Enter the Dragon. mycima This classic Bruce Lee karate movie was filmed in 1973 and by many is consider one of his best. This movie stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, and Bob Wall. You will also a well known martial artist and body builder, Bolo, who has been in a number of kung fu and karate movies. In this film you will see Bruce Lee showing why he is a great martial artist, by use of his quick strikes, use of a variety of weapons, and adaptability in his kung fu techniques. Great movie! Enter the Dragon is a great showcase of Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do style of martial arts. Four chili pepper rating.
2. Legend of Drunken Master. What’s not to like about this movie. You will see Jackie Chan as a young karate student who learns a drunken style from his drunken master. Drunken Kung Fu is a unique form of the Shaolin karate style. Whether this is an actual kung fu style, or was created for film is in question. In this martial arts movie, you will see the drunken master’s students fighting an evil Wushu gang, along with their master.
The final fight scene is a hoot! Jackie Chan is magnificent in how he performs his drunken kung fu movements. The Drunken Master film doesn’t take itself too seriously, and employs a good measure of comedy throughout the film. The martial arts fighting in this movie is very well done. This martial arts movie provides good entertainment value. Rated Four chili peppers.
3. Jet Li – Fearless. This 2006 marital arts movie is at the top of the list for a more serious drama oriented, historical, Wushu movie. Jet Li plays Chinese Martial Arts Master Huo Yuanjia. Master Huo began studying martial arts by watching his father instructing other students. Huo goes from being less than competent as a kid; to developing his Kung fun skills, and defeating all of his rivals. This goes to his head, and he gets cocky.
From Huo’s irresponsible fighting actions, he suffers tragedy. This tragedy leads to reflection and a change of attitude. Enter the European influence in China in the early 1900’s. Master Huo becomes the Chinese Boxing Champion, who defeats foreigners, to create pride among the Chinese people. This is a great movie, with exceptional martial arts action and fighting. You will also like the character, hate the character, then love the character. There is little humor in this film, but a great deal of drama, like a Greek tragedy. I have watched this film four times already, and never get tired of it. Rated: 5 chili peppers.
4. Big Trouble in Little China. This kung fu comedy drama stars Kurt Russell and came out in 1986. While this film may not be on everyone’s top ten kung fu list, it does stand out in the quality of the film, and the use of many Hollywood movie techniques. The story line is good with Kurt Russell somehow getting involved with kung fu warriors, a kidnapping,
kung fu sorcery, and epic action packed scenes. The climax is when Kurt Russell must defeat Lo Pan, the mysterious kung fu master who is 2000 years old. There are no slow moments in this film. There is plenty of action, and many twists and turns. This martial arts movie provides good entertainment value, and is fun to watch. Rated: four chili peppers.
5. Karate Kid. This karate movie is the first of a series that came out in 1984, followed by two more Karate Kid movies with Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, and Elisabeth Shue. A new Karate Kid movie premiered in 2010, starring Jackie Chan, and Jaden Smith. This is a story of a smart-ass kid who learns about life and karate from an unassuming and controversial Okinawan karate master. Who today, has never heard, “Wax on, wax off”. This is a story of a kid who wants everything instantly, but learns you have to work for anything of value.
On the other part of the plot, you have an unscrupulous karate instructor at the local karate school, who teaches, win at any cost. This is where the two different karate worlds collide. Daniel is in the middle trying to learn Master Miyagi’s subtle teachings, versus the Americanized competitive form of karate. The film’s importance is showing that there are different levels of martial arts. Martial arts are as much mental, as physical. Learning martial arts involves much more than competing in tournaments. Rated 3 chili peppers.
6. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was produced in 2000 to very good reviews. In fact, it won 4 Academy Awards, and received very high review ratings. This classic kung fu movie starred, YunFat Chow, Michelle Yeoh, and Ziyi Zhang. This in many ways is a classic kung fu movie with a Greek tragedy storyline.
This film is huge in its range of scope, scenery, and story line. This film includes a search for a magical jade sword, and missing treasure. You also have a love story, and an assassin to deal with. The scenery in Western China’s mountains, gives this film an extraordinary visual palette to enjoy. Some of the scenes of flying though the air were a bit strange, but, hey, it is a movie. This is a good movie with an abundance of expression. This is a classic kung fu epic. Rated five chili peppers
