Ninja II: Shadow of a Tear (2013)

Casey vs Thugs: 2.5/5

Dojo Fight: 3.25/5

Casey vs Thugs: 2.25/5

Casey vs Lucas: 3/5

Bar Fight: 3.75/5

Casey vs Drug Dealers: 3.25/5

Hotel Fight: 3.5/5

Casey vs Myat: 4/5

Casey vs Goro: 2.75/5

Casey vs Nakabara: 4.25/5


This movie is better than The Protector 2 but not as good as The Raid 2. Scott Adkins (Casey) is one of the best screen fighters in the world. This movie is a good demonstration of his abilities. As a movie it's a pretty straight forward action film, not a whole lot of depth.

The 2 major fights both deliver. One pits Adkins up against Tim Man (Myat), a very talented man only known by true martial arts film nerds. The other fight pits him against Kane Kosugi and it's the best fight in the film. Kosugi's movements are very crisp and smooth, he doesn't look like he's being choreographed at all. Although Adkins vs Tim Man is also great there were times during the fight where it felt choreographed. Also, all of Kosugi's movements had intention. And his fight acting was terrific.

Adkins also has to fight the elderly actor that plays Goro, which actually delivers exactly as it should. It's short, tells a story and gets to the point.

Solid fight film. Somewhat recommended.

Tom Yum Goong 2 (2013) aka The Protector 2

House Fight: 1.25/5

No. 20 vs No. 31: 2/5

Kham vs Bikers: 2.25/5

Kham vs Sisters vs Thugs: 2.75/5

Kham vs No. 02: 3.5/5

Kham vs Security: 2/5

Kham/Ping vs Thugs/02: 3.5/5

Kham vs No. 02: 3.5/5

Kham vs Thugs: 2.5/5

Kham vs No. 02 on Train Tracks: 3/5

Kham vs No. 00: 2.25/5

End Fight: 2.5/5

Man, how disappointing. There's a really long action/chase scene towards the beginning that just bored me. Jeeja Yanin's character is underutilized, as she's presented as being a tier below all of the top fighters in the movie. There's also an overuse of wires and special effects (which Jaa became famous for not using) and the choreography isn't strong enough to make up for it. The final fights see Rza taking on Jaa, and although Rza looks better here than he did in his own movie (Jaa makes for a better opponent than Batista), it's still underwhelming. 

The only fights here worth watching are between Marrese (No. 02) and Jaa. Marrese is not bad. Their final duel develops an interesting concept in which Jaa and Marrese electrify their own bodies. It might've been cool if it was in a better movie, and also if it wasn't cheapened by internet lightsaber sound effects. Still, all of their fights are good, none of them are great.

As a movie overall it feels less inspired than the first Tom Yum Goong. Jaa fans and hardcore fans should watch, but skippable for everyone else. 

Project A (1983)

Sailors vs Police: 2.75/5

Lobby Fight: 3.25/5

Bike Fight: 4/5

Jackie & Sammo vs Thugs: 3/5

Clocktower fight: 2/5

Finale: 3.75/5


Don't let the ratings fool you, this is a fun movie. There just aren't that many substantial fight scenes. A lot of it is chasing. The Finale pits Dick Wei against the 3 Dragons, which is a blast. Movies with all 3: Jackie, Sammo and Yuen... are rare. So this is a lot of fun. There just isn't that much fighting.

The Bike fight/chase however, is inventive and funny. I very much enjoyed it. And Jackie pulls off an amazing Clocktower stunt too. Worth the buy. Recommended.

Contour (2007)

Opening Fight: 3.5/5

Eric vs Andy: 4.75/5

Dennis & Ray vs Vlad, Troy & Thugs: 3.75/5

Ed vs Rabbit: 2.5/5

Ed vs Phantom: 4/5

Tyler vs Thugs: 2.25/5

Ed vs Troy & Thugs: 4.5/5

Andy & Vlad vs Ray: 4/5

Eric vs Dennis: 5/5

Man, what can I even say? Contour is one of the best martial arts movies of all time. It's not just "good for an indie movie". It's incredible. It's honestly probably in my top 5 fighting movies ever. And I've watched a lot of fighting movies. 

What's so great, beyond just the pure quality and amount of fighting there is, is the variation of fighting. From 1 vs many, to a baseball bat eskrima fight, to a wing chun duel to your standard straight up kickboxing clash...Contour offers so many fights and every fight tells its own unique story through its own unique brand of martial art. Great stuff.

I mean, the ratings speak for themselves. Just buy it, support these guys. Go to the stuntpeople.com and see for yourself. HIGHLY recommended. 

The Young Master (1980)

Jackie w/ Fan vs fat Dude: 3.5/5

3 Outlaws vs Officers: 3.75/5

Hwang in Shik vs Officers: 4.25/5

Sword Fight: 3.5/5

Jackie vs Yuen Biao: 3.5/5

Jackie vs Yuen Biao 2: 4/5

Jackie vs Chief: 3.25/5

Jackie vs Chief's daughter: 3/5

Jackie vs 2 Outlaws: 3.75/5

Jackie vs Hwang in Shik: 4.75/5

Man, when I think about this movie I don't usually think about it as one of my favorite fighting movies of all time. But upon review, it's probably up there. The thing with a lot of old school kung fu films is the choreo tends to be slower but more about showcasing the art. But there's some beautiful stuff here. Even the first fight with the fan, though it has no real drama to it, features beautiful fan work from Jackie. He makes the fan look like a viable weapon.

I love that Yuan Biao's in this, and that he's a total asshole to Jackie in the movie. The two clash a couple times and Yuen Biao fights with a bench, of all things. That's why old school movies can be so fun. Strange weapons are commonplace.

Hwang In Shik is a total badass every moment he's onscreen. He showcases hapkido brilliantly in this. The end fight between him and Jackie is glorious. It's a short film unto itself. 15 minutes of action, with Jackie taking heavy damage for 12 of those minutes. Young Jackie sure was durable. A tour de force of a finale.

Highly recommended.

The Raid: Redemption (2012)

Rama vs Group, Weapons Fight: 4.25/5

Rama vs 4 Guys w/ Machetes: 4/5

Sergeant vs Mad Dog: 4/5

Meth Lab Fight Scene: 3.75/5

Rama & Andi vs Mad Dog: 4.75/5

The breakout Indonesian action/martial arts film is as good as they say. Iko Uwais is not as athletically gifted as Tony Jaa but he carries himself very well throughout this film. And Mad Dog is an absolute machine. Consistently good fighting all around. One of my favorite aspects of this movie is that the thugs are not just cannon fodder. Everyone can hold their own, which adds a sense of realistic danger for the heroes. An example of this is the meth lab scene (the weaker fight scene in the movie), which is saved by a mini boss battle at the end of it, with Iko trading blows with a thug on some tables. And the final showdown with Mad Dog is superb. This will go down as one of the stronger martial arts films of the decade. Highly recommended. 

Death Grip (2012)

Baseball Field Fight: 3.25/5

Bathroom Fight: 2.25/5

Dark Fight: 2.75/5

Eric vs Knights: 3.75/5

Eric vs Alvin: 4.75/5

Eric vs Johnny: 4.25/5

The stunt people truly are a top tier stunt group. Eric Jacobus performs great screen fighting as usual. Add Johnny Yong Bosch to the mix and we've got a barn-burner. I will say that a lot of the fighting in the first half of the film didn't grab me. The dark fight is an interesting concept. The bathroom brawl is pretty funny. Once we get towards the end, things really pick up. Alvin and Eric deliver a near perfect knife fight. And the highly anticipated finale is also great stuff, more of a storytelling fight than a technical one. Recommended. 

SPL Sha Po Lang a.k.a. Killzone (2005)

Sammo vs Cops & Donnie: 3/5

Donnie vs Cops: 2.5/5

Donnie vs Wu Jing: 5/5

Donnie vs Sammo: 3.75/5

Donnie vs Wu Jing is the best modern day weapons fight I've ever seen. Donnie with his YRG baton against Wu Jing's knife. Incredible stuff. The end fight with Donnie and Sammo suffers from overused wire work. But the grappling and straight kickboxing is still great. Sammo plays a surprisingly good villain. Those are the 2 major fights. Recommended, for the weapons fight alone.