I recently shared my favorite zombie movies/TV show and felt that I needed to share my other favorites. This post’s theme was inspired by SpikeTV I Am Bruce Lee, I decided to share my favorite marital art movies.
Like all my lists, there is no numerical order.
1. Bloodsport
I absolutely love this movie. This movie is a mix of Fight Club and Martial Arts, plus it’s based on a true story. What more do I need?!? I’m sure I’m not the only one who wanted to learn how to do the dim mak.
2. The Way of the Dragon
Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris…need I say more?
3. Ong Bak
I’ve already talked about how awesome this movie is.
4. Who Am I?
This movie is not the best Jackie Chan movie out there, but for some odd reason I love it. I especially love two scene from this movie. The first one is when Chan saves a man by hooking up an IV from a green coconut. Then the second scene is when Chan is sliding down a glass roof, that was epic!
5. Chocolate
Chocolate is a Thai Muay Thai movie. This chick is one bad mamajama, just like Jackie Chen, she did all her stunts herself. She is my idol.
6. Drunken Master
A Martial Art that you have to be drunk while practicing…whoa, that goes against every thing I’ve learned. Either way, it’s really cool.
7. Kung Fu Hustle
Who said that all Martial Art movies need to be so serious? I absolutely love Stephen Chow and his style of comedy. It just cracks me up.
8. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Simply the most artsy Martial Art movie I’ve seen thus far. I absolutely love the love story. It’s very beautiful.
9. Unleashed
Jet Li is my all time favorite Martial Art actor. I find his style to be cool and I believe he is a pretty good actor. Let’s be honest, he has pretty good English.
10. The Last Dragon
Bruce LEROY…Sho’Nuff! LOL If you remember the 80′s, you might’ve heard this movie. Okay, if you LOVE or even like Prince (what ever he is calling himself these days), you SHOULD know this movie. Basically, the best Martial Art movie from the 80′s.
Honorable Mentions:
All Bruce Lee movies
Karate Kid I and II
What’s your favorite Martial Art movie?
So many of these I haven’t seen! Some of my faves are The Chinese Connection and Enter the Dragon. And we totally agree on Bloodsport! Plus I know it’s not reeeeeally a martial arts movie, but Kill Bill! I’ve always heard Ip Man was really good, but that’s another one I’ve never seen. Love this post!
You know what, I was going to put Kill Bill 1, but I thought the same thing as you…it’s not a full martial art movie. It’s in that gray area. I haven’t seen IP Man yet, but it’s in my Que. I heard it was bad ass! LOL
If I had to recommend just one of these movies, I would pick Ong Bak. If you already seen that one, my next pick would be The Last Dragon.
You named all my faves. I’ll have to check-out the chocolate one. I’ve never heard of it and I thought I knew them all. Woo Hoo break out the popcorn!
Chocolate is a good one. It’s very female empowering, which is always nice, right? The plot is meh, but thankfully you don’t need a super good plot line when it comes to a martial art movie. LOL
Let me know if you liked or hated the movie.
LOL last dragon!! i remember that movie. i also love the legend of shaolin and 5 deadly venoms (the old hardcore chinese original version)
Those are some really good classics, which reminds me of Wu Tang Clan. LOL
I just love the Last Dragon…I don’t know why, it a great reminder of my childhood. LOVE it. LOL I know, I’m such a dork.
Nice list Jen, those are all good choices. Have you seen that trailer for The Raid? It looks awesome and right up your alley. I stumbled this post
I’ve never seen The Raid before. I have to watch it ASAP. Have you seen the “I Am Bruce Lee” documentary? It was so good. Honestly, it was pretty hard to pick just 10 films, because there are so many great martial art movies.
Thank for stumbling it. I think you are the first! Awesome. Thanks for the continue support.
‘Ip Man 2′, ‘Legend of the Fist: Return of Chen Zhen’, ‘Hero’, ‘Bodyguards and Assassins’, ‘Iron Monkey’, ‘Romeo Must Die’, ‘Kiss of the Dragon’, ‘Bunraku’, ‘Out for Justice’, ‘The Good The Bad The Weird’. Probably not a ‘martial arts’ movie a la ‘Kill Bill’, but ‘The Man From Nowhere’ is wonderful.
Awesome list! I haven’t seen Bunraku, so I’ll be adding that to my “must watch” list. I agree with Kill Bill. I was going to add that to the list, but I felt the same way as you did. It’s in that gray area. I heard there might be a Kill Bill 3. That would be awesome, but isn’t Bill dead? LOL