Asian Action Cast

John Woo's 1989 heroic bloodshed masterpiece, The Killer, sits at the pinnacle of the genre. Danny Lee's grizzled cop Li vs. Chow Yun-Fat's equally grizzed assassin Ah Jong exemplify the deeply unique kinship only men who live in violence share. Beautifully shot, written and executed by all involved - this movie is all Killer no Filler.

Netflix’s 2022 international Korean spy-with-amnesia thriller CARTER is a non-stop chase sequence escort mission. Jung Byung-gil helms the fighty flick as a showcase for Joo Won’s physical abilities as a martial artist as he stumbles his way through an odyssey of action and realisation.

Did someone say 1992 all star Wuxia? Moon Warriors (aka God Of War) is your ticket! Andy Lau, Anita Mui, Maggie Cheung and AAC favourite Kenny Bee are all under one Sammo Hung directed roof. Unrequited love, drama and swordplay: It's a whale of a time!

The Bollywood phenom Sharukh Khan oozes charisma in director Farhan Akhtar’s 2011 blockbuster, Don 2. King Khan plays the titular Don 2, an aggressively sensual crime lord and master thief who is equal parts mysterious as he is untouchable.

Shaw Brothers’ 1982 effects extravaganza Buddha’s Palm is a laser sword through the eyeballs straight to the brain. Star Wars and Kung Fu is like Peanut Butter and Chocolate and boy what a decadent treat this movie is.

Donnie Yen’s 2011 reinvention of the one-armed swordsman, Wu Xia, does indeed have a sword and someone with one arm; it also dazzles with the unbridled charisma of a late, great Jimmy Wang Yu. Crisp martial arts with only a hint of Donnie’s artificial speed tampering makes this some of the most enjoyable and visceral choreography of Donnie’s recent works. If only Donnie would push the fast forward...

Whether you know it as Armour of God or Operation Condor II, this 1986 Jackie Chan behemoth of a film is a smorgasbord of action, comedy, adventure and love triangle drama. Director, producer, writer, star (and probably caterer as well) Jackie Chan throws everything at you and leaves you gasping for air.

Yuen Woo-Ping’s 1990 Hong Kong action thriller Tiger Cage 2 features a cringe inducingly uneven Donnie Yen performance as divorcee ex-cop opposite the gorgeous owl-eyed Rosamund Kwan. This film also features an incredibly young and perfectly cast villain Robin Shou (Liu Kang of Mortal Kombat fame) who is comically evil and invincible to everything but pipes.

Monkey Punch's ever enduring Lupin the Third character sees a new 2019 adventure directed by Takashi Yamazaki. Always a fun romp with tight storytelling, colourful and vibrant characters and compelling action, the Asian Action Cast find so much to enjoy and roundly recommends you commit your eyeballs to it.

Kan Eguchi's criminally understated 2021 action flick, The Fable: A Hitman Who Doesn’t Kill, sees Junichi Okada's 'The Fable' navigate what is both a more intimate, and more tensely action packed story than the original Fable. Listen as to why the Asian Action Cast recommends this for asian action viewing.

Who wants a Sci-Fi Andy Lau special effects laden Wong Jing directed film? Turns out not many people. Future X Cops is Wong Jing's 2010 seemingly rehashed Future Cops script with more CG, less fun, charisma, plot and pretty much everything else.

When dangerous criminal thugs run out of control, the only ones that can stop them are a team of stuntmen and special effects wizards! This 1986 martial arts gadget fest starring ‘female Jackie chan’ Hsiao-Lao Lin is bananas in the best way.

When the world needs a hero and Bruce Lee is gone, Jackie is busy and budget is tight, who do you call? Super Stunt man and all round action hero MARS! Wellson Chin's 1986 action comedy stunt circus Naughty Boys is a Jackie produced action spectacle starring Mars, Carina Lau and Kara Hui. Amazing fights (expect no less with Jackie behind the scenes) and nonsensical plot, it is HK action at its fin...

Johnny To's '99 artistic bodyguard crime thriller eschews explosions and gore for sylistc character studies into themes of brotherhood, masculinity and kinship. Set on the backdrop of an elite (haha) triad bodyguard outfit which includes (inter)national treasure Mr Anthony Wong you get tension in spades, splatters of action and brothers-in-arms comeraderie.

Iko Uwais! Lewis Tan! Some other less famous people! Netflix's 2022 spiritual and actual sequel to Wu Assassin's - Fistful of Vengeance is a breathtaking odyssey of plot mediocrity, poorly filmed and edited action sequences and flat character moments. Saved in part by the natural beauty and scoping vista of Thailand's tropical locales, this Roel Reiné directed curiosity is perhaps worth your time...

2019 bring’s the sound and the FURIE with Lê Văn Kiệt’s desperate kidnap quest with a martial arts Mother smearing gangsters against the pavement in search of her daughter.

Prepare to be DAZZLED by THE KICK! 2011’s Prachya Pinkaew’s kinetic family comedy blends Korean Taekwondo tricking with fish out of water Korean family comedy set in Thailand.

This edtion of the AAC has the crew viewing the 2010 live adaptation of the legendary anime series Space Battleship Yamato. With Earth ravaged by radiation due to relentless Gamillas assaults, a battleship is sent to locate our last hope. With rebellious Kodai (Takuya Kimura), spunky Yuki (Meisa Kuroki) and the stern captain Okita (Tsutomu Yamazaki) on board what battles await them? A huge box off...

The 2010 Takashi Miike remake of 13 Assassins. A group of samurai are tasked with killing the Shogun's sadistic half brother before he can attain true political power. One of the director's more subdued films with little of the directors kinetic weirdness, but a lot of his trademark ultraviolence. Spoiler, we all kind of liked it, maybe at some point we will watch the original.

It's the Asian Action Cast's end of year special show, where all movies watched this year go head to head. There only can be one... two... three winners! Find out who also wins the Bolo Yeung Big Buff Baby award for 2021. P.S. Bolo not dead yet. Also stay tuned for the remix at the end!

Shaw Bro.’s 1973 Chang Cheh film, Blood Brothers (AKA Dynasty of Blood), brings together the charismatic David Chiang Da-Wei, the immortal legend Ti Lung and dynamic Chen Kuan-Tai as brothers of fortune.

Sammo Hung’s self-directed and self-starring 1989 tragi-ballad, Pedicab Driver, mixes young love and heartbreak with the biggest bone crunching Hong Kong action choreography on film. Featuring Sammo’s trademark all-star ensemble cast, this is as good as old school action cinema gets.

The crew watch the 1977 cult psychedelic horror comedy House, directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. Not a huge amount of action in this one, barring some crazy stuff pulled off by best girl Kung Fu. But it's Halloween and it's a goddamned classic that a number of us hadn't seen. New time we will be back to the usual fisticuffs.

The AAC crew take a trip through space and time via 1992's The Cat. One of the many "Wisely" films based on the writings of Hong Kong novelist Ni Kuang. Waise Lee stars as our hero 'Wisely' (naturally!) who befriends the mysterious Alien played by mega idol Gloria Yip. Are black cats bad luck? Can the 'aliens' find their way back home? Do dogs know kung fu? How many people die in this movie? Join...

Jet Li and Jackie Cheung turn up the heat in a High Risk game of cat and mouse with a devious mastermind, in a desperate move to avoid total Meltdown. Wong Jing’s 1995 blockbuster thinly veiled Die-Hard clone and Jackie Chan critique is pure octane!