Top 10 Martial Arts Movies of the Century (So Far)

the 21st century has been a great time

for fans of martial arts cinema

welcome to watch mojo and today we'll be

counting down our picks for the top 10

martial arts movies of the century

so far for this list we'll be looking at

the very best martial arts action movies

to come out since the year 2000.

in many ways we're in a golden age for

the genre and these movies are proof of

that

if you like what you're hearing be sure

to check out the full song at the link

below

[Music]

you know it you know it the man of the

moment you feeling the pressure i'm

feeling at home and i figure i'm winning

i'm taking the throne and i'm saying no

you know you know you know number 10

the protector

[Music]

we'll talk about tony jaws debut film

shortly but we're starting our list with

the film that solidified the actor as

one of the breakout martial arts stars

of the new millennium

[Music]

jaw stars as kong a young man whose

family were once charged with guarding

the war elephants of the king of

thailand

but when one of his tusked charges is

taken by a corrupt politician

in bed with organized crime com heads to

the big city to bust heads and find his

friend

this entry is full to the brim with

incredible stunt work and bone breaking

action

with jaws mastery of muay thai on full

display

[Music]

number nine hung back the thai warrior

[Music]

[Applause]

tony jaw leaped onto the martial art

scene with this 2003 flick

delivering a flying elbow to the cranium

of the entire martial arts genre

[Applause]

jaw once again plays a man on a mission

a villager on the hunt for the stolen

head of an ancient buddha

statue his fight takes him into the

bangkok underworld where his ferocious

muay thai skills are unleashed

this entry brought muay thai and other

southeast asian martial arts to the

forefront of martial arts cinema

which had previously been dominated by

films and styles from china

the film's prequel doubled down on this

exploring the style even further

[Music]

number eight kung fu hustle

writer director actor stephen chao may

not be the first filmmaker to mix kung

fu and comedy but he's indisputably one

of the sub-genre's finest talents

[Applause]

building on the success of shaolin

soccer and a deep back catalog of kung

fu comedy hits

chao's 2004 film sees him as a wannabe

gangster who becomes caught in the

middle of a war between a local gang and

the residence of a run-down apartment

block

which turns out to be owned by a retired

pair of bonafide martial arts badasses

the film liberally mixes martial arts

with special effects

leading to an end result that's equal

parts crouching tiger and bugs bunny

[Music]

number seven fearless

[Applause]

at the time of its release this period

action epic was touted as the final such

film for martial arts legend

jet li lee plays huoyungja a legendary

figure within chinese martial arts

who fought and defeated several foreign

fighters in publicized matches in the

early 1900s

this was seen as a great victory for

chinese national pride

and lee's betrayal of one ja certainly

plays to his legacy as a source of

chinese patriotism

under the direction of accomplished

martial arts director ronnie yoo

lee reminds viewers with almost every

precise movement

why he'll be remembered as one of the

all-time greats of his genre

number six house of flying daggers

[Music]

in the early to mid 2000s period martial

arts films with an emphasis

on operatic grandeur and style were all

their age and this entry from director

jungimo

is definitely emblematic of that

the story follows a police officer on

the trail of the titular rebel group

who are fighting against the corrupt

government in his search he meets may

a blind dancer who may be a member of

the flying daggers

but his loyalties are tested when his

affection for may begins to outweigh his

sense of duty

a beautiful and haunting film that also

features incredible fight choreography

this entry is equal parts action and

tragic fable of love and duty

[Music]

number five flashpoints

while period films are a huge part of

martial arts cinema we'd be remiss if we

didn't make some room for contemporary

crime dramas

like this 2007 entry starring the one

and only donnie yen

yen plays a cop on the trail of a trio

of vietnamese gangsters

a chase that culminates in a knock-down

drag-out brawl between yen and co-star

colin chao

don't get us wrong the rest of the movie

is great but this final showdown has to

be one of the most intense

brutal brilliantly choreographed fight

scenes of the last few decades

that alone should get you excited to see

this one if you haven't already

number four hero

[Music]

getting back to period films this entry

unites our old friends jet li and jung

yumo for another

sweeping martial arts epic the story

unfolds rashimon style

with lee's nameless swordsman and the

future emperor of china giving

conflicting retellings of lee's victory

over three assassins

lee claims his quest is only to protect

the emperor who instead suspects

treachery is afoot

much like our last jungimo entry this

one contains some of the most beautiful

elegantly choreographed and performed

action scenes out there

[Music]

unfolding more like elegant emotionally

charged dances than the brutal showdowns

of some of the other movies on our list

the fights in this entry are some of the

most captivating out there

number three ip man

perhaps the most celebrated and enduring

role of donnie yen's career the ip man

franchise is a staple of modern martial

arts movies and it all began

here yen plays the titular ip man a

revered figure within the martial arts

community who mastered the wing chun

style of martial arts

in his first outing as master ip yen

fights against the japanese occupation

of china in the 1930s

even facing down 10 black belts in one

iconic scene

we'd be remiss if we didn't also mention

the numerous sequels which continued to

tell the story of hitman's life and

accomplishments

however the original is still number one

with us

number two the raid redemption

few films have come along and hit the

martial arts genre quite as hard as this

one did when it exploded onto the scene

in 2011

instantly catapulting eko weiss to

stardom and setting a new bar for gritty

brutal martial arts action

when a raid on a jakarta apartment

complex run by a local drug lord goes

horribly wrong

a swat team suddenly finds themselves

attacked on all sides

and the only way out involves a whole

lot of people getting really badly hurt

the action in this entry is beyond

brutal and definitely not for the faint

of heart

but for fans of no holds barred action

mayhem

except no substitute before we unveil

our top pick here are a few honorable

mentions

chocolate for the badass female lead

[Music]

the final master for the incredible

ending fight scene

ninja shadow of a tear for being an

awesome 80s throwback

spl2 a time for consequences for tony

job versus max jung

[Music]

kung fu killer for terrific stunt work

[Music]

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number one crouching tiger hidden dragon

angley's iconic martial arts epic swept

the world in 2000

setting the tone for martial arts films

to come in the new millennium

as much a tribute to wushaw martial arts

films of old as a bold new entry in the

genre

the film sees two famed warriors caught

in a web of intrigue and deception

after the theft of the green destiny a

fabled sword

[Music]

the visuals of this film need no

introduction as the tightly

choreographed fight sequences and wire

work chase scenes have become ingrained

not just in martial arts cinema but in

cinema as a whole

[Music]

if you watch just one martial arts film

from the last two decades

make it this one

do you agree with our picks let us know

in the comments and hey

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right now be sure to check out the music

video for it right here

the kid is unstoppable i stay on top of

you i make impossible do like it's

fossil fuel you see the opposite