Top Ten Martial Arts Movies

Anyone who enjoys a good martial arts movie probably has their own list of favorites. This type of film runs the gamut from cult films with small but dedicated audiences to box office mega hits. But only someone who has actually practiced one of the many types of martial arts can truly appreciate the strength and skill required to make these films look natural and believable.

This list is based upon the martial arts movie voting algorithm as voted on by the martial artys community of InterMartialArts.com.

Top Martial Arts Movies of all time list

10. Chocolate (2008) JeeJa Yanin

Probably the best martial arts movie to come out of Thailand, although influenced heavily by the Hong Kong martial arts movie scene. This modern classic is well worth a watch. It's about an autistic girl with incredible combat skills who sets out on a mission to ensure that her mother's debts with local gangs are paid back.

9. 13 Assasins (2010) Koji Yakusho

One of Japan's best and probably the most profitable, making almost $1 billion, but only costing $6 million. The directing, acting, storyline and cinematography is second to none. The story revolves around a group of men who join forces to defeat an evil tyrant. In my opinion, this movie should be in the top 5.

8. The Big Boss (1971) Bruce Lee

As you can expect, Bruce Lee features twice in this list. This is a story of a young man who gives a promise that he will never get in any fight. However when he takes up work at an ice factory with some underhand dealings going off, he finds it harder and harder to keep his promise,  especially when it's a question of life or death!

7. Fist of Fury (1972) Bruce Lee

Don't expect the kind hearted, 'always do things by the book' style Bruce Lee in this movie. Here he means business and with that comes revenge, for the eath of his beloved teacher. Make sure that you watch the uncut & undubbed version - it's so much better.

6. Fearless (2005) Donnie Yen

Based on the lift of Master Huo Yuanjia, the founder of the Jin Wu Sports Federation, the most famous martial artist in China at the turn of the 20th Century. This movie is set in the late 1800s / early 1900s where Master Huo decided that he incredible skills are best put to use by educating others rather than taking brutal advantage of others.

5. Wu Lang ba gua gun (1984) Lau Kar Fei / Gordon Liu

Another great movie of the 80's whereby a man seeks to learn martial arts from Shaolin monks, however they refuse to teach him until he changes his mentality. This movie is that good it will even convert non-martial artists - it's not just about it's excellently choreographed fight scenes, but also an intriguing plot.

4. Fist of Legend (1984) Jet Li

This movie was basically a remake of the original Bruce Lee movie called “Fist Of Fury”. Doing a remake of one of Lee's most popular movies is a big risk, but it helps when you have a talent like Jet Li. The dubbing was pretty bad but the fight scenes more than made up for it.

3. Drunken Master (1978) Jackie Chan

Drunken Master is a classic of it's time. A story of a young man who has record of behavioural problems thinks his Kung Fu skills are unmatchable by anyone else. However he soon gets into some serious trouble and is sent to learn a unique style of Drunken Kung Fu.

2. Ip Man (1984) Donnie Yen

This movie was basically a remake of the original Bruce Lee movie called “Fist Of Fury”. Doing a remake of one of Lee's most popular movies is a big risk, but it helps when you have a talent like Jet Li. The dubbing was pretty bad but the fight scenes more than made up for it. 

1. The Seven Samurai  (1954)

Probably the single best cult classic Kung Fu movies of all time. The plot line involves seven samurai who are hired by a village to teach them to protect themselves from bandits. The acting is superb and will keep you hooked from beginning to end. None of the martial artists in “The Seven Samurai” has famous names that you would recognize both because of the age of the movie and its relative obscurity. The movie is in black and white, subtitled and may be a little hard to track down but it's well worth the search.

See the full list

Checkout the full ranking of martial arts movies as voted for by our members.