When people think of great film genres, martial arts often doesn’t make the list and, unfortunately, there’s not really a particularly good reason for that. There are a lot of great martial arts movies, but really only a handful of them ever really get talked about. The Karate Kid is a classic. Almost everyone knows Enter the Dragon and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Ip Man and The Raid have both been wildly popular. They’re all solid films, but martial arts as a genre has so many more great movies to offer.
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And when it comes to those underappreciated martial arts movies, there are some specific ones that are regularly overlooked, ranging everything from martial arts classics to cult favorites to films you might not immediately think of when thinking about the genre. Here are seven such films, all great movies that show just how wide ranging the genre can be — and all of them movies you definitely should check out.
7) The Last Dragon
A martial arts musical? Absolutely yes. Released in 1985, The Last Dragon (sometimes called Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon) was a box office hit but was met with mixed reviews, but as is the case with some unique films, it became a cult classic and now, years later, we’re really starting to appreciate the film. The film has kind of a wild premise, following a Bruce Lee idolizing martial arts student in New York City, Leroy Green, as he embars on a journey to reach the final level of his training and exhibit something called “The Glow” and become a true master of martial arts. His journey is challenged by another martial artist, Sho’nuff, who sees Leroy as an obstacle to his own ascension and tries to force Leroy to acknowledge him. There is also a secondary plot about a local VJ, Laura, and a kidnapping.
But don’t let the wild premise fool you. The Last Dragon is a great movie. It’s a very original story, it has some incredible action sequences, The soundtrack to the movie is a whole vibe (it features DeBarge’s “Rhythm of the Night” if that gives you any indication) and beyond that, Julius Carey’s performance as Sho’nuff, aka The Shogun of Harlem is iconic. There are certainly elements of The Last Dragon that feel dated watching from 2026, but there is no denying that it’s a great movie and wildly underrated fun, too.
6) Equilibrium
When people think about Equilibrium, they usually think about it in terms of the Christian Bale starring film being more within the sci-fi genre and that’s not wrong, but it is also not the full scope of things. Equilibrium is also a martial arts movie, one that created its own form of gun kata. While “gun fu” is a fighting style that combines martial arts style hand-to-hand combat with firearms and is often seen in Hong Kong action films, the version created for Equilibrium is a hybrid version developed from director Kurt Wimmer’s version.
It’s also really cool to see in action in the film. The very fluid fighting style makes for an interesting visual offset for the dark, dystopian film that is set in a world where emotions are outlawed and the population forced to take drugs to inhibit them. In the film, Bale’s government enforcer, Cleric John Preston, accidentally misses a dose of the suppressing drug and starts to wake up his feelings, sending him on the path of revolution. The film is bleak and dark and grim, but the gun kata has an almost ballet-like quality to it. It makes for a very cool visual in a movie that is actually very good as well.
5) Black Dynamite
Another film that doesn’t necessarily immediately come to mind when thinking about martial arts is Black Dynamite. Released in 2009, the film stars martial artist and Spawn star Michael Jai White and is both a parody of and an homage to blaxploitation films of the 1970s, but it’s also a very good martial arts film — one that was well-received by critics and fans alike.
The film follows Black Dynamite (White), a former CIA officer and Vietnam War veteran who is skilled in kung fu and vows to clean up the streets and get vengeance after his younger brother is killed. However, Black Dynamite ends up uncovering a government conspiracy in the process. The movie is hilarious and absolutely nails the balance of parody, satire, and nostalgia and plenty is played up for the silliness, but there is a lot of precision in its approach to just about everything. It’s another fine example of a well-done martial arts movie that is also part of other genres as well.
4) The Karate Kid Part II
No one is going to argue that people have forgotten about The Karate Kid Part II. If anything, the Karate Kid franchise continues to be well-known and beloved — there was even a new installment last year. However, when looking at the big picture in terms of the franchise as well as great martial arts movies, the 1986 sequel to The Karate Kid never gets the appreciation it actually deserves as the rare instance where a sequel is every bit as good as the first film.
The Karate Kid Part II sees Daniel travel with Mr. Miyagi to Okinawa when Mr. Miyagi gets word that his father is dying. The journey not only introduces a rivalry between Mr. Miyagi and a former friend, Sato, but also sees Daniel get his own new enemy in Sato’s nephew, Chozen. The fight between Daniel and Chozen might just stand as the best fight in the entire franchise which makes it a shame that this film doesn’t get the love it deserves.
3) Royal Warriors
While many more contemporary audiences probably best know the incredible Michelle Yeoh for her roles in movies like Crazy Rich Asians, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Star Trek: Discovery, Everything Everywhere All at Once, the Wicked movies and so many more, she also has a legendary martial arts film career, including a film that doesn’t get enough appreciation: Royal Warriors.
Released in 1986, Royal Warriors is a modern crime martial arts film which follow’s Yeoh’s police officer team up with an Interpol agent and airport security to take on a group of terrorists and stop a hijacker. The film is action packed, full of car chases and violence, including some that is surprisingly bloody, and lots of well-executed martial arts. It’s a fast-paced move that is a thrill ride to watch and Royal Warriors is just full-on entertaining from start to finish.
2) Wing Chun
Yes, there is a second Michelle Yeoh movie on this list, but not only is Michelle Yeoh just that good, but Wing Chun is a phenomenal movie and it also stars Donnie Yen so you know this is a good one. The movie follows Yeoh’s character, Yim Wing-chun, a young woman who becomes a talented practitioner of kung fu to fend off lecherous men but also ends up keeping decent guys away as well. However, those kung fu skills come in handy when she has to defend her family tofu shop and her village against bandits. When she helps a young widow, it puts her at odds with two particular nefarious bandits.
The movie has a romance subplot and is at times pretty silly and humorous, but Yeoh’s Wing-chun is firmly at the center of things. She doesn’t need anyone to save her and indeed, does most of the saving herself. It’s a great movie with some great sequences is a breath of fresh air in the martial arts genre.
1) Kiss of the Dragon
The late 1990s saw a major shift in how action movies, particularly those that incorporated martial arts style action, worked. After the success of The Matrix, we started to see heavy use of wirework for films and an increased use of special effects that allowed for some of the action and stunts typically that only trained martial artists could really do be replicated by other performers. 2001’s Kiss of the Dragon was a swing back in a more traditional direction which really makes it stand out.
Directed by Luc Besson and starring Jet Li, the film follows a Chines police officer who goes to Paris, France to take down a drug ring but is framed for murder by a corrupt cope. With an unexpected ally Jessica (played by Bridget Fonda), the pair have to try to survive and also rescue Jessica’s daughter. It’s a solid movie with a decent story, but it’s the action and the fight scenes that are really incredible. It’s a refreshing return to physical fights after a lot of CGI and quite frankly, Jet Li’s fight against a whole room of police recruits is one of the best fight scenes in movie history. This movie definitely deserves a lot more love than it gets.
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