![]() The Master (1992) – Jet Liħ/10 - The Master is a fun film for the keen martial arts enthusiast. With a likeable lead man and woman, and credible moves, equipment, bad guys and cops, this movie scores 8/10. American police obviously get involved, as does an organised crime syndicate, but they aren’t able to do much against the talented ninjas. Upon being disrespectful and outcast by the current master, the main antagonist then kills the current master and everyone found in the school that night, while hunting down the old master’s daughter who fled to America with the movie’s main hero to hide and protect the sacred armour & weapons that have been kept by the school for hundreds of years. Ninja (2009) sees the main character grow up in a Ninja school in Japan, competing with his ninja brother to inherit the position of Soke (master) of the school. Ninja (2009) – Scott AdkinsĨ/10 - Scott Adkins is a favourite of ours, having made many great martial arts movies and this is one of them. With a likeable lead character, entertaining techniques, strong scenery and a simple but powerful story, this movie makes an impact, scoring 8/10. It’s not too heavy on the plot so not a movie for drama lovers but has the balance just right for those who prefer adrenaline-rich action and steer clear of gritty drama. Plotwise, Equilibrium basically follows the plight of the highest-ranked, most-skilled assassin from the government’s elite hit squad, from initially callously killing anyone he’s ordered to kill, to eventually becoming leader of the rebellion and overthrowing the evil dictator. ![]() ![]() This is more of a sci-fi than a martial arts flick, but is listed here as it contains plenty of fast-paced skilled combative action including empty-handed fighting, samurai swordwork and gun firing in Matrix-like ‘bullet time’. Particularly appealing to people with an interest in the plight of a freedom-fighter movement against a hi-tech draconian police state. But it’s not just a corny ripoff this movie has a quality of its own. Equilibrium (2002) – Christian BaleĨ/10 - This movie was made shortly after The Matrix came out breaking all kinds of records, and seemed to try to copy its style, with slickly-dressed plain-faced agents dropping guns from their sleeves and shooting guns from exotic martial arts stances as if performing a wushu demo. ![]() So this page is, for the time being, a scrapbook of reviews & recommendations for those who want to watch a good martial arts movie but have seen most of them before and either can’t find anything new or can’t re-find a good one that’s vaguely memorable from having watched it in the past. There are many lists around the web with sometimes 100+ movies listed, but they’re never in an agreeable order and are always missing some great ones while including some stinkers, often with many that aren’t even made in English! It’s hard to find a really comprehensive list of the best English language martial arts movies. Exciting, action-packed martial arts fantasy/adventure movies ![]()
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