Good MA movies?

[Lampa]

Okay, there has been a lot of talk since I've read this board about the negative effects movies have on the public opinion of the MA. Now, thinking of bad ones is easy. From Tiger Street, where a man with a gun runs away from an unarmed victim in an SD situation, to Bloodsport, where a ninja randomly remembers he has magical powers. However, when it came to thinking of a good one, I drew a blank.

The "good" martial arts movie couldn't simply be a well done movie that was related to the martial arts. If that were the case, then Crouching Tiger could be counted amongst them. The "good" martial arts movie would have to be entertaining and portray the martial arts in a realistic light.

My first thought was Enter the Dragon. I mean, it was well directed and it did show someone training via hard contact sparring. However, it's fairly obvious that the actual fight scenes were not done in a realistic manner and perpetuated, I think accidentally, the myth of the anti-grapple through biting. So, Enter the Dragon, the best MA movie I could think of off the top of my head, was merely tolerable compared to the rest of the bullshit by the standards I was evaluating.

What, if any, movies do you think represent the martial arts positively and realistically?

[KenpoDude]

The bruce lee movie that was unfinished where he fights through all the levels showed alot of his philosophy and ability to blend in with other styles. 'Game of Death'.

I also liked 'Prefect Weapon' for obvious reasons.

The hunted had some good stuff too.

kd

[MaverickZ]

They Live, Fight Club, The Punisher (2003)

[TylerDurden]

A realistic martial arts film? Unless it's a documentary I cannot think of a single one.

[Jekyll]

Leathal Weapon 1-3 I suppose, not counting anything with weapons in.

[Lampa]

I forgot about how awesome the fight in They Live was.

Right now I'm trying to think of the name of the movie where Liam Neison played the bare knuckle fighter. That was a pretty good one.

And Os, I said it wasn't very realistic. It only got a plus for showing live training. I contest Bloodsport was worse. At least in ETD Bruce Lee was fast enough that you can imagine some of his shots connecting.

[Zing!]

In ETD's defense, Bruce Lee did put Sammo Hung in an armbar in the begining of the movie. But as to a movie realistically depicting fighting, that's tough. Real fights don't translate well to film. I think it would be tough to choreograph a realistic looking fight.

The only thing that comes to mind is going to make me look really stupid. My sisters called me downstairs one day to watch the fight scene in Bridgette Jones's Diary. It was ridiculous, but they said it was unchoreographed. They just had those two fucking annoying Brits go at it. It was exactly what I'd expect of two untrained people fighting. It just ended up on the ground with them rolling around. But I don't know if I trust my sisters as movie fight scene experts.

[the dozer]

Personally, I thought the fight scene in the Borne Identity was done pretty well. Didn't use a lot of flashy moves and included some make-shift weaponry involved.

[MasterKiller]

That wasn't an armbar.

Huh? What would you call it, then?

[grond]

Ong Bak: Thai Warrior
Prodigal Son
Iron Monkey

[Zing!]

It looked like an armbar to me.

[Sleepy Jack]

Fighter in the wind.
Mas Oyama > Everyone else.

[ojgsxr6]

While it's not a MA movie, the fight scene between Teri Hatcher and Charlize Theron in 2 Days in the Valley is really good and it's hot.

[Ronin]

Bruce put samo into a version of a crucifix.

[Gypsy Jazz]

Bruce put samo into a version of a crucifix.

http://www.bjj.org/techniques/craigwallace/crucifix/

Pretty easy to mistake for an armbar if you're only breifly glancing. I think the only armbar done in the film was done by bolo until he got his ankle bitten...sigh