Chinese action movies, also known as kung fu movies, are a huge part of the movie industry, and thanks to some great actors, they are now popular worldwide. Interesting plot lines, great actors, amazing production, and real martial arts that can be seen in these movies made them extremely popular, and the audience cannot get enough of them. Thanks to that, some heroic legends deserve to be remembered by the fans, and we will mention only some of them in the text below. If you continue reading, you will learn more about them, and if you are a huge Hong Kong movies fan and want to add some of them to your collection – find on this shop.
Liu Kang
Arcade battle game lovers are surely familiar with the one and only Mortal Combat series, which has been with us for more than 30 years, and thanks to their popularity, there is no doubt they will still be in the future. Regardless of whether you are fond of arcade games or not, Mortal Combat is definitely something you have played at some point in your life. Trying to press everything in the right order and as fast as possible to perform a fatality on the opponent has destroyed so many joysticks, but that feeling once you get everything right is something that cannot be compared to anything else. As for the game and how it evolved through time, many characters came and went, but Liu Kang has been with us since the first game and is now in the eleventh one, so he definitely deserves to be on this list.
The game was so popular that many movies have been filmed, and Liu Kang is one of the leading characters in each of them who has won the Grand Champion of the Mortal Kombat title four times. For those who did not watch any movies, we recommend playing games and reading original comic books, as they can provide much more information on why Liu Kang deserves to be on this list. Of course, watching movies and playing the latest version of the game is also something we strongly suggest, but be warned, once you start playing this game, you will probably want to try playing with every character, and the list is anything but small.
Nameless
The action movie “Hero” brings us a hero known as Nameless, but there is no doubt that every person who has watched it has remembered him. The story brings us back to 227 B.C., and we follow the adventures of the Nameless, who is traveling to face the king, and in order to do that, he must get to the Quin’s capital. It is much more challenging than it sounds, thanks to many assassins who try to kill the King of Qin, but it makes the entire story much more interesting, nerve-breaking, and definitely worth seeing. The fact that you will surely remember someone called Nameless speaks for itself, and it is something you must do as soon as possible.
Wai Lin
We are all aware of the popularity all James Bond movies enjoy, but we cannot forget Bond girls, who are as important as the main character. Just like it is important to find the best actor for the role of James Bond, it’s also of vast importance to find the best actress to play the “Bond lady.” Many James Bond lovers will agree that one of the best Bond girls was Wai Lin, in the “Tomorrow Never Die” movie from 1997. The movie is full of action and uncertainty, and there is no doubt that every person who loves to see martial arts on the screen will enjoy it, thanks to Wai Lin. Every Bond movie is famous for at least one iconic scene, and this one is not an exception, and the only difference is that in this one, it’s the first scene when we get introduced to Wai Lin.
Leng Feng
Leng Feng might remind you of James Bond in one second and Rambo in another, as he .literally looks like their hybrid. He is strong, great in martial arts, and has his goal in China’s Wolf Warrior 2 movie, so do not forget to watch it. He is a relatively new superhero in Chinese action movies, but there is no doubt he could find his place on the list of the favorite heroes of all time. It is simply impossible not to love him and notice his skills while he deals with different challenges during the film, so Leng Feng might become your favorite character after seeing the film.
The Bride
Okay, it is impossible to be a great fan of Chinese action movies and not to have a clue about Kill Bill (both parts) and The Bride, portrayed by Uma Thurman. Another name that you might hear is Beatrix Kiddo or the codename Black Mamba, but it is all the same character in those movies. The story is great and tempting until the very end, and Kill Bill is one of the most favorite movies of all time for many martial art lovers, as they compare Uma Thurman to Bruce Lee and his amazing performances in many movies. Some will say that the main reason is the yellow overalls she wears, just like Bruce Lee in “Game of Death,” but there are much more reasons for this comparison.
The bottom line
As we have mentioned before, Kung Fu movies are a big part of action movies thanks to the realistic representation of martial arts. Most actors are actually familiar with various martial arts, and their roles seem more than natural on a big screen, thanks to that. Because of that, it is impossible to create a complete list of heroic legends in Chinese action movies, as there are many of them, but we hope this list is enough for even those people who have never watched at least one of these movies and want to change that and see at least one of them.