Summary
The martial arts movie genre has seen a plethora of entries that have helped reinvent things. Whether through clever filmmaking, unique subversions of the genre, or popular martial arts styles, the long-running martial arts movie genre has continued to sustain audience interest for nearly a decade. Most martial arts films center around naive protagonists looking to get stronger either so they can defend their loved ones or best a particularly tough opponent. Furthermore, many movies in the genre tend to offer unique insights into the philosophies, history, and politics.
However, more recent martial arts movies have also included a sharper sense of humor, more complex fight choreography, and even references to Western films to keep the genre from going stale. Whereas many iconic martial arts movies from the 1960s and 1970s relied heavily on intricate wire-work to give the martial arts movies of each respective decade a unique feel, CGI and the inclusion of pop stars have achieved a similar effect from the 1990s to today. Irrespective of the decade or filmmaking techniques utilized, the martial arts genre has seen many clever, exciting, or downright fun attempts at reinventing the martial arts genre.
15 Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn Quan Wang
Everything Everywhere All At Once centers around a burnt-out Chinese-American immigrant named Evelyn who goes down a rabbit hole of multiverses to restore the love between herself and her drifting family. Everything Everywhere All At Once is filled with amazing fight choreography, well-written characters, and some amazing quotes that will inspire audiences for years to come. However, the film’s approach to storytelling and brilliant use of multiverses is what helps it infuse the martial arts genre with new blood. Whereas most films in the genre prioritize action, Everything Everywhere All At Once emphasizes its story, character, and themes, thus making it unique.
14 Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006)
Michael Jai White plays Iceman / Scott Adkins plays Yuri Boyka
Undisputed II: Last Man Standing follows protagonist George “Iceman” Chambers as he’s wrongfully sent to a Russian prison to participate in a lethal underground fighting ring. To prove his innocence, he participates in the tournament, and what follows is an incredibly beautiful display of excellent fight choreography, an engaging plot, and the introduction of Yuri Boyka, arguably one of the best antagonists in a martial arts movie. Undisputed II: Last Man Standing reinvented martial arts movies by making its villain just as good a fighter as its protagonist. This not only raised the stakes exponentially for Iceman, but it made for an amazing climactic fight scene too.
13 Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (2003)
Tony Jaa plays Ting
Ong Bak: Muay Muay Thai Warrior centers around a young martial artist named Ting as he ventures into the big city to retrieve a stolen sacred artifact from his humble village. Tony Jaa’s breakout role, Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, is beloved by martial arts audiences because of its committed display of Muay Thai. However, Ong Bak: Muay Thai warrior reinvented conventions in that it helped show the industry how to properly introduce a relatively new martial art to the world. Ting possessing many virtuous traits and being a great fighter helped increase Muay Thai’s exposure on a global scale.
12 Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
Uma Thurman plays The Bride / Beatrix Kiddo
Release Date October 10, 2003
Rating R
Sequel(s) Kill Bill Vol. 2
Franchise(s) Kill Bill
Kill Bill Vol. 1 tells the first half of a deadly assassin’s revenge quest to kill her former squad one by one after being left for dead on her wedding day. The film is admired for its compelling story, characters, and excellent soundtrack. Furthermore, the film helped reinvent the martial arts genre by showing uncompromisingly great onscreen violence that helped reinforce Kill Bill Vol. 1’s central theme of revenge. In many productions before Kill Bill Vol. 1, discretion shots undercut the violence necessary to tell the story in the best way possible. The film’s success changed this and helped pave the way for projects like The Raid and John Wick movies.
11 Five Fingers of Death (1972)
Lo Lieh plays Chao Chih-Hao
Five Fingers of Death tells a compelling story of conspiracy as it sees the promising martial arts student Chao Chih-Hao fend against three deadly assassins by himself to preserve his dojo’s reputation. The film is notable for its depictions of violence and excellent fight choreography, as well as its interesting thriller-martial arts movie blend. However, Five Fingers of Death’s greatest contribution to reinventing the martial arts drama is its use of music. The film’s theme plays at specific points in Five Fingers of Death that clues audiences to important and suspenseful moments. The theme has also appeared in Kill Bill Vol.1, thus further solidifying its influence.
10 Hero (2002)
Jet Li plays Nameless
Hero follows Nameless, an assassin sent to kill the king of the Qin capital city to prevent warring nations in ancient China from banding together. The film’s color grading, cinematography, and Wuxia-style fight scenes have made Hero one of the most important films in the martial arts genre. However, Hero is perhaps most notable for its creative use of storytelling, which has seen the film earn favorable comparisons to the Akira Kurosawa classic, Rashomon. Hero’s ability to instill doubt into the audience’s mind was something seldom seen in the genre at the time, but its effective use of an unreliable narrator helped it establish a unique identity.
9 Shaolin Soccer (2001)
Stephen Chow plays Sing / Mighty Steel Leg
Shaolin Soccer sees a group of old Shaolin friends reunite to play a game of soccer against a formidable team to establish themselves as a legitimate Shaolin group. Featuring excellent slo-mo shots and creative uses of CGI, Shaolin Soccer is one of the more unique entries in the martial arts genre. Furthermore, Shaolin Soccer’s very premise of combining soccer and kung fu is what helped it reinvent the genre, as the film came out in 2001 and helped establish the tone for the decade’s stable of martial arts films. The 1990s saw a particularly austere approach to martial arts movies, but Shaolin Soccer helped lighten the mood.
8 The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2 (2011, 2014)
Iko Uwais plays Rama
Release Date March 23, 2012
Director Gareth Evans
Cast Iko Uwais , Joe Taslim , Yayan Ruhian , Pierre Gruno , Ray Sahetapy
Rating R
The Raid franchise follows straight-arrow cop Rama as he navigates through the corruption plaguing the Indonesian police department to uproot its influence over the country. Filled with tense scenes, action-packed fight choreography, and an irresistible story, The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2 have left strong impressions on audiences and the industry. Even with its brilliant fight scenes and cinematography, The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2’s greatest contribution to the martial arts genre is its storytelling. Many entries have a weak story in favor of bombastic action, but The Raid franchise did both to great effect.
7 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Chow Yun-fat plays Li Mu Bai
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon focuses on the unlikely romance between a young thief and a martial arts master after the thief steals the master’s sacred sword. Filled with amazing cinematography and fantastic displays of Wuxia-inspired wire-work, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of the most influential films in the genre. With its technical prowess on full display, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon helped reinvent the martial arts genre by showing the importance of style and substance. The film has an engaging story filled with complex characters, but it is also visually stunning and filled with choreography that’s almost even more impressive.
6 The Ip Man Franchise (2008 – Present)
Donnie Yen plays Ip Man
The Ip Man franchise loosely tells the story of Grandmaster Ip Man and the challenges associated with his desire to teach Wing Chun to Chinese residents during great political unrest. Donnie Yen’s performance and the series’ choreography have all been sources of much praise. However, the Ip Man franchise reinvented the martial arts genre by properly demonstrating how to do a martial arts biopic with a perfect balance of truth and fiction. With Ip Man 5 on the way despite Ip Man’s death in Ip Man 4: The Finale, the series has proven how beloved it is, and has effectively solidified its place as an important martial arts franchise.
5 Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
Stephen Chow plays Sing
Kung Fu Hustle sees protagonist Sing undergo a unique character arc as he starts the film off as a would-be member of the ruthless Axe Gang before accepting his role as the hero. Kung Fu Hustle is filled with amazing wirework, fight choreography, and an engaging plot, but its humor is what shines. Writer-director Stephen Chow started his career in comedy, thus many of his comedic instincts make their way into even his serious work. Kung Fu Hustle’s humor borders on the absurd with scenes that pay homage to Looney Tunes, but the film’s distinct blend of comedy and action makes it an unforgettable entry into the martial arts genre.
4 The John Wick Franchise (2014 – Present)
Keanu Reeves plays John Wick
Release Date October 24, 2014
Director Chad Stahelski
Rating R
The John Wick franchise centers around the titular John Wick’s blood-soaked revenge quest as he navigates the old criminal underworld of elite assassins that he once belonged to after his dog is killed by thugs. Across all four films, the John Wick movies raise the bar in the martial arts genre by innovating new and well-crafted action sequences each time. With at least one great scene in each John Wick movie, the franchise continues to display more complex fight choreography, stunt work, and action that keeps things from feeling tired, offering a new landscape for blockbuster action in a post-Bourne Hollywood.
3 The Matrix (1999)
Keanu Reeves plays Thomas Anderson / Neo
The Matrix follows hacker Thomas Anderson as he embarks on a quest for enlightenment after meeting an enigmatic group of individuals who tell him he’s the one to free humanity from its mental shackles. Although some consider The Matrix a superhero movie, it undoubtedly pays homage to the classic martial arts films of the past across all four films. The Matrix helped reinvent the martial arts genre through its brilliant blend of science fiction and action while also incorporating strong philosophical themes of existentialism and love uniquely and compellingly. Additionally, the franchise’s aesthetic has aided significantly in setting it apart from the rest.
The kinetic cinematography in each fight scene also contributed immensely to reinventing the genre, as multiple movies have incorporated similar camerawork to great effect. Moreover, The Matrix franchise reinvented the martial arts genre by increasing its appeal to audiences in the West. With its incorporation of bullet time, a slo-mo technique used by the characters to dodge bullets, and display of various martial arts styles and techniques from around the globe, the films in The Matrix franchise effectively made it more accessible for audiences to engage with the genre and even go back in time and brush up on the classics.
2 Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (1978)
Jackie Chan plays Chien Fu
Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow follows Chien Fu, an optimistic young man who’s constantly bullied by much stronger men, on his journey to becoming one of the most formidable martial artists at his school. Through rigorous training and sheer willpower, Chien Fu eventually surpasses his master after mastering the legendary snake-style kung fu and uses his newfound skills to better defend himself as well as protect those weaker than him. Considered a staple in the martial arts genre, Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow’s creative fight choreography and strong cinematography exposed viewers to a new way of enjoying martial arts movies.
However, another way in which the film helped reinvent the martial arts genre is through the film’s heavy emphasis on training and, to a greater extent, its shamelessness in showing a vulnerable protagonist. Aided by the breakout performance of its star, Jackie Chan, Chien Fu’s inability to wipe out scores of men by himself was fresh and completely subversive for its time. Furthermore, Chien Fu’s refusal to give up irrespective of the obstacles endeared him to audiences in a way atypical of the genre. While vulnerable protagonists are more acceptable now, they weren’t in the 1970s, but Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow’s legacy and impact broadened opinions.
1 Enter the Dragon (1973)
Bruce Lee plays Lee
Enter the Dragon centers around Lee, a revered Shaolin martial artist, who journeys to an island where a deadly martial arts tournament is not only being held but also being used as a front for the production and distribution of opium. After uncovering the shading dealings going on, Lee teams with a small group of other respected martial artists to take down the villainous Han and his opium ring. Considered the late Bruce Lee’s best movie, Enter the Dragon is revered worldwide for its display of various martial arts styles, particularly Jeet Kune Do, intricate plotting, and its stylish approach to fight scenes.
Enter the Dragon changed martial arts movies by being the first prominent entry in the genre to see a major Western release. Before the film, most martial arts movies were relegated to only being shown in Chinese theaters as it was widely accepted that American audiences wouldn’t appreciate the films the same way Eastern audiences did. To destigmatize this notion, Lee used some of his wealth to finance the production, thus paving the way for its international release. The film’s massive success validated Lee’s ambition, solidified him as an all-time great, and is the strongest example of how a martial arts movie reinvented the genre.
