As you guys know, I am a major martial arts fan. As a student of Shaolin since I was 13, Tai Chi since I was 17 and Praying Mantis at 30, I know how hard it is to learn martial arts and always appreciate a good martial arts film. Sometimes it's hard to say which action movies are the best, but these are definitely my favorites. I will attempt to rank them but if they have made my list, they are very very good.
Ip Man (Donnie Yen)
I love Ip Man because he is always so casual and relaxed. I love how at the start of the movie a challenger comes to his house to fight him, and he invites him to have a meal with his family before accepting the challenge. The movie also showed great contrast between peaceful and war times in Chinese history and how Ip Man reacted to that challenge was admirable.Drunken Master (Jackie Chan)
Jackie Chan brought the drunken style boxing to the world. He displays some amazing athleticism in this movie by performing moves that you never would have thought were possible. His moves were so unique and awesome that his character was later adopted into the video game Tekken as Lei Wu Long.Kiss of the Dragon (Jet Li)
Jet Li is known for so many great martial arts films you might have wondered why I like this the best. Other than the super realistic fights between him and bigger guys, in this movie he represented Chinese culture quite well by being a respectful man who helps the female lead (Bridget Fonda) escape the life of prostitution and get her daughter back.Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon ( Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi)
The martial arts in ancient China is so mystical that we have no idea how good they were back then. Most of the secret martial arts manuals that existed have either been destroyed or burnt down so it can only be left to our imagination. While the anti gravity kung fu looked unrealistic in the movie, they made up for it with some awesome fights between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. Chow Yun Fat's brief Tai Chi routine in the backyard in my opinion was perfect, especially with Michelle watching in the background.Fist of Legend (Jet Li, Chin Siu-ho, Billy Chow)
This was one of the earlier martial arts movies I saw as a child and it certainly did make an impression on me. The clash between styles were so well contrasted in this movie you really get the essence of each style. Jet Li's integration between the traditional Kung Fu style and the Western boxing movements was especially enjoyable to watch. Billy Chow's Karate at the end was also amazingly dominant.
