09 May 2008
CNN's Top 10 kung fu movies
Here's why I try to avoid contact with CNN, the following was featured in their "Screening Room" as their top 10 kung fu films.
- Enter the Dragon - This is a decent start, it's not my favorite kung fu movie but it's a great flick and had a huge impact on the movie industry.
- Ong-bak - First of all there's no kung fu in this movie. The fight direction is a blast and in a world of CGI it's refreshing to see someone take on the old "no wires, no stuntmen" Jackie Chan challenge but there's little in this that hasn't been done better elsewhere.
- Wong Fei Hung (Once Upon a Time in China) - I guess the author of this article decided he needed a Tsui Hark movie and decided to just pick the one he'd heard of the most.
- Kill Bill 1 & 2 - I think there's about 9 minutes of total martial arts between both movies, nearly all of it supplied by Gordon Liu who doesn't have a single movie he starred in on this list.
- Wo hu cang long (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) - This isn't even the best wire-fu movie of the last 5 years but I guess lots of people saw it so that makes it worthy of this list.
- The Karate Kid - Again, no kung fu in this. Weak martial arts but decent acting and 80s camp value win the day for this one.
- Ging chaat goo si (Police Story) - Jackie Chan has been in almost 100 movies and at least half of them are honest-to-god kung fu movies. Police Story is not. I love Police Story but to have that be the only Jackie Chan movie on this list is almost criminal.
- Shogun Assassin - I'm beginning to wonder if this guy [who isn't credited by name] knows the difference between China, Japan and Thailand. This film is a blast but it's not a kung fu movie.
- Siu lam juk kau (Shaolin Soccer) - They could have at least picked Kung Fu Hustle for this one since it's, ya know, mostly a kung fu movie.
- The Matrix - None of the "new" fighting effects/direction in this movie hadn't been done by Yuen Woo Ping in another movie. Again, there's under 10 minutes of martial arts total in this.
- Shaolin Master Killer
- Drunken Master II
- Five Deadly Venoms
- Fist of Legend
- Iron Monkey
- Pedicab Driver
- 8 Diagram Pole Fighter
- Wing Chun
- Chinese Super Ninjas
- Fearless
Labels: martial arts, media, movies, stupid