Movie fight review: Oberyn vs The Mountain – Game of Thrones

What about the way the mountain wields his greatsword? I find it absolutely stupid he wields it with one hand.

From the books my guess is that he slashes with the partisan because it is covered with poison. He knows he basically just has to draw blood and then draw the fight out long enough for the poison to work

I wouldn't really call what Oberyin does at the start a "flourish" as that typically involves actual cuts, which he does not seem to do. To me(as far as I remember at least)it looks more like "sword twirling", or, I guess "spear twirling".

I also wouldn't call the Mountain's sword here a greatsword, as it's a bit too small for a greatsword in my opinion(compared to the Gregor's size that is, used by anyone else it would definitely be a greatsword).

Cannot wait to hear analysis of the Dothraki attack on the Lannister-Tarley train (and that godawful shield wall).

I think there is also another point in hitting the armour. Most of the time, Oberyn hit it with no force. In a battle you want to move the weapon of the opponent to a point in which he cannot protect his uncovered parts of the body. So, definitely, part of a battle is made by HITTING THE OPPONENT WEAPON. The uncovered parts are usually small, especially for the mountain that has a full armour. If you try ONLY to hit him in those spots, you end up being predictable. It is the reason for which you have to take into account to hit and move the weapon ALSO in useless place, to be somehow close to the opponent weapon AND to not make the opponent easy to forecast where your weapon is, when he wants to parry/move/disarm/break your weapon.

Please…please….redo this video in your new style where you show the scene as you review the actual television show footage.

Seriously, it's the most intense fight scene in cinematic history. Many like me would love to see it.

A couple things to keep in mind. Oberyn was exiled for a while and made a living for a time in the fighting pits of Mireen*. He was a gladiator, and was paid as much for his showmanship as he was for winning fights. I assumed this was the reason for the twirling, taunting, and useless blows to the armored parts of the Mountain. He also knew from the beginning that he could win the fight, and it wasn't until he was knocked down at one point that he started taking the fight seriously, and started to land blows where they count. He obviously dominated that fight and would have been the victor, but… He got sloppy. I felt that knowing his background, and also his personality, kind of explains the reason he was so theatrical, other than it just being for cinematic value.

You raped her!!!
You murdered her!!!
You killed her children!!

In the book, the Mountain gets so angry he cuts a boy's head off. Guess that worked.

Oberyn lost because he became angry, and more specifically because he insisted on trying to kill Clegane in precisely the manner he wanted. An opponent in a fight can be led in various ways, but they are not going to conform to your desires if they can avoid it. I can well understand how Oberyn was likely incapable of remaining emotionally objective during that confrontation, but it was said emotion that killed him.

I don't care how strong you are you cannot do that to living human bone.

Im glad the mountain survived…..and went on to…."marry" the woman from…."shame"….SHAME"….lol.

I'd say the viper's spear would be closer to a celtic lancea spear

I wonder have you done a review of the Spanish film (English subtitles) Alatriste ?
Starring hollywood actor and Lord of the rings star Viggo Mortenson.
There are at least 3 fights that are quite interesting for you to see.

Hey Matt was poison used much in history like the viper puts on his weapon ?

do not forget that oberyn use poison

Matt Easton you are a prim and proper, well spoken, intelligent, educated roadman.

Yes, his choreography was based on the Wushu spear

Rip red viper. Your stupidity will have cost you your life but we can always say that you're a major playa, playa!

The strategy you recommend for the "Partisan" is exactly what Oberyn employed in the novel! Don't know why they changed it up for the show.

The "hitting the armor" part can be kinda excuseable to me, since Oberyn wanted Gregor to confess.
"No no no, you can't die yet. You haven't confessed!" – Oberyn to Gregor

Do you also do video game fight reviews?
I would like to see your opinion on the Assassins Creed and Batman fight moves.

wish the fight was closer to the books (THATS JUST MY OPINION) . He fought using the Martel sigil.. Which is the sun and the spear. he used his shield and the glare/reflection of the sun off his shield blind the Mountain That Rides.. and his taunting was much better in the books. it really got under Gregor's skin.

Why did Oberyn wear armour at all? The Mountain is the strongest guy in the Kingdoms, I'm pretty sure he could cut through it.

And this is why you never BM, Oberyn

There is a simple for all the flashy cutting: a drawn out, painful, humiliating, revenge that would still leave his opponent alive enough for the interrogation he intended before delivering the coup de gras- What what do you do if you finally caught the guy raped and murdered of your sister and killed her children in all in the most brutal fashion?

After and before breaking Oberyns weapon, the Mountain uses his sword one handed. The one handed attack with the sword sliding on the floor is a bad joke: he should have used the blade with two hands as, and he should have swept above the floor, so that the friction does not slow the weapon. Besides, It would have been much more difficult for Oberyn to evade.
This fight is bad and good for me: Oberyns fight, taunting and carelessnes (at the end) is OK, but the Mountain is not well coreographed at all, he basically has an unused hand.
perhaps his arm was injured – I dont watch the series – but if he fought with a healthy off hand then this fight (the Mountain-half of it) is silly

Okay, comment section is spoiling me. Germany speaking, dammit!

SPOILER ALERT!
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Is it realistic to crush a man's head with your bare hands like a NEXUS 6 who wants more life? ;P