This particular subgenre has delivered some of the greatest martial arts movies of all time, including Jackie Chan's career-making Drunken Master, The Chinese Boxer, Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, and Master of the Flying Guillotine. Plus, there's The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, which famously put great training sequences at the forefront. Another is The Five Deadly Venoms, which weaved together multiple kung fu styles, an ensemble cast full of talented martial artists, and an intriguing mystery.
Others, which also deserve recognition, invested heavily in their final acts. That's not to say the rest of the movie was slow or forgettable, but the filmmakers clearly intended to craft a story where the bulk of it is buildup, but is put together in such a way that the wait entertains rather than bores the viewer. This sort of approach pays off when it turns out that the final showdown at the end really is the spectacle the audience hoped it would be.
6
Five Shaolin Masters
Directed by Chang Cheh, 1974's Five Shaolin Masters is an old-school kung fu flick brimming with star power. The likes of Alexander Fu Sheng, Ti Lung, David Chiang, Johnny Wang, and Chi Kuan Chun, and more all come together in a fun Shaw Brothers classic that sees a handful of survivors of a massacre at the Shaolin Temple seek revenge on the Qings.
For its central conflict, Five Shaolin Masters makes use of a fun but greatly underused formula. It's not unusual for a martial arts movie to have multiple protagonists, but Five Shaolin Masters goes a step further; it builds a cast of five heroes and five villains, meaning each of the main characters has their own enemy that they have to deal with when their training concludes.
This setup compliments the top-notch choreography perfectly, in that it adds an unpredictable element that's not easy to incorporate into a martial arts movie. Because there's so many fighters in play, there's no obvious winner in any fight. You know while watching it that any of its heroes can die.
5
The Victim
The Victim is an early effort from the legendary Sammo Hung, who has since solidified his reputation as one of the top names in martial arts choreography. In The Victim, Sammo Hung plays a character seemingly intent on convincing Bryan Leung's Chun-yau to become his kung fu master before getting roped into the latter's conflict with his evil brother, played by Chang Yi. Aside from a surprising plot twist, The Victim is an enjoyable yet still ordinary old-school movie - until the ending kicks things into high gear.
Following a remarkable plot twist and two huge death fakeouts, The Victim's story culminates in a thrilling one-on-one showdown between Bryan Leung and Chang Yi's characters. Propped up by some great choreography by Sammo Hung, the final battle showcases both actors' martial arts skills and leans heavily on Bryan Leung's talent at playing fierce and angry fighters. The emotion that he brings to his performance helps make the final battle a must-see.
The Victim is currently streaming on Tubi.
4
Five Fingers Of Death
Preceding Enter the Dragon to become the first Hong Kong kung fu movie to become an international box office hit, Five Fingers of Death a.k.a. King Boxer is a 1972 martial arts masterpiece that stars Lo Lieh as a kung fu student whose school is locked in a bitter rivalry with a Japanese karate dojo. The two competing schools are on a collision course in a martial arts tournament, and the villains will stop at nothing - even murder- to win.
Five Fingers of Death isn't short on action, but nearly all of it pales in comparison to the last few minutes, which finally allows Lo Lieh's character to face off with the main villain's chief minion and the last surviving member of the opposing side. Although the special effects are obviously outdated, the glowing red hand used to unleash the "Five Fingers of Death" technique will always be a spectacular kung fu movie moment.
3
Legendary Weapons Of China
Legendary Weapons of China stars Hsiao Ho and Kara Hui as two young martial artists who get caught up in the kung fu rivalry between their master and his sibling (played by real-life brothers Lau Kar-leung and Lau Kar-wing respectively.) The former is also the movie's director.
The epic ending of the film is where Legendary Weapon of China truly earns its title, and its a scene that effectively demonstrates why Lau Lar-leung is one of the greatest martial arts movie directors of all time. The two masters square off in an intense duel so carefully constructed that it serves as a showcase of nearly every major weapon associated with Chinese martial arts.
2
Avenging Eagle
Avenging Eagle is 1978 Shaw Brothers classic that features a trio of the studio's top stars. Ti Lung plays an assassin who turns over a new leaf and walks away from his clan, Alexander Fu Sheng takes on the role of a man looking for revenge against it, and Ku Feng portrays the clan's leader. Ti Lung and Fu Sheng's characters become allies, but their history leaves room for a possible betrayal.
All of this sets the stage for an epic, three-way showdown in the film's waning minutes, where it's unclear which of the three - if any of them - will be left standing when it's all over. Punctuating the action is the role it hands Ku Feng, one of the best kung fu movie villains actors in the industry. He does more than live up to that reputation here, hamming it up as a cartoonishly evil martial arts master, complete with a unique, claw-like weapon.
1
Five Elements Ninjas
Released in 1982, Five Elements Ninjas follows members of a martial arts school struggling to survive when their contemporaries start getting killed by ninjas. Eventually, most of the main characters are killed off, leaving only one protagonist left. Even though the movie is almost over by this point, he finds new allies, just in time for a final battle with the ninjas that Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino once referred to as one of the greatest endings of "any movie ever made."
Part of that is owed to its incredible martial arts choreography, but also driving the entertainment factor is how committed Five Element Ninjas is to its brand of over-the-top martial arts action, which comes across as superhuman in so many different scenes. The movie takes that side of the film to the extreme at the ending, topping it all out with an unforgettable finishing move where the main villain is quite literally torn in half.
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