I am a big movie fan and when I come across a good martial arts movie I can’t help watching it over and over again. Through the years I have seen quite a few martial arts movies, but only 5 are a top my list of must see movies. Here is my list and it is in no particular order. I love all these movies and if you love martial arts then you will too.
The Game of Death – This 1978 movie starring the great Bruce Lee was released 5 years after his death. I haven’t watched it in a while, but none the less it is a great martial arts movie. In the movie Bruce’s character must fake his own death to find out who is trying to kill him. The best part of the movie is when Bruce must fight the various opponents on the different levels of the pagoda, ultimately coming up against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I guarantee that many of you martial arts fans know of this movie, even if you haven’t seen it all the way through. It is the one where Bruce is sporting his yellow track suit.
The Protector – This movie was released in 2005 and was the second to feature up in coming martial artist Tony Jaa. Tony Jaa’s character is the protector of some elephants (which are sacred to his village) and when they are stolen he must find a way to get them back. While the plot isn’t the greatest the stunts and fighting scenes are down right sick. I love watching the fights over and over again and what makes this movie so great is that Jaa does his own stunts.
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story – This movie that came out in 1993 loosely chronicled the life of Bruce Lee. It stars Lauren Holly as Linda Lee (Bruce’s wife) and Jason Scott Lee as Bruce Lee. It isn’t a documentary or anything, just a fun movie to watch. If you love Bruce Lee and you love martial arts then you will definitely love this movie.
Bloodsport – If you are going to only watch one martial arts movie then this would be it. I love Bloodsport because of Jean-Claude Van Damme. He is one heck of a martial artist and makes this movie great. The plot is awesome too. Van Damme’s character is Frank Dux a soldier in the army (and martial artist). Dux is going to fight in a kumite to honor the man who trained him. Everything about this movie is awesome and it should be on your must see list.
Kickboxer – Did I mention how great of a martial artist Jean-Claude Van Damme is? Well here is another great movie that he stared in. Kickboxer is a story about Kurt Sloane and how he must avenge his brother who was injured in a fight. After his brother’s injury (at the hands of Tong Po) Van Damme’s character devotes all his time to training so he can beat Po. This movie is a classic and is made great because of Van Dammes martial arts skills.
If you are looking for some great martial arts movies to watch then definitely give some on this list a shot. You can read more about each movie at www.imdb.com.
