Martial arts movies. They're great. You know this. Everyone knows this. Like, martial arts movies should still be more popular than they are, but enough people understand the basic appeal, or have seen certain classics of the genre that are notably action-packed (like or ). But as time has gone on, and movies within the genre need to break new ground, martial arts movies have arguably become even more non-stop.

The following films will hopefully demonstrate this. Call these modern classics, if you want, because all of them were made after 1990 (to see action-packed martial arts movies before 1990, go here). These movies aren’t necessarily ranked, either. It’s an assortment of great martial arts films – .

As linear and straightforward as it is absolutely brutal violence-wise, doesn’t have much action in its first 10 to 15 minutes, and then feels like it has almost nothing that isn’t action after the first 10 to 15 minutes. So you could say, “Hang on, that’s technically not start to finish,” but The Raid understands you need some basics established before indulging in chaos and carnage.

Call it a necessary evil, if you must, but that exposition early on is lean and, in the end, perhaps even comically brief. It , and you get about 80 minutes of them fighting their way out of their predicament. It’s just great. It’s everything you need.

And yet even though The Raid is great, takes a glad song and makes it… gladder? Like, if Jude likes martial arts movies, and he hasn’t seen The Raid 2, go up to him and be like, “Hey! Why not?” Maybe he hasn’t watched the first movie. Honestly, he doesn’t need to. The Raid 2 has some exposition early on as well that kind of reshuffles things and puts one of the first film’s only survivors on a somewhat different course.

Here, he’s not confined to one building, but he is trapped in another way, working undercover among some very dangerous gangsters. There’s even more action here than found in the first movie, and there’s more variety, bloodshed, and intensity to it all. The Raid 2 is just for much of its 2.5-hour-long runtime.

Mixing things up with a 21st-century martial arts movie that’s considerably sillier now, feels like a cartoon made live-action, and with equal amounts of over-the-top fights and slapstick comedy. Both kind of scratch an itch action-wise, and Kung Fu Hustle honestly never slows down in an almost alarming way. If it went for much longer, it would probably start to get overwhelming.

Within all the chaos is a story that’s actually pretty engaging while also sort of parodying different martial arts movie tropes at the same time. It . On that front, and as far as entertainment value is concerned, Kung Fu Hustle is an undeniable success.

This one might only just kind of qualify as a martial arts movie, but look, it’s . It’s a movie that needs to be brought up whenever there’s even the slightest of opportunities for it to be brought up. It throughout its entire runtime.

Just when Black Dynamite threatens to run out of jokes, or get repetitive, or make you think this would’ve been better off as a short film than a feature-length one, something ridiculous, violent, or entirely unexpected will happen, and you're won back over before you could even get lost. It’s one of the best comedies of the 21st century so far, and that it also (again, kind of) works as a martial arts movie with a ton of intentionally choppy action makes it even better.

While The Raid never became a trilogy, you could possibly call The Raid 2.5, if you wanted to. . Here, though, they're excessively violent, making The Raid and The Raid 2 look almost tame in comparison.

The Night Comes for Us also isn’t quite good enough to be called The Raid 3, even unofficially. Both those movies are better, but at least this one does exist for anyone who’s a little sad about the idea that The Raid 2 will likely be the last film in the “series,” or at least the last one will direct. As Rick might’ve told Ilsa in , had they both been time travelers who were also fans of martial arts movies: “We’ll always have The Night Comes for Us. Here’s kicking at you, kid.”

One other movie that feels like a parody of martial arts cinema while also being non-stop when it comes to action is , which is somehow even more chaotic and hilarious than even Kung Fu Hustle. That being said, its ultra-low-budget presentation probably makes it an acquired taste, but if you ever enjoyed – or remembered the trailer for – , then that’s what you can expect here… though Bad Black is honestly more entertaining.

It's underrated, and has a real scrappy charm to it, plus non-stop humor thanks to one character here just being a man who provides ridiculous commentary over the entire (an already funny) movie. Bad Black defies categorization or description. You sort of have to just watch it, .

Talking about non-stop martial arts movies can’t be done without mentioning at least some films starring the great , who’s about as good as an actor can get within this specific genre. Chan is funny and capable of death-defying stuff, and taking part in expertly choreographed fight sequences, and few films of his have as many of the latter as 1994’s does.

Those after stunts more specifically won’t find as many extreme ones here, though Jackie Chan’s role is still demanding, and the various fight scenes more than make up for the fact that there aren’t as many show-stopping stunt sequences specifically. throughout his whole acting career.

So, for those after more Jackie Chan stunts alongside some fighting, four years on from Drunken Master II came , which is similarly exciting and does get a bit more extravagant, too. Jackie Chan was back in full-on crazy stuntman mode here, seeing as he fights on top of a building and then eventually runs down it… and that’s just the finale of the movie.

Before the climax, Who Am I? also has tons of other action set pieces, and they're all pretty varied, too. It stays exciting throughout and proves dynamic enough as an adventure-filled martial arts movie that the plot revolving around amnesia can be forgiven. overall, too.

doesn’t specialize in making martial arts movies specifically, but he has helmed a few, and has even managed to make some good ones that didn’t have particularly high quantities of action. With Hero, though, action is put at the forefront. Well, action and visual beauty, because the way looks stands out most of all.

What stands out second of all is how much fighting there is in such an artful movie, and with a pretty high body count by the end, too. The story told at the center of Hero is very simple, but becomes complex because of the movie’s structure, with the flashbacks building intrigue and then kicking off a great final showdown. , it still satisfies on an action front and then some.

Hey, the first part of the duology that is feels like almost nothing but pure style, iconic needle drops, bombastic fight sequences, and some moments of extreme bloodshed. And it gets away with it because the storytelling is still strong, despite all the flashiness, and because manages to slow things down and get a bit more intense with the dialogue, over the fighting.

But if martial arts fighting with samurai swords thrown in for good measure is what you want (and yes, yes, samurai movies can be called martial arts movies by default, if you want), , and it’s to the credit of and his cast that you still get some memorable character work here in Vol. 1, even among all the severed limbs and death cries.

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