5 Donnie Yen action movies to watch

Donnie Yen stars as legendary Wing Chun martial arts master Ip Man, in the biopic movie 'Ip Man'. Photo: Handout

Having been in the movie business for more than four decades now, Hong Kong actor Donnie Yen – who's currently starring in the movie Raging Fire – has appeared in numerous actioners. We list five of them.

SPL (2005)

That iconic fight at the alleyway between Yen and Wu Jing! What else is there to say?

Oh yeah... reportedly it was shot in one night and most of the moves were improvised as both the actors are real martial artists.

Then there is a second fight between Yen and Sammo Hung too that’s worth a mention.

No wonder Yen was awarded the Best Action Choreography accolade at the Hong Kong Film Award in 2006 for this film.

Flash Point (2007)

This movie shows what happens when weapons are taken out of the equation and you have to use your hands, feet... basically every other part of your body to take down your opponent.

Not even falling one floor down from a decrepit building and a bloody nose can stop the two men from the brawl.

Both Yen and Taiwanese martial artist Collin Chou brought A-game to the scene.

Ip Man films (2008-2019)

There are a total of four Ip Man movies that Yen starred in, and all of them are just as good. Each storyline is tweaked to go with different stages in the martial arts grandmaster’s life.

But what is constant is Yen’s performance in the titular role and the martial arts scenes he executes.

Be it one vs many or one-on-one fights, neither is a problem for Yen’s Ip Man.

Legend Of The Fist: The Return Of Chen Zhen (2010)

In the 1995’s series Fist Of Fury (the television adaptation of the Bruce Lee movie) we see a young Yen as Chen Zhen.

The lightning speed fight between Yen and HK martial artist-actor Xin Xin Xiong is one of the best in the series.

In the 2010 film, Yen reprises the role and once again brings gravity-defying and energetic kung fu-based fights to the fore.

Wuxia (2011)

A reviewer described this movie as one that has wuxia elements as well as detective film-noir segments.

It’s also filled with “brilliant brutal fights” that gave Yen a win at the 2011 Golden Horse Film Festival in the Best Action Choreography category.

As for the fight sequences, check out the one featuring the female wuxia icon Kara Hui and Yen, and another with Jimmy Wang Yu (One-Armed Swordsman actor).