The All-Time Greatest Martial Art Movies

Ranker Film
Updated February 7, 2023 69.6k votes 5.4k voters 245.3k views
Voting Rules
Movies must have martial arts in them.

All the best movies with martial arts action compiled into a list of the best martial art movies. Martial arts movies are amazing to watch, so they're a perfect fit for film. From the revenge tactics of The Bride in the Kill Bill series to the martial arts mastery of Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon and Way of the Dragon (among many others), this list of movies with martial arts is a great fit for anyone who loves action.

Martial arts films have been with us for decades. This list includes all different forms of martial arts including karate, jiu jitsu, kenpo, muay thai, and many other fighting techniques. While most of these films are action oriented, some are also comedic (like Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon), or even animated (Kung Fu Panda). Martial art movies are also the perfect kind of film that a dad can enjoy with this teenage son or any other action-loving family member. If you're into martial art movies, then this is the list for you.

What are the best martial arts movies? Take a look at this list and you'll see for yourself.
Photo: Enter the Dragon / Warner Bros.
Ranked by
  • Enter the Dragon
    1

    Enter the Dragon

    Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly
    2,204 votes
    • Released: 1973
    • Directed by: Robert Clouse
    Released: 1973
    Bruce Lee plays a martial-arts expert determined to help capture the narcotics dealer whose gang was responsible for the death of his sister. Lee enters a kung fu competition in an attempt to fight ...more

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  • Fist of Fury
    2

    Fist of Fury

    Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien
    1,268 votes
    • Released: 1972
    • Directed by: Lo Wei
    Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) has left his homeland of China and relocated to stay with family in Thailand. Chen, who swore to his mother that he would avoid violence in his new life and even wears a ...more

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  • Ip Man
    3

    Ip Man

    Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Louis Fan
    1,886 votes
    • Released: 2008
    • Directed by: Wilson Yip
    Released: 2008
    Ip Man is a 2008 Hong Kong semi biographical martial arts film very loosely based on the life of Yip Man, a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun and master of Bruce Lee. The film focuses on ...more

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  • Drunken Master
    4

    Drunken Master

    Jackie Chan, Siu Tien Yuen, Jang Lee Hwang
    1,301 votes
    • Released: 1978
    • Directed by: Woo-Ping Yuen
    Released: 1978
    Unable to see eye to eye with his father, completely broke and with nowhere else to turn, young Wong Fei-Hung (Jackie Chan) grudgingly accepts the tutelage of Su Hua Chi (Siu Tien Yuen), a ...more

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  • Return of the Dragon
    5

    Return of the Dragon

    Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Nora Miao
    1,090 votes
    • Released: 1972
    • Directed by: Bruce Lee
    Way of the Dragon is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film written, produced and directed by Bruce Lee, who also stars in the lead role. This was Bruce Lee's only completed directorial ...more
  • The Legend of Drunken Master
    6

    The Legend of Drunken Master

    Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Anita Mui
    1,257 votes
    • Released: 1994
    • Directed by: Jackie Chan, Lau Kar-leung
    Drunken Master II is a 1994 Hong Kong kung fu film directed by Lau Kar-leung and Jackie Chan, who stars as Chinese folk hero, Wong Fei-hung. It was Chan's first traditional style martial arts film ...more