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Tony Leung Chiu-wai in a still from The Grandmaster, one of our 25 best martial arts films of the 21st century. Photo: Jet Tone Production

Lifestyle Entertainment

The 25 best Asian martial arts movies of the 21st century ranked, from Ip Man to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Kung Fu Hustle

Action films from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, India, Indonesia and Thailand showcase many martial arts styles, from kung fu to Muay Thai to sword fighting
Their stars include Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Jaa and Zhang Ziyi, and among their directors are Johnnie To, Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou

Asian cinema

James Marsh

Published: 4:15am, 31 Mar 2022

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Asian cinema is synonymous with the action genre, thanks to its rich legacy of kung fu, wuxia and samurai dramas.

Recently, Asian martial arts have enjoyed a high profile in Hollywood, thanks to franchises including The Matrix and John Wick. At the same time, not much new martial arts talent has emerged.

Nevertheless, markets like Thailand and Indonesia have ensured the region remains a hotbed for innovative and exhilarating action.

In the spirit of the genre’s fiercely competitive nature, we have ranked the 25 best Asian martial arts films of the 21st century, from snivelling weakling to undisputed grandmaster.

25. Duelist (2005)

Prioritising rich visuals over a propulsive narrative, Lee Myung-se’s elegant drama set in the era of the Joseon dynasty in Korea stars Ha Ji-won as an undercover detective who falls in love with her target’s handsome henchman (Gang Dong-won). Swordplay and romance intertwine in poetic, dreamlike fashion in this truly one-of-a-kind experience.

24. Throw Down (2004)

Action maestro Johnnie To Kei-fung delivered an enduring fan favourite with this low-key, nostalgic tribute to Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, specifically 1943’s Sanshiro Sugata. Louis Koo Tin-lok plays a retired judo champion in modern-day Hong Kong, who is forced back to the mat by a pair of challengers (Aaron Kwok Fu-shing and Tony Leung Ka-fai).

23. Born to Fight (2004)

Veteran action choreographer Panna Rittikrai directs this truly ridiculous high-concept martial arts adventure. When a gang of heavily armed terrorists take control of a remote Thai village, it falls to a troupe of visiting national athletes, and Dan Chupong’s fearless police officer, to save the day any way possible.

22. Fearless (2006)

Touted as Jet Li Lianjie’s final action role on original release, Ronny Yu Yan-tai’s rousing biopic sees the action star on fine form as real-life martial artist Huo Yuanjia, who challenged numerous foreign fighters of different disciplines to exhibition bouts, in an effort to boost Chinese morale at the turn of the last century.

21. Gallants (2010)

Martial arts veterans Leung Siu-lung and Chan Koon-tai enjoyed a late-career renaissance in this 1960s-style Hong Kong comedy from Clement Cheng Sze-kit and Derek Kwok Tsz-kin. They play a pair of ageing kung fu masters who, together with Teddy Robin’s diminutive sifu, must defend their village from greedy property developers.

20. SPL II: A Time for Consequences (2015)

A sequel in name only to the 2005 film SPL, Soi Cheang Pou-soi’s bruised and bloody thriller reignited Tony Jaa’s faltering career, casting him as a sympathetic prison guard who aids Wu Jing’s undercover police officer in taking down an illegal organ-trafficking ring. Max Zhang Jin steals the show as a decidedly deadly prison warden.

19. House of Flying Daggers (2004)

Looking to repeat the success of 2002’s Hero, Zhang Yimou crafts another visually breathtaking wuxia epic, this time fashioned around a tragic love triangle. Andy Lau Tak-wah and Takeshi Kaneshiro vie for the affections of Zhang Ziyi’s blind rebel, while fending off an endless multitude of military guards and projectile blades.

18. Tom Yum Goong (2005)

Tony Jaa cements his action star status with this stripped-down Muay Thai showcase that overcomes its flimsy narrative with some truly audacious fighting. Jaa plays the trustee of a sacred stolen elephant, who travels to Australia and beats everyone to a bloody pulp, culminating in a dazzling, single-take stairwell showdown.

17. Commando: A One Man Army (2013)

Vidyut Jammwal is sensational as an Indian army paratrooper who is betrayed by his government, prompting him to launch a one-man assault on a local official who is making improper advances on Pooja Chopra’s young beauty. What follows is a preposterously entertaining action film that has spawned two blockbuster sequels.

16. Shadow (2018)

Balancing courtroom intrigue with bravura action in a Shakespearean tale of deception, Shadow marks an overdue return to form for Zhang Yimou. Shooting in elegant, washed-out monochrome, the Chinese auteur stages a series of artfully choreographed training sequences, duels and battles in this rousing, rain-drenched epic.

15. The Night Comes for Us (2018)

Pitting two of the stars from The Raid, Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim, against one another in a hell-for-leather fight to the death, Indonesian filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto draws from his background in the horror genre to stage one of the most relentlessly bloody martial arts thrillers ever committed to film.

14. 13 Assassins (2010)

With a surprising change of pace for Japan’s leading purveyor of extreme cinema, Takashi Miike evokes the spirit of Akira Kurosawa in this epically staged samurai adventure. Koji Yakusho leads a band of masterless ronin on a suicide mission to take down a renegade warlord that erupts in an onslaught of duels and elaborately staged ambushes.

13. The City of Violence (2006)

Ryu Seung-wan, one of Korea’s most accomplished action directors, conceived this high-energy showcase for himself and veteran fight choreographer Jung Doo-hung. As childhood friends investigating their pal’s murder, the duo tear through an endless sea of goons in spectacularly breathless fashion.

12. The Grandmaster (2013)

Wong Kar-wai and Tony Leung Chiu-wai spent more than a decade developing their lavish take on the Ip Man saga, and the resulting spectacle is as poetic as it is exhilarating. From its gorgeous visuals to balletic fight sequences, the film is a profound contemplation of legacy that crackles with unspoken desire.

11. Shaolin Soccer (2001)

Stephen Chow Sing-chi reworks the classic underdog sports comedy with a heavy dose of kung fu in this riotous, chart-topping comedy. Chow plays a down-on-his-luck monk, looking to promote Shaolin teachings. Teaming up with Ng Man-tat’s retired footballer, they put together an unlikely team of sporting superheroes.

10. The Man from Nowhere (2010)

Won Bin is a whirling dervish of pent-up rage in this ice-cool revenge thriller. He plays a former government agent living under the radar since the death of his wife, who comes to the rescue of the little girl next door (Kim Sae-ron) and her wayward mother when they are kidnapped by a despicable gang of crooks.

9. Zatoichi (2003)

Takeshi Kitano revives the iconic blind samurai in typically idiosyncratic fashion. His wandering swordsman aids a small town in fending off a gang of yakuza, while helping a pair of geishas avenge their parents’ murder. Packed with sparkling swordplay and dry humour, the film builds to a show-stopping dance number.

8. Hero (2002)

Zhang Yimou’s visually ravishing wuxia epic features a star-studded ensemble that includes Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, Zhang Ziyi and Donnie Yen Ji-dan. They play a quartet of legendary warriors, each of whom is bested in their specialist discipline by Jet Li’s nameless assassin, on his quest to assassinate Chen Daoming’s emperor.

7. Ong-Bak (2003)

Tony Jaa exploded onto the scene as a big-hearted yet fiercely proficient Muay Thai master in Prachya Pinkaew’s blistering thriller. Custom-made to showcase Jaa’s skills, and augmented by inventive choreography from mentor Panna Rittikrai, the story of a small-town boy on the trail of a stolen relic put Southeast Asian action on the map.

6. The Raid (2011)

Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans blew the lid off the Indonesian action scene with this stripped-down, intricately choreographed thriller, in which an elite police squad infiltrates the high-rise hideout of a ruthless crime lord. Showcasing traditional Pencak Silat martial arts, The Raid made overnight stars of Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian and Joe Taslim.

5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Every film on this list owes a debt to Ang Lee’s Academy Award-winning tribute to the wuxia classics of King Hu. Beyond making a global star of Zhang Ziyi, the film single-handedly resuscitated the martial arts epic through its ravishing visuals, heart-wrenching poetry and dizzying fight choreography.

4. Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

Stephen Chow broke box office records with this absurd, effects-heavy extravaganza about a working-class slum of martial arts masters who stand up to a gang of axe-wielding mobsters. Packed with humour and hilarious action, the film nearly saved the floundering Hong Kong film industry, for a few years at least.

3. Ip Man (2008)

Donnie Yen found his signature role in the wing chun master, as reimagined by Wilson Yip Wai-shun and Yuen Woo-ping. Across four films and a host of top-flight adversaries, the character evolved into Hong Kong’s own Rocky Balboa, a 20th century superhero battling colonialism and Asian hate at home and abroad.

2. The Raid 2 (2014)

Eschewing the tightly coiled efficiency of its predecessor to explore a vast criminal underworld, Gareth Evans’ ambitious sequel sends Iko Uwais’ noble protagonist undercover into a deadly world of prison riots, high-octane car chases and even more elaborately staged close-quarter beatdowns against a rogues’ gallery of formidable foes.

1. SPL (2005)

The Donnie Yen/Wilson Yip combo struck gold in this exhilarating crime saga – sometimes known as Kill Zone – that propelled its star into the big leagues. Yen is fantastic as the stoic law enforcer squaring off against the mighty Sammo Hung Kam-bo and Wu Jing in an electric, star-making turn. For their largely improvised alley fight alone, SPL is without equal.

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