In the course of human events often great cultures meet; sometimes as allies but often as adversaries. We could have covered the shiny happy people moments of international relations, but we are of the opinion that the clashes are just a bit more interesting. So in the spirit of the East meets West theme of the latest Mummy film (Tomb of the Dragon Emperor), we are going to take a look at The Best East Meets West Clashes.
Jet Li Versus Brendan Fraser
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
In The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor, East and West clash as American explorer, Rick O’Connell battles the Dragon Emperor, Han. In this conflict, the 5’6 Li squares off against the 6’3 Fraser. We actually could have made an entire East meets West list with only films from Jet Li, who has co-starred with several western actors such as Mel Gibson, Morgan Freeman and twice with Jason Statham.
Lucy Liu Versus Uma Thurman
Kill Bill
Kill Bill was a stylistic clash of cultures where the American exploitation genre was mixed with Shaw Brothers style martial arts action and bloody Japanese swordplay. Kill Bill had plenty of memorable clashes, but none more iconic than the showdown between The Bride and O-Ren Ishi, leader of the Crazy 88. Rad pre-fight smack talking quote: O-Ren Ishi: You didn't think it would be that easy, did you? The Bride: Yeah, for a second, I kinda did.
Pat Morita Versus Martin Kove
The Karate Kid
One man represents order, righteousness, and protecting the meek. The other represents power, chaos, and winning at every cost. The unpretentious martial arts instructor, Kesuke Miyagi (the late Pat Morita) is the polar opposite to John Kreese (Martin Kove) in almost every way and in the in the end, good prevails, but I can't help notice that Kobra-Kai T-shirts outsell Miyagi-Dan T-shirts 10 to 1... Did the good guys win the battle but lose the war?
Bruce Lee Versus Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Game Of Death
When martial artist Bruce Lee squared off against legendary basketball player (and Jeet Kune Do student) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (in the posthumously released, Game Of Death), minds were blown. There simply isn't any modern precedent for the hugeness of this event. Additionally, the difference in size between the two men was enormous, with Kareem standing at least a full foot and a half taller than Lee. When Kareem kicked Bruce Lee in the chest, the foot print practically covered his entire torso!
