Best martial arts movies

- Director: Bruce Lee
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 90 minutes

"The Way of the Dragon," starring Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris, is the story of a man who visits his relatives at the restaurant they own in Italy and has to protect them against the gangsters that are harassing them. This was the only movie where Bruce Lee had full creative control: he was the star, writer, director, producer, and even played percussion on the soundtrack.

- Director: Wei Lo
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 107 minutes

Bruce Lee stars as a man who is out for revenge after the murder of his martial arts teacher. This is the film where Bruce Lee broke out the nunchucks for the first time, a weapon that would later become his iconic accessory.

- Director: Jackie Chan
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 80 minutes

There's Nazi gold hidden in the Sahara Desert, and Jackie Chan has been hired to help find it. Accompanied by his team of pretty women, comedy ensues in this kung fu classic. While the plot line was dubbed "silly" by Roger Ebert, the critic praised Chan for performing all of his own stunts. Chan is also the writer and director of the film.

- Director: Hark Tsui
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 134 minutes

Jet Li stars as Cantonese folk hero Wong Fei-hung, who trains men in martial arts to help fight off foreign invasion in 19th-century Guangdong province. Li injured his knee filming one of the stunt scenes, which landed him in a cast. The final fight had to be done with a body double, with many shots from the waist up to hide the plaster.

- Director: John Woo
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 105 minutes

In this sequel, a restaurateur hesitantly partners with a police officer and his ex-con brother to seek revenge over the death of a friend's daughter. The first installment was the breakout role for Chow Yun-fat, whose character died at the end of that film. He returns in the sequel as the never-before-mentioned twin brother.

- Director: Toyoo Ashida
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 110 minutes

Based on the manga of the same name, "Fist of the North Star" is an animated action film that follows a student of the martial art of "Hokuto Shinken." The student forms an allegiance with two children and an expert in another form of martial arts to combat the enemies who threaten the future of humanity. The film was widely criticized for its over-the-top violence; its filmmakers studied real human anatomy in order to accurately depict the graphic explosions.

- Director: John Woo
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 73
- Runtime: 148 minutes

A two-part war epic begins with this first chapter, which tells the story of a battle fought during China's Three Kingdoms period in the third century. The film had an $80 million budget, the most expensive Asian-financed film to date. The Chinese army also lent a considerable hand, offering 1,500 soldiers to help build roads and play extras.

- Directors: Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 105 minutes

In "Project A," Jackie Chan stars as Sergeant Lung, a member of the military who has taken it upon himself to help defend the Hong Kong navy against several pirate attacks. The film received an Academy Award for Best Action Choreography in recognition of the famous clock tower scene which nearly cost Chan his life.

- Director: Yuen Woo-ping 
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 90 minutes

"Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" stars Jackie Chan and follows the story of a janitor who is bullied at the kung fu school where he works. However, after the janitor lends a kind hand to an old beggar, he experiences a sudden turn of fate. Chan has always been a master of his own stunts, but a trick got the better of him when his front tooth got knocked out during filming by a kick from Jann-Lee Hwang.

- Director: Hark Tsui
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 113 minutes

Jet Li returns for a second chapter as Wong Fei-hung. This time, the iconic trio arrives by train to Guangzhou at the turn of the century to fight off the White Lotus members who want to eliminate all foreigners. During the final sequence, actor Donnie Yen got hit in the eye by a pole, so most of his close-up shots were done from just one side.

- Director: Jimmy Wang Yu
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 57
- Runtime: 81 minutes

In this sequel, the flying guillotine expert seeks revenge for his students that were killed in the first film. But since the master is blind, he ends up killing any one-armed man that crosses his path. The dark, bloody nature of the film attracted the attention of famed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, who has described the film as one of his "favorite movies of all time."

- Directors: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 74
- Runtime: 92 minutes

Jack Black lends his vocal talents to Po, a panda who is mistakenly thought to fulfill an ancient prophecy. The star-studded voice cast also includes Ian McShane, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Chan, and many others. The film grossed more than $631 million worldwide.

- Director: Zhang Yimou
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 119 minutes

"The House of Flying Daggers" refers to a secret organization that opposed the Chinese government during the Tang Dynasty. A beautiful dancer thought to be associated with the group is freed from prison. She leads the police to the new leader of the group, but a series of twists and turns throws off everyone's expectations. Writing for the Washington Post, critic Desson Thomson praised many areas of the film, noting that the true art lay in the eyes of the cinematographer, who has an incredible affinity for color.

- Director: Wilson Yip
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 108 minutes

Loosely based on the real life of Ip Man, a grandmaster of Wing Chun, and famed teacher of Bruce Lee, this sequel stars Donnie Yen and continues the story of Ip through British-controlled Hong Kong. The movie was originally supposed to focus on the relationship between Ip Man and Lee, but instead it featured a young Lee before becoming Ip Man's student.

- Director: Takeshi Kitano
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 75
- Runtime: 116 minutes

Blind Zatoichi, a master swordsman, makes his way into a town of warring gangs, where he meets two women who are plotting to avenge the murder of their parents. The role of Zatoichi is not a new one, but in the previous 26 films, the character was played by Kiyoshi Atsumi and Shintaro Katsu respectively. This was the first time director Kitano (acting under the name Beat Takeshi) played the role.

- Director: Yuen Woo-ping 
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 111 minutes

Renowned martial artist Beggar So is hired to help train a rebellious misfit played by Jackie Chan. During the filming of one of the martial arts scenes, Chan nearly lost an eye when Jang Lee Huang kicked him in the head. Upon learning this, Hwang put a hard stop to filming any more takes.

- Director: Gordon Chan
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 103 minutes

Jet Li produces and stars in "Fist of Legend," a remake of 1972's "Fist of Fury." The film tells the story of a martial artist who returns to Shanghai only to discover that his teacher has died and his school is under attack by the Japanese. The fight scene choreography was so unique that choreographer, Yuen Woo-ping, was later brought on to stylize the action sequences in "The Matrix."

- Director: John Woo
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 95 minutes

"A Better Tomorrow" tells the story of an ex-gangster trying to make right as he reconnects with his cop brother. Along the way, he discovers that it's not that easy to break ties with his old crew. The film gave rise to the template of the Hong Kong bloodshed drama and was also a breakout role for Chow Yun-fat.

- Director: Yuen Woo-ping 
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 85 minutes

This film is a fictionalized depiction of the Chinese folk here Wong Fei-hung and his father. It tells the story of a martial arts Robin Hood who meets another martial artist sent to take him down, but the two end up forging an unlikely bond. Yuen Woo-ping is the artist behind the choreographed fights, which helped to define a new style of American films.

- Director: King Hu
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 97
- Runtime: 111 minutes

It's 15th century China and a general has been executed. His children are on the run, and luckily a martial arts master is there to protect them. According to Roger Ebert, "Dragon Inn" is one of the most iconic films of the genre, with the critic likening it to what "Stagecoach" is to Western films.

- Director: Gareth Evans
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 73
- Runtime: 101 minutes

In this Indonesian film, a S.W.A.T. team is sent to infiltrate a building in Jakarta that's being occupied by a drug lord, but the team becomes prisoners in the process. The U.S. release of the film outfitted it with an electro-rock score that was different from the one it was initially released with. An NPR review, however, says the replacement soundtrack sounds remarkably like the original.

- Directors: Chia-Liang Liu, Jackie Chan
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 74
- Runtime: 102 minutes

The sequel to the 1978 film "Drunken Master," this film follows Wong Fei-hung, who gets caught between pleasing his father and stopping a group of foreigners from desecrating sacred artifacts. The final seven-minute fight scene took four months to shoot, with Jackie Chan revealing that a day's worth of shooting only yields about three seconds of viable footage.

- Directors: Jackie Chan, Chi-Hwa Chen
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 100 minutes

Jackie Chan stars in and directs "Police Story," which tells the story of a Hong Kong police officer out to clear his name after he's framed as a corrupt cop by a drug kingpin. The film was the first of a trilogy, and Time Out named it one of the 101 best action movies ever made.

- Director: John Woo
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 142 minutes

The closing chapter of a two-part story, "Red Cliff II" wraps up the tale of a legendary battle in China's imperial history. The two films together form a nearly five-hour epic, but the second chapter gave audiences what they were looking for. Together the two films cost $80 million to make—the most expensive Chinese-language film to be made at that time.

- Director: John Woo
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 136 minutes

Three friends escape Hong Kong to Vietnam to begin lives as outlaws, but what ensues breaks them, both as friends and as individuals. The film was originally more than three hours long, but John Woo was forced to re-cut the film to just over two hours. Because of the many different edits that had to be made, today there are several versions of the film.

- Director: Kenji Misumi
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 95 minutes

The character Zatoichi is the hero of many Japanese samurai dramas, but the first story to hit the screens was "The Tale of Zatoichi." The first film stars Shintaro Katsu as the blind masseur who also happens to be a master swordsman. Today more than 25 Zatoichi films have been made.

- Director: Kenji Misumi
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 89 minutes

The Lone Wolf and Cub series is a saga of six films, and this is the fifth installment. The films are based on a manga series about the character Ogami Itto, an assassin for hire who works alongside his son, Diagoro. This film is one of the most beautifully shot, with striking scenes of Itto and his son dramatically lit as silhouettes against the setting sun.

- Director: Hideo Gosha
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 85 minutes

"Sword of the Beast" is set in the mid-19th century, at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan. It tells the story of a fleeing samurai who is outcast from his clan for committing murder and must turn to poaching gold. The Criterion Collection acknowledges the film for some of the most amazing swordplay in Japanese cinema and praises the director for tearing down the hypocrisy of the samurai code.

- Director: King Hu
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 200 minutes

"A Touch of Zen" is based on a fabled Chinese story. Set in the Ming dynasty, a lady fugitive flees a corrupt government and is joined along the way by a painter and several Buddhist monks. To set the scene, director King Hu had a full village built for the first half of the movie but abandoned it for nine months to give it a weathered look.

- Director: Ronny Yu
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 104 minutes

"Fearless" is the on-screen biography of master Chinese martial artist, Huo Yuanjia, played by Jet Li. Yuanjia is credited with founding the Jin Wu Sports Federation. The filming for this film was taxing on many of the cast members. In fact, when actor Nathan Jones tossed one of the extras to the floor, the force was so strong that the extra wound up in the hospital with damage to his ribs. Jones himself lost several teeth during filming.

- Director: Stephen Chow
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 99 minutes

Stephen Chow directs, produces, and co-writes this action-comedy martial arts film about a neighborhood gang, an aspiring gangster, and the small town they live in. The key word here is comedy—so much so that it gained the attention of Bill Murray. The comedy king told GQ that Kung Fu Hustle was "the supreme achievement of the modern age in terms of comedy."

- Director: Robert Clouse
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 83
- Runtime: 102 minutes

"Enter the Dragon" is a martial arts film that will forever be immortalized. Not only is the story compelling, but it is also Bruce Lee's final film, released one month after his untimely death. The film tells the story of a secret agent who travels to the island of an opium lord for a tournament against other martial artists. Its legacy is such that in 2004 it was added to the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

- Director: Chia-Liang Liu
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 116 minutes

This film goes by many different names, but no matter the title, this Hong Kong kung fu movie tells a fictionalized version of San Te, a Shaolin martial artist who studied under general Chi Shan. The film was a big inspiration to the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, who titled their first album "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)."

- Director: Toshiya Fujita
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 80
- Runtime: 97 minutes

Lady Snowblood is a woman of striking beauty who is trained from birth to be a weapon of destruction. She's raised with one mission in mind: revenge for the murder of her family. The storyline was so impactful that it served as inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill."

- Director: Ang Lee
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 94
- Runtime: 120 minutes

Set in the 19th-century Qing dynasty in China, a young Chinese warrior steals the sword of a famous swordsman, spurring a wild adventure into uncharted territory. The story is taken from a small portion of a five-part novel written by author Wang Dulu. It is one of the most lauded films in cinema, winning four Academy Awards, and is one of the highest-grossing foreign films in American history.

- Director: John Woo
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 128 minutes

Chow Yun-fat stars in this action film about a hardened cop that partners with an undercover agent to help take down a gang leader and his crew. Director John Woo made this film, which glorifies the police, in response to criticism for his previous films, which typically put gangsters in the spotlight.

- Director: John Woo
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 111 minutes

Chow Yun-fat stars in this action thriller about an assassin who accidentally wounds the eyes of a singer. The assassin must then carry out one last hit to earn the money for an operation to prevent the singer from going blind. Because of Hong Kong's rigid gun laws, the guns in the film had to be imported, and scenes shot in the streets were thought to be real robberies.

- Director: Kenji Misumi
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 84 minutes

"Lone Wolf and Cub," a six-film saga, tells the story of Ogami Itto, a traveling assassin who roams with his son, Diagoro. This is the first film of the series, set in Japan during the Edo era. While this was the first chapter of this particular epic, scenes from it and a later chapter were eventually re-edited into the film "Shogun Assassin," which skyrocketed the story's popularity in American pop culture.

- Director: Masahiro Andô
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 103 minutes

"Sword of the Stranger" is an anime film about a young boy and his dog, who are taken into custody by Ming warriors. While the film made a splash among the masses, critics like Justin Sevakis of Anime News Network disparaged it as being a bit past its prime. It was submitted to the Academy to be a nominee for Best Animated Feature but was not selected.

- Director: Zhang Yimou
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 120 minutes

"Hero" contains an all-star cast of Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Chen Daoming, Zhang Ziyi, and Donnie Yen. It's based on the real-life attempted assassination of the King of Qin from the third century. It was an instant success in China, with an opening day earning of $1.45 million—one of the biggest domestic hits of all time.

- Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 94 minutes

Set in feudal Japan, "Ninja Scroll" is the story of a swordsman for hire who teams up with a hypnotic ninja woman and a shrewd spy. Together they take on the challenge of overthrowing the Tokugawa Shogunate. The anime film was more successful in the U.S. than it was in Japan. Director James McTeigue said that this movie was a source of inspiration for his 2009 film "Ninja Assassin."

- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 83
- Runtime: 137 minutes

If it's not evident by now, Quentin Tarantino drew huge inspiration from earlier martial arts classics. "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" is one of his most famous films, following Uma Thurman's character as she seeks revenge against Bill, a hitman and ex who tried to assassinate her. The movie was produced at the same time as "Kill Bill: Vol. 1," but the story was divided into two films because of the long runtime.

- Director: Wilson Yip
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 59
- Runtime: 106 minutes

Yip Man, or Ip Man, was the real-life grandmaster of Wing Chun martial arts and the teacher of Bruce Lee. This biographical film follows his life in 1930s China, while the country was at war with Japan. It's the first film in a series of Ip Man movies, and although it is the first story told about the man himself, the concept of a biography film had been in the works for three decades.

- Director: Gareth Evans
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 150 minutes

Back in Jakarta for this second chapter, this film tells the story of special forces officer, Rama, who goes undercover to shed light on police corruption in the underbelly of Jakarta. The movie was produced in direct response to the box office success of its predecessor.

- Director: Kihachi Okamoto
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 120 minutes

A sociopath samurai casts the first stone when he kills the husband of an innocent woman. The film is an adaptation of a famous Japanese novel, and its abrupt ending was because it was intended to be part one of a trilogy that told the entire story—an undertaking that never came to fruition.

- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 111 minutes

In part one of Quentin Tarantino's smash success, Uma Thurman's character awakens from a four-year coma determined to enact revenge on the the group of assassins—with whom she used to work—who tried to kill her. It's one of Tarantino's most iconic films, although the filmmaker told the BBC that the role of Bill was originally intended for Warren Beaty. However, as the character took shape, Tarantino realized David Carradine would be better for the role.

- Director: Gavin O'Connor
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 140 minutes

Two brothers, separated by years of trauma, come together to resolve their differences in a mixed martial arts tournament. The film stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton as brothers and Nick Nolte as their alcoholic father. In fact, the role of Paddy was specifically written for Nolte, who was neighbors with writer Antony Tambakis and director Gavin O'Connor.

- Director: Sion Sono
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 237 minutes

"Love Exposure" tells the story of a love triangle between a young upstart photographer, a woman who is strongly anti-male, and a devout cult member. Brooklyn Magazine called the epic masterpiece the best film of the decade. It takes a deep dive into family dynamics and the upending madness of love, religion, friendship, and beyond.

- Director: Park Chan-wook
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 120 minutes

This Korean action-thriller follows the story of Oh Dae-su, a released prisoner who has been in captivity for 15 years. Upon his release, he learns he has to find his captor in the next five days. The film is based on the eponymous Japanese manga. According to Roger Ebert, this film is powerful, important, and the type of movie that isn't easily made in the U.S. anymore, due to its rawness of sexuality and violence.

- Director: Akira Kurosawa
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 98
- Runtime: 207 minutes

Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" is an epic drama that takes place in 16th century Japan. The film tells the story of a group of farmers that enlist seven samurai to fend off the bandits who threaten to steal their crops. A cinematic masterpiece, Kurosawa's most remembered film has inspired other classic films, including "The Magnificent Seven," "Rogue One," and even "A Bug's Life."