Warriors Two (1978)

Mr. Tsang vs Cashier Hua: 2.5/5

Cashier Hua vs Swordsmen and Big 3: 2.75/5

Mayor's Guard vs Swordsmen, Thunder & Iron Body: 2.75/5

Mr. Tsang vs Thunder & Iron Body: 3/5

Chasier Hua vs Fat Chun: 2/5

Fat Chun vs Beetle: 2.75/5

Mr. Tsang vs Assasins & Big 3: 4/5

School vs assasins and Big 3: 2.75/5

Fat Chun vs Tiger: 3.75/5

Cashier Hua vs Thunder: 4.25/5

Phoenix vs 2 Swordsmen: 3.25/5

Fat Chun vs 2 Swordsmen: 4/5

Cashier Hua vs Iron Body: 4/5

Fat Chun vs Master Yao: 1/5

Cashier Hua & Fat Chun vs Boss Mo: 4.5/5


One of my favorite old school flicks. Besides the fight with Dean Shek, everything here is solid. The earlier scraps set up larger scale fights towards the end. Casanova's kicking is soooo good. Lau Kar Leung carries himself very well as the Master. Fung Hak On's Mantis style looks deadly. And Sammo is in top form.

This film is considered one of the best Wing Chun movies out there, and for good reason. I love Wing Chun as a martial art and many of the techniques and a lot of the philosophy is on display here.

Highly 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. 

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. 

Rosa (1986)

Office Fight: 3.25/5

Yuen Biao and Girls vs Thugs: 4/5

Girl vs Chung Fa: 2.25/5

Yuen Biao vs Dick Wei: 4.25/5


Yuen Biao steals the show yet again. His group fight near the end is performed beautifully. And his showdown with Dick Wei is great. These two have terrific chemistry. Chung Fa is underutilized, which happens far too often. Not a lot of fighting here. But some quality stuff. Somewhat recommended.

Owl vs Bombo (1984)

Sammo vs George in dark: 2.5/5

Sammo & George vs Thugs: 2.5/5

Sammo vs students: 2.25/5

Sammo & George vs Thugs: 2.5/5

Sammo vs Richard Ng: 2.75/5

Sammo vs Everybody & Dick Wei: 4.25/5


Nothing really substantial until the Finale. The finale has one of my favorite "One w/ weapon vs many" group fights of all time. It's exceptional. And then capped off by a Sammo vs Dick Wei showdown. I only wish that it were longer. Nothing else really noteworthy, though. Somewhat recommended.

Book of Heroes (1987)

Bar Fight: 3.75/5

Yukari vs Thugs: 4.5/5

Restaurant Fight: 4/5

Gas Station Fight: 3.75/5

Finale: 4.5/5

Yukari vs Lam Sam Mei: 4/5

Man, this movie is insane. So much fighting. And it's quality stuff. The ladies steal the show, Yukari Oshima's never looked better. So many crazy stunts and falls. Great, great stuff throughout. Highly recommended. 

City of Darkness (1990)

Bar Fight: 3/5

Billy Chow vs 3 Guys/ Donnie Yen: 3.75/5

Restaurant Fight: 3.25/5

Kim Maree Penn vs Guy: 3.25/5

Kim Maree Penn vs 3 Guys: 3.5/5

2 Guys vs Assasin Guy: 3/5

Donnie Yen vs Collin Chou: 4.25/5

Donnie in top form. Donnie's charisma carries the fighting for most of the movie. The other guys do a decent job as well. Billy Chow is a great early obstacle. And the finale between Donnie and Collin is great stuff. Recommended. 

License To Steal (1990)

Joyce Godenzi vs Agnes Aurelio: 2/5

Yuen Biao vs Girl: 3/5

Yuen Biao vs Collin Chou: 3/5

Poolside Fight: 3.5/5

Parking Lot Fight: 5/5

Joyce vs Two Guys: 1.75/5

Joyce vs Agnes Aurelio: 3.25/5

Yuen Biao steals the show once again. Also young Collin Chou is in top form. The Parking Lot Fight is pure art. Yuen vs Billy Chow, especially. The finale between Joyce and Agnes can't follow it, but it's not bad. Recommended. 

Flash Point (2007)

3 Brothers vs Gang: 2.25/5

Donnie Yen vs Xin Yu: 4.5/5

Donnie Yen vs Collin Chou: 5/5

Not much for quantity, but definitely quality. The end fight is one of my favorite fight scenes of all time. Highly recommended.

Magic Crystal (1986)

House Fight: 3/5

Street Fight: 3.5/5

Gymnasium Fight: 3.5/5

House Fight: 4/5

Warehouse Fight: 3.5/5

Finale: 4.5/5

Surprisingly good fighting. Not a good movie. But perhaps Cynthia's best screen fighting ever. And Richard Norton and Andy Lau hold their own. Recommended.

Crystal Hunt (1991)

Donnie vs Thugs in Street: 2.5/5

Restaurant Fight: 2.25/5

House Fight: 2.75/5

Office Fight: 2.5/5

Donnie/Girl vs Thugs: 2.5/5

Donnie vs John Salvitti: 3.5/5

Finale: 4/5

Donnie in his prime. Decent fighting throughout, nothing too substantial until the finale, which suffers from a bit of damage overkill. But good performances by Donnie and John. Somewhat recommended. 

Broken Path (2008)

Bedroom Fight: 3/5

Basement Fight: 3.75/5

Yard Fight: 3.75/5

Scaffolding Fight: 3.75/5

Shed Fight P1: 1.5/5

Shed Fight P2: 3.5/5

Johnny vs Creep Guy: 2/5

Basement Fight 2: 3.5/5

Johnny vs Mask Guy: 2.5/5

Johnny vs Big Guy: 2.75/5

Johnny vs Sakura: 3/5

Johnny vs Dan: 4.25/5

Steady flow of solid fighting throughout. Nothing too exceptional until the finale. Johnny Yong Bosch and Daniel Southworth are great screen fighters. Great storytelling and build throughout the fight. Somewhat recommended.

Special ID (2013)

Donnie vs Ken Lo: 2.25/5

Donnie vs Thugs: 4/5

Donnie vs Andy: 3.25/5


One great group fight but Donnie experiments with grappling and ground fighting a little too freely in the finale. And the fight with Ken Lo is underwhelming. Skippable.

Tiger Cage 3 (1991)

Factory Fight: 3.75/5

Rooftop Fight: 3.5/5

Weapons Fight: 4.25/5

Ricky Cheung Kwok Leung vs Ridley Tsui: 3.75/5

The weapons fight is brutal in this movie. Great hatred is displayed as well as use of non-traditional weapons i.e. flaming 2x4's. And the underrated Ridley Tsui shows off his stuff in the finale. Recommended.

Tiger Cage 2 (1990)

Donnie vs David Wu: 2.75/5

Donnie vs David Wu II: 2.5/5

Donnie vs Thugs on Bus: 2.75/5

Cynthia Khan vs Girl: 2.25/5

Donnie/David vs Thugs: 3.5/5

David Wu vs Robin Shou: 4.25/5

Donnie Yen vs John Salvitti: 3.75/5

Donnie Yen vs Michael Woods: 4/5

Donnie Yen vs Robin Shou: 5/5


Spectacular Finale, and a great fight midway through. Donnie in his prime. Highly recommended.

Righting Wrongs a.k.a. Above The Law (1986)

Classic 80's kickboxing classic. Yuen Biao is in a starring role, as he should be.


Cynthia vs Thugs: 3/5

Parking Lot Fight: 4.5/5

Yuen vs Cynthia: 3.5/5

Yuen vs Peter Cunningham: 3.75/5

Cynthia vs Karen: 2.75/5

Cynthia vs Thugs: 3/5

Yuen vs Melvin Wong: 4/5

Yuen Biao kills it in the Parking Lot Fight. And the finale is strong, too. Recommended. 

Miracles, a.k.a. Black Dragon (1989)

Classic Jackie flick.


Jackie vs 2 Thugs: 2.25/5

Jackie vs Two Gang Members: 3/5

Restaurant Fight: 4.75/5

Market Fight: 3.5/5

Finale: 4.25/5

2 Excellent fights and no bad fights. Recommended.