Ideally, you want a martial arts movie to have non-stop action, or maybe just give the impression that it’s packed with non-stop action. This results in certain classics, like Enter the Dragon and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, really holding up, even when watched today, because you get a lot of action throughout and most of it’s well-choreographed. Still, a quantity-over-quality thing can make it hard to remember standout sequences when it comes to some martial arts movies, which others might get around by saving their very best stuff until the end. That’s the case for The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, admittedly, which has a memorable action-packed opening, smaller bits of fighting seen throughout, and then one massive (and undeniably incredible) climactic sequence that makes having sat through the whole movie more than worthwhile.
So, this whole undertaking below is a bit difficult. The following films aren’t necessarily the best of the best martial arts movies, nor are they the only martial arts movies that have two or more great fight sequences. However, they were the first that came to mind when brainstorming classic martial arts movies that seemed equally concerned with quality and quantity. Below are some reliable films – classics and a couple of newer ones – that have two or more genuinely mind-blowing action sequences found within. Whatever those two are, they’ll be outlined and described as best as possible, and, where necessary (and if word count allows), any film below that has three or more great action sequences might well have them noted, too. But some of these are so good and so action-packed that a few scenes may have to be left on the cutting room floor, in effect (sorry).
5
‘Drunken Master II’ (1994)
You get a great deal of old-school kung fu action in Drunken Master II, which is probably the best Jackie Chan martial arts movie with a historical setting (and even judged against his films set in contemporary times, it still could be the best). Plot-wise, it’s a bit whatever, as it’s about a conflict involving foreigners trying to take ancient Chinese artifacts out of the country, with Jackie Chan’s character stumbling into the conflict, but it’s a good excuse for fights to ensue. Also, Drunken Master II is a comedy, and is sometimes funny, but not all the humor lands, and so it falls on the action to really carry this film and make it more than just passable entertainment.
Thankfully, the martial arts action does really deliver. One of the most noteworthy scenes involves Jackie Chan’s character and one ally having to fight scores of bad guys inside a restaurant, which involves so many people being thrown through the air and so much of the building’s interior being destroyed as the fight goes on. It’s about as good as “one vs. many” fight scenes can possibly get, but then Drunken Master II saves something just as fantastic for its climax. There are fewer people involved, sure, but the fight choreography featured while Jackie Chan’s character is taking down the main (and toughest) villains of the film is out-of-this-world good.
4
‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ (2000)
The best action scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is also one of the best action scenes of the 21st century so far, on the surface being a rather simple one. There are two women, and one has a legendary sword that most of the prominent characters in the film have been wanting to get their hands on, for one reason or another. The younger woman (Zhang Ziyi) with the sword gets into a fight with an older and more experienced warrior (Michelle Yeoh), and it makes for a very even match. The famed sword seems to give the younger warrior an advantage, but Yeoh’s character also knows the location they’re fighting in so much better, and makes use of the numerous weapons within during the fight, simply selecting another one when the legendary sword inevitably shatters whichever one she’s using.
It’s the fight with just two women and lots of weapons that’s the best in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but it’s far from the only good thing here.
It sounds maybe okay on paper, but in practice/execution, it’s next-level stuff, and also the best single scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But it’s also worth giving a shout-out to another restaurant scene, this one with Zhang Ziyi’s character taking on a whole bunch of men in combat and besting them all, which is shot and staged with similar skill and precision to the aforementioned one-on-one fight. It’s that fight with just two women and lots of weapons that’s the best, but not the only good thing here, and that’s before getting to the fact that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon excels at being more than just a martial arts movie, since Ang Lee’s film is ultimately a bit of a genre-blender.
3
‘Kill Bill: Vol. 1’ (2003)
Perhaps a little like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, there is one particularly bold and relentless action scene in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 that shines brightest of all, and it’s found right near the end of the film. It involves the Bride (her full name isn’t revealed until Kill Bill: Vol. 2) taking on the Crazy 88 inside an aesthetically pleasing Japanese restaurant that soon becomes covered with blood and various body parts. It’s sort of a few action scenes rolled into one, but it is a single set piece, and it sustains itself for its entire duration, with the Bride having some small fights with bodyguards, then taking on what feels like a small army, and then finally having a showdown with the person she came to Japan to kill, O-Ren Ishii.
Much earlier in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is another fantastic action sequence, though, which involves the Bride battling the second person on her kill list: Vernita Green. O-Ren was first, but Quentin Tarantino likes to play around with non-chronological storytelling, so Vernita is the first target audiences see the Bride take out (and if you look after it happens, you can see O-Ren’s name is already crossed out on her kill list). There’s one huge battle here that’s the best action sequence of Tarantino’s entire career to date, and feels like a genuine all-timer, too, and then an underrated one-on-one battle inside a suburban house that’s perfectly choreographed, all the while being both brutal and surprisingly funny. If you want a lot of dialogue and character development, Vol. 2 has your back, but if you want style and tons of action, Vol. 1 is immense on those fronts.
2
‘Police Story’ (1985)
Another Jackie Chan movie, after Drunken Master II already getting some recognition? Yeah, why not? It’s deserved, when this other Jackie Chan movie is Police Story, which is probably the most consistently exciting film the legendary martial arts actor has ever starred in, and the perfect starting point for anyone unfamiliar with his earlier work (say, the pre-Rush Hour days). Police Story is another martial arts film with a simple story, here being about a determined police officer doing things his own way, and also having to protect a key witness in an upcoming high-profile case. She could bring down some powerful people, and so she’s in a great deal of danger, so, inevitably, action sequences ensue.
It’s a little hard to call the opening action sequence a fight scene, since it involves a car chase and a great deal of destruction, but it is amazing action. Jackie Chan’s stunt work is put to use a little later with him holding onto a bus during a chase/fight sequence, and that’s phenomenal, too. But then the best action is saved until the end, and it’s the whole climax of Police Story that features the most by way of “martial arts” action, too. The set piece in the shopping mall goes on for a while, and is absolutely monumental the whole time, having some genuinely painful-looking fighting that’s eventually capped off with Jackie Chan doing the massive pole slide, which is easily one of his most dangerous – and impressive-looking – stunts ever.
1
‘The Raid 2’ (2014)
Oh, The Raid 2. What a wonderful and sometimes horrifying movie you are. To be fair, The Raid (2011) does contain a lot of great action, and should absolutely be watched before The Raid 2, or you can tackle them as one massively bloody double feature if you feel so inclined. There’s a simplicity to the first movie that’s great, and then when it comes to the second, “ambition” was probably the word of the day. This one wants to go bigger in every way it can, and though that means things are sometimes a bit messy narratively and pacing-wise, it does ensure that The Raid 2 is difficult to fault when it comes to action, since there’s such a variety of it here, and it’s all incredible to witness.
Near the movie’s start, there’s a huge, bloody, and muddy fight in a prison yard. The sequences that introduce Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Man (yes, those are their names) are incredible. There’s a car chase that also counts as a hand-to-hand fight, seeing as people are beating each other up in one of the cars while the chase is happening… oh, and there are some firearms involved, too, for good measure. And then the climax is non-stop, with the protagonist fighting a bunch of people all at once, then taking on Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Man at the same time, and then finally fighting the main antagonist’s most powerful foot soldier one-on-one inside a kitchen. Oh, and somewhere among all that chaos, there’s a great nightclub fight that doesn’t have much to do with the narrative, but it’s cool that it’s there. The Raid 2 is so generous as an action movie, and it matches that quantity with sheer quality, so it’s almost as good as martial arts films can get, really.
The Raid 2
- Release Date
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March 28, 2014
- Runtime
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150 minutes
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