Hello... Wondering If Anyone Can Help... Top 2013+ Movies To Watch!!!

[ChenZhen]

Wassup everyone!!!!

Well... had my first born so I was so out of the movie scene all around.

I'm so out of date and out of everthing as the wife didn't let me do anything LOL.

Can anyone help in telling me what are the best Kung Fu movies to watch after 2013?

Movies that I have seen are after 2013 are:

Chinese Zodiac

Raid 1

Street Fighters - Assassin's fist

If anyone can tell me what other movies to watch I'd really appreciate it.

And though I love Donnie Yen movies I'm not a only sword fighting fan like some of the recent trailers of him I've seen.

Also, when's the rest of Street Fighter's assassin fist coming out?

Thx in advance

[One Armed Boxer]

Can anyone help in telling me what are the best Kung Fu movies to watch after 2013?

Movies that I have seen are after 2013 are:

Chinese Zodiac

Raid 1

Street Fighters - Assassin's fist

Off the top of my head, I'd count essential post-2013 movies as -

Ninja 2: Shadow of a Tear

The Grandmaster

The Raid 2

& if you're a wuxia fan -

Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon

Sadly it's probably more easy to produce a list of movies that you should stay away from...

[Gwai LO]

The wrath of vajra

Dragon (Donnie yen)

Once upon a time in shaolin

Undisputed 3

KL gangster 2

Tai chi zero + tai chi hero

Man of tai chi

Muay tai warrior

Bushido man

Universal solider day of reckoning

The monkey king

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

Damn, it's sad that I can't even name more than two that came out in 2013 that was martial arts?

[The Amazing Psycho Per]

Sadly it's probably more easy to produce a list of movies that you should stay away from...

That's sadly so true.

I'm sorry my friend but, as others have mentioned, those are very dry times in terms of Kung Fu movies, even so good ones...

Of course, like everyone mentioned there is

The Raid 2 (which is not to be missed and clearly stands out of the lot)

And I'll also second

The Grandmaster (It IS a Wong Kar Wai movie so know what to expect, but there are some pretty decent scuffles in there)

Ninja II: Shadow of a tear (espcially the last, too short, but awesome fight between Adkins and Kosugi)

And I'd maybe had:

Ip Man: Final fight (not a wall to wall fight flick, but I thought overall it a was still a pretty decent period drama/kung fu movie. There's a very surprising fight between Eric Tsang and Anthony Wong.)

I'd say

Wrath of Vajra is actually watchable at best... At least with the fast forward button at hand.

That's about all I can think of that I actually enjoyed in 2013 onwards... Make sure you stay away from Tom Yum Goong 2 though!

As far as the SF web series goes, if you go to the thread on the board here, there's a link to a an interview with writer/director/Akuma Joey Ansah. He mentions plans for a "Street Fighter: The World Warrior" series, but I don't think there's anything confirmed or green-light at the moment.

[Gwai LO]

I enjoyed the hell out of bushido man

[KUNG FU BOB]

Congratulations!

Try these...

NINJA 2: SHADOW OF A TEAR

BUSHIDO MAN

THE RAID 2

UNBEATABLE

UNIVERSAL SOLIDER: DAY OF RECKONING

SPECIAL ID- The film is a mess, but I loved all the action scenes. Well worth seeing.

ON THE JOB- A brutal gangster film from the Philippines.

WRATH OF VAJRA -Good as a B-Movie.

FISTS OF LEGEND (South Korean, 2013)- A film about teen tough guys competing in a televised MMA competition as adults.

CHINATOWN (Vietnam, 2013, aka. Bui Doi Cho Lon)- The uncut original director‘s version is not available, but rather an early edit to try to appease the censors, with incomplete sound effects, which was leaked and fan-subbed. This film will, sadly, neither be finished nor released in it's intended form. Still, it's definitely worth seeing even in this format.

IP MAN: THE FINAL FIGHT- It's more of a drama with some good kung fu scenes.

WU XIA (aka. DRAGON)- This is like a great drama/thriller/mystery with some kung fu action scenes. Not an all out action film. Don't watch the butchered R1 release.

THE GRANDMASTER- Same as above- see the HK cut. This is an "art film", but a beautiful one. IMHO it includes one of the coolest kung fu scenes (every aspect of it was perfect) I've seen (the train platform scene). I found this film to be exceptional!

TOM YUM GOONG 2 (aka. THE PROTECTOR 2)- This has a ton of problems and is in no way what we should have got as Tony Jaa's new film. But if this were a Don "The Dragon" Wilson film everybody would be saying "Holy shit, this has some great shit in it!" Maurice Crump alone is worth seeing it for. So go into it with low expectations and you may get entertained in a "this movie is nuts" kind of way. I hated it the first time I saw it. But I found it very entertaining the second time. RZA should stick to music- he's terrible in this.

[gwailosforever]

CHINATOWN (Vietnam, 2013, aka. Bui Doi Cho Lon)- The uncut original director‘s version is not available, but rather an early edit to try to appease the censors, with incomplete sound effects, which was leaked and fan-subbed. This film will, sadly, neither be finished nor released in it's intended form. Still, it's definitely worth seeing even in this format.

Yes the version leaked was an incomplete rough cut, but the directors cut is 100% completed. It's currently just sitting on a shelf. I spent some time working in the Vietnamese film industry and I've spoken to Charlie and several other folk involved with the production. It's likely the directors cut will see the light of day eventually, but it will be a long time coming. Needs attitudes and the law to change first which will take time. I've been offered a private screening of the movie which I will chase up once I'm back in Vietnam.

Back on topic, Universal Soldier Day of Reckoning, Ninja II and The Raid 2 get my vote. Special ID had great action but as an overall film is a mess. Tom Yum Goong 2 is awful and in my humble opinion the worse film I saw in 2013 (action or otherwise)

[KUNG FU BOB]

Yes the version leaked was an incomplete rough cut, but the directors cut is 100% completed. It's currently just sitting on a shelf. I spent some time working in the Vietnamese film industry and I've spoken to Charlie and several other folk involved with the production. It's likely the directors cut will see the light of day eventually, but it will be a long time coming. Needs attitudes and the law to change first which will take time. I've been offered a private screening of the movie which I will chase up once I'm back in Vietnam.

Thanks for the great info brother. I stand corrected.

I hope this does see the light of day as it was intended to be seen. I would certainly buy it the day it was released.

[Secret Executioner]

Haven't watched my copy of Ninja II yet (sadly, I haven't been able to see The Raid 2, TYG2 or Special ID yet and I hope they'll come out soon over here or I'll have to get import versions of at least 2 of these), but I definitely recommend The Grandmaster. It's a bit artsy at times, but the action is enjoyable and the cinematography is very nice looking.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

I wouldn't consider Wuxia (aka Dragon) a 2013 film since it came out in 2011 and a DVD was available in 2012. Worthwhile film though and if you can't get ahold of the longer version, the US version is still decent (though definitely not preferred).

The Grandmaster (especially if you are a Wong Kar-wai fan) is a must watch for cinephiles. Here is an interesting article from David Bordwell that touches over three different versions of the film: THE GRANDMASTER: Moving forward, turning back The American version is worth watching, has some scenes that are not available in the HK version and Wong did work on this cut (he is forever tinkering; though the extent he worked on both the European and US version I do not know.) I was so happy to see this in the theater.

Special ID: I wrote a bit about this in that particular thread. It reminds me of Flashpoint in that the action scenes tend to dominate the highpoints in the film, while the plot is much worse. Still I love the action. So I still have weird mixed feelings about this (and as well with Ip Man: The Final Fight (2013: HermanYau) which I probably need to rewatch to write anything intelligent about it.)

Man of Tai Chi: I actually liked this movie. Reeves is a little slow, but I liked the allegories, his direction and what he was trying to accomplish with this. I've been debating on doing a full length review on this (though I do need to listen to the commentary if I was to do this.)

Of course several suggestions I really want to watch like The Raid II (damn you Modesto for not playing this) and several others have my curiousity piqued (I know I've been warned but I'm still going to eventually see Tom Yum Goong 2.)

[Secret Executioner]

Are the Tai Chi Zero/Tai Chi Hero 2013 films (or counted as such) as well ?

Another one that I missed is Ip Man: The Final Fight, though it is (IIRC) a sort of sequel to the Donnie Yen Ip Man movies (or am I thinking of another Ip Man movie ? I know for sure it ain't Ip Man - The Legend Is Born)

[AlbertV]

Top of the list, everyone's mentioned it

The Raid 2 - My review of the film can be seen HERE. I will be reviewing the Blu-Ray (out July 8) this weekend.

Definite recommendations:

Ninja 2: Shadow of a Tear

Ip Man: The Final Fight

Unbeatable (Hong Kong MMA drama)

Fists of Legends (Korean MMA drama)

The Grandmaster

Not bad at all

Man of Tai Chi

Tapped Out (I liked it. With some improvement on his acting, Cody Hackman definitely has potential)

Forced to Fight (Gary Daniels must return to fight for his old boss to pay off brother's debt and must learn MMA in tournament, came out in 2012)

Stephen Fung's Tai Chi Films I actually enjoyed them...they combined period martial arts films with the steampunk genre and Jayden Yuan seemed like a good fit as the main hero. Would love to see him in more films. I have a feeling these were the films that got Stephen Fung to direct the upcoming KICKBOXER remake.

See this for the fights only

Wrath of Vajra

Special ID

Tom Yum Goong/Protector 2 (as KFB mentioned, Marrese Crump steals the show!)

Now, here is one you must avoid at all costs...I'm telling you this for your own good

Badges of Fury - After seeing this, I asked myself what the heck Jet Li was thinking...it was just flat out horrendous!!! Bad attempt at melding Police Squad-like humor with cruddy kung fu scenes and both Collin Chou and Wu Jing were terribly wasted in cameos!!!

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Are the Tai Chi Zero/Tai Chi Hero 2013 films (or counted as such) as well ?

Another one that I missed is Ip Man: The Final Fight, though it is (IIRC) a sort of sequel to the Donnie Yen Ip Man movies (or am I thinking of another Ip Man movie ? I know for sure it ain't Ip Man - The Legend Is Born)

They both came out in 2012, though I got Tai Chi Zero from an R1 (Well Go) release that came out in 2013. I think it all depends on how you consider your years. I, when doing a best of year, tend to go either theater release (here in the States) or DVD/BD release if it is not released here. So on my 2013 list I have Tai Chi Zero . But everyone does their's differently so the answer is it depends.

Don't forget that Herman Yau directed both Ip Man - The Legend Is Born and Ip Man: The Final Fight. So I don't put them alongside the Wilson Yip directed ones.

[One Armed Boxer]

To clear any confusion, here's a list of the movies mentioned so far with the year of release included. When you look at it like this, there's actually a decent amount of stuff released in 2013, however like some other members mentioned, I'd be hard pressed to recommend 'Tom Yum Goong 2' or 'Special ID' as starting points for the years highlights.

Undisputed 3 (2010)

Ip Man: The Legend is Born (2010)

Yamada: The Samurai of Ayothaya / Muay Thai Warriror (2010)

Wu Xia / Dragon (2011)

Forced to Fight (2011)

Tai Chi Zero (2012)

Tai Chi Hero (2012)

Universal Solider: Day of Reckoning (2012)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Ip Man: The Final fight (2013)

Unbeatable (2013)

Special ID (2013)

On the Job (2013)

Chinatown (2013)

Fists of Legend (2013)

Tom Yum Goong 2 / The Protector 2 (2013)

Ninja 2: Shadow of a Tear (2013)

The Grandmaster (2013)

Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013)

The Wrath of Vajra (2013)

KL Gangster 2 (2013)

Man of Tai Chi (2013)

Badges of Fury (2013)

Bushido Man (2013)

The Monkey King (2014)

The Raid 2 (2014)

Tapped Out (2014)

Once Upon a Time in Shanghai (2014)

TOM YUM GOONG 2 (aka. THE PROTECTOR 2)- This has a ton of problems and is in no way what we should have got as Tony Jaa's new film. But if this were a Don "The Dragon" Wilson film everybody would be saying "Holy shit, this has some great shit in it!" Maurice Crump alone is worth seeing it for. So go into it with low expectations and you may get entertained in a "this movie is nuts" kind of way. I hated it the first time I saw it. But I found it very entertaining the second time. RZA should stick to music- he's terrible in this.

KFB, you know I always respect you bro....but, really!? The most difficult thing I find to comprehend is that you actually managed to watch this not once, but twice! What's next, a re-evaluation of 'The White Storm' as a post-modernistic deconstruction of the heroic bloodshed genre skillfully told through the use of crocodiles and transsexuals!?

[Gwai LO]

User error, i ment to say "once upon a time in shanghai"... I know some of the DVDs i mentioned came out in 2012, but since the guy mentioned "the raid" which came out in 2011 and "CZ" which came out in 2012 I figured namining movies within that time frame wouldn't be so bad.. Also the "Muay Thai warrior" movie I was talking about came out in 2012, not the one with Tony Jaa, but the one with Buakaw Banchamek

[One Armed Boxer]

User error, i ment to say "once upon a time in shanghai"... I know some of the DVDs i mentioned came out in 2012, but since the guy mentioned "the raid" which came out in 2011 and "CZ" which came out in 2012 I figured namining movies within that time frame wouldn't be so bad.. Also the "Muay Thai warrior" movie I was talking about came out in 2012, not the one with Tony Jaa, but the one with Buakaw Banchamek

All good, list updated.

[Secret Executioner]

To clear any confusion, here's a list of the movies mentioned so far with the year of release included. When you look at it like this, there's actually a decent amount of stuff released in 2013, however like some other members mentioned, I'd be hard pressed to recommend 'Tom Yum Goong 2' or 'Special ID' as starting points for the years highlights.

Undisputed 3 (2010)

Ip Man: The Legend is Born (2010)

Yamada: The Samurai of Ayothaya / Muay Thai Warriror (2010)

Wu Xia / Dragon (2011)

Forced to Fight (2011)

Tai Chi Zero (2012)

Tai Chi Hero (2012)

Universal Solider: Day of Reckoning (2012)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Ip Man: The Final fight (2013)

Unbeatable (2013)

Special ID (2013)

On the Job (2013)

Chinatown (2013)

Fists of Legend (2013)

Tom Yum Goong 2 / The Protector 2 (2013)

Ninja 2: Shadow of a Tear (2013)

The Grandmaster (2013)

Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013)

The Wrath of Vajra (2013)

KL Gangster 2 (2013)

Man of Tai Chi (2013)

Badges of Fury (2013)

Bushido Man (2013)

The Monkey King (2014)

The Raid 2 (2014)

Tapped Out (2014)

Once Upon a Time in Shanghai (2014)

Only have 3 films out of this list (Ip Man: The Legend Is Born, The Grandmaster and Ninja II: Shadow Of A Tear). There are several more I'd like to see (the ones I put in bold).

Don't forget that Herman Yau directed both Ip Man - The Legend Is Born and Ip Man: The Final Fight. So I don't put them alongside the Wilson Yip directed ones.

Was actually thinking of a movie called Ip Man 3 - not sure but I think it was discussed on here. Didn't know these two films were by the same director, nice to know and it gives me a reason (well another one) for checking out Ip Man: The Final Fight.

[KUNG FU BOB]

Only have 3 films out of this list (Ip Man: The Legend Is Born, The Grandmaster and Ninja II: Shadow Of A Tear). There are several more I'd like to see (the ones I put in bold).

Unless you are doing something extremely important and all-time consuming, like nursing a baby elephant back to health, or re-freezing the Polar caps, you should stop reading this sentence right now and go watch NINJA 2!

Was actually thinking of a movie called Ip Man 3 - not sure but I think it was discussed on here. Didn't know these two films were by the same director, nice to know and it gives me a reason (well another one) for checking out Ip Man: The Final Fight.

I believe IP MAN 3 is in pre-production at best, and at worst still in development hell.

To the best of my knowledge, here are how the Ip Man films/series go as far as telling the story of his life chronologically...

IP MAN- The TV Series (2013) Dir: Fang Xiaotian

IP MAN: A LEGEND IS BORN (2010, aka. A Legend is Born- Ip Man; A Legend is Born- Young Ip Man; Young Ip Man; Ip Man 3) Dir: Herman Yau

IP MAN (2008, aka. Yip Man) Dir: Wilson Yip

IP MAN 2 (2010, aka. Yip Man 2; Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster) Dir: Wilson Yip

THE GRANDMASTER (2012) Dir: Wong Kar-Wai

IP MAN: THE FINAL FIGHT (2013) Dir: Herman Yau

[ChenZhen]

Thanks for all the suggestion guys, really looking forward to seeing these movies.

However, I didn't like Grandmaster that much, I did see that forgot to mention it.

Grandmaster had such an amazing trailer that I thought it would be the kung fu movie of the century, and it took so long to come out I thought it would be a masterpiece.

Instead there were very few fight scenes and they weren't that great either.

It's not that it was a bad movie it's just the trailer made it seem way better than it actually was.

did you guys see Street Fighers Assassin's fist yet?

[KUNG FU BOB]

KFB, you know I always respect you bro....but, really!? The most difficult thing I find to comprehend is that you actually managed to watch this not once, but twice!

Somehow I missed responding to this. Must've missed a multi-quote...

Well, here's my answer. And remember- I'm not trying to impress or appease anyone with my opinions, I'm just saying what I think. Whatever that is or isn't worth.

The first time I saw TOM YUM GOONG 2 I was literally groaning aloud in disappointment. I thought it sucked to high heaven. My son called me while I was watching it, and even the fact that I'd answer a call (or even notice my phone light up- ringer was off) during a "New Tony Jaa Movie" tells you how NOT into it I was. In fact, I spent about ten minutes telling him how terrible it was until he was out of breath from laughing. Still... I sat through the whole thing. Maybe I even split it up, and watched it over two days. But the version I saw only had maybe every third or fourth line subbed! So not long after, when someone sent me a copy with "good subs" I put it on to check out the quality. Then I thought I'd just watch the first fight... next thing you know... But seriously, once I got the "I know what Tony Jaa is capable of and this ain't it" thing out of the way with the first viewing, it was very entertaining in a mindless Thai action cinema kind of way. Trust me- if this were something we were handed 20 years ago on VHS, we'd have all gone crazy over it. "Yeah it's a stupid film and has terrible special effects. But some of that fighting!" If you can still enjoy THE ONE-ARMED BOXER for what it is, you should be able to enjoy this crazy shit for what it is too. Jaa still has some impressive skills on display here. Sure, I guess I'd rate it about a 4 out of 10 for what it shoulda/coulda been. But it's a FUN "4".

What's next, a re-evaluation of 'The White Storm' as a post-modernistic deconstruction of the heroic bloodshed genre skillfully told through the use of crocodiles and transsexuals!?

No. Now see, that one has no re-watch value there for me.

Thanks for all the suggestion guys, really looking forward to seeing these movies.

That's what kung fu brothers and sisters are for.

did you guys see Street Fighers Assassin's fist yet?

Nope. But sounds like I should, huh?