTIFUL for any struggle with gaining a skill. You don't fail and restart, you fail, suffer the consequences and keep moving forward until when you do it again in the future it becomes effortless, it becomes fun, and your mastery of the space becomes a rythmic expression of joy. I cannot recommend the game enough and I think mainstream games really need to look at SIFU as a model for "difficult games". Imagine Dark souls but you don't just cheese your way to a Malenia win...you learn her fully and no luck will get you through...you just have to know it and execute it. While I don't think I can pick up SIFU again because of its dependence on habitual perfection...god, it was such a masterpiece of game design and inovation and I was just so enthralled with its presentation and execution.
I never clicked so fast when I saw the thumbnail… loved the movie!! Also, as an Indonesian I’m so glad you’re a Yayan Ruhian stan, he’s crazy and I absolutely enjoy that!
Martial arts actors are very much real martial artists, and pretty good ones too. My Karate teacher, Rodney Batiste, was world champion in Karate and the US middleweight champion. For a time, he studied under Jhoon Rhee alongside Bruce Lee, and Bruce Lee was very much a real and talented martial artist on a similar level as him, a literal world champion, not just an actor.
Always embarrassing to me when people say that because Bruce Lee was an actor, that meant he was a fraud martial artist. He could beat the pulp out of a person *and* be a charming devil for the cameras.
I've been involved in stage combat since I was a kid, I started training when I was around 7. This video perfectly explains what I love about fight choreography, especially now that I've been on the choreographing end of things. It is a performance, it's so similar to dance. It's supposed to be fun and over the top, every punch carries the emotional weight of the character. The way you describe the MGS4 fight perfectly encapsulates this. Good video 10/10 :)
this is an excellent reminder at how good you are at conveying emotion and enthusiasm through your videos, Jacob. this and your Ape Out video stand out to me as essays that make me feel incredibly excited about something that i'm not sure anyone else could make me feel invested in!!
The mention of how the enemies seem to slow down is something I love about gaming. I played a lot of the Arkham series (not as intense, I know) and saw the same thing. It's so empowering.
I really liked the way you put true process of getting better at Sifu, with my own experience with muay thai for 3 years now i definitely was able to relate to how at a certain point things just sorta move in slow motion in a match. More than just that though I really appreciated the way that you contextualized fighting and combat as an action that is part of human expression; some people sing, some dance, others fight to convey what words cannot. Absolutely my new favorite video of yours, thank you so much :)
You know those days where you watch video after video on UA-cam and NONE of them capture your imagination, and you have the thought “maybe I’ve watched ALL of the good videos. I reached the end of UA-cam. That was my day today until I watched this. Earned you an instant follow. I would say you could have added the BEST MCU fight scene. The highway scene between Cap, Bucky, Falcon, and Widow… Also glad someone finally gave praise to Riyadi. He’s got that rare quality where a real life badass simply radiates it out into the world and the camera definitely picks that up. Can’t imagine either Raid films without him.
Sicilia: As a heads up, the reason they dont all rush him at once is because two objects cannot occupy the same space. It is often mentioned in amongst a lot of fight analysts and Masters of their own craft (on youtube, so take salt with that credibility) say that it's hard to formulate a plan to engage someone in a fight when you have to rely on even just one other person youre trying to avoid striking while also striking your target. And sure, you can make an argument that "well these practitioners know each other. They should be familiar with each other's styles," But these are people doing this practice for fun (under their General's orders). Think of esports like mobas or shooters. There are compilations of people mistiming things that they have practiced for years, with their team mates. Someone might argue, "Well video games are easier," And, they aren't. But even if they were, then would it not be easier to correctly time stuff too? Anyways. This turned out to be a long winded paragraph. tl;dr, rushing someone who's experienced is often harder to execute than what most critics would think.
It's so wonderful to watch an essay on someone who appreciates combat as more than just dumb violence or action, but for the artistry and message and communication
Honestly shocked that the ending fist fight scene with the anti spiral from Gurren Laggan didn’t make it in this video. The raw expression of passion and survival shown echoes a lot of the topics and themes in this video. Excellent video as ALWAYS Jacob! Insane how high quality your videos have become!
You've got me ready to gush about Gurren Lagann, but just like Ip Man merely talking about the fight scenes out of context doesn't do them justice. But man, those final scenes! The scale, the momentum, it's all poetry and it's all beautiful.
I really think Imaishi saw through the heart of the super robot, combined with his fearless in-your-face corniness I don't think another drill like that will appear again.
Gonna watch later, just checking in for my 2 cents nobody asked about: While i'm not entirely sure if these are my FAVORITES, but two fight scenes that always come to mind for me are: - The organ room hallway fight in Repo Men (2010) It's arguably a rip-off from Oldboy's famous hallway fight and has some odd editing in it, but it's just fun as it's very well set to UNKLE's "Burn My Shadow" and kind of does a little bit of everything in about 3 minutes, from vicious brutality to Sam Raimi esque POV shots of a hacksaw to overstylish posing to a bit of ridiculous comedy. Jude Law sells it joyfully ua-cam.com/video/txobClyCum0/v-deo.html - MacBeth vs. Young Siward in The Tragedy Of MacBeth (2021) You don't go into MacBeth to see cool action scenes, and maybe it's part of the reason why i find it so memorable. It's extremely theatric in a literal sense, and with MacBeth at this point still being full in "immortality mode", Denzel Washington brings insane swagger and maximum disrespect into the fight choreography. It's such a great reflection of the story and beautifully shot and Denzel bitch-slaps a dude in a sword fight! ua-cam.com/video/n2hXvFYBuB4/v-deo.html
Mine are the final fights of Drunken Master 2 (in the burning coal/alcohol factory) and Armour of God 2 (in the nazi bunker and the wind tunnel). And more recently the kitchen knife fight at the end of The Raid 2.
This video helped me realize why I love action movies and musicals. Both of them use a new form- be it singing or fighting- to express what words alone cannot.
as a massive yakuza fan, I gotta give it to either the final fight in yakuza 5 or yakuza 2. both have such emotional weight behind them and feel like they represent the yakuza ideals of proper manhood and strength that continue to clash throughout the series
If this turns into some super deep existential thing, I might have to come back later because I don't have the mental health/fortitude for a Jacob GellerTM video right now lol
17:30 I watched all the Wick movies for the first time recently and boy do I feel called out because I thought that was an AMAZING way to shoot that scene. I never played Hotline Miami, but I have played Heat Signature, and the top-down style was immediately recognizable in what it was trying to communicate. A final flourish for the series direction stating "Yes, we understood the assignment."
Mission Impossible! RRR! More of The Raid! Hear me ramble about even more of my favorite fight scenes in the Nebula-exclusive companion to this video: nebula.tv/videos/jacob-geller-i-want-to-tell-you-about-even-more-of-my-favorite-fight-scenes
RRR
like the Bollywood movie?
Hey i know this is random... but i really think you would enjoy my book. Its not perfect by any means, but your opinions mean a lot to me. Not asking for promotion or anything, I just think you would like it.
Any Tenet airport fight scene enjoyers?
@@DirewolfMemento what's the name of this book and what's it about?
You seen Hardcore Henry? It’s a cyberpunk-esque take on the FPS to cinematic genre, and the mention of movies being video games just reminded me of it.
Interesting that this essay is just about punching and kicking guys and not existentialism. I’m going to watch this video with the expectation it won’t turn into a profoundly moving piece on the poetry of martial arts and how we equate violence with narrative closure.
Edit: You’ve bamboozled us once again, Jacob.
Go watch “FIGHTING IN THE AGE OF LONELINESS”
@@dongverminewhy
Love the vids, dude!!!!
@@MetaIIo it’s an amazing documentary specifically about the existentiality of combat.
I love seeing my favorite UA-camr support my other favorite UA-camr!
A random thing about the Matrix scene but I've always appreciated Hugo Weaving's acting in that moment. Like Keanu being largely bored by an opponent that nearly killed him earlier in the movie is a great moment, but I think what really sells it is the fact that Weaving really convincingly looks like he's putting in maximum effort even though in real life he was moving deliberately slowly to make the fight choreography work.
"I'm not gonna get existential; this is about punching people"
*Gets existential anyways*
Good stuff
It’s a very EXISTENTIAL endeavor…check out FIGHTING IN THE AGE OF LONELINESS
there's nothing more existential than clashing with another human one on one. Humanity's had a deep philosophical connection with fighting and conflict for as long as we've been around
Yeah as soon as he said this I was like “Nice try Jacob Geller, but I know what you’re up to”
With something as primordial - as integral to the human experience - as Violence, how can it NOT be existential?
This combination makes me think of that one Ross Scott bit, where he said "wasn't it Descartes who said "I punch, therefore I am"?". He was talking about how you didn't need to know who you were in order to kick someone's arse, but he accompanied it with a picture of Descartes with a fist raised, and it was very powerful imagery.
One of the goals of my life is to work on the "kind of game you would see Jacob Geller talk about in a video". I think, maybe, this video means I've partially achieved that? I was an outsourced VFX Artist on Mortal Kombat 1, seeing it shown in a Jacob Geller video, even briefly, is so cool to me. Loved the video as always, thanks for everything you do!
Hell yeah, you should be proud of that!
that game has stunning VFX!!
I'm commenting here so that in 5 years when Jacob Geller eventually talks about one of your games, everyone will know I believed in your game before it was cool
I mean if you're here it means when you eventually make a game it'll be great
@@JacobGeller I'm honored to hear that! The team is great, massively talented individuals who make working in games somehow more fun than it sounds.
I love and hate how every time I watch a new Jacob Gellar video, I have at least one piece of media I gotta add to my "get to" list
now I HAVE to play at least the first 4 metal gear games :(
5 has flaws for sure but still worth a go. And Rising. 2 more to your list lol. @@kagefyter
Sifu, ipman, and that rage monkey Indonesian guy are now very high on my list.
Edit: Ip man is fantastic
Do it now. Get it out of the way. You won’t regret it.
TAKERU V TENSHIN
Another video essayist described Ip Man as a Superman story: the character is more than strong enough to overcome physical challenges, but is put through many non-physical challenges.
The awesome action movie Equilibrium has a similar philosophy. It builds a lot of momentum leading towards a fight between the hero and the main henchman -- you see them sparring earlier and they appear to be equals -- but in the real life-and-death fight the hero calmly *slices his face off* in 3 fluid motions.
The channel is Accented Cinema, really good movie essayist
Edit: ua-cam.com/video/TP2KlkBgol4/v-deo.html
Added link
@@kuliosw4815accented cinema is the goat
6:05 "for those of you who prefer my more existential videos, this one isn't for you."
I knew you were bluffing
My favorite thing about Jacob Geller's essays is that he can make them about anything he wants and somehow make it the most interesting thing in the world for the next 25 or so minutes. It's like the next level of artistic freedom.
For real, he could be like "I want to talk about my favorite paperclip" and we'd all be enraptured for the next half hour wondering how we never pondered the humble paperclip that way before
@@sarahbuck2506 didn't he already do that too?
My least favorite thing about them is that they end, not even kidding, I could listen to this man go on for hourse
That little bit about disabling the enemies limiters between 12:12 - 12:56 reminded me of something Timmm said in his Ace Combat Video.
_"Not to capture the reality of aerial combat, but to understand the fantasy of it."_
"You don't photograph reality, you photograph the photograph of reality"
- Stanley Kubrick
Love that video
Ohoho, I /adore/ Ace Combat. Thank's for pointing me to another fantastic video to watch!
"Why don't they all just rush him at once?" tends to be an expression which means you haven't watched that many action movies.
When you just saw your buddy (who trained to be the best martial artist he could be for most of his life just like you did) get folded up like an origami pretzel, it tends to introduce a measure of hesitation
*Means you haven't watched enough action movies
There's a scene in a western, Wyatt Earp, where a mob forms outside of a jailhouse. The mob demands that the hero of the story, Wyatt, let them lynch the man in the jail for the crime he has committed, and they tell him "You can't stop us all!"
He replies to them "Yes, but I'll get one, two, maybe three or four of you. Is it worth it?" The mob disperses.
I haven't watched enough action movies to not ask the question "why don't they all rush him?" In spite of my lack of experience, I tend to find that there are lots of reasons for why. They aren't coordinated enough, they are afraid, there's a sense of honor in the one on one, there's too many people to just gang up on the protagonist without tangling together, and of course, because it doesn't look good.
Why don't the group of guys all just gang up on the one guy? Because it's better if they don't in every way.
Couldn't it also mean that your experience comes from reality instead of film? Like, I've seen a LOT of shootings, but not a single one of them ever looked like the movies.
@@Namewriter Or the ending of Unforgiven. Where William Munny rides out of town alone, with an entire town's full of murderers pointing guns at him, all of them scared to be the one to take the first shot.
man mgs4 is such a fun game because i think i hate it and also it has like 3 of the all time best scenes in video games
Truly a mixed bag. I think it's a decent capper to the insane journey of the metal gear solid games.
@@garbageboy8857mgs4, imho, is less of a game you play and more of a game you experience.
I really enjoy all the core mechanics of MGS4 and honestly wish there were a game where I could just engage with those for longer without getting a series of cutscenes, minigames, then an ending. Even MGSV doesn't feel as tight in terms of movement and interaction with the enemies.
@@garbageboy8857 mgs4 imo is moreso a game you experience rather than play
@@crimson-foxtwitch2581 just by the amount of time spent in cutscenes you are right. I remember some pretty fun gameplay segments tho, particularly the south America and shadow Moses parts.
I am so happy you included the MGS4 fight. It is pure catharsis and resolution from the buildup of the whole series' antagonistic relation between the two. Killing the AI was the game's ending, the fight with Liquid Revolver is the fan's ending. It exists solely to put an end to the feud, to give closure not only to the characters, but to the players aswell.
For some reason I really love that you called him Liquid Revolver lol
It doesn't really matter whether you use his silly in-game name or not
The entire final two hours or so of MGS4 are genuinely some of my favorite hours of gaming I've ever experienced.
MGS1 came out when I was like eight or nine, and there was absolutely *nothing* else like it in 1998. It blew my tiny little child brain to smithereens. So I played it obsessively, and continued to do the same with the PS2 games.
But I'm not exactly rolling in money now that I'm an adult so I didn't get a PS3 until several years after it came out, and I didn't play MGS4 until like 2014. And man, I have never mashed a button harder or for longer in my life than I did while crawling through that microwave hallway and watching the carnage that my friends and allies of the last fifteen years endured on the other half of the split screen. I got to the end and was just as exhausted and relieved as Snake was when it was all over.
And then the fight scene from the video happened. I was involuntarily shouting at the TV during the cutscene, "Yes! Fuck you, Ocelot! Eat this!", my brother on the chair next to me doing the same. And then they stuck the syringes in each others next and without even thinking I literally jumped up, cheered, and high fived my brother.
I genuinely think that unless you were a kid in 1998 and had been following along with the series the whole time, you simply *can not* understand the complete, overwhelming catharsis of that entire sequence. It is completely unrivaled and nothing else will ever reach the sheer emotion of it.
@@4QIcehole If anything, those two last hours are the *reason* why MGS4 exists the way it does. Long cutscenes and all, it truly is both a love letter to all the fans that had followed Snake(s) games throughout the years and the inevitable end for the series as a whole.
At the end of the world, in the last days of a long war, two brothers following in the footsteps of their fathers and teachers settle the scores once and for all
I am super excited as an Indonesian once you mention The Raid here. It truly is one of the most prominent cultural marks we have in the international world and deservedly so. As a native Indonesian speaker, I genuinely loved how you tried to pronounce names such as Jaka, Yayan Ruhian, and Cecep Ari Rahman with the best of your ability..
Kinda bummed that you left out the most iconic line from the clip at 19:01 - "Ini baru asik....ini baru ada *gregetnya.* " Roughly translated it would be "Now this is the thing...THIS has the *thrill* to it." We Indonesians memed the shit out of the word "greget" for years, lmfao.
Also the fact that you included John Wick 4's top-down scene pretty much is the cherry on top of this thing. You can't imagine how EXCITED I was seeing it in the cinemas with my very own eyes.
Your experience with Sifu reminds me of my own with Ultrakill. At some point, the fodder projectile throwers that terrified me early on completely ceased to be threats. Not only did they become entirely ignorable, I somehow knew exactly where they were and what they were doing without looking. Developing that spatial awareness is so satisfying
so true. when i first tried the demo i was so slow and missed half my shots, getting completely devastated by the malicious face boss (likely due to playing on violent for whatever reason), getting so tense yet getting nowhere, thinking this game is not for me due to that. but damn was i wrong!! 170 hours and counting, still gotta get p-ranks everywhere on brutal though.
I love how Jacob has pushed beyond the Video Games on this channel in the last couple of years, and I am always all for it. More of this! 🙌
MORE MMA
He's been making non gaming videos for a while, the museum and library videos are especially good
I know! I love his analysis, but video games bore me besides the occasional WWE/GTA round, though Scorn and Wolfenstein interest me.
@@ryllo2886 there is a really good essay about Scorn by a youtuber called DJ Peachcobbler who, while seemingly crazy and insane, also has really good videos on the history of Rome and the Native Americans.
@@charlesbarkleygaming Funnily enough it was the museum video that got me hooked on his channel, that and the modern art one
Jacob: "I want to tell you about [literally anything]"
Me: *grabbing a snack, a drink, and a comfy place to chill.* "Go on."
Ip man in thumbnail = never clicked anything as fast in my life.
Unfortunately wing Chun is not viable at the top levels of MMA
@@dongvermine Ok?
same
My friend showed me Ip-Man back then, and I loved it. That scene in 1 has burned into my mind for watching it so many times now.
@@dongvermineMMA mfs be like
23:35 Sins of the Father slowly fading in as the Old Snake and Liquid Ocelot fight gets more and more intense was great editing, timing, and voice over work. Got me pretty hyped to watch the fight again
that leg snap still lives rent free in my mind
The context to ip man fighting 10 people is really what makes it so good. He didnt even go there to fight people, he went there because thats where his student went, and never came back. He then sees his friend get killed amd knows his student shared the same fate. Then he goes in demands to fight ten men, refuses his reward and takes the bag if rices soaked in his friends blood, and when asked who he is, he says "im just a chinese man" *chefs kiss*
Everything in this video is a perfect encapsulation of the enherent appeal of pro wrestling. The quote "Punches and kicks can exist as a dance, a song, a palette, a ritual, an exclamation point, a period." Gives words to an emotion and impulse ive felt for a long time without you even intending to (I think.)
Anyways, jacob geller is cool, pro wrestling is cool, and this video is very good.
Never understood the appeal of fighting matches, be it real or not. It feels so boring, so slow. The rules kinda push it to a lvl where a newbie (me) thinks:' why aren't they doing something, just giving out one punch and wait "
@@Exel3nceI don't personally get it either, but I'd still recommend Super Eyepatch Wolf's various vids on the subject. He does a good job explaining what a WWE fan sees in that stuff, even if you ultimately don't get it.
as a fellow newbie, I try to appreciate wrestling less as a sports event but more of a theatre stage play with stunt men performing about a fictional wrestling match
@@Exel3ncesounds like you would prefer MMA fights, as they focused on peak efficiency
@@Exel3nce It's theatre where you get to see the characters age as the performers age. If Super Eyepatch Wolf's video on The Undertaker doesn't make you "get" it then it's probably not for you.
"this isn't about existentialism, its about punching things"
Anyone whos ever had an existential crisis before will know that everything from then on will be about existentialism, lol.
What a wonderful way to end the day with Jacob's essay!
The stimulants in MGS4's final brawl make a lot more sense in hindsight when you consider what you just said: They're nanomachines inhibitors.
As you're going through each phase, you're not just going through the legacy of the franchise up to that point, you are undoing Liquid's personality in Ocelot, that's why he goes from Liquid, to Liquid Ocelot, to finally just Ocelot, you're beating Liquid's personality off him as the nanomachines that held that personality together are slowly shutting down for good with the system gone.
So the signficance of that fight is not the stakes, the vendettas, the personal grudges, Ocelot just wants one last fight to end this story.
Rest in Peace, the greatest villain.
Yeah, this is a really important aspect of the fight. It's not really Liquid's fight at all, it's Ocelot's. That's why Ocelot kisses Snake, because he loved Big Boss.
Love the repeated use of the phrase “I want to tell you about my favorite fight scene”. Such a great nod to Kaufman’s I’m thinking of ending the things! And a really fun way of adding another layer/tie-in to existentialism
Part video essay, part slam poetry, all Jacob Geller. Great work.
I'm glad that one of my favorite video essay peeps is finally talking about Ip Man, my dad was obsessed and I've watched this scene several times throughout my life
I love the fact that your videos always get existential, or at least talk about the poetry of life, no matter what you might say at the start. It's such a beautiful aspect of the way you think and the way you craft these essays. Additionally, I love the style you have, where it's clear you're so passionate and in love with so much, that you're talking over yourself to share even more of what you love, with the way you're like "let me interrupt you to talk about a fight scene i love, and then I'm gonna interrupt *that* fight scene with another one I love." It's such a beautiful part of these essays, and why you're one of my favorite essayists.
Sifu is still somehow underrated imo. One of my favorite games I’ve played in the 35 years I’ve been playing games. I absolutely agree about letting them come to you being a big part of mastery of that game. Parrying and throwing enemies around in Sifu is very satisfying and absolutely necessary for high level play/the harder challenges.
It's great! I think the progression system isn't great and could be a road lock for a lot of people tho.
It just makes me happy to see people talking about it again. Seems like it sparked some tired difficulty option discussions and then mostly died out
Really wish more people played and talked about it
God, how Ocelot and Snake aren't a huge fandom-consuming entire-videogame-medium-spanning ship is beyond me.
I suppose that is because Otacon and Solid Snake are more obvious a pair on Solid Snake’s end, and Ocelot and Naked Snake/Big Boss are more obvious a pair on Ocelot’s end?
was going to look up the amount of archive of our own fics they have to happily tell you that they have x amount of fics but no, it's absolutely meager compared to other games that have enemies who are each other's life purpose. Hell, I don't know shit about Metal Gear but I almost wanted to go write one myself
because ocelot is in love with big boss and not solid snake, their final fight was just him gaining lucidity minutes before his death and using solid to say goodbye to big boss, that's one of the reasons the name on the health bar says "naked snake" besides the obvious callback, the final portion of the fight is from ocelot's POV as solid beat liquid out of him
I first watched the Ip Man series in 2020. Since then, I’ve made a habit of rewatching all four of them once a year. Ip Man fighting the 10 black belts has not lost an ounce of its impact for the exact reasons here. Thank you for putting into words something I have never been able to articulate as eloquently or succinctly!
old snake versus ocelot is maybe the most legendary fight in all of gaming and i’m glad this video talks about it
I recently was mind blown by the airport fight scene in Tenet. As it happened I was in awe with my mouth agape and my eyes glued to the screen. It was just so unbelievably executed it was hard to believe the thing I was watching was even possible to film in the first place. Ultra creative and amazing.
This fight in Ip Man is always the example I use for story telling through a fight scene. This is the first time we see him try to hurt people because all the shit he's going through finally gets to him. Powerful.
My favourite fight scene was my step-dad versus my mom. You know a fight scene is good when it lives on in your head years later.
"Liquid says a bunch of stuff." For me that perfectly somes up the whole game. 😅 In all seriousness, it really is an amazing sequence.
I have studied at about 14 different martial arts schools (and that is the wrong way to train because you just get a bunch of beginner level technique). I am a martial arts nerd. And if you haven't watched 'True Legend' you should do so. It contains one of the best fight scenes in cinematic history, and I'm not going to tell you which one it is because you'll know. Lastly, this was an excellent video. Thank you.
Is it a good movie all around though? Should I watch it or is it just mandatory viewing for martial arts nerds?
@@Zaff2946It is an epic spectacle of a movie.
@@titaniumteddybear I'll give it a watch then, have a wonderful day
I never thought I'd get emotional over someone describing a fight scene, yet here we are. Fantastic work.
Don't worry jacob, idk about others, but I watch you because your ramblings are coherent, there is nothing more beautiful than a person showing their passion as a nicely written story
I literally just broke 4 minutes in your video, and I can already conclude that I have not heard such good praise for this fight scene other than from myself. There is SO much fueling that scene and it makes me cry, especially after he goes back to his wife and tells her how useless he feels. He can take down any man, but he can't end the occupation, he can't change the world, because he is only one man. Unstoppable, but cannot make the change he wishes to see. The quintessential Super Man story. GOD it is so good.
I lost the inadvertent “try not to sing” challenge you slipped in there.
“I GIVE MY ALL NOT FOR HONOR, BUT FOR YOUUUUU!!!!”
"Violence isn't the answer. It isn't a question. It isn't a tool. It's a language"
Erm actually language can be classified as a tool
it's truly a happy friday when Jacob speaks on my favorite kung fu game of recent memory AND my favorite kung fu movie at the same time!
Best fight scene in cinema history was Rowdy Roddy Piper vs Keith David in They Live. I may not be willing to die on this hill, but I will have an extended 10 minute fist fight on it.
Man, I'm goddamn tearing up as you explained the fight between snake and ocelot. That fight just knows how to hit every single one of my nostalgia buttons
"why dont they all just rush in at once"
Two reasons.
One: thats actually *really* hard to do in a fight effectively in any way.
Two: the fear. They're hesitating *because* they're scared.
Hell yea, Yayan Ruhian
Appreciate the Madworld closing music!
When you were talking about Snake and Liquid’s battle in Metal Gear Solid 4, I was heavily reminded of Tekken 7’s final battle. For as underwhelming as that game’s story mode is, it knows how to use legacy to its advantage in the final standoff between Kazuya and Heihachi. And without spoiling anything, Tekken 8 takes this idea of using legacy to enhance the storytelling of a fight, and pushes it to a new extreme.
I just LOVE how you can capture a feeling that I knew about but didn't really know and explain it as good as that
Hi Jacob, I know it probably doesn't count (because its animation) but the fight scenes from "blue eyed samurai" feel heavy and painful, in the best way! Just had to comment about it, it's really good
The fact that you used Dead Space 2 Music just to make clear the darker mood the movie has taken in this particular fight, was a great touch.
I love the occasional "Jacob mostly just wants to talk about something he loves" video
I feel like there's a video/discussion like this for every "kind of scene" - particularly car chases, there's just so many different ways to handle it after all the vocabulary that's been built up
I love that your recent videos have been getting more and more personal with time. It is almost as if you are elucidating your essay on the future of writing about video games by example and I'm here for it!
this is really, good, reminds me of something actually, *I wanna tell you about my favorite fight scene-*
Your Sekiro video got me back into playing guitar, and now this one has me wanting to get back into martial arts. Dammit, why do I not have more time to pursue my Geller-inspired hobbies?
Become unemployed. Live off your love of his videos. No food, no rent, no medicine. Just mario galaxy man telling you to play sekrio
I was sending this video to my friends at the 15-minute mark saying "You'll love this, I'm halfway through and it's already one of my favourite Jacob Geller videos", and THEN you whipped out the MGS4 finale... Jacob, why are you so goddamned good at making videos?
Another disturbingly hypnotic and beautiful video about something that has no business being so hypnotic and beautiful.
Thank you for your work.
The thing that keeps me going most in this world is how often Jacob Geller loves something i love, proving I have great taste
I'm practically live on UA-cam and I am never so excited as when I see you post something new. Keep up all this incredible work. You're raising the bar!
This mad lad went with madworld music for the end card and i love him for it.
I absolutely love the first Ip Man movie. My favorites personally is the gauntlet of fights the farmer martial artists takes in the beginning, and the intense fight to end the first act.
So glad to see Yayan Ruhian get some love here cause he's just so good in everything he does. That scene in the raid where he fights both brothers solo is so damn good.
SIFU was my favorite game of 2022 and you definitely nailed why. It gives you a sense of clarity to progression that I don't think games like Dark Souls have ever accomplished. With Dark Souls you just get it right once...and that's it. You won.
For SIFU you are asked to power through failure and get it right...EVERY TIME. Through that excercise I am allowed to achieve a state of flow I never got in Dark Souls formula of 1 death restart...learn the traps and then eventually you can get through it 1 time and move on...the game makes the world a chore, something to get out of the way without skill or practice...just memorize the tricks and get through. With SIFU you are given the decency of progression and a release from repetition with the promise that eventually you will be the master of the space if you continue to push forward and I think, as a metaphor it is BEAUTIFUL for any struggle with gaining a skill. You don't fail and restart, you fail, suffer the consequences and keep moving forward until when you do it again in the future it becomes effortless, it becomes fun, and your mastery of the space becomes a rythmic expression of joy.
I cannot recommend the game enough and I think mainstream games really need to look at SIFU as a model for "difficult games". Imagine Dark souls but you don't just cheese your way to a Malenia win...you learn her fully and no luck will get you through...you just have to know it and execute it.
While I don't think I can pick up SIFU again because of its dependence on habitual perfection...god, it was such a masterpiece of game design and inovation and I was just so enthralled with its presentation and execution.
The Hallway Fight in Oldboy is still my favorite fighting scene in any film
Overrated, imvho
Since you can't comment on Nebula, i came back over here to say this is probably my favourite video of yours now. I'm gonna rewatch it so many times
I never clicked so fast when I saw the thumbnail… loved the movie!!
Also, as an Indonesian I’m so glad you’re a Yayan Ruhian stan, he’s crazy and I absolutely enjoy that!
just got the poison resistance bit and i had to get up and walk around for a bit i'm dying
5% is a lot. Game changer
Martial arts actors are very much real martial artists, and pretty good ones too. My Karate teacher, Rodney Batiste, was world champion in Karate and the US middleweight champion. For a time, he studied under Jhoon Rhee alongside Bruce Lee, and Bruce Lee was very much a real and talented martial artist on a similar level as him, a literal world champion, not just an actor.
Always embarrassing to me when people say that because Bruce Lee was an actor, that meant he was a fraud martial artist. He could beat the pulp out of a person *and* be a charming devil for the cameras.
Jacob dropping the most heartwarming and gut wrenching video essay possible just some friday in february like it's nothing
Ip Man and Hardcore Henry, nice
I've been involved in stage combat since I was a kid, I started training when I was around 7. This video perfectly explains what I love about fight choreography, especially now that I've been on the choreographing end of things. It is a performance, it's so similar to dance. It's supposed to be fun and over the top, every punch carries the emotional weight of the character. The way you describe the MGS4 fight perfectly encapsulates this. Good video 10/10 :)
this is an excellent reminder at how good you are at conveying emotion and enthusiasm through your videos, Jacob. this and your Ape Out video stand out to me as essays that make me feel incredibly excited about something that i'm not sure anyone else could make me feel invested in!!
Oldboy hallway fight, the best fight scene ever filmed
I remember watching IP Man as a teen and I love it to this day.
The mention of how the enemies seem to slow down is something I love about gaming. I played a lot of the Arkham series (not as intense, I know) and saw the same thing. It's so empowering.
I really liked the way you put true process of getting better at Sifu, with my own experience with muay thai for 3 years now i definitely was able to relate to how at a certain point things just sorta move in slow motion in a match. More than just that though I really appreciated the way that you contextualized fighting and combat as an action that is part of human expression; some people sing, some dance, others fight to convey what words cannot. Absolutely my new favorite video of yours, thank you so much :)
You know those days where you watch video after video on UA-cam and NONE of them capture your imagination, and you have the thought “maybe I’ve watched ALL of the good videos. I reached the end of UA-cam.
That was my day today until I watched this. Earned you an instant follow. I would say you could have added the BEST MCU fight scene. The highway scene between Cap, Bucky, Falcon, and Widow…
Also glad someone finally gave praise to Riyadi. He’s got that rare quality where a real life badass simply radiates it out into the world and the camera definitely picks that up. Can’t imagine either Raid films without him.
This video was so raw man, of all the video essays ive seen which advertise nebula id say this is the one thats made me sub for real.
Every Frame a Painting's video on Jackie Chan is legit. I love that video. I've seen it at least 2 dozen times. It just never gets old for me.
Sicilia: As a heads up, the reason they dont all rush him at once is because two objects cannot occupy the same space. It is often mentioned in amongst a lot of fight analysts and Masters of their own craft (on youtube, so take salt with that credibility) say that it's hard to formulate a plan to engage someone in a fight when you have to rely on even just one other person youre trying to avoid striking while also striking your target. And sure, you can make an argument that "well these practitioners know each other. They should be familiar with each other's styles," But these are people doing this practice for fun (under their General's orders). Think of esports like mobas or shooters. There are compilations of people mistiming things that they have practiced for years, with their team mates. Someone might argue, "Well video games are easier," And, they aren't. But even if they were, then would it not be easier to correctly time stuff too?
Anyways. This turned out to be a long winded paragraph. tl;dr, rushing someone who's experienced is often harder to execute than what most critics would think.
It's so wonderful to watch an essay on someone who appreciates combat as more than just dumb violence or action, but for the artistry and message and communication
Let's goooo. Just watched like 4 Jacob Geller videos again the other day wishing there were more. Never been this early to a post before
I'm glad to be alive because holy shit I never imagined I'd get to see Jacob Geller talk about freakin' IP MAN
Can I just say the visceral action in the Twilight series is both surprising and very fitting
Agreed. I also find the sound design of the fight scenes kind of disturbing, like accentuating the inhumanity of the characters.
It feels crazy to use a Mad World song for the credits after not having talked about Mad World, but I will just say "I see you, Jacob."
Holy shit Jacob Geller kung fu theater analysis
as an indo who loves fighting scenes too, really appreciate you shouting out ruhian, I really want to see him in more movies in the future lol
also you should pronounce cecep names like the c in change and not like an s sound
Honestly shocked that the ending fist fight scene with the anti spiral from Gurren Laggan didn’t make it in this video. The raw expression of passion and survival shown echoes a lot of the topics and themes in this video.
Excellent video as ALWAYS Jacob! Insane how high quality your videos have become!
You've got me ready to gush about Gurren Lagann, but just like Ip Man merely talking about the fight scenes out of context doesn't do them justice.
But man, those final scenes! The scale, the momentum, it's all poetry and it's all beautiful.
I wish I could get behind gurran but it somewhat bored me
I really think Imaishi saw through the heart of the super robot, combined with his fearless in-your-face corniness I don't think another drill like that will appear again.
Bro said "I'm not gonna get existential" and really thought we would believe it. Great video as always
I loved your Sekiro and MGR:R videos (and your other videos) so I’m excited to hear more about fights!!! :D
Ip Man is one of my favorite movies of all time, used to watch the first one over and over again as a kid.
Gonna watch later, just checking in for my 2 cents nobody asked about:
While i'm not entirely sure if these are my FAVORITES, but two fight scenes that always come to mind for me are:
- The organ room hallway fight in Repo Men (2010)
It's arguably a rip-off from Oldboy's famous hallway fight and has some odd editing in it, but it's just fun as it's very well set to UNKLE's "Burn My Shadow" and kind of does a little bit of everything in about 3 minutes, from vicious brutality to Sam Raimi esque POV shots of a hacksaw to overstylish posing to a bit of ridiculous comedy. Jude Law sells it joyfully
ua-cam.com/video/txobClyCum0/v-deo.html
- MacBeth vs. Young Siward in The Tragedy Of MacBeth (2021)
You don't go into MacBeth to see cool action scenes, and maybe it's part of the reason why i find it so memorable. It's extremely theatric in a literal sense, and with MacBeth at this point still being full in "immortality mode", Denzel Washington brings insane swagger and maximum disrespect into the fight choreography. It's such a great reflection of the story and beautifully shot and Denzel bitch-slaps a dude in a sword fight!
ua-cam.com/video/n2hXvFYBuB4/v-deo.html
THEY LIVE HANDS DOWN
Mine are the final fights of Drunken Master 2 (in the burning coal/alcohol factory) and Armour of God 2 (in the nazi bunker and the wind tunnel).
And more recently the kitchen knife fight at the end of The Raid 2.
This video helped me realize why I love action movies and musicals. Both of them use a new form- be it singing or fighting- to express what words alone cannot.
as a massive yakuza fan, I gotta give it to either the final fight in yakuza 5 or yakuza 2. both have such emotional weight behind them and feel like they represent the yakuza ideals of proper manhood and strength that continue to clash throughout the series
The qtes for the final boss in 5 was amazing it was so well choreographed.
Jacob proves once again he is the goat of video essays right now. Dude makes everything profound, gut-punching, and funny at the same time.
If this turns into some super deep existential thing, I might have to come back later because I don't have the mental health/fortitude for a Jacob GellerTM video right now lol
17:30 I watched all the Wick movies for the first time recently and boy do I feel called out because I thought that was an AMAZING way to shoot that scene. I never played Hotline Miami, but I have played Heat Signature, and the top-down style was immediately recognizable in what it was trying to communicate. A final flourish for the series direction stating "Yes, we understood the assignment."