Martial arts films have showcased a vast collection of different fighting disciplines from different cultures and corners of the Earth, and one that has received a great deal more time in the spotlight in the 21st century is the art of Silat.
One of the indigenous martial arts of Southeast Asia, Silat hails from Indonesia and Malaysia, where it is respectively known as Pencak Silat and Milat Melayu in the two territories.
There are literally hundreds of variants of Silat that are practiced around the world, with each utilizing an exotic blend of striking, kicking, grappling, and weapons techniques. KFK even spotlighted Silat in our first Martial Art of the Month column, which provides an overview of the art’s history and techniques.
In a cinematic context, Silat has absolutely exploded in the last decade, having been featured prominently in such modern classic martial arts films as “Merantau”, “The Raid” movies, and “The Night Comes For Us”, among many others.
Silat’s inclusion in so many contemporary martial arts films has also led to the creation of some of the best modern martial arts movie fight scenes, and that means, of course, that it’s time for another KFK countdown list, dear readers, so take your fighting stance make sure to have a trusty kerambit by your side – as here, in descending order, are the Top 10 Silat Martial Arts Movie Fight Scenes!
10. The Operator’s Final Knife Fight – The Night Comes For Us
A supporting character who can steal an action movie is always deserving of the highest of praise, and Julie Estelle’s Operator in “The Night Comes For Us” more than accomplishes that lofty mission.
The third act of “The Night Comes For Us” is packed with Silat action galore, with the Operator’s knife battle with two adversaries standing out as one of the biggest highlights of the movie.
The Operator’s pain tolerance is also a sight to behold, as seen when she casually snaps off her partially severed finger without the slightest hint of discomfort on her face before leaping back into the blade-slashing action of the movie’s third act.
The Silat fight scenes are some of the best around when it comes to knife fighting, and by the end of “The Night Comes For Us”, you’ll be ready for tons more with The Operator in Timo Tjahjanto’s long-planned spin-off.
9. Ishmael vs. Lee – Headshot
The Mo Brothers (Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel) took Iko Uwais into one of most emotional and harrowing action movies in “Headshot”, with Iko portraying an amnesiac young man known as Ishmael who comes to realize he was once part of a ring of assassins and must fight for his freedom.
Ishmael’s final battle with Lee (Sunny Pang) is a bloody, harsh fight for his identity and reclaiming his own life, and the complex Silat fight choreography pulls no punches (especially one in particular that lands with the power of ten).
The finale of “Headshot” also carries an emotional power and potency seldom seen in final fights due to Ishmael not only learning his real name of Abdi, but fighting to shed the name he was given by his sick and twisted “father” Lee.
“Headshot” has Silat action to spare, and the movie’s final fight hits harder on every level because of what he’s fighting for and how hard he has to fight for it.
8. Boudiccu vs. Five Enemies – Warrioress
Martial arts fans often relish how budding filmmakers and emerging performers can show their ability to do a lot with a little, and “Warrioress” exemplifies that in spades in its first fight sequence of his heroine Boudiccu (Cecily Fay) rescuing a young woman from five pursuers.
Due to its low budget, “Warrioress” has to leave a lot to the imagination in its post-apocalyptic setting, and it partially accomplishes that with outstanding fight scenes with its cast of martial artists, including Cecily Fay’s charismatic leading lady turn as Boudiccu.
Not only does “Warrioress” start its story off strong with an excellent first fight scene, but really lets Cecily show what she can do as a Silat practitioner in the rare Western martial arts film to showcase Silat so centrally.
“Warrioress” can be found on VOD platforms, and martial arts fans should definitely give it a look to see Silat action orchestrated so well with such minimal resources.
7. The Temple Showdown – Beyond Skyline
Martial arts from every corner of the Earth have been utilized in countless different genres and scenarios, but Indonesia’s Pencak Silat might bear the distinction of being the first ever to be put to use to repel an alien invasion in Liam O’Donnell’s “Beyond Skyline”.
The final temple showdown in “Beyond Skyline” has made it onto numerous KFK Top 10 lists, and it most certainly deserves a place of honor on the best Silat fight scenes list for the sheer gimmick of humans fighting aliens with martial arts, with Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian leading the charge.
That splendidly novel concept thankfully hasn’t been a one-and-done either, with Yayan returning in 2020’s “Skylines” and Iko teaming up with Scott Adkins for “Skyline: Radial”.
With the success of the “Skyline” franchise, it’s obvious that if you’re making an alien invasion movie, a plethora of Silat fight scenes should never be out of contention.
6. The Final Fight – Wira
A good warehouse showdown has been the stock and trade finale of action movies since the dawn of time, and 2020’s “Wira” makes very good use of that trope indeed in its final battle of Hassan (Hairul Azreen) and his sister Zain (Fify Azmi) against Vee (Ismi Melinda) and Ifrit (Yayan Ruhian).
Director Adrian Teh brings a touch of Hong Kong-style flair to the movie’s final Silat smackdown, which adds a combination of fluidity and an added wince factor to the final battle of “Wira”.
At this point, it’s practically a rite of passage for any Silat movie protagonist to fight Yayan Ruhian, and he brings all of his Mad Dog energy to the final two-on-two showdown.
“Wira” brought some welcome Silat action to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic with its Western release on Netflix, and it’s still as much of a Silat blast to pull up now.
5. John Wick vs. Two Shinobi Enemies – John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
The Baba Yaga’s third big-screen tale throws enemies his way from every direction right from the start, and two of the standout antagonists of “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” just happen to be veterans of “The Raid” movies, namely Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman.
Portraying a nameless pair of students of the movie’s Shinobi villain Zero (Mark Dacascos), Yayan and Cecep bring their Silat skills and a pair of kerambit blades to take down John Wick in one of the move’s highlight fight scenes, the duo cheerfully proclaiming their fandom and admiration of John Wick even as they are out to destroy him.
With Yayan and Cecep having helped make “The Raid” movies modern action classics as each movie’s respective final boss, the “John Wick” franchise can thankfully include them in its roster of its best fight scenes.
4. Yuda vs. Luc and Ratger – Merantau
Gareth Evans 2009 movie “Merantau” effectively launched Silat on the world stage of martial arts films, with Iko Uwais making an outstanding movie debut as the film’s naïve but pure-hearted hero Yuda, who battles a duo of sinister human traffickers in the movie’s finale.
“Merantau” treats Silat with the same reverence as “Ong Bak” did for Muay Thai, with Yuda’s exceptional Silat skills pit against two villains whose own fighting prowess (as seen in Lohan Buson’s stellar Wushu kicking skills) is a great deal to overcome.
“Merantau” also ends on a powerful note of victory and self-sacrifice, with its emotional impact elevating the movie’s final showdown to one of the best Silat fight scenes of all time.
3. Ito vs. Arian – The Night Comes for Us
Timo Tjahjanto’s “The Night Comes For Us” went through a quite the development hell phase to finally be realized, and it thankfully emerged on the other side of that as one of the best Indonesian martial arts films yet, and with a final showdown that made the wait well worth it.
Elevating “The Night Comes For Us” even more is Iko Uwais in his first villain role as the ambitious but ruthless Arian, who battles his former Six Seas associate Ito (Joe Taslim) in a Silat showdown that might just be the bloodiest martial arts movie fight scene ever put to film.
Like a modernized take on the Sonny Chiba “Street Fighter” movies, “The Night Comes For Us” goes over-the-top in its gore and most certainly is not for the squeamish, but the Silat action of Ito and Arian’s final showdown (with plenty of Judo thrown in, thanks to Joe Taslim’s competitive Judo background) is a marvel of two martial arts titans bringing everything they’ve got.
Iko might not be quite as vicious a villain as Yayan Ruhian’s Mad Dog, but his heel turn in “The Night Comes For Us” makes the film and its finale alike a true Silat gem.
2. Rama and Andi vs. Mad Dog – The Raid: Redemption
“The Raid: Redemption” is the kind of martial arts flick that comes along every few years and changes the game completely, and that endeavor is never accomplished without a top-notch final fight.
“The Raid”, of course, has that in spades in Rama and Andi’s two-on-one final duel with Mad Dog. The pacing of the fight alone makes it an all-time classic, Rama and Andi waging a virtually non-stop attack on Mad Dog without slowing him down or wearing him out in the slightest.
“The Raid” has often been described as a survival horror movie, and it can truly be said that the movie’s final showdown is a fight for survival – how could it not be against an enemy who can take a fluorescent lightbulb in the neck and keep on fighting? – and it’s a Silat movie fight that will simply never lose its power.
…And in at number one is…
The Kitchen Showdown – The Raid 2
Gareth Evans had quite a challenge on his hands with “The Raid 2” – not only in following up one of the best action movies of all time, but in delivering a final fight that could top its predecessor’s.
The final kitchen battle of Iko Uwais’ Rama and Cecep Arif Rahman’s unnamed assassin does exactly that in one of the best martial arts movie fights of all time PERIOD.
What makes the kitchen fight of “The Raid 2” work so well is not just its exceptional fight choreography, but also its structure of three distinctive sections, the introduction of two kerambit blades in the second, and the sheer level of determination and desperation that builds and builds as the fight progresses.
Cecep’s assassin starts off the fight with a cocky attitude against Rama, only for our hero to gain the upper-hand and the villain to resort to his bladed surprise.
By the final section of the fight, the score ramps up alongside the fight itself as Rama and the assassin outmaneuver and slash each other, two warriors of equal skill in a fight that can truly go either way.
The kitchen fight of “The Raid 2” already holds the honor of being the best martial arts movie knife fight, but in its overall execution of pure Silat action, it can also lay claim to being the greatest Silat martial arts movie fight scene of all time!
