There are many great martial arts films that blend a variety of different martial arts fighting styles into their fight scenes. The art of fight choreography is one of the most complex elements of filmmaking. Actors, stunt performers, and fight choreographers craft fight scenes like dance sequences, with each move planned and blocked to tell a harmonious story of combat. Martial arts films draw from real life disciplines of combat in order to deliver the most spectacular action possible.
While the use of fighting styles in the best martial arts films is inherently varied, some make that the very essence of the entire movie. Often, martial arts films of this nature take place in MMA settings or underground tournaments to the death, in which fighters blend different martial arts together to achieve victory over their opponents. Unsurprisingly, some of the most exhilarating martial arts films ever made are predicated on exactly this concept. Here are 10 great martial arts movies that utilize many different fighting styles in their fight sequences.
10 Tom Yum Goong (2005)
Released in the West by such titles as The Protector and Warrior King, Tom Yum Goong is Tony Jaa’s follow-up to his 2003 break-out Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, and goes even crazier with its fight choreography. Jaa’s protagonist Kham is an exponent of a grappling-oriented variant of Muay Thai created for the movie, known as “Muay Kotchasaan”. Additionally, Tom Yum Goong‘s cast of martial artists also includes Lateef Crowder do Santos, Jon Foo, Johnny Tri Nguyen, and Nathan Jones, who bring Capoiera, wushu, Vovinam, and pro-wrestling into the movie’s action. With that combo, Tom Yum Goong is a modern Thai martial arts classic if ever there was one.
9 Man of Tai Chi (2013)
Keanu Reeves jumped into the director’s chair with 2013’s Man of Tai Chi, focusing on Tiger Chen (played by Tiger Chen) competing in a Hong Kong fight club to save his Tai Chi temple. Tiger faces exponents of Shaolin kung fu, Tae Kwon Do, wrestling, MMA, and silat in amazing fight scenes orchestrated by the legendary Yuen Woo-ping. Though Chen’s short fight with The Raid‘s Iko Uwais leaves much to be desired, Man of Tai Chi is both a loving showcase of Tai Chi and a solid blend of martial arts under Reeves’s strong freshman outing as director (and rare villain role as the fight club’s sinister owner, Donaka Mark.)
8 Bloodsport (1988)
Though the facts of Frank Dux’s alleged participation in the underground tournament known as the Kumite might be dubious, what isn’t in doubt is that 1988’s Bloodsport is a martial arts classic. Jean-Claude Van Damme first wowed the world with his splits and kicking moves in his role as the formidable Frank Dux, while the Kumite pits him against fighters from around the world using an abundance of different fighting styles. Bloodsport will always be fondly remembered as the break-out movie for The Muscles from Brussels, but its reputation is equally enduring for the amazing collection of martial arts it presents in its fight scenes.
7 The Quest (1996)
Jean-Claude Van Damme made his directorial debut with 1996’s The Quest, and turned the scope of his break-out hit Bloodsport up to 11 with his protagonist Christopher Dubois entering a tournament known as the Ghang Geng in 1920’s Tibet. Van Damme’s skill in karate and kickboxing is just a fraction of the martial arts put to use in the tournament of The Quest, which incorporates fighting styles from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Brazil, Russia, Greece, and other corners of the Earth. Like a video game in the best way possible, The Quest sets up its ensemble of martial artists and lets them show what they can do in glorious fashion.
6 Ong Bak 2 (2009)
Tony Jaa’s Ong Bak 2: The Beginning is the first prequel of the Ong Bak series, focusing on a warrior named Tien, and it’s a martial arts fan’s dream come true to see Tony Jaa blend different fighting styles together. Ong Bak 2 showcases Tien’s training as a youth, in which he masters Muay Boran, kung fu, silat, jiu-jitsu, and other martial arts. Jaa’s combination of many different martial arts in Ong Bak 2 is some of his best work to date, and while Ong Bak 3 shows him fully unify his fighting skills, Ong Bak 2 is where that delicious blend shows all its savory ingredients.
5 Undisputed 3: Redemption (2010)
Isaac Florentine helped bring MMA into the martial arts movie spotlight with Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing, and pushed it even further with the 2010 sequel Undisputed 3: Redemption. As he recovers from his devastating knee injury from Undisputed 2, Boyka enters an MMA tournament of prison fighters, with the winner to go free. Scott Adkins’s Boyka is a master of multiple martial arts himself, while his opponents bring an equally diverse collection of martial arts to their showdown. Mixed fighting styles is in the blood of an MMA franchise like Undisputed, and Undisputed 3 pushes that to the max while setting the table for its follow-up, Boyka: Undisputed.
4 Fist of Legend (1994)
The 1994 remake of the Bruce Lee classic Fist of Fury, Fist of Legend is often regarded as Jet Li’s best movie, with Li playing kung fu student Chen Zhen, who is determined to find the killer of his sifu in Japanese-occupied China. Aside from the stunning power and grace of Fist of Legend‘s fight scenes, the movie also contrasts Chinese and Japanese martial arts while showing great reverence to both. Li’s fight with Yasuaki Kurata is a prime example, while his showdown with Billy Chow is among Li’s best. With Yuen Woo-ping handling the action, Fist of Legend is every bit the martial arts masterpiece Fist of Fury is.
3 Best of the Best 2 (1993)
Best of the Best 2 doubles the action of the Best of the Best series in the underground arena known as the Colosseum, ruled over by the ruthless Brakus (Ralf Moeller). After their friend is killed by Brakus, Tommy Lee (Phillip Rhee) and Alex Grady (Eric Roberts) train to defeat Brakus, with Best of the Best 2 delivering the most stupendous action of the series. Rhee’s mastery of Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido plays heavily into Best of the Best 2, but the movie also incorporates Muay Thai, karate, wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and weapons into its early MMA-style scenario, elevating Best of the Best 2 as an early ’90s Hollywood martial arts classic.
2 The Wrath of Vajra (2013)
2013’s The Wrath of Vajra is a kung fu Colosseum of action. Set during World War II, Japan’s Hades cult establishes itself in China to break the nation with duels to the death in their massive shrine, with a Shaolin monk known as K-29 (played by former Shaolin monk Shi Yan Neng) entering to stop them. The Wrath of Vajra‘s combines Chinese, Japanese, and Korean martial arts in fight scenes that are both non-stop and amazing. Few martial arts films combine the template of old school kung fu movies with modern MMA sensibilities, and The Wrath of Vajra is one of the most electrifyingly epic ones to pull this off.
1 Game of Death/Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey (1978/2000)
Bruce Lee sought to bring his Jeet Kune Do philosophy to his planned magnum opus, Game of Death. Sadly, Lee’s passing in 1973 left the film unfinished, but even with the mess of poorly hidden body doubles in the assembled version of 1978’s Game of Death, what he was going for is still well showcased with each opponent using a different method of fighting that Lee must adapt to. Additionally, the 2000 documentary Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey shows all the footage Lee completed. Though neither version is Bruce Lee’s fully finished Game of Death, both are still an enthralling blend of different martial arts styles nonetheless.
