Oh, Hollywood. You're so...odd. In a never-ending quest for realism, the movie industry has become a grittier, darker, ravenously fact-checked landscape. And yet, despite all the insane detail many filmmakers put into each and every scene--some going so far as to nitpick things that no one in the audience is ever going to notice--there seems to be a huge gap between Peter Jackson's ideas of authenticity and that of Michael Bay's. It often feels like action movies put forth only the minimum amount of effort into looking realistic, focusing on aesthetics rather than basic logistics. That's never more evident than in action movie fight scenes. There are some notable exceptions--like Fight Club and a few scenes from the Bourne trilogy--but for the most part, Hollywood believes that fighting is a complex mixture of ballet and Tae Kwon Do. In actuality, however, it's a combination of wild flailing, super amateur wrestling, and kicks to the junk. This creates a dangerous expectation for members of the viewing audience who've never participated in a real fight before. So heed this warning: You are not Neo. And if you engage in a real fight, no aspect of it will resemble The Matrix.
