Now that you’ve binged your way through Cobra Kai‘s fourth season on Netflix, are you in the mood for even more karate? How about kung fu? If you’re the type of person who watches that show for the action sequences, we’ve got some thoughts on what you should watch next. Netflix has loads of films centered around martial arts, and we’ve vetted them to offer you a few solid options.
While the original Karate Kid trilogy starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita isn’t available on the streamer, the 2010 Karate Kid starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith is, and honestly, while it doesn’t offer the nostalgic, retro appeal of the originals, it’s a solid remake.
(Unlike the much-less-watchable, IMO, Hilary Swank vehicle The Next Karate Kid.) If you want a lesson in more authentic wushu (kung fu), we can’t recommend the Ip Man film series starring Donnie Yen enough. And if you want a film that’s a little lighter on drama but heavy on sport, 2020’s The Paper Tigers is charming and fun, but still full of action. Take a look at the best martial arts movies on Netflix, or if you want a full series to hunker down with, check out these shows like Cobra Kai to watch.
Ip Man (2008)
The Ip Man series (there are four of them total) stars martial arts master Donnie Yen as Ip Man, a real-life master of Wing-Chun, a style of kung-fu. (Ip Man also happened to be Bruce Lee’s teacher IRL.) But the films take place before Lee was a glimmer in his master’s eye, the first one taking place in the 1930s in the Chinese city of Foshan, where Ip Man lives. When Japan invaded China during the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Ip Man trains the locals in the ways of Wing-Chun and leads a revolt against the city’s occupiers. While the film may not be completely true to the real events of Ip’s life, it kinda doesn’t matter, Yen is thrilling to watch, the historical backdrop is a great setup, and the fight choreography pays homage to both the man and his art.
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021)
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final is the final film in the four-part series about Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satoh), a former assassin who went by the name Battousai. In this chapter, Kenshin, now a peaceful man, must atone for the sins of his former life, and one of those sins was killing his own wife. When his wife’s brother Yukishiro Enishi (Mackenyu Arata) shows up, Kenshin realizes that his past has caught up to him, as Enishi is there to avenge his sister’s death, and Kenshin is his target. The two dance delicately around each other for much of the film, until it culminates in a final battle that’s worth the wait.
The Paper Tigers (2020)
At the beginning of The Paper Tigers, an old kung fu teacher Sifu Cheung (Roger Yuan) dies. His former students, once skilled teen fighters, now middle aged men with dad-bods who are estranged from each other, find the death suspicious and so, barely still able to fight, they reunite to find Sifu’s killer. The trio, played by Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, and Mykal Shannon Jenkins, once referred to themselves as the Three Tigers, and now, playing their middle aged struggles for laughs, try to do right by their master, re-forge old relationships, and kick some butt in the process. It’s an action film wrapped in a comedy topped with life-lesson bow, and it’s a charmer.
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Okay, okay, Kung Fu Panda is not necessarily a martial arts film but this Dreamworks animated film is a charming option for kids who need a PG-rated action movie. Featuring a who’s who of Hollywood talent like Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, and Seth Rogen, the film is about a lumbering, clumsy panda named Po, played by Black, who wishes to be a part of an elite group of kung fu masters known at the Furious Five so he can help defeat the villainous Tai Lung. Tai Lung is a snow leopard voiced by Ian McShane, who plans to steal a Dragon Scroll that will bequeath him with limitless power. To everyone’s surprise, Po is chosen to be a Dragon Warrior to fight alongside the Five, and though he’s not a natural fighter, his master realizes that he’s able to perform incredible feats when motivated by dim sum and noodles. Cut to a training montage of Po kicking, jumping, and slurping down food, which leads to the ultimate battle to defeat Tai Lung.
The Karate Kid (2010)
Nothing will ever quite capture the magic of the original Karate Kid film from 1984. The Bananarama soundtrack, the catching flies with chopsticks, it’s all burned into our memories forever. While the franchise attempted a forgettable reboot with Pat Morita training Hilary Swank in 1994’s The Next Karate Kid, things were much more promising when Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith tried again in 2010 with The Karate Kid. (Perhaps it would have been less confusing if, instead of giving it the exact same name as the original, they called it The Next Next Karate Kid.) The film is much more of a straight remake, with Smith’s character, Dre, relocating to a new city (Beijing), being bullied by the locals, and learning to defend himself using martial arts (this time, however, it’s kung fu, not karate) with Jackie Chan as his instructor. Chan plays the role perfectly, and while Smith is fine, the supporting cast, which includes Taraji P. Henson, makes the remake work.
Revenger (2018)
Revenger is in the same vein as John Wick, Old Boy, and, every other revenge movie you can think of: Hell hath no fury like someone whose wife or mother or brother has been murdered and their loyal family member vows to avenge their death. That’s the basic gist of Revenger, the Korean action film starring Bruce Khan as an Interpol agent whose wife and daughter were murdered, and so he kills most of the members of the crime organization responsible, except for the leader of the syndicate, Carlos Kuhn (Park Hee-soon). He’s sent to a prison located on an island that’s reserved for the world’s most violent offenders, and when there, he meets a woman named Maly (Yoon Jin-seo) who, it turns out, also wants to find and kill Kuhn. Revenger can be darkly comedic, and it delivers on its promise of incredible physical action and plenty of revenge.