15 Most Anti-Climactic Movie Showdowns

11. Indiana Jones Vs. The Swordsman - Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Guardians Of The Galaxy Star Lord Ronan Dance
Paramount Pictures

The Showdown: As Indy (Harrison Ford) searches for a kidnapped Marion (Karen Allen) in Cairo, he's confronted by a sword-wielding Arab. Unfortunately, Indy forgot to pack his own blade...

The Anti-Climax: Hilariously, Indy responds to the swordsman's fancy swashbuckling by simply pulling out his gun and shooting the poor sap dead in two seconds flat.

It's one of the most memorable moments from the Indy franchise and proves how effective the anti-climax can be when played for laughs. It also helps that Indy's combatant was a no-name character, so nobody was straight-up gutted that they didn't get to see a "proper" fight scene against some iconic villain, even if they still expected more than this.

Funnily enough, the only reason the fight was so truncated is because Ford, like most of the crew, fell ill with dysentery during filming, and required frequent trips to the toilet, so suggested a far less elaborate fight than originally planned. It worked wonders, of course.

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.