It has always been a problem while selecting the best martial art films ever made in the history of cinema. However, we have tried to pick the 25 best martial art films. At #16 is Kill Bill.
1. Drunken Master II
A young martial artist is caught between respecting his pacifist father’s wishes or stopping a group of disrespectful foreigners from stealing precious artifacts.
2. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
The anti-Ching patriots, under the guidance of Ho Kuang-han, have secretly set up their base in Canton, disguised as school masters. During a brutal Manchu attack, Lui manages to escape and devotes himself to learning the martial arts in order to seek revenge. In a short period of time he masters the deadly use of his fists, feet and palms, along with such weapons as swords, sticks, and lances. With his learning complete, he takes on the Manchus.
3. Come Drink With Me
A group of bandits kidnaps the governor’s son and demands their imprisoned leader to be set free in exchange.
4. Police Story
Kevin Chan (aka Jackie) is a Hong-Kong cop, who scores his first big hit by virtually single-handedly capturing and arresting a big drug- lord. Of course, the drug-lord isn’t too happy about this, and frames Kevin with the murder of another cop (who happened to be on the take). Kevin has to clear his name, whilst keeping himself from getting killed or arrested, and keeping his girlfriend from leaving him.
5. Moon Warriors
A fisherman (Andy Lau) tries to help a betrayed prince (Kenny Bee) but winds up falling in love with the nobleman’s fiancee (Anita Mui).
6. Drunken Master
Wong Fei-Hung (Jackie Chan) is a mischievous, yet righteous young man, but after a series of incidents, his frustrated father has him disciplined by Beggar So (Siu-Tin Yuen), a Master of drunken martial arts.
7. Prodigal Son
A rich man’s son (Yuen Biao) believes himself to be the best kung fu fighter in Canton. Unfortunately, his father, anxious for his son’s safety, bribes all his opponents to lose. After a humiliating defeat at the hands of an actor in a traveling theatre company, the son resolves to find a better teacher. Furious kung fu battles and slapstick comedy.
8. Ong-Bak
Booting lives in a small and peaceful village. One day a sacred Buddha statuette called Ong Bak is stolen from the village by an immoral businessman. It soon becomes the task of a voluntary young man, Boonting (Phanom Yeeram), to track down the thief in Bangkok and reclaim the religious treasure. Along the way, Boonting uses his astonishing athleticism and traditional Muay Thai skills to combat his adversaries.
9. One-Armed Swordsman
A noble swordsman, whose arm had been chopped off, returns to his former teacher to defend him from a villainous gang of rival swordsmen.
10. The Protector
A young fighter named Kham must go to Australia to retrieve his stolen elephant. With the help of a Thai-born Australian detective, Kham must take on all comers, including a gang led by an evil woman and her two deadly bodyguards.
11. Kill Zone
A near retired inspector and his unit are willing to put down a crime boss at all costs while dealing with his replacement, who is getting in their way. Meanwhile, the crime boss sends his top henchmen to put an end to their dirty schemes.
12. Once Upon a Time in Chin
Late 1800s Foshan, Guangdong: Wong Fei Hung/Jet Li trains men in martial arts to help defend against foreign powers already holding Hong Kong and Macau. He looks after cute 13th Aunt, who’s just returned from England. Lots of fight scenes.
13. Five Deadly Venoms
The final student of a dying martial arts master is instructed to locate the previous five students and defeat any evil ones among them.
14. Kung Fu Hustle
In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious “Axe Gang” while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.
15. Warrior
The youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he’s trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament – a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.
16. Kill Bill
The lead character, called ‘The Bride,’ was a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, led by her lover ‘Bill.’ Upon realizing she was pregnant with Bill’s child, ‘The Bride’ decided to escape her life as a killer. She fled to Texas, met a young man, who, on the day of their wedding rehearsal was gunned down by an angry and jealous Bill (with the assistance of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad).
17. Fearless
Martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia became the most famous fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century. Huo faced personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness and into history, defining the true spirit of martial arts. His self-discovery, and the choices he made, inspired his nation. The son of a great fighter who did not wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, the bullied Huo Yuanjia resolves to teach himself how to fight – and win. Years of training enable him to ace match after match in his home region of Tianjin. But as his fame as a martial arts master grows, so does his pride. After an ill-advised fight leads to another master’s death, members of Huo’s family are slain in revenge.
18. The Way of the Dragon
Tang Lung arrives in Rome to help his cousins in the restaurant business. They are being pressured to sell their property to the syndicate, who will stop at nothing to get what they want. When Tang arrives he poses a new threat to the syndicate, and they are unable to defeat him. The syndicate boss hires the best Japanese and European martial artists to fight Tang, but he easily finishes them off. The American martial artist Colt is hired and has a showdown with Tang in Rome’s famous Colosseum.
19. Ip Man
During the Japanese invasion of China, a wealthy martial artist is forced to leave his home when his city is occupied. With little means of providing for themselves, Ip Man and the remaining members of the city must find a way to survive.
20. The Raid 2
Only a short time after the first raid, Rama goes undercover with the thugs of Jakarta and plans to bring down the syndicate and uncover the corruption within his police force.
21. Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon revolves around 3 main characters; Lee, a man recruited by an agency to investigate a tournament hosted by Han, since they believe he has an Opium trade there. Roper and Williams are former army buddies since Vietnam and they enter the tournament due to different problems that they have. It’s a deadly tournament they will enter on an island. Lee’s job is to get the other 2 out of there alive.
22. Fist of Fury
Returning to Shanghai to marry his fiancée, Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) a student of renowned martial arts teacher Huo Yuanjia, discovers his sifu has died. During the funeral, members of a local Japanese dojo show up and insult the Chinese students. The bullying continues, with Chen fighting back, but when he discovers the truth – that his teacher was poisoned on the orders of the dojo’s master – he sets off on a doomed mission of revenge.
23. House of Flying Daggers
During the reign of the Tang dynasty in China, a secret organization called “The House of the Flying Daggers” rises and opposes the government. A police officer called Leo sends officer Jin to investigate a young dancer named Mei, claiming that she has ties to the “Flying Daggers”.
24. The Karate Kid
Daniel and his mother move from New Jersey to California. She has a wonderful new job, but Daniel quickly discovers that a dark haired Italian boy with a Jersey accent doesn’t fit into the blond surfer crowd. Daniel manages to talk his way out of some fights, but he is finally cornered by several who belong to the same karate school. As Daniel is passing out from the beating he sees Miyagi, the elderly gardener leaps into the fray and save him by outfighting half a dozen teenagers.
25. Master of the Flying Guillotine
After his students are killed by the One Armed Boxer, a vengeful and blind Kung Fu expert travels to a village where a martial arts contest is being held and vows to behead every one armed man he comes across.
