Born in Jakarta, Indonesia to a Silat Master
Iko Uwais has slowly become one of our top favorite action stars of the generation.
Best known for starring in the Indonesian action film, The Raid
Iko Uwais began to gradually appear in several Hollywood films like
and
before starring and producing in his own Netflix series
In celebration of his tremendous 10-year career
we at Scenic Fights, are here to rank Iko Uwais best films and fight scenes.
After confronting Han Solo on the Eravana in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
both Iko Uwais and his good friend Yayan Ruhian
find themselves dealing with more space drama in Beyond Skyline.
Although Iko Uwais doesn’t really appear until halfway through the film, we find out
that the Indonesian martial art, Silat is quite effective against hordes of aliens.
10 years after his film debut, Iko Uwais stars and produces in Netflix's Wu Assassins.
Those expecting a non-stop bloody TV series may be left disappointed though
but if you go into it expecting a fun mystical journey
then you’re in for a treat.
Our favorite fight scene was when Iko Uwais teams up with actor Byron Mann
who you may recognize as Ryu in Street Fighter: The Movie
Actions fans are in for a martial arts extravaganza
with fan-favorites like Tony Jaa
Tiger Chen
Scott Adkins
Jeeja Yanin
and Michael Jai White
coming together to create Triple Threat.
Although we don’t get a true taste of Tony Jaa vs Iko Uwais
fans of the martial art genre get to see
Iko Uwais vs the legendary Michael Jai White
also known as, Black Dynamite, Mortal Kombat’s Jax Briggs and Spawn.
While the stunt choreography isn’t as crisp as those two legends are capable of
It will still satisfy the expectations of many martial arts fans.
Iko Uwais first big Hollywood movie has him co-starring with famous rapper Marky Mark.
As always, the best moment of this film is when triple agent Iko Uwais is involved with
a fantastic blood-spattered fight scene
that has him protecting himself from an assassination attempt
Unfortunately, this fight scene is held back to its full potential
due to Hollywood’s infamous Jason Bourne editing skills.
This may not be the last time Iko Uwais and Academy Award Nominee Mark Wahlberg
teams up as the ending of Mile 22 hints towards a future sequel.
There’s no denying that Iko Uwais shines best in Indonesian martial arts action films
and the first one on our list is Headshot.
With a Kill Bill-esque plotline
Iko Uwais plays an amnesiac protecting himself
from his former criminal squad-mates
after surviving an unsuccessful head-shot wound
from his unofficial sister Rika, played by rising Indonesian action star, Julie Estelle.
Although there are many great fight scenes in this film
we went with the final showdown
between Iko Uwais and the head honcho, Lee played by Sunny Pang.
Iko Uwais' 2009 acting debut ends up foreshadowing his martial arts career.
In Merantau, Iko Uwais plays a young man embarking on his Merantau
a Minangkabau tradition of a young man leaving his home to find success and experience outside his village.
In this case, Iko’s character Yuda wanted to teach Silat in Jakarta, Indonesia.
In a sense, the film became Iko Uwais own Merantau
as his journey into acting allowed him
to introduce Silat the whole film world.
While there are so many good fight scenes to choose from
including one with Indonesian action star Yayan Ruhian.
Our favorite fight scene of this film is
Iko Uwais versus both Mads Koudal and Laurent Buson.
The film you’ve all been waiting for
the film that probably introduced you to Iko Uwais,
the one and only
The Raid.
Let’s get straight to the point
if we were just doing Iko Uwais best fight scenes
half this list would be coming from The Raid.
The fight scene we chose to represent this non-stop action-pack movie is
Iko Uwais and Donny Alamsyah vs Mad Dog, played by Yayan Ruhian.
By the end of the film, viewers are drooling over the thought of Iko Uwais
fighting the unstoppable Mad Dog
and it took not only Iko, but his brother, Donny
to take this down this killer.
The Raid 2 is The Raid on steroids
with memorable characters like Hammer Girl played by Julie Estelle
and Baseball Bat Man portrayed by Very Tri Yulisman.
This movie does a great job building up their unique villains
as if you were playing a Metal Gear Solid video game.
Unfortunately, the plot can get just as convoluted as a Metal Gear Solid video game.
There are numerous fight scenes that can be put into this slot
but we have to go with probably one of the best technical fight scenes ever on screen
Iko Uwais vs Cecep Arif Rahman.
There are many memorable fight scenes that can arguably take the number one spot
but we decided to go with Iko Uwais vs Joe Taslim.
What makes this final fight scene so powerful
is how violent and emotional this scene is between two former friends.
It’s not gory, just because
it’s vicious because it shows what humans are capable of doing to one another over greed and power.
It’s the only Indonesian film where Iko Uwais is portrayed somewhat as the baddie,
and we recommend watching this thriller now on Netflix.
During his first 10 years as an action star
Iko Uwais has successfully manage to craft a brand
that goes beyond just an Indonesian martial artist
that’s really good in Silat.
He utilizes the barbaric nature of Silat to highlight the few times his character can
experience the great qualities humans are capable of
like love and friendship.
Thank you for watching Scenic Fights
and that’s the Best of the Best of Iko Uwais.
Do you agree with the list?
Let us know in our Discord
and in the comment section below your favorite Iko Uwais' moment
and let us know who'd you like to see Scenic Fights cover next
If there is one thing we can all agree upon
Is that Iko Uwais' star power continue to rise
and we are all so excited to see what he has next in store for us
and if you haven't already, check out his new series on Netflix Wu Assassins.
It's awesome.
Thank you so much for watching Scenic Fights
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