Best Martial Arts Movies

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 9/26/2007 10:38pm

People may not consider it a martial arts movie, but Apocalypto has a lot of scenes that are far more "martial" than what most people think it's "martial". Not the most accurate movie, historically speaking, but they got quite right the type of weapons used at the time.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tfuWrLA1-5k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfuWrLA1-5k

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AsCwH1GehKQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsCwH1GehKQ

**Tonuzaba** · Posted On: 9/27/2007 6:37am

Originally Posted by Teh El Macho

People may not consider it a martial arts movie, but Apocalypto has a lot of scenes that are far more "martial" than what most people think it's "martial". Not the most accurate movie, historically speaking, but they got quite right the type of weapons used at the time.

Agreed. Very good fight scenes.
Plus no matter how big a jerk Mel Gibson is, I simply love that he's doing his new movies in these crazy languages most of his viewers don't understand. Love it!!!
The only problem I got with Apocalyptico is, that after Jaguar Paw's family return to the jungle from the shore and the screen goes dark, I felt the urge to ask: OK, so now the movie starts?

I'm not sure what the **** the message was in that hour of visually challenging, but otherwise more or less empty seek-and-destroy action flick. I loved it though, and would pay to watch hours more of pre-Columbian fight and war plus (what I feel was totally ommitted from Apocalytico) normal life activities.

It's just that this movie left me like watching a perfect pilot when you know there will be no TV series...

**goofus lee** · Posted On: 9/27/2007 7:02am

I was very impressed by Apocalypto, myself. The fight scenes kinda reminded me of those from Last of the Mohicans, especially those involving Magua.

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 9/27/2007 1:02pm

Originally Posted by Tonuzaba

Agreed. Very good fight scenes.
Plus no matter how big a jerk Mel Gibson is, I simply love that he's doing his new movies in these crazy languages most of his viewers don't understand. Love it!!!
The only problem I got with Apocalyptico is, that after Jaguar Paw's family return to the jungle from the shore and the screen goes dark, I felt the urge to ask: OK, so now the movie starts?

I'm not sure what the **** the message was in that hour of visually challenging, but otherwise more or less empty seek-and-destroy action flick. I loved it though, and would pay to watch hours more of pre-Columbian fight and war plus (what I feel was totally ommitted from Apocalytico) normal life activities.

It's just that this movie left me like watching a perfect pilot when you know there will be no TV series...

I think the movie was mostly about the completion of the little girl's prophecy (a man that runs with the Jaguar will lead them to their end - which he did as he leads them to the Spaniars arriving ashore.) That, and the warlike culture of the Maya as well as the showcase of their sense of aesthetics (beautiful as it is alien.)

The thing about this movie, if we ignore a few historical innacuracies, is that Gibson played very well with many concepts in Mayan and Meso-American mythology. The Jaguar and Jaguar-man, eclipses, the eternal cycle of destruction that can only be avoided by blood offerings, your predetermined destiny - in Jaguar Paw's case, his destiny to be sacrificed, which he was able to out-run.

If you can have the DVD, watch the "behind the scenes" section. They really went into the nitty gritty details, and the recreation of the weaponry is as good as it can get.

The three greatest innacuracies in this movie are:

1. that a village (Jaguar Paw's) could exist within a 2-3 day walk distance from a major Mayan city, without knowing its existance or paying homage to its Lords.
2. that Mayan warriors would make raids exclusively to get slaves and human sacrifice, and (most important of all)
3. the magnitude of human sacrifice - blood offerings were done by blood-letting by the ruling classes. Large scale human sacrifices were done mostly by the Aztec. I'm not aware that such a practice was ever implemented by the Mayan (not that they were any less warlike than the Aztec.)

Regardless, I fucking love it!!

Originally Posted by goofus lee

I was very impressed by Apocalypto, myself. The fight scenes kinda reminded me of those from Last of the Mohicans, especially those involving Magua.

Oh man, I forgot about that movie *. It rules. And Magua is one of my favorite bad guys of all times.

Check this spoof for shits and giggles :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_86lqku4Axk

Now, this is a worthy end for a worthy foe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxMz2JFIPjA

* Dude, beware of buying the latest Director's Cut edition. I bought it and I regretted it. They cut pieces of the dialog, and most unforgivable of all, they cut off some of the best sountracks (Clannad's "I will find you") from the original. Fucking stupid.

**sempaiman** · Posted On: 9/27/2007 5:49pm

I love when Magua got his just rewards.....

**Sage Mayhem** · Posted On: 9/27/2007 5:59pm

ill say bruce lee's enter the dragon

and some of chuck norris's movies

**Sage Mayhem** · Posted On: 9/27/2007 6:03pm

* Dude, beware of buying the latest Director's Cut edition. I bought it and I regretted it. They cut pieces of the dialog, and most unforgivable of all, they cut off some of the best sountracks (Clannad's "I will find you") from the original. Fucking stupid.[/quote]

thats the truth i got it and it made the movie just terrible. And this shows youth and skill get beaten by old age and cunning

**goofus lee** · Posted On: 9/27/2007 7:10pm

Wasn't that a title to a PJ O'Rourke book: Age and Guile Will Always Beat Youth and a Bad Haircut? Thanks for the warning on that director's cut. I always felt that Last of the Mohicans had a very strong soundtrack/score. It is a Micheal Mann film after all.

Thanks for the spoof. Very amusing. And, yes, that was a hell of an ending for Magua. The only other time I was that satisfied with the death of a major antagonist was Chance getting shot through the eye in Plunkett and McClaine.