Asian Martial Arts Movies: Five Hard-Hitting Picks
Last updated: September 23, 2026
Today, we're serving up roundhouse kicks and some serious knuckle sandwiches. We're taking a look at modern Asian martial arts movies!
For decades, Hong Kong ruled the genre, with legends like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen setting the standard for on-screen kung fu. But in recent years, Indonesia has muscled its way to the top, largely thanks to Iko Uwais and the lightning-fast, bone-crunching martial art pencak silat. Let's dive into some of the most hard-as-nails fight movies of the modern era, from Jakarta high-rises to Hong Kong back alleys. Here are five recommendations!
Headshot (2016)
Headshot, starring the absolutely badass Iko Uwais, is basically a full-on orgy of beatdowns and ear-piercing screams. Razor-sharp choreography and brutally violent as hell.
Ishmael washes up on a beach with a serious head injury. He’s battered and bruised, and has completely lost his memory. A kind-hearted doctor helps him recover, but it isn’t long before Ishmael’s violent past comes back to haunt him.
MORE READING: Jason Statham’s Five Best Action Movies
The Night Comes for Us (2018)
Netflix delivers an extremely, almost obscenely violent fight movie that shares more DNA with splatter films than Jackie Chan. Absolutely insane, of course.
Ito (Iko Uwais) is high up in the hierarchy of a Southeast Asian triad. After suddenly growing a conscience and refusing to kill an innocent girl, he finds himself up against his own ruthless organization. Violence ensues.
The Furious (2025)
The newest addition to the list, The Furious, has just hit the Swedish VOD market, and what a punch to the face of a movie. It’s not quite as nihilistically violent and brutal as some of the others on this list, but it’s packed with completely insane and wildly creative action.
Mute Wang Wei’s daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless criminal gang, and when police bureaucracy fails to help, he takes matters into his own hands. He’s joined by Navin, a journalist who also has his own reasons for wanting to kick some criminal skulls in.
The Raid (2011)
I’m one of the few people who actually prefers the first Raid movie over the second, but the sequel is fantastic too. The Raid is a lean, brutal survival movie that gets a huge boost from its claustrophobic setting and absolutely brilliant direction. Once again, we get to see Iko Uwais in the lead role.
A SWAT team is sent into a high-rise building to finally take down a crime lord. The plan falls apart, and the cops find themselves trapped inside the multi-story building, surrounded by criminals on every floor.
Kill Zone (2005)
Donnie Yen is a legend for a reason. Kill Zone is a hard-hitting showcase of violence that every kung fu fan should experience at some point.
Chan is a police officer nearing retirement. He takes on the job of protecting the daughter of a murdered key witness, who is now in a very vulnerable position. Together with his soon-to-be replacement, kung fu master Ma, he tries to take down the criminal network.
