10 Best Martial Arts Movies Of The 80s, Ranked | ScreenRant – Screen Rant

The best martial arts films of the 80s propelled some of the best-known action stars of the time to stardom, including Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal.

America's fascination with martial arts films began with the monumental success of Bruce Lee and audiences devoured the wild action and kung-fu acrobatics. Lee's films started the boom in the U.S. and the films got wilder and wilder as the years went on.

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The 80s really took hold of the martial arts craze and America began to produce more homegrown films in the genre. Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris became stars in the 1980s, through American-made martial arts action films. These films enhanced the tournament films, the revenge films, and so on, giving a true 80s sheen to the martial arts genre.

A strange but undeniably exciting martial arts film, Best of the Best tells the tale of an American taekwondo team who has to overcome inner-rivalries to compete against the superior Korean team.

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While the martial arts scenes are exciting and realistic, actor Phillip Rhe is the only one of the main cast who was actually a martial artist. Eric Roberts and Chris Penn trained hard and studied day and night to help their scenes feel more authentic. Not a hit in theaters but an instant smash on home video, the film became one of the most popular stand-up-and-cheer sports films of its day.

A woman is harassed by a street gang in Brazil. Three friends (Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, and Biao Yuen), who run a food truck, band together to help her.

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The film is a mix of wild kung-fu and elaborate comedy. Hung directed the film and both he and Chan designed the fights and stunts. With nods to both Sam Peckinpah and Buster Keaton, this film is a wild and hugely entertaining ride that is rightfully considered one of the classics of the genre.

Overshadowed by 1988's Bloodsport, Terence H. Winkless' Bloodfist is a superior martial arts film that takes the well-used formula of a man entering a tournament to find a murderer.

Winkless smartly stays clear of improbable stunts and lets his actors perform realistic kickboxing where you can feel every punch. Don "The Dragon" Wilson starred as the main character seeking the killer of his brother and was the world kickboxing champion at the time. The reality of his fight scenes elevates the film to gritty glory. Wilson claims this film as the best he has ever done.

Chuck Norris was already a big star in the world of martial arts. Thanks to a few drive-in hits, he was becoming a big movie star, as well. Steve Carver's An Eye for an Eye was a big hit for Norris and became an 80s action film classic.

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Norris is a cop whose partner and best friend is murdered, so he goes after a drug operation to uncover his killers. The great Christopher Lee is the film's main villain and Norris is allowed some exciting fight scenes where he displays his skills, including his famous roundhouse kick. Action fans made the film a financial success and some critics enjoyed the slickness of the production and the fight choreography.

In Harlem, NYC, ayoung martial artist is seeking to attain the final level of kung-fu while running afoul of the self-proclaimed "Shogun of Harlem," named "Sho 'Nuff," who became one of the most popular villains of the 80s. The film is a mixture of music, dance, and some amazing fight choreography that pays homage to the martial arts films of the 1970s.

The Last Dragon was a big hit in 1985 and gave audiences the kind of action film that used to be made by Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers studio.Both critically and commercially, the film became one of the most respected action films of the 1980s.

Chuck Norris had his biggest hit yet with The Octagon. He played a martial artist who takes on a secret ninja training camp that, for him, holds a deadly secret from the past. Norris helped design the fight scenes and ninja-trained martial artists assured authenticity to the action, creating many exciting sequences.

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The film was a massive drive-in/grindhouse theater hit and brought the mystery excitement of the ninja warrior to American audiences for the first time since Sam Peckinpah's The Killer Eliteof 1975.

Above the Lawwas the film that brought Steven Seagal to instant stardom. Segal played Nico, a Chicago cop who goes up againstThe Mob and crooked government agents.

Seagal's unique mixture of martial arts styles was on full display as he kicked, punched, and sliced his way into action film superstardom. The success of the film led director Andrew Davis to become one of the important action filmmakers of his day, culminating with his worldwide hit The Fugitive in 1993. The film is considered one of Steven Seagal's top films by both fans and critics.

One of the most popular and respected films of both 80s kung fu cinema and of Jackie Chan's career,Police Storyfinds Chan as a Hong Kong cop who is framed for murder by a vicious drug kingpin.

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Some of Chan's most jaw-dropping stuntwork takes place in this film making this the one that would endear Chan to American action audiences. Through bone-breaking fight scenes and infused with an inherent sweetness in Chan's character, Police Storyis a classic Hong Kong action film that played to American audiences, further shining Jackie Chan's rise as an action icon.

While not chock-full of action scenes, John G. Avildsen explored the themes he previously examined in his 1976 Oscar winner, Rocky. The Karate Kid was the story of a true underdog. Daniel was a skinny teen who gets bullied and bloodied by local teenage martial artists who study under a vicious sensei at a school called Cobra Kai. Daniel finds a martial arts master who teaches him to defend himself, the wise and soulful Mr. Myagi.

Ralph Macchio became an 80s film icon and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his beautiful portrayal of Mr. Myagi. Roger Ebert gave the film his famous 4-star rating, calling it one of 1984's best. The film was pure heart, and while the fight scenes were exciting and cheer-inducing, audiences and critics fell in love with the warmth of the characters and the screenplay's instructions on the philosophy of martial arts.

John Carpenter is a scholar of the martial Arts films of the 1970s. Being a genre filmmaker, Carpenter blended a bit of horror, sci-fi, and kung fu action with Big Trouble in Little China. Starring Kurt Russell as Jack Burton, a trucker who gets involved in dark magic and a war between Chinatown gangs in San Francisco, this was Carpenter's ode to the films of John Wayneand the wild kung fu films of the 70s.

The action was absolutely wild, with men flying through the air while wizards fought each other as monsters roamed the underbelly of the city. A flop when first released, the film became a cult hit and is now regarded as one of Carpenter's top films and one of the treasures of 80s fantasy-action films.

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10 Best Martial Arts Movies Of The 80s, Ranked | ScreenRant - Screen Rant