Haaaa-yah! For this list, we’ll be looking at the best films from the 21st century that feature martial arts prominently.
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00:00 (fighting)
00:02 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down
00:10 our picks for the top 20 martial arts movies
00:12 of the century so far.
00:14 (fighting)
00:20 For this list, we'll be looking at the best films
00:24 from the 21st century that feature martial arts prominently.
00:27 If there's a kick and punch filled film
00:30 you'd like to pick a fight with us for excluding,
00:32 keep calm and just tell us in the comments.
00:35 Hey Mojoholics, for a chance to win cash prizes,
00:40 play our live daily trivia challenges every day
00:43 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern,
00:45 only at watchmojo.com/play.
00:48 Number 20, John Wick Chapter Four.
00:52 (fighting)
00:55 (slicing)
00:57 - John.
01:00 Kane.
01:02 - Martial arts are utilized throughout
01:05 the John Wick film series, but if we have to choose
01:08 the entry that utilizes them best,
01:10 we're going with Chapter Four.
01:11 Although Chapter Three is a very close runner up.
01:13 (fighting)
01:24 This fourth flick sees the master hitman
01:26 looking for a way out of his lifestyle for good
01:29 by seeking a duel with a powerful member
01:31 of his ex-organization.
01:32 Several of the supporting cast are major stars
01:35 in martial arts films, including Scott Atkins,
01:38 Hiroyuki Sanada, and Donnie Yen,
01:40 all of whom shine along with star Keanu Reeves.
01:44 While the action is exceptional throughout,
01:46 ranking purely based on the martial arts
01:48 and hand-to-hand combat scenes
01:49 is why John Wick Chapter Four lands here on our list.
01:54 Number 19, Red Cliff.
01:56 John Woo is mostly known for his Hong Kong crime thrillers,
02:00 but this semi-historical two-part epic war film
02:03 shows that the director can tackle anything.
02:05 Based partly on the influential and ubiquitous
02:08 historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms,
02:10 and the historical Battle of Red Cliffs,
02:13 Red Cliff follows an alliance of independent kingdoms
02:16 resisting an overwhelming Han army.
02:19 While it may be a war film,
02:20 thanks to the unorthodox strategies employed,
02:23 there are plenty of opportunities for close quarters
02:26 fighting from the heroes,
02:27 who perform some downright superhuman feats of skill
02:30 in battle.
02:31 If you're looking to learn more about Chinese history,
02:34 (grunting)
02:36 with some liberties taken and plenty of action,
02:48 Red Cliff might be for you.
02:50 Number 18, The Villainess.
02:54 (grunting)
02:56 A bloody Korean action film,
03:04 The Villainess follows Soo Ki, aka Yeon Soo,
03:07 a young woman consumed by a desire for revenge
03:10 against the man who killed her father.
03:12 The film sees many twists and turns
03:14 as Yeon Soo struggles with her attempts
03:16 to make a normal life amid her training to become a killer.
03:19 The action throughout is intense and incredibly creative,
03:23 with fights taking place on moving vehicles
03:25 like motorcycles and a bus,
03:27 and even an extended sequence shot from her point of view.
03:30 The vilest thing about The Villainess though,
03:33 is that eventually it's over.
03:35 Number 17, Shadow.
03:42 A Woosia film by acclaimed director Jung Ni Mo,
03:45 expect that name to come up a lot,
03:47 Shadow follows the body double
03:49 of the commander of the Kingdom of Pai's military.
03:51 (speaking in foreign language)
03:55 Forced to take the commander's place,
04:02 his shadow, Jing Cho, must execute an elaborate plan
04:06 involving a duel to retake the city for which he's named.
04:09 Featuring a muted color palette,
04:11 Shadow is full of ambiguity,
04:13 as the courtly intrigue and elaborate chess matches
04:16 between the players will keep you guessing
04:17 until the very end and beyond.
04:20 Meanwhile, the action alternates
04:22 between the graceful, otherworldly motions
04:24 Woosia is known for and utterly brutal violence.
04:27 Plus, it has perhaps the coolest use of umbrellas
04:30 in fight scenes ever.
04:32 Number 16, Kung Fu Jungle.
04:45 (swords clashing)
04:48 Kung Fu Jungle is also known as Kung Fu Killer,
04:55 which is probably more appropriate given its premise.
04:58 Donnie Yen stars as a martial arts instructor
05:01 imprisoned for accidentally killing his opponent in a duel,
05:04 who's brought out of prison to help catch a serial killer
05:07 who kills martial arts masters
05:09 using their respective disciplines.
05:11 The fights can get as gloriously ridiculous as the setup,
05:14 with battles on a giant skeleton,
05:16 a movie set, and a busy highway.
05:18 In fact, the only thing more absurd
05:20 is the number of cameos sprinkled throughout.
05:23 Fans of Hong Kong action cinema
05:25 will get a kick out of spotting so many familiar faces,
05:28 but even if you don't recognize any of them,
05:30 Kung Fu Jungle is a killer thriller.
05:40 Number 15, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
05:44 (swords clashing)
05:47 - What up, y'all?
05:48 It's your boy, Clev, coming at you live on the bus.
05:51 I actually did take a little bit of martial arts as a youth,
05:54 so I'm gonna try and grade this fight as we're going.
05:57 - It may be a Marvel movie,
05:59 but Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
06:01 is also a martial arts film.
06:03 The title character's conflict with his father,
06:05 Zhu Wenwu, better known as the Mandarin,
06:07 sees him confront his destiny
06:09 and his family in equal measure.
06:11 The fight scenes pay tribute
06:13 to several styles of martial arts films,
06:15 with influences ranging from modern Kung Fu
06:17 to more heightened wuxia-like choreography.
06:20 While the movie does feature some typical Marvel hallmarks
06:23 like the CGI-heavy final battle,
06:25 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings hits hardest
06:28 with its more grounded fight scenes
06:30 and the powerful emotional core
06:31 centered on Shang-Chi and his family.
06:33 - She's not back there, Dad.
06:37 - Get out of my way, boy.
06:40 Now.
06:44 - Number 14, Chocolate.
06:46 After her mother gets cancer,
06:48 Zhen, a young woman on the autism spectrum
06:50 with a love for martial arts,
06:52 decides to collect on debts owed to her mom
06:55 to pay for her treatment.
06:56 (speaking in foreign language)
07:00 And since most of the debts are owed by gangsters,
07:05 Zhen must use her martial arts to get them to pay up
07:08 the hard way.
07:09 It's always nice to see a character on the spectrum
07:11 who can kick ass.
07:12 Additionally, the film pays tribute
07:14 to famed martial arts stars like Bruce Lee and Tony Jaa
07:18 through its choreography.
07:19 Chocolate may not always be sweet,
07:21 but hey, dark chocolate is better anyway.
07:24 (screaming)
07:26 Number 13, The Grandmaster.
07:34 (speaking in foreign language)
07:38 Unquestionably, one of the more underrated depictions
07:50 of the life of Wing Chun master Ip Man,
07:52 The Grandmaster is a visually stunning martial arts film.
07:56 Director Wong Kar-Wai's beautiful cinematography
07:59 and use of slow motion lend weight and grace
08:01 to nearly every scene,
08:03 the fights included.
08:04 Along with Ip Man's journey to prominence
08:06 in the world of martial arts,
08:08 his story is paralleled by Gung Er,
08:10 a martial artist consumed by vengeance
08:12 against a traitorous disciple of her father's.
08:15 The Grandmaster may not go for the intensity
08:17 of some other films,
08:18 but its sense of melancholy and overall spectacle
08:22 make it a unique experience.
08:23 (speaking in foreign language)
08:27 Number 12, SPL II, A Time for Consequences.
08:33 Despite its name, SPL II, or Kill Zone II, isn't a sequel.
08:37 It follows a Thai prison guard whose daughter is dying,
08:40 played by Tony Jaa,
08:41 teaming up with an undercover Hong Kong police detective,
08:44 played by Wu Jing,
08:45 as they work to take down the black market organ market
08:48 at the prison where the former works.
08:50 The action is incredible throughout,
08:53 with Jaa's furious muay Thai being a definite highlight,
08:56 although the villains, such as Zhang Jin's warden,
08:59 prove just as amazing.
09:00 (speaking in foreign language)
09:04 Whether it's moments of frenetic chaos like the prison riot
09:10 or the final two-on-one battle,
09:12 SPL II delivers some dynamic action,
09:15 plus some hard-hitting emotional beats,
09:17 especially with the daughter.
09:18 The biggest consequence of seeing this movie
09:21 is that you'll love it.
09:22 (speaking in foreign language)
09:25 Number 11, The Protector.
09:27 (punching and grunting)
09:31 The film that solidified him
09:35 as one of the breakout martial arts stars
09:37 of the new millennium,
09:38 Tony Jaa stars as Kam,
09:40 a young man whose family were once charged
09:43 with guarding the war elephants of the King of Thailand.
09:45 (speaking in foreign language)
09:47 (screaming)
09:49 (screaming)
09:51 (dramatic music)
09:54 (punching and grunting)
09:58 But when one of his tusked charges
10:01 is taken by a corrupt politician in bed with organized crime,
10:04 Kam heads to the big city to bust heads and find his friend.
10:07 This entry is full to the brim
10:09 with incredible stunt work and bone-breaking action,
10:11 with Jaa's mastery of muay Thai on full display.
10:15 (punching and grunting)
10:22 Number 10, Kill Bill.
10:24 - You and I have unfinished business.
10:28 - Baby, you ain't kidding.
10:33 - Since it's basically one movie split in two,
10:35 we're including both of these films.
10:38 Quentin Tarantino's loving tributes
10:40 to martial arts films, among other genres,
10:42 Kill Bill tells the story of the bride,
10:45 an assassin out for revenge
10:46 against the people who betrayed her,
10:48 most notably the title character.
10:50 - With your own sword, no less.
10:53 But in the very immediate future.
10:55 - Kill Bill may be an extended homage,
10:57 but it's also a spectacular martial arts film
11:00 in its own right.
11:01 Uma Thurman kicks all kinds of ass as the bride.
11:04 Her duels with the people on her kill list
11:07 are major highlights,
11:08 as is the massive, blood-soaked brawl with the Crazy 88.
11:11 Full of violence, philosophy,
11:13 and Tarantino's signature hyper-real dialogue,
11:17 the Kill Bill films are possibly
11:18 the best martial arts movies to come from the West.
11:21 Number nine, Aung Bak, The Thai Warrior.
11:24 (upbeat music)
11:26 (speaking in foreign language)
11:30 Tony Jaa leaped onto the martial arts scene
11:32 with this 2003 flick,
11:34 delivering a flying elbow to the cranium
11:36 of the entire martial arts genre.
11:38 (yelling)
11:40 (laughing)
11:47 Jaa once again plays a man on a mission,
11:49 a villager on the hunt for the stolen head
11:51 of an ancient Buddha statue.
11:52 His fight takes him into the Bangkok underworld,
11:55 where his ferocious Muay Thai skills are unleashed.
11:58 This entry brought Muay Thai
11:59 and other Southeast Asian martial arts
12:01 to the forefront of martial arts cinema,
12:03 which had previously been dominated
12:05 by films and styles from China.
12:07 The film's prequel doubled down on this,
12:09 exploring the style even further.
12:11 (yelling)
12:14 (thudding)
12:17 Number eight, Kung Fu Hustle.
12:27 (yelling)
12:29 Writer, director, actor Stephen Chow
12:38 may not be the first filmmaker to mix Kung Fu and comedy,
12:42 but he's indisputably one of the sub-genre's finest talents.
12:45 (dramatic music)
12:48 (grunting)
12:52 Building on the success of Shaolin Soccer
12:55 and a deep back catalog of Kung Fu comedy hits,
12:58 Chow's 2004 film sees him as a wannabe gangster
13:01 who becomes caught in the middle of a war
13:02 between a local gang and the residents
13:04 of a run-down apartment block,
13:06 which turns out to be owned by a retired pair
13:08 of bonafide martial arts badasses.
13:11 (thudding)
13:13 (yelling)
13:24 The film liberally mixes martial arts with special effects,
13:29 leading to an end result that's equal parts
13:32 Crouching Tiger and Bugs Bunny.
13:34 (thudding)
13:36 (yelling)
13:38 Number seven, Fearless.
13:51 (grunting)
13:53 At the time of its release, this period action epic
14:00 was touted as the final such film
14:02 for martial arts legend Jet Li.
14:04 Li plays Huo Yun-Jia, a legendary figure
14:07 within Chinese martial arts,
14:08 who fought and defeated several foreign fighters
14:11 in publicized matches in the early 1900s.
14:14 (dramatic music)
14:16 (grunting)
14:20 This was seen as a great victory
14:29 for Chinese national pride,
14:31 and Li's portrayal of Wen Jia certainly plays to his legacy
14:34 as a source of Chinese patriotism.
14:36 Under the direction of accomplished
14:37 martial arts director, Ronnie Yu,
14:39 Li reminds viewers with almost every precise movement
14:42 why he'll be remembered as one of the all-time greats
14:45 of his genre.
14:46 (dramatic music)
14:50 Number six, House of Flying Daggers.
15:04 (grunting)
15:06 In the early to mid-2000s, period martial arts films
15:21 with an emphasis on operatic grandeur and style
15:23 were all the rage.
15:25 And this entry from director, Zhang Yimou,
15:27 is definitely emblematic of that.
15:29 (screaming)
15:32 (grunting)
15:34 The story follows a police officer
15:40 on the trail of the titular rebel group
15:42 who are fighting against the corrupt government.
15:44 In his search, he meets Mei, a blind dancer
15:47 who may be a member of the Flying Daggers,
15:49 but his loyalties are tested when his affection for Mei
15:52 begins to outweigh his sense of duty.
15:54 A beautiful and haunting film
15:55 that also features incredible fight choreography,
15:58 this entry is equal parts action
16:00 and tragic fable of love and duty.
16:03 (grunting)
16:05 Number five, Flashpoint.
16:18 (grunting)
16:24 (grunting)
16:26 While period films are a huge part of martial arts cinema,
16:35 we'd be remiss if we didn't make some room
16:37 for contemporary crime dramas like this 2007 entry
16:40 starring the one and only Donnie Yen.
16:42 (grunting)
16:46 Yen plays a cop on the trail
16:50 of a trio of Vietnamese gangsters,
16:52 a chase that culminates in a knockdown drag out brawl
16:55 between Yen and co-star Colin Chow.
16:58 (grunting)
17:00 Don't get us wrong, the rest of the movie is great,
17:16 but this final showdown has to be
17:18 one of the most intense, brutal,
17:20 brilliantly choreographed fight scenes
17:22 of the last few decades.
17:23 That alone should get you excited to see this one
17:25 if you haven't already.
17:27 Number four, Hero.
17:28 Getting back to period films,
17:39 this entry unites our old friends Jet Li and Zheng Yunmou
17:42 for another sweeping martial arts epic.
17:45 The story unfolds Rashomon style
17:47 with Li's nameless swordsman
17:49 and the future emperor of China
17:51 giving conflicting retellings of Li's victory
17:53 over three assassins.
17:55 Li claims his quest is only to protect the emperor
17:57 who instead suspects treachery is afoot.
18:00 Much like our last Zheng Yunmou entry,
18:02 this one contains some of the most beautiful,
18:05 elegantly choreographed and performed
18:07 action scenes out there.
18:08 (dramatic music)
18:20 (sword slashing)
18:22 Unfolding more like elegant, emotionally charged dances
18:26 than the brutal showdowns of some of the other movies
18:28 on our list, the fights in this entry
18:30 are some of the most captivating out there.
18:32 Number three, Ip Man.
18:49 Perhaps the most celebrated and enduring role
18:51 of Donnie Yen's career,
18:53 the Ip Man franchise is a staple
18:55 of modern martial arts movies
18:56 and it all began here.
18:58 Yen plays the titular Ip Man,
19:00 a revered figure within the martial arts community
19:02 who mastered the Wing Chun style of martial arts.
19:05 (dramatic music)
19:07 (swords clashing)
19:10 In his first outing as Master Ip,
19:21 Yen fights against the Japanese occupation of China
19:24 in the 1930s, even facing down 10 black belts
19:27 in one iconic scene.
19:29 We'd be remiss if we didn't also mention
19:31 the numerous sequels which continue to tell the story
19:33 of Ip Man's life and accomplishments.
19:35 However, the original is still number one with us.
19:38 Number two, The Raid Redemption.
19:50 Few films have come along and hit the martial arts genre
20:02 quite as hard as this one did
20:04 when it exploded onto the scene in 2011,
20:06 instantly catapulting Iko Weiss to stardom
20:09 and setting a new bar for gritty,
20:11 brutal martial arts action.
20:12 When a raid on a Jakarta apartment complex
20:25 run by a local drug lord goes horribly wrong,
20:27 a SWAT team suddenly finds themselves attacked on all sides
20:31 and the only way out involves a whole lot of people
20:33 getting really badly hurt.
20:35 The action in this entry is beyond brutal
20:37 and definitely not for the faint of heart.
20:39 But for fans of no-holds-barred action mayhem,
20:57 accept no substitute.
20:58 Except maybe The Raid 2.
21:01 That's just as incredible, if not more so.
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21:17 Number one, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
21:22 [MUSIC PLAYING]
21:25 Ang Lee's iconic martial arts epic swept the world in 2000,
21:42 setting the tone for martial arts films
21:43 to come in the new millennium.
21:45 As much a tribute to Wushu martial arts films of old
21:48 as a bold new entry in the genre,
21:50 the film sees two famed warriors caught
21:52 in a web of intrigue and deception
21:53 after the theft of the Green Destiny, a fabled sword.
21:56 [SPEAKING CHINESE]
21:58 The visuals of this film need no introduction,
22:14 as the tightly choreographed fight sequences and wirework
22:18 chase scenes have become ingrained not just in martial
22:20 arts cinema, but in cinema as a whole.
22:22 If you watched just one martial arts film from the last two
22:39 decades, make it this one.
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22:53 [MUSIC PLAYING]
22:56 (dramatic music)
22:59 (upbeat music)