Summary

• Recent martial arts movies have incorporated sharper humor, complex fight choreography, and references to Western films to keep the genre fresh.
• Some martial arts movies, like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Undisputed II, have reinvented the genre by prioritizing storytelling and character development over non-stop action.
• Films like Kill Bill Vol. 1 and The Raid franchise have pushed the boundaries of onscreen violence and innovative fight sequences, reinventing the martial arts genre in the process.

The martial arts movie genre has seen a plethora of entries that have helped reinvent things. Whether through clever filmmaking, unique subversions of the genre, or martial arts movie genre has continued to sustain audience interest for nearly a decade. Most martial arts films center around naive protagonists looking to get stronger either so they can defend their loved ones or best a particularly tough opponent. Furthermore, many movies in the genre tend to offer unique insights into the philosophies, history, and politics.

However, more recent martial arts movies have also included a sharper sense of humor, more complex fight choreography, and even references to Western films to keep the genre from going stale. Whereas many iconic martial arts movies from the 1960s and 1970s relied heavily on intricate wire-work to give the martial arts movies of each respective decade a unique feel, CGI and the inclusion of pop stars have achieved a similar effect from the 1990s to today. Irrespective of the decade or filmmaking techniques utilized, the martial arts genre has seen many clever, exciting, or downright fun attempts at reinventing the martial arts genre.

Related: 10 Martial Arts Movies Where The Villain Was Clearly The Better Fighter

15 Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn Quan Wang

Everything Everywhere All At Once centers around a burnt-out Chinese-American immigrant named Evelyn who goes down a rabbit hole of multiverses to restore the love between herself and her drifting family. Everything Everywhere All At Once is filled with amazing fight choreography, well-written characters, and some amazing quotes that will inspire audiences for years to come. However, the film's approach to storytelling and brilliant use of multiverses is what helps it infuse the martial arts genre with new blood. Whereas most films in the genre prioritize action, Everything Everywhere All At Once emphasizes its story, character, and themes, thus making it unique.

14 Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006)

Michael Jai White plays Iceman / Scott Adkins plays Yuri Boyka

Undisputed II: Last Man Standing follows protagonist George "Iceman" Chambers as he's wrongfully sent to a Russian prison to participate in a lethal underground fighting ring. To prove his innocence, he participates in the tournament, and what follows is an incredibly beautiful display of excellent fight choreography, an engaging plot, and the introduction of Yuri Boyka, arguably one of the best antagonists in a martial arts movie. Undisputed II: Last Man Standing reinvented martial arts movies by making its villain just as good a fighter as its protagonist. This not only raised the stakes exponentially for Iceman, but it made for an amazing climactic fight scene too.

Related: Every Opponent Scott Adkins' Boyka Has Fought In The Undisputed Movies

13 Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (2003)

Tony Jaa plays Ting

Ong Bak: Muay Muay Thai Warrior centers around a young martial artist named Ting as he ventures into the big city to retrieve a stolen sacred artifact from his humble village. Tony Jaa's breakout role, Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, is beloved by martial arts audiences because of its committed display of Muay Thai. However, Ong Bak: Muay Thai warrior reinvented conventions in that it helped show the industry how to properly introduce a relatively new martial art to the world. Ting possessing many virtuous traits and being a great fighter helped increase Muay Thai's exposure on a global scale.

12 Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)

Uma Thurman plays The Bride / Beatrix Kiddo

Kill Bill Vol. 1 tells the first half of a deadly assassin's revenge quest to kill her former squad one by one after being left for dead on her wedding day. The film is ired for its compelling story, characters, and excellent soundtrack. Furthermore, the film helped reinvent the martial arts genre by showing uncompromisingly great onscreen violence that helped reinforce Kill Bill Vol. 1's central theme of revenge. In many productions before Kill Bill Vol. 1, discretion shots undercut the violence necessary to tell the story in the best way possible. The film's success changed this and helped pave the way for projects like The Raid and John Wick movies.

11 Five Fingers of Death (1972)

Lo Lieh plays Chao Chih-Hao

Five Fingers of Death tells a compelling story of conspiracy as it sees the promising martial arts student Chao Chih-Hao fend against three deadly assassins by himself to preserve his dojo's reputation. The film is notable for its depictions of violence and excellent fight choreography, as well as its interesting thriller-martial arts movie blend. However, Five Fingers of Death's greatest contribution to reinventing the martial arts drama is its use of music. The film's theme plays at specific points in Five Fingers of Death that clues audiences to important and suspenseful moments. The theme has also appeared in Kill Bill Vol.1, thus further solidifying its influence.

10 Hero (2002)

Jet Li plays Nameless

Hero follows Nameless, an assassin sent to kill the king of the Qin capital city to prevent warring nations in ancient China from banding together. The film's color grading, cinematography, and Wuxia-style fight scenes have made Hero one of the most important films in the martial arts genre. However, Hero is perhaps most notable for its creative use of storytelling, which has seen the film earn favorable comparisons to the Akira Kurosawa classic, Rashomon. Hero's ability to instill doubt into the audience's mind was something seldom seen in the genre at the time, but its effective use of an unreliable narrator helped it establish a unique identity.

9 Shaolin Soccer (2001)

Stephen Chow plays Sing / Mighty Steel Leg

Shaolin Soccer sees a group of old Shaolin friends reunite to play a game of soccer against a formidable team to establish themselves as a legitimate Shaolin group. Featuring excellent slo-mo shots and creative uses of CGI, Shaolin Soccer is one of the more unique entries in the martial arts genre. Furthermore, Shaolin Soccer's very premise of combining soccer and kung fu is what helped it reinvent the genre, as the film came out in 2001 and helped establish the tone for the decade's stable of martial arts films. The 1990s saw a particularly austere approach to martial arts movies, but Shaolin Soccer helped lighten the mood.

8 The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2 (2011, 2014)

Iko Uwais plays Rama

The Raid franchise follows straight-arrow cop Rama as he navigates through the corruption plaguing the Indonesian police department to uproot its influence over the country. Filled with tense scenes, action-packed fight choreography, and an irresistible story, The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2 have left strong impressions on audiences and the industry. Even with its brilliant fight scenes and cinematography, The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2's greatest contribution to the martial arts genre is its storytelling. Many entries have a weak story in favor of bombastic action, but The Raid franchise did both to great effect.

7 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Chow Yun-fat plays Li Mu Bai

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon focuses on the unlikely romance between a young thief and a martial arts master after the thief steals the master's sacred sword. Filled with amazing cinematography and fantastic displays of Wuxia-inspired wire-work, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of the most influential films in the genre. With its technical prowess on full display, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon helped reinvent the martial arts genre by showing the importance of style and substance. The film has an engaging story filled with complex characters, but it is also visually stunning and filled with choreography that's almost even more impressive.

6 The Ip Man Franchise (2008 - Present)

Donnie Yen plays Ip Man

The Ip Man franchise loosely tells the story of Grandmaster Ip Man and the challenges associated with his desire to teach Wing Chun to Chinese residents during great political unrest. Donnie Yen's performance and the series' choreography have all been sources of much praise. However, the Ip Man franchise reinvented the martial arts genre by properly demonstrating how to do a martial arts biopic with a perfect balance of truth and fiction. With Ip Man 5 on the way despite Ip Man's death in Ip Man 4: The Finale, the series has proven how beloved it is, and has effectively solidified its place as an important martial arts franchise.