It’s impossible to have an issue on fighting without a sidebar on the best fight sequences on film. If you didn’t know that, you probably loved the movie “Road House,” which does not, in fact, have one of the greatest fight sequences in film history. Although “High Fidelity” certainly has one of the funniest involving Tim Robbins getting hit in the face with a toaster.

I was supposed to do Top 5 list, but that ain’t gonna cut it. For starters, it won’t generate nearly enough angry e-mails over Jean-Claude van Damme as Guile vs. Raul Julia as M. Bison in “Street Fighter: The Movie” not making the list because it got squeezed out to #6. Plus, it’s too tough to choose between Heath and Jake’s ‘wrestling match’ in “Brokeback Mountain” and Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s slapfest in Baseketball.

True to Nick Hornsby and John Cusack, the list is in no particular order—ignore the numbers if it helps ease the pain.

Fight Club

Edward Norton vs. Himself

“Which time,” you ask? Does it matter? My favorite is not at the end of the movie when he throws himself through a parking attendant’s kiosk, but aping “Cool Hand Luke” in his boss’s office, pleading “please don’t hit me again,” is just as fantastic.

Cool Hand Luke

Paul Newman vs. George Kennedy

There are a couple of different versions of this boxing match where Luke gets pummeled over and over again, refusing to stay down depending on which cut of the movie it is; that it’s the guard with the cane that Luke begs to stop hitting him is beside the point—that he gets up again and again and refuses to stay down is why this scene rocks.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Harrison Ford vs. The Guy With the Scimitar

It’s not much of a fight, but it’s right in line with Semiuseful’s How To Win a Sword Fight. Step One: bring a gun.

Rocky

Sylvester Stallone vs. Billy Dee Williams

The first four “Rocky” movies have great fight scenes; I’d argue that the two Balboa vs. Creed fights are the best of the bunch. Picking between the two of them is a matter of personal preference.

Kill Bill, vol. 1

Uma Thurman vs. the Crazy 88

I’m not entirely sure how to explain this one other than gorgeous woman + sword + crazy ninja special effects + 87 dead henchmen = making the Top 10 list of fight sequences.

Die Hard

Bruce Willis vs. The One Tough Guy Who Outmatches Him

I’m partial to the big blonde dude in “Die Hard” who meets his (apparent) fate at the end of a chain-pulley system after tossing John left and right into railings and walls, but the one-liner-filled brawler-versus-martial-artist duel between Willis and Maggie Q in “Life Free or Die Hard” does feature two soft spots for me: a sexy ninja and said sexy ninja being thrown into shelving by her hair. Integral to most great fight scenes, Det. McClane (Willis) gets pummeled to goo, but wins through grit and creative use of environmental hazards.

The Matrix

Carrie Anne Moss vs. A Bunch of Cops

I tried not to let one of these movies make it into the list. I really did. Unfortunately, this scene was choreographed and filmed unlike anything up to this point. The rotate-the-camera-around-frozen-action scene where Trinity (Moss) snap-kicks a cop in the face was such a defining move that it’s been parodied too many times to list.

The Princess Bride

Mandy Patinkin vs. Christopher Guest

I love this movie, so I’m biased. I was even struggling whether the Cary Elwes/Patinkin fight was the better of the two, but I’ve got a thing for grit in fight scenes. Inigo (Patinkin) gets taken apart by Count Rugen (Guest) before ritualistically chanting, “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die,” defeating the Count by inflicting the same wounds and, when offered anything to spare the Count, responds “I want my father back, you son of a bitch!” as he delivers the coup de grace. Like I said, grit.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Ewan McGregor vs. Hayden Christensen

I had to pick one fight scene from the “Star Wars” films. I could have picked Luke vs. Vader (I or II), Yoda vs. Dooku, Yoda vs. the Emperor, Han shooting first at Greedo (!), Han vs. Boba Fett. I picked this one for three reasons: 1) I hate Hayden Christensen as Anakin and was glad to see him dismembered and burned, 2) fighting over a lava flow is cool no matter what film it’s in, and 3) no matter how noble, Obi-Wan being struck down by Vader in “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” somehow never sat right with me.

Star Trek III: Search for Spock

William Shatner vs. Christopher Lloyd

Watching Kirk duke it out with a Klingon on a rapidly collapsing planet is a thing of beauty. Having the fight end with a Federation Issue Size 10 boot-to-the-face resulting in a deadly fall into lava takes the cake.

I’m done, and I’m second guessing myself on half of the entries; I could have thrown in another 15. No Ripley vs. the Alien Queen? No “….of the Dead” entries? No “From Russia with Love”? No John Wayne? Nothing just because it’s clever? Damn. I suppose my e-mail address is posted so you all can remind me of my failings.

On a final note, I am fully aware of the absence of any chop-socky, Drunken-Dragon-in-China entries. I don’t particularly like martial arts movies, and I hate subtitles. Since it’s my Top 10 List, I got to pick (and have to live with) the entries. If you haven’t seen these movies, I’d recommend them; that they were good-to-excellent in their own rights had a lot to do with them making the list.