Breaking Down the Aftermath of the Sweet Sixteen Matchups
Now that voting has closed on all the Sweet Sixteen–round matchups, we will be moving forward to the Elite Eight. So, how did the voting go? Which movies won, and which didn’t make the cut? Read on to find out!
#1 Enter the Dragon vs. #16 Game of Death
Our first matchup, based on the seeding that our readers voted on, saw Enter the Dragon take on Game of Death. You can read the matchup article here. If you’ll remember, we ended up needing a runoff vote for the 15th and 16th seeds, as we had a three-way tie for the last two spots. Game of Death ended up with the final spot over Above the Law. We ended up having the most lopsided vote with this one, as Enter the Dragon was an almost unanimous choice from our readers and will move on to the next round.
Winner: #1 Enter the Dragon
#8 Drunken Master vs. #9 John Wick
The next matchup saw a competition between the two closest seeds, with Jackie Chan’s 1978 movie Drunken Master taking on Keanu Reeves’s John Wick. You can read here for more info on this unique matchup. While I don’t know how many people would ever talk about these two movies in relation to each other, it did present us with a very close contest. The readers spoke with their votes and gave Keanu Reeves’s movie the nod to move forward!
Winner: #9 John Wick
#5 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon vs. #12 Seven Samurai
This matchup gave us a showdown between two movies that are each martial arts classics in their own right, and both were made by visionary directors. On one hand, Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a global box office phenomenon. On the other hand, Akira Kurosawa’s classic Seven Samurai has influenced countless movies and filmmakers since its release in 1954. You can read more about that here. I thought this matchup would be a close one, but I was wrong. Seven Samurai won by a margin of almost 4:1.
Winner: #12 Seven Samurai
#4 Bloodsport vs. #13 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
This matchup was a showdown between two movies that couldn’t be any more different. One movie is all about family friendliness, comical villains, and consuming large quantities of pizza. The other movie is all about to-the-death fighting tournaments, rippled muscles, and overly serious acting. Watching one followed by the other would be a very rough gear change indeed! You can read more about this odd matchup here. I really didn’t know how the voting would go with this one, but the underdog, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, won the day by a margin of nearly 2:1.
Winner: #13 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
#3 Ip Man vs. #14 The Raid: Redemption
I was very interested to see how this matchup went. Personally speaking, I am a big fan of both movies. I have really enjoyed Donnie Yen’s portrayal of the famed Grandmaster in Ip Man, in addition to the story and cinematography of the movie. I also absolutely love the amazing choreography and brutality of Iko Uwais’s The Raid: Redemption. Read more about this matchup here. It was a tough call for me for sure. The voters must have felt the same way, as only one vote separated the winner from the loser. Ip Man got that vote and moves on to the next round.
Winner: #3 Ip Man
#6 Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior vs. #11 Ip Man 2
This matchup saw two powerhouse martial artists face off with their respective movies. Ong-Bak introduced Tony Jaa and Muay Thai to the broader world in grand fashion, with great action and choreography. Ip Man 2 continued the story of the late Grandmaster, with Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung delivering wonderful performances. You can read more about the matchup here. I wasn’t sure how the voting would go on this one, but the readers gave Ip Man 2 the nod by a margin of almost 2:1.
Winner: #11 Ip Man 2
#7 Jet Li’s Fearless vs. #10 Kickboxer
This matchup gave us a showdown between a grand Chinese Wuxia epic film versus a pure popcorn, guilty-pleasure movie. Fearless is a grand and sweeping epic with amazing production values and great acting. Kickboxer is the very definition of a typical martial arts film, with a revenge plot, more rippled muscles, and an awkward dance scene. This one was very hard to predict how it would pan out. However, the readers spoke loud and clear with a 5:1 voting edge for Fearless, sending it on to the next round.
Winner: #7 Fearless
#2 The Karate Kid (1984) vs. #15 Rumble in the Bronx
This was another interesting matchup with a clear-cut #2 in The Karate Kid going up against a movie that needed a runoff vote to determine whether it would make it into one of the last two slots. The Karate Kid is a generational classic that has possibly represented the non-physical martial arts lessons and benefits better than almost any other martial arts movie in history. Rumble in the Bronx is one of the best examples of Jackie Chan at the peak of his physical capabilities. However, the voting on this one sent The Karate Kid on to the next round, but with a margin that was thinner than one would have expected.
Winner: #2 The Karate Kid (1984)
What did you think of the way these matchups went? Did you think a different movie deserved to move forward? Let me know in the comments section below!
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