Favourite martial arts film of all time-
POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Friday, June 26, 2026 16:08
VIEWED: 12964
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Alien vs Predator.
At least last time that shit was one I roundhoused my tv.
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I'm still partial to Unleashed. Not only was Jet Li at his best, switching between three very different fighting styles to reflect his character's emotional arc. . . he actually had an emotional arc.
There's a depressing number of martial artists who can't act to save their lives, but Unleashed is where Jet Li proves that he's not one of them. Dude can emote.
I'd love to see him make a non-action movie; he could probably blow it out of the park.
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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.
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Quote:Cyber, did you ever see "The One?"
Originally posted by Cybersnark:
There's a depressing number of martial artists who can't act to save their lives, but Unleashed is where Jet Li proves that he's not one of them. Dude can emote.
Jet was excellent in that one.
The laughing Chrisisall
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What, no Seven Samurai ?
No Yojimbo ?
Both done, btw, as rather nice spaghetti westerns as well, but quite good in their original form as well.
-F
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Hard to say since martial arts film covers a very wide range if you group Wuxia movies along with all the other sub-genres (and there are lots).
Personally, I like a lot of Jet Li's stuff. 'Fist of Legend' comes to mind as being one of the best without much wife-fu (if any).
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Excellent choices Frem, and, at one time, my choice would have been Seven Samurai, but there have been some new masterpieces that have come about, such as;
House of Flying Daggers - lyrical and beautiful (The drum scene)
Hero - of course, downright deliberate
Drunken Master - both funny and well put together
But my all-time favorite, so far from the ones I've seen is:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - poetic and epic just begins to describe it.
Not taking away anything from anyone's choices, but that's just it, isn't it? We all have our tastes.
SGG
Tawabawho?
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Fists Of Fury
The Chinatown Kid
Street Gangs Of Hong Kong
The Kid With The Golden Arm
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Chrisisall wrote:
Quote:
Production, direction, music, choreography, character
Armour of God II : Operation Condor Good character, with a kind of Martial arts Indianna Jones, superb stunts both vehicle and martial arts and great use of a set piece to highlight Chan's masterful choreography with stunts and fighting scenes. In partcular the finalé in the wind tunnel. Their are moments that mirror the timing and genuis of Buster Keaton. Fantastic stuff and probably my favourite Jackie Chan film. Plus VERY funny.
Enter The Dragon: This just oozes cool and hipness to the extreme. Lee is measured yet fascinating to behold. The finalé with the mirrored room is one of the best things ever shot on celluloid. I still marvel at how they did that. VERY clever indeed. Superb direction and exceptional cinematography. It defined the CRASH ZOOM which has never been rivalled.
Zu Warriors: Fantasy martial arts at it's best. This film just explores the richness of ancient folklore and realizes it with style. There's so much adventure going on here it warms the soul! I had so much fun watching this when I rented it as a kid. Love this film.
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Yojimbo is one of my all time favourites, but I don't think I ever really thought of it as a 'Martial Arts' movie.
I mean, there are discussions on how skilled Sanjuro is (and he demonstrates it, too), but I don't think it really 'lingered' on that aspect unlike in, say, 'Hero' (where Wu Ming's/Nameless' skill to kill in 10 paces is highlighted).
I also liked Jet Li's 'Fearless'. The fights were quite good, IMHO.
I'd like to see a more 'realistic' depiction of two of the styles I practice, tho': Tai Chi Chuan/Taijiquan (Tai Chi Master w/ Jet Li was kinda corny and over the top) and Hsing-I Chuan/Xingyiquan (The One was...ok? But it didn't really show Xingyi well, I think)
edit:
2 'Western' movies, relatively recent, were kinda good, too, from a MA perspective:
- The Bourne series (even Taken w/ Liam Neeson, which was Bourne-ish, was quite good)
- The Hunted w/ Tommy Lee Jones and del Toro: nice fights (I recommend this one actually...esp. since I'm filipino and they highlight one of my favourite fighting arts)
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Quote:
Originally posted by gotthammer:
Yojimbo is one of my all time favourites, but I don't think I ever really thought of it as a 'Martial Arts' movie.
....
2 'Western' movies, relatively recent, were kinda good, too, from a MA perspective:
- The Bourne series (even Taken w/ Liam Neeson, which was Bourne-ish, was quite good)
Agree with these - love Yojimbo/Sanjuro/Seven S. but never really thought of them as Martial Arts.
Same for the Zatoichi series - I keep trying to pimp those films on this board but it feels like I've never gotten any takers. It is a wealth of Asian Cinema goodness imho.
Hero (gorgeous and a great story), & Tiger are my more mainstream favorites otherwise.
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