Wesley Snipes has had a long and storied career in Hollywood, playing in a variety of dramatic and comedic genres as everything from a baseball star to a drag queen. He's best known for his martial arts prowess in a string of action flicks that defined his career from the mid-90s to the late 2000s. After suffering legal troubles and a brief stint in jail for tax evasion, his career took a nosedive, but his appearances in The Expendables 3 and the soon to be released Coming 2 America might be a sign that he's back on track.
Throughout his action career, Snipes has been blessed with some magnificent fight scenes which showcase his combat skills. However, they aren't all winners. Here's 5 of Wesley Snipes' best and worst fight scenes, in no particular order.
BEST: Blade Vs. Damaskinos' Goons (Blade II)
What's better than watching vampire hunter extraordinaire Blade lay waste to a bunch of goons in riot gear? Watching him do it to the pumping sounds of "Name Of The Game" by the Crystal Method.
After being supercharged in a pool of blood, Blade emerges with full strength and proceeds to unleash the beast within, slaughtering the evil vampire Damaskinos' minions with bone-crushing efficiency. The brutality ends as harsh as it started, with Blade hoisting the final bad guy into the air and suplexing him into the glass floor.
WORST: Blade Vs. Deacon Frost (Blade)
CGI took the driver's seat during the final battle between Blade and his nemesis Deacon Frost in the original film. What started out with a promising swordfight soon turned into a discombobulated mixture of rotten camera angles, flash editing and silly digital effects to sell Frost's newfound La Magra powers.
Unfortunately, the fight was a colossal let-down that ended with Blade leap-reverse kicking a syringe full of sodium calcium edetate into Frost's forehead, triggering the obligatory cringe-worthy exploding CGI death. It wouldn't be the last time digital imagery was abused in a Blade film.
BEST: Simon Phoenix Vs. John Spartan (Demolition Man)
Snipes was at his peak when he played Demolition Man's loudmouth super-convict Simon Phoenix, who gets thawed out from cryo-prison to wreak havoc on a horrific, politically correct hippie future vision of America. His feud with Sylvester Stallone's John Spartan played out to great effect during the entire film, setting up their final showdown.
The battle itself was chaotic, brutal and well choreographed, with Spartan utilizing all his strength and willpower to beat Phoenix's superhuman physical enhancements. The fight ends in gruesome yet cool fashion, with Spartan kicking the head off of a deep-frozen Phoenix, which bounces on the ground before shattering into a million pieces.
WORST: John Cutter Vs. Charles Ranes (Passenger 57)
Passenger 57 was one of the films that put Wesley Snipes on the action vehicle path by showcasing his martial arts skills. Unfortunately, they didn't translate to the final fight scene against Charles Ranes, played by Bruce Payne. From start to finish, the entire fight is an ill-conceived washout devoid of artistic merit.
Cutter and Ranes spend most of the fight wrestling around on top of seated passengers who do nothing to lend a helping hand. The scene hits its worst when the plane's door blows out, triggering none of the depressurization effects that would have sucked three-quarters of the passengers out of the cabin. A few testicle kicks later, and Ranes plummets to his doom with all the awkward glory of early 90's pre-CGI effects.
BEST: Neil Shaw Vs. Robert Bly (Art Of War)
Art Of War was a sketchy action espionage thriller at best, but it did have a pretty fun fight sequence at the end, featuring a showdown between Snipes' Neil Shaw and his former teammate-turned-assassin Robert Bly, played by Michael Biehn.
The battle started with a shootout, complete with all the digitally created muzzle effects and flares that were standard for action films of the time. It then descended (predictably) into fisticuffs with a well choreographed battle, ending with Bly falling throat-first onto a jagged piece of glass.
WORST: Doctor Death Vs. Henchmen (The Expendables 3)
It was a shame to see Snipes' martial arts talents being wasted in one of his theatrical comeback vehicles, The Expendables 3. Snipes played Doctor Death, one of the original Expendables who is busted out of a train prison at the start of the film. Later, the team moves to intercept a shipment of illegal arms, with the Doc in tow.
The most that's seen of Snipes is a fight is a few quick knife takedowns in some weightless PG-13 fights before he commandeers a crane and uses it to transport the rest of the team around the loading docks. Things don't get much better for him throughout the rest of the film, getting only a fraction of the screen time someone of his pedigree deserved.
BEST: The Elevator Fight (Murder At 1600)
This short but memorable fight scene ranks high on the list, especially given Snipes' great performance overall in the action/thriller Murder At 1600. Dressing up as a janitor on an infiltration job, Snipes' character Harlen Regis gets on an elevator and tries to play things low key, so as not to be noticed.
Unfortunately, a secret service guard happens to notice his dirty boots which don't line up with the rest of his outfit. The jig is soon up, and Snipes engages in a brutal, rapid-fire melee brawl against two agents at the same time. It may not last long, but it's a knockout scene that deserves mention.
WORST: Prison Break (Blade: Trinity)
One of Snipes' worst fight scenes was barely a fight scene at all, and it's fitting that it's in the movie often considered to be one of his career worsts. In the first act of Blade: Trinity, Blade is rescued from police custody by Abigail and Hannibal, only to leave the fight and abandon his two saviors to fend for themselves. The scene ends with Blade re-emerging, sword in hand and a poor excuse to go along with it.
The scene's horrible quality could have been due to the notorious on-set tensions between Wesley Snipes and his co-stars/production crew. Rumors spoke of Snipes disappearing during key shoots, locking himself in his trailer, and sending out production post-it notes signed "Blade," which might explain his absence from his own jail-break scene.
BEST: The Club Massacre (Blade)
It's hard to top the opening sequence of Blade, featuring the titular character infiltrating a vampire dance club (complete with blood showers), and laying waste to practically everyone inside. From the moment the scene begins, it's classic, adrenaline-fueled Blade right until the final kill.
Snipes is in perfect form here, and clearly enjoying his new superhero getup. Not only does the scene showcase his martial arts prowess, but it also introduces many of the varied weapons from his arsenal, which bring ultra-cool vampire killing to the forefront, all to the pounding beat of Junkie XL's "Dealing With The Roster."
WORST: Isaac Vs. Gabriel (Armed Response)
Guilty pleasues they may be, but WWE movies aren't exactly known for their stellar quality. Armed Response did little to change that reality. This part future-tech, part supernatural thriller was about as convoluted as possible, and even Snipes couldn't save the day with a half-decent action sequence.
The third act features his character Isaac going up against Gabriel, played by Dave Annable. The fight choreography looks like it was devised on the spot, with unimaginative styling, unconvincing hits, and an awkward attempt at a strangulation using a prison phone. It ends as fast as it started, looking downright silly in the process.