The Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead (1991)
Jun 25, 2025Hong Kong Horror/Deity Manifests
Hong Kong horror/fantasy that appropriates the Evil Dead name for a wild plot about the manifestation of an ancient deity
Donnie Yen
New Dragon Gate Inn (1992)
Oct 1, 2020Wu Xia/Flying Swordsmen Film
Classic Wu Xia/flying swordsman film from the genre's 1990s' heyday. Produced by the legendary Tsui Hark
Iron Monkey (1993)
Sep 9, 2013Hong Martial Arts/Masked Hero
Legendary Hong Kong action coordinator Yuen Wo Ping (the man behind the fight scenes in The Matrix) directs a martial arts film. Essentially a Wu Xia version of Robin Hood, this comes with a broad slapstick hand but is worth watching for Yuen's amazing combat scenes
Butterfly & Sword (1993)
Apr 14, 2001Hong Kong Flying Swordsmen Fantasy
One of the most amazing of the Wu Xia (flying swordsman) films from Hong Kong in the 1990s, this explodes with out of this world fantastical action scenes
Highlander: Endgame (2000)
Sep 3, 2000Immortal Combat
The fourth Highlander film sets out to merge the film and tv series, bringing together Christopher Lambert and Adrian Paul. This only produces a continuity nightmare where is a headache trying to make sense of it
Blade II (2002)
Jul 29, 2002Comic-Book Vampire Hunter
Blade was a solid vampire/action film but the sequel is a quantum leap over that, a visually kinetic and immensely exciting comic-book of a movie thanks to the employment of Guillermo Del Toro in the director’s chair
Hero (2003)
Jul 25, 2004Flying Swordsmen Fantasy
Made following the international success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Zhang Yimou makes an exquisite Wu Xia fantasy that is an even superior film, filled with visually stunning set-pieces and costuming
Dragon Tiger Gate (2006)
Nov 10, 2006Hong Kong Martial Arts
A Hong Kong martial arts film made with an assured blend of turbo-charged and frequently fantastical action sequences
The Monkey King (2014)
Sep 8, 2014Epic Chinese Legend
Enjoyably colourful and silly retelling of the classic Chinese legend. This is one Wu Xia film that leaps aboard the CGI and 3D bandwagon to create a wildly fantastical airbrushed world that comes out resembling a flying swordsman film by way of Avatar
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016)
Mar 13, 2016Flying Swordsmen Fantasy
A massive letdown of the year. A sequel that brings back several of the original cast and gives it to Yuen Wo-Ping to direct but is merely slickly paced, uninspired action that substitutes CGI for the graceful wirework of the original
Rogue One (2016)
Jan 7, 2017Star Wars Prequel
With their assumption of the Star Wars copyright, Disney are now doing what Lucasfilm started doing with their novels in the 80s and spinning adventures off from even minor background characters. This is slightly grittier Dirty Dozen type adventure but I kind of wish the Star Wars universe would stop recycling the same basic elements
xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017)
Apr 2, 2017Extreme Adventure Sports Spy
xXx, with Vin Diesel as an extreme sports junkie version of James Bond, was ridiculous. This second sequel surprisingly turns out halfway watchable, keeping the stunts moving fast and introducing an ensemble to build this out as a Fast and the Furious-type franchise
Mulan (2020)
Sep 19, 2020Disney Live-Action Remake
The Disney live-action remake of Mulan finally arrives mired in controversy but the film itself proves a solid production for the most part