Film

Supermen Against the Orient

A 1973 Hong Kong action-comedy where an agent arrives to bust drug traffickers and teams up with local allies and fellow agents. It's a cheerful romp through Shaw Brothers excess: martial arts, gunplay, and broad humour tangled together with zero regard for coherence. Made for viewers who love their action films unpretentious, fun, and a little bit ridiculous.

If you liked this

The Way of the Dragon1972

Bruce Lee's only directorial effort is a masterclass in action choreography and comedic timing, with a final duel that defined kung fu cinema. The tone balances humour and violence exactly as this film attempts.

But It's more measured and artistic than the anarchic energy you might be seeking. Some will find it slow.

The Way of the Dragon poster

Police Story1985

Jackie Chan's breakthrough is impossible to look away from: jaw-dropping stunts, genuine comedy, and a hero who takes real punishment. The chaos is controlled but feels wildly alive.

But The plot is tissue-thin and the dubbing can be distracting. The action overshadows character development entirely.

Police Story poster

Snake in the Eagle's Shadow1978

Jackie Chan's first lead role pairs him with master comedian Yuen Lo for a film that genuinely makes you laugh before it stuns you with kung fu. It gets the tone mixing exactly right.

But The humour is broad and physical; if slapstick leaves you cold, this won't work. The plot is threadbare.

Snake in the Eagle's Shadow poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Supermen Against the Orient

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Targets1968

Both films wrestle with how cinema represents violence and whether spectacle and morality can coexist. Targets asks what we're actually cheering for when we cheer for action.

Peter Bogdanovich's debut is a shrewd deconstruction of violence itself: a sniper stalks both a drive-in and the set of a vintage horror film. It's a moral argument disguised as a thriller.

But It's slow, cerebral, and dated. There's no action set piece that satisfies like you'd expect. The horror-film-within is genuinely tedious on purpose.

Targets poster
More like this (8)

Five Fingers of Death1972

A direct precursor to everything that followed: tournament plotting, colourful villains, training montages, and explosive action that doesn't pause for breath. Pure exploitation energy.

But It's genuinely sleazy in ways that haven't aged well. The sexual violence is casual and disturbing.

Five Fingers of Death poster

Enter the Dragon1973

Bruce Lee's only Hollywood film is where East and West collided. It's slick, well-paced, and showcases Lee's charisma beyond the action. Hugely influential on everything after.

But It's more serious and martial-arts-focused than comedic. If you want levity, this plays it straight.

Enter the Dragon poster

Drunken Master1978

Yuen Woo-ping directs Jackie Chan in a film that treats drunken boxing as both comedy and genuine martial art. The training sequences are hilarious and the action is virtuosic.

But The plot is forgettable and the humour skews juvenile. Some action sequences prioritise silliness over impact.

Drunken Master poster

Fury of King Boxer1972

An essential early Shaw Brothers vehicle: vivid fight choreography, a hero with real vulnerabilities, and a colour palette that burns. It helped define the template for everything after.

But The dubbing is rough and the sexual politics are unpleasant. It's a product of its era in ways that jar.

Fury of King Boxer poster

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin1978

Gordon Liu's training odyssey is perhaps the most influential martial arts film ever made: the structure, the philosophy, the precision of the action. Every frame is purposeful.

But It's lean and serious, with little comedy and no romance. The pacing is deliberate rather than breakneck.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin poster

Kung Fu Hustle2004

Stephen Chow's love letter to classic Hong Kong action is gorgeously shot, hilarious, and bursting with inventive choreography. It recaptures that chaotic joy without irony.

But It's more stylised and modern than authentic 1970s action. Some will find the comedy overshadows the martial arts.

Kung Fu Hustle poster

Cleopatra Wong1978no page yet

A contemporary film operating in the exact same register and geography, but filtered through a completely different national cinema. Same decade, same targets, totally different energy.

A Philippino spy-action film starring dancer Marrie Lee as an Interpol agent fighting drug smugglers across Hong Kong and beyond. It's bonkers, beautiful, and surprisingly feminist for its era.

But The dubbing is thick and the plot dissolves into absurdity. The action is less martial arts than gunplay and chaos. It's genuinely amateurish in places.

Deerskin2019

A film that uses action movie iconography—Van Damme, a vigilante premise—and inverts it completely to interrogate masculinity and narcissism. It's what happens when you ask *why* we like this stuff.

Quentin Dupieux's film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme as a man who becomes obsessed with a jacket and descends into homicidal mania. It's pitch-black comedy dressed as a thriller.

But It's deliberately boring to watch and philosophically bleak. There's no catharsis, no action payoff, and the humour is uncomfortable. Some will find it pretentious or simply unpleasant.

Deerskin poster

People

Cast

Directing

Writing

Production

Recommended by

Odds and Evens