Top 10 kung fu/Martial arts movies of the Decade 2000-09

[Grimmjow]

With many forums going crazy with top 10 of the decade lists I'm surprised no one has started one on here yet.

I been trying to work mine out the last few days and think it will take some serious re-watching of a bunch of titles but off the top of my head I think my 10 will be from...

Ong-Bak

Fearless Directors cut

Tom Yum Goong aka The Protector aka Warrior King

House of Flying Daggers

Ip Man

SPL

Flash Point

Dragon Tiger Gate

Undisputed 2

Seven Swords

Kung Fu Hustle

Arahan

Wushu The young generation

Not sure of Born to Fight and Invisble Target qualify, but if so I would include them.

What are your top 10??

[Guest Yi-Long]

- Kung Fu Panda

- Ip Man

- Hero DC

- Fearless DC

- Sha Po Lang

- Ong-Bak

- Tom Yum Goong (crappy movie, but amazing fightscenes)

- Undisputed 2

- Arahan (if only for the excellent diner-fight) and the nice comedy.

- Flash Point

Haven't seen Wu Shu, Ong-Bak 2, The Rebel, and a bunch of others yet.

[mark187]

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Kiss of the Dragon

Hero

Ong Bak

Danny the Dog

Tom-Yum-Goong

SPL

Fearless

Flash Point

Ip Man

[lillippa328]

Ip Man

Kill Zone

Flashpoint

Fearless

House of the Flying Daggers

Ong Bak 2

Shadowless Sword

Kill Bill

City of Violence

New Police Story (yes, NPS)

[The Dragon]

These are selected from what I've seen:

Hero (Director's Cut) ****

Fearless (Director's Cut)****

Ip Man****

Tom Yum-Goong ***

FlashPoint ***

Sha Po Lang ***

Undisputed 2 ***

City of Violence ***

House of Flying Daggers ***

Kung Fu Hustle *** (Stephen Chow's crowning success, funny as hell every viewing)

These films all provided equal story/action and some were even better than average performances from old MA filmstars; (Jet Li and Donnie Yen) which raised the level of expectations for forthcoming productions. I am truly excited for Donnie, who has been around for a long time, and his openness with choreography. He may be the one who replaces Yuen Woo Ping, if he chose that direction later in life.

[blue_skies]

Kiss of the Dragon

Hero

Ong Bak

Warrior king

The Rebel

District 13

Fighter in the wind

Chocolate

Bichunmoo

I did have Drive in my list but appearantly that was made in 1997.

I couldn't decide on a 10th selection until I get a chance to watch the following films again. But I guess since I've seen Kil Bill Volume 1 at least half-a-dozen times that would be a strong contender .

Born to fight

Versus

Contour

Shadowless sword

Kill Bill Volume 1

Ip man

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

House of Flying Daggers

Ong Bak 2

Fearless

Danny the dog

SPL

Flashpoint

[Grimmjow]

I wasn't aware there was a directors cut of Hero!! Does it add much more to the international version?

[Guest WuxiaFan]

1) CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON

2) HERO [Director's Cut]

3) FEARLESS [Director's Cut]

4) IP MAN

5) ZATOICHI (Kitano)

6) ONG BAK

7) TOM YUM GOONG

8) SHA PO LONG

9) KUNG FU HUSTLE

10) CHOCOLATE and ICHI (tie)

[QueMuchita]

Not in any order...

Ip Man

House Of Flying Daggers

Chocolate

SPL

Ong Bak

Fearless

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Hero

Shadowless Sword

Flash Point

[Guest WuxiaFan]

I wasn't aware there was a directors cut of Hero!! Does it add much more to the international version?

YES! The DC of HERO adds about 12 mins to the international cut. To me, it makes all the difference in the world. There's time added before the Jet/Donnie fight, time added for the Maggie/Ziyi fight, and a scene where Nameless (Li) prevents Moon (Ziyi) from killing herself. IMO, the DC of HERO is THE version to have. Seek out the HK version by Edko. That disc is a treasure. DO NOT get any disc by Guang Dong Face.

[VenomsFan]

Ong Bak 2

A City of Violence

Chocolate

Kiss of the Dragon

[blue_skies]

YES! The DC of HERO adds about 12 mins to the international cut. To me, it makes all the difference in the world. There's time added before the Jet/Donnie fight, time added for the Maggie/Ziyi fight, and a scene where Nameless (Li) prevents Moon (Ziyi) from killing herself. IMO, the DC of HERO is THE version to have. Seek out the HK version by Edko. That disc is a treasure. DO NOT get any disc by Guang Dong Face.

That's not the Chinese release is it? I purchased two copies of that, one for me and one for my mum and I couldn't explain how bloody gutted I was with it. A little logo came up every 10 minutes if you watched the film with English subtitles. Needless to say I've never seen the director's cut since I sold my copy on E Bay. Completely unwatchable.

[Guest WuxiaFan]

That's not the Chinese release is it? I purchased two copies of that, one for me and one for my mum and I couldn't explain how bloody gutted I was with it. A little logo came up every 10 minutes if you watched the film with English subtitles. Needless to say I've never seen the director's cut since I sold my copy on E Bay. Completely unwatchable.

That's the Guang Dong Face version you must have had. The Edko version is the best version of the DC of HERO. DDDhouse still has it:

http://www.dddhouse.com/v3/product_details.php?ProductID=4687

[One Armed Boxer]

Impossible to choose just 10, so I've gone for 15....also impossible to put in any kind of order, so I've listed by country instead! It looks like 2010 has the potential to add at least 5 more movies to this list though!

Thailand:

Ong Bak

Tom Yum Goong (aka The Protector aka Warrior King)

Ong Bak 2

Chocolate

USA:

Contour

Broken Path

Hong Kong / China:

Sha Po Lang (aka Kill Zone)

Flash Point

Ip Man

Hero

Fearless

Invisible Target

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Kung-Fu Hustle

Vietnam:

The Rebel

[blue_skies]

Impossible to choose just 10, so I've gone for 15....also impossible to put in any kind of order, so I've listed by country instead! It looks like 2010 has the potential to add at least 5 more movies to this list though!

Thailand:

Ong Bak

Tom Yum Goong (aka The Protector aka Warrior King)

Ong Bak 2

Chocolate

USA:

Contour

Broken Path

Hong Kong / China:

Sha Po Lang (aka Kill Zone)

Flash Point

Ip Man

Hero

Fearless

Invisible Target

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Kung-Fu Hustle

Vietnam:

The Rebel

One-armed boxer, I must admit I'm surprised by your inclusion of "Invisible target". Even looking at it as an action film not an martial-arts/kung-fu movie I honestly can't see what redeeming qualities the film has? For me this is like Lethal weapon 4, I rooted for the bad guy (Jet Li and Wu Jing ), was plain to see the villain could kick the good guys ass all-over the screen and in the end the so-called heroes undeservedly kill the leading villain.

Sorry for bashing one of your choices I'm just shocked something I would call mediocre at best rates so high for yourself.

On a side note it's interesting to see how films by the likes of Korea, Japan , Thailand, France and the US are on many people's top 10 lists, showing Hong Kong's decline. I wonder how many non-Hong Kong films would have made their way into people's top 10 films of the Eighties or Nineties? And in 10 years' time will Hong Kong be dominant again or will it be marginalised even further?

[One Armed Boxer]

One-armed boxer, I must admit I'm surprised by your inclusion of "Invisible target".

Ha ha, I was wondering who would be the first to question 'Invisible Target'...I don't think there's ever been such a 'love it' or 'hate it' movie for a long time!

Personally I loved it, the whole thing came across as a throwback to the 80's action movies of old. Even if it doesn't match them in quality, at least they tried to re-create the excitement of that era which has seemingly gone forever.

Nicolas Tse & Shawn Yue may not have studied martial arts as intensively as Wu Jing...but look what happens when Wu Jing takes control, while we all expected an all-out action movie, we just got 'Legendary Assassin'...now that was mediocre.

'Invisible Target' had fights a plenty, falls, explosions, car chases, rooftop chases, and lot's of sugar glass...I enjoyed it.

[blue_skies]

I agree it had a fair amount of action and they certainly tried to deliver. But the problem is as you said it didn't have the quality so failed to excite, well at least excite me. I also don't see Nicolas Tse and Shawn Yue as action leads. In my opinion they don't have what it takes, which I also thought in Dragon Tiger Gate.

Wu Jing certainly is a frustrating martial artist given his talents. I've not seen legendary assassin yet but hopefully now he's tried and failed as a director he will move on selecting better projects. I'd certainly like to see him star alongside the girl from Coweb, she looks a real talent, in a full-on martial-arts film.

[One Armed Boxer]

But the problem is as you said it didn't have the quality so failed to excite, well at least excite me

I meant it doesn't have the same quality of action you would find in a Hong Kong movie from the 80's.

But then again....what does? The 80's era in Hong Kong was a storm in a teacup when all the planets aligned and magic was created, the Peking Opera School performers where at the peak of their ability, Taekwondo experts like Hwang Jang Lee & Dick Wei tore up the screens as villains, and kung-fu experts like Gordon Liu, Lau Kar Leung, & Kuo Chue where still going strong.

'Invisible Target' was made in 2008, the river is now more of a trickle....and with what's available, I thought it delivered, and yes I was also excited the first time I watched it! Even movies like 'Sha Po Lang' & 'Flash Point' want us to take the drama as seriously as the action, but 'Invisible Target' seemed to know first and foremost it was an action movie, & didn't pretend to be anything other than that.

I posted a review a couple of years ago, you can check it out here - http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5449

Wu Jing certainly is a frustrating martial artist given his talents. I've not seen legendary assassin yet but hopefully now he's tried and failed as a director he will move on selecting better projects. I'd certainly like to see him star alongside the girl from Coweb, she looks a real talent, in a full-on martial-arts film

Agreed...it would be a great on-screen duel between Wu Jing & Jiang Lu Xia, & it isn't necessarily a pipe-dream either. Dennis Law frequently uses Wu Jing is his movies ('Fatal Move' & 'Fatal Contact'), & he is using Jiang Lu Xia in his new movie 'Bad Blood'. Let's hope he can bring them together sometime in the not too distant future!

[GoldenPigsy]

In no order:

Ong Bak 2

Shadowless Sword

Fearless

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (does this count as part of the decade?)

Chocolate

SPL

Black Belt

Kung Fu Hustle

Red Cliff

Redbelt

[One Armed Boxer]

'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' definitely counts, it was made in 2000.

I'm not sure if you could really count 'Red Cliff' as a martial arts or kung-fu movie, the action was more about battle tactics.

[shapes]

Ong Bak

Tom Yum Goong

Chocolate

Ong Bak 2

Ip Man

kung fu hustle

Blood and bones.

Champions

Zatoichi

kiss of the Dragon

[KyFi]

In no order:

Fearless

Crouching Tiger

Ip Man

Black Belt

Chocolate

House of Flying Daggers

Hero

Princess Blade

Forbidden Kingdom

SPL

Tom Yung Goong

[blue_skies]

I meant it doesn't have the same quality of action you would find in a Hong Kong movie from the 80's.

But then again....what does? The 80's era in Hong Kong was a storm in a teacup when all the planets aligned and magic was created, the Peking Opera School performers where at the peak of their ability, Taekwondo experts like Hwang Jang Lee & Dick Wei tore up the screens as villains, and kung-fu experts like Gordon Liu, Lau Kar Leung, & Kuo Chue where still going strong.

'Invisible Target' was made in 2008, the river is now more of a trickle....and with what's available, I thought it delivered, and yes I was also excited the first time I watched it! Even movies like 'Sha Po Lang' & 'Flash Point' want us to take the drama as seriously as the action, but 'Invisible Target' seemed to know first and foremost it was an action movie, & didn't pretend to be anything other than that.

I posted a review a couple of years ago, you can check it out here - http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5449

Agreed...it would be a great on-screen duel between Wu Jing & Jiang Lu Xia, & it isn't necessarily a pipe-dream either. Dennis Law frequently uses Wu Jing is his movies ('Fatal Move' & 'Fatal Contact'), & he is using Jiang Lu Xia in his new movie 'Bad Blood'. Let's hope he can bring them together sometime in the not too distant future!

It certainly was a terrific era in Hong Kong Action Cinema right up to the mid-Nineties. Regardless I'm surprised that in the same way that Jackie Chan, Sammo, Yuen Biao etc etc started out as stuntmen working their way up. Why didn't members of and their stunt teams and those working on other terrific action films of its day step into the light to become the next stars, co-stars, villains, choreographers and directors taking Hong Kong action cinema to the next level or at the very least holding a good level??

Apparently Wu Jing is in Denis Law's next film as well!

By the way that was a good well written review and while I'm not entirely in agreement with your opinion, I will at some point give Invisible target another watch on the strength of your review. Maybe some of your enthusiasm will rub off but I fear the lack of hardcore action and lead actors who haven't won me over, I'll come to the same conclusion.

[CDiablo]

Ive barely seen 15 of the past 10 years. I dont really like the Thai style MA movies and I feel both SPL and Flashpoint didnt have enough MA's in them to consider them MA movies. But heres my props list in no order:

Dragon Tiger Gate

Ip Man

Fearless

Drunken Monkey

Hero

[blue_skies]

Kiss of the Dragon

Hero

Ong Bak

Warrior king

The Rebel

District 13

Fighter in the wind

Chocolate

Bichunmoo

I did have Drive in my list but appearantly that was made in 1997.

I couldn't decide on a 10th selection until I get a chance to watch the following films again. But I guess since I've seen Kil Bill Volume 1 at least half-a-dozen times that would be a strong contender .

Born to fight

Versus

Contour

Shadowless sword

Kill Bill Volume 1

Ip man

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

House of Flying Daggers

Ong Bak 2

Fearless

Danny the dog

SPL

Flashpoint

I'm going to add Broken Path as my final selection so my list in no order is...

Broken Path

Kiss of the Dragon

Hero

Ong Bak

Warrior king

The Rebel

District 13

Fighter in the wind

Chocolate

Bichunmoo