Action movies are a big part of the movie industry because they have exciting car chases, over-the-top explosions, and intense shootouts. But the truly amazing martial arts subgenre might be where the best action movies are. The genre has a lot of great fight scenes that are made even better by the amazing action stars who beat up wave after wave of bad guys.
The best and most impressive action stars have a long history with martial arts in all its forms, either because they competed professionally or because they have been training since they were kids. Their long history with martial arts lets them do action scenes that are undeniably amazing and made us fall in love with these stars. So, keeping this in mind, here are the best martial artists in movies.
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Bruce Lee
Who else but himself, “The Dragon”? Bruce Lee might be the most skilled martial artist on this list. Bruce Lee is responsible for everything we know and love about the martial arts subgenre. With Enter the Dragon, Way of the Dragon, and Fist of Fury, he gave the world some of the best martial arts movies ever made. Lee’s fast-paced and amazing martial arts helped make his movies more than just famous. Lee is far and away one of the best martial artists in the world. He was a master of Kung Fu and created many styles of martial arts, such as Jun Fan, Gung Fu, and Jeet Kune Do. He also wrote a few books and taught westerners Chinese martial arts, which was frowned upon at the time. Bruce Lee is a legend whose life was tragically cut short at the age of 32, but his spirit and influence on the industry will live on forever.
Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris is the best person in the world. With his black belts in Karate, Tang Soo Doo, and Taekwondo, Norris has beaten his enemies to a pulp in the most Chuck Norris way possible. Norris has kicked a bad guy through the windshield of a moving car, shot someone at point-blank range with a bazooka, and broken a bad guy’s nose, fixed it, and then broken it again. The first time he was in a movie with Bruce Lee, in The Way of the Dragon, Norris showed he was a great martial artist. This made him one of the biggest names in action movies. Walker: Texas Ranger, Lone Wolf McQuade, Missing in Action, and The Expendables 2 are all movies in which he played a part.
Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen is a martial arts star who has been around for a long time. He has been in a lot of classic martial arts movies, so people all over the world are sure to recognize him. Donnie Yen’s choreography is no-holds-barred and very fast, which makes him one of the best in the business. Donnie Yen is best known for playing Ip Man in the Ip Man movies, but he has also been in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Shanghai Knights (with Jackie Chan), and Blade 2. At the beginning of his career, Yen worked as a stuntman. This made it easy for him to get many lead roles, where he could show off the many styles of martial arts that made him such a well-known star.
Iko Uwais
The Raid is by far one of the best martial arts movies ever made. Because of this, Eastern martial arts movies have become much more popular in the West. The action is great, and the movie’s stars, like Iko Uwais, helped it become a hit. The Indonesian martial artist Uwais not only does his own stunts and action, but he also choreographs each of his fight scenes, making them feel much more real and natural.
Uwais first appeared in Merendau. The director of that movie, Gareth Evans, cast him as the main character in both Raid movies because of his charisma, on-screen presence, and fast martial arts style. Since then, Uwais has been in movies like Beyond Skyline, Headshot, The Night Comes for Us, and Mile 22.
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan’s legend is quite incomparable. Chan is not only a very skilled martial artist, but he is mostly known for his dangerous stunt work. He has broken almost every bone in his body, burned himself many times, and come close to dying way too many times.
Jackie Chan’s performances in The Drunken Master, Police Story, and Rumble in the Bronx showed that he was a great action star. But unlike most martial arts stars, who are known for being brutal and cruel, Jackie Chan is just a fun guy. He often did fun and creative choreography in his fight scenes, like swinging through ladders, fighting with an umbrella, and poking many bad guys in the eyes. Chan is a funny martial artist who has done some of his best work with close friend Jet Li in movies like The Rush Hour Trilogy, the Shanghai Duology, and The Forbidden Kingdom.
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme has shown over and over again that he is the best in Hollywood because he can do so many different things. He kicked a lot of enemies and always showed off his jaw-dropping splits. Sometimes, he would even do some awesome dance moves. Van Damme is best known for his roles in the movies Universal Soldier, Timecop, Double Impact, and, of course, Bloodsport. By the time he was 18, he had a black belt in Karate, where he also learned Taekwondo and Muay Thai. JCVD, who was also known as “The Muscles from Brussels,” trained in ballet. He said that ballet was both an art and one of the hardest sports. If you can make it through a ballet workout, you can make it through any other sport’s workout.”
Jet Li
Jet Li was one of the biggest action stars of the 1990s and early 2000s. He was in classic martial arts movies like Hero, Fearless, The One, and the third Mummy movie. As a retired Wushu champion, Jet Li has more than earned his place among the best in the business. His fame led him to join The Expendables with some of the biggest names in action movies. Li has shown how good he is as a martial artist, following in the footsteps of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Li has been in fights with great martial artists like Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen more than once during his career.
Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh is without a doubt one of the most popular martial arts stars of all time, and her great filmography shows why. Michelle Yeoh is up for an Oscar for her performance in the recent movie Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. She became a fan favorite overseas with her role as the awesome Yu Shu Lien in the martial arts classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and she returned to that iconic role 16 years later in the sequel Sword of Destiny. Since then, Yeoh has shown off her amazing martial arts skills in many classic Hollywood movies. She’s been in Tomorrow Never Dies, The Mummy: Tomb of the Emperor, and more recently Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, which are both about martial arts. This isn’t even mentioning her amazing role in the multiverse epic Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Scott Adkins
Scott Adkins is without a doubt one of the most underrated martial arts stars in movies. His impressive physicality and brutal choreography deserve much more praise. Adkins is best known for playing Yuri Boyka in the Undisputed series. He has a strong background in martial arts and is fully trained in many styles, including Judo, Taekwondo, Capoeira, Ninjitsu, Karate, and Jujitsu.
Adkins has been in a total of four movies with fellow martial arts expert Jean-Claude Van Damme. Most of these movies went straight to DVD. Adkins also played the main character in both Ninja movies. He was also in a few superhero movies, including Doctor Strange and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which are the best known. Adkins will be in the next John Wick movie, Chapter 4, which will have the best action scenes of the whole series.
Tony Jaa
In movies like The Protector and, most famously, Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, Tony Jaa made a big splash with his violent choreography and stunt work. His style of martial arts is unique and very entertaining. Jaa never holds back on his fellow stunt performers, kicking them straight in the face and dropping elbows at full speed onto their heads. We’re just glad we’re not the ones getting hurt. Even though Jaa isn’t as well known to the general public, his work in Eastern cinema is legendary, and his martial arts movies are some of the best in the genre. Movies like “Furious 7,” “Monster Hunter,” and “SPL II: A Time for Consequences” all have him in them.
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