In this scene from the movie Captain America: Civil War, the title character engages in a fierce elevator fight with fellow agents, knocking them out in the process. Though Captain America never really appears as the underdog in his own franchise, this scene is still the ultimate tribute to the Die Hard franchise. In addition to the iconic scene, the camera angles in this fight resemble those of John McClane in the first Die Hard movie.
The stuntman Bill Harper worked with the film’s DPs and editors to perfect the action sequence. He taught camera operators to pan and stop when a punch hits its target. This helped create clean and crisp jabs that fool the audience into thinking the characters are brawling. The actors also sometimes landed their punches, though. The elevator fight itself also had to be filmed in three dimensions. This created challenges that had to be overcome.
The actors were all incredibly intense during the rehearsal process and it shows. As a result, this elevator fight has become one of the most famous action sequences in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Chris Evans’ performance as Captain America is so impressive, it is no surprise that many fans consider it the most iconic action sequence in the entire MCU. In this scene, Captain America asks double agents in a glass lift in SHIELD headquarters whether they want to get out or not before kicking their asses.