Most come to martial arts movies for action. It’s impressive to watch a kung fu movie with choreography so intense that Olympic judges could give them scores. The genre isn’t as popular in the U.S. as it used to be in the 80s and 90s when stars like Jackie Chan and Jet Li lit up the screen.
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That’s why it’s nice to go back to the classics. These martial arts movies in particular have a bit of romance in them as well. Some even have more romance or comedy than actual fights. Without much spoilers, let’s get to some recommendations for fans of both kung fu movies and romantic engagements.
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Big Trouble In Little China
The Hero Is The Worst But That’s The Point
Big Trouble in Little China is a great martial arts movie that is also a parody of American action stars. Jack is a truck driver who sounds like John Wayne and easily thinks himself to be just as tough as old cowboys. On his route, he runs into a Chinese gang and gets roped into a kung fu movie filled with ancient mysticism. Jack tags along with an actual fighter, Wang, on a rescue mission to save some girls. What makes the film great is this every-man hero being too incompetent to do anything besides hiding in a corner to “protect” the girls in distress. Love does bloom between Jack and one of these girls, Gracie, so there is romance on top of zany action and effects.
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Ranma 1/2: The Movie 2, Nihao My Concubine
A Movie Full Of Fists And Fan Service
- Director: Akira Suzuki
- Studio: Studio DEEN
- Released: August 1, 1992
- Run Time: 63 Minutes
Ranma 1/2 is an anime/manga series about the titular Ranma who falls into a pool while training and turns into a girl. Other martial artists in the series drown in pools too turning them into various things when wet like pigs and pandas. That’s the basic oversight of the series, but Ranma 1/2: The Movie 2, Nihao My Concubine is the second of the film series.
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While short, it offers a lot more action than the first movie, Ranma 1/2: The Movie 1: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China. Ranma and the others wash ashore on what seems to be a deserted island only for the women to get captured by a nearby cult. The girls must then compete for the ultimate prize: the prince’s hand in marriage. Through punches and jokes about relationships, this film is a short but sweet chapter in the romance between Ranma and his bride-to-be Akane.
5
Kung Pow: Enter The Fist
My Favorite N*SYNC Member Is Harpo
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
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Steve Oedekerk
The Chosen One
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Lung Fei
Master Pain (Betty) (archive footage)
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Leo Lee
Young Master Pain
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Hsieh Ling-ling
Ling (archive footage)
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist is a parody that reuses a bunch of classic martial arts films from the 70s and beyond. Everyone is dubbed over, making the story of a young martial artist in training to become the best that much sillier. From his ancient master having a fascination with snacks to his rival having a silly name like Betty. This hero, aptly named The Chosen One, also has a romantic engagement with Ling who sounds like Miss Piggy. Perhaps Kung Pow: Enter The Fist is not the most flirtatious romantic martial arts movie around, but there are plenty of laughs at least.
4
City Hunter
A Silly Manga Adaptation
- Director: Wong Jing
- Released: January 14, 1993
- Run Time: 99 Minutes
- Languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin
City Hunter is a 1993 adaptation of a manga that began in 1985. It’s been adapted into live-action movies, series, and anime more times than one can count including a Netflix film in 2024. The 1993 version stars Jackie Chan as most have never seen before: a lecherous detective. There aren’t as many martial arts matches as most Jack Chan flicks but there is plenty of comedy and womanizing. Also, if fans have ever wished to see Jackie Chan dress up literally as E. Honda or Chun Li from Street Fighter then City Hunter is a must-watch.
3
Love On Delivery
When Will They Get To The Karate Factory?
- Director: Lee Lik-Chi
- Released: February 3, 1994
- Run Time: 100 Minutes
- Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin
Love on Delivery is the perfect film for those who love Stephen Chow performances. Most may know him from Kung Fu Hustle or Shaolin Soccer. This underrated 90s gem of his sees Chow begin as a lowly delivery boy who falls in love with a martial arts student, Lily. Chow’s character, Ho Kam-ang, is a coward and doesn’t have much going on in his life. To win Lily’s heart, he will go through martial arts trials without even really performing martial arts. It’s hard to explain without spoiling things but let’s just say it’s more of a romantic comedy than a martial arts film. That said, it does have some impressive stunts like one involving a certain cartoon cat that, again, will not be spoiled here.
2
Love Hurts
Ke Huy Quan Is Back In Action
Love Hurts is the latest film that sees the return of Ke Huy Quan to film. In it he plays a real estate agent who gets thrown back into his past when assassins are looking for the love of his life: Rose. Quan, as Marvin, has some amazing choreography in the film and there’s plenty of laughs too.
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It feels like a modern-day Jackie Chan film with a lot more gross-out death scenes. One of the highlights involves a Property Brother but how will not be spoiled. While Marvin and Rose don’t share a lot of romantic scenes together in the traditional sense, their chemistry is believable if not a little juvenile.
1
Shang-Chi And Legend Of The Ten Rings
Marvel’s Opus To 70s Martial Arts
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
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Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Xu Wenwu
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Simu Liu
Shaun / Shang-Chi
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Ben Kingsley
Trevor Slattery
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a movie that is all about two things: love and badass fights. It’s one of the best MCU films post-Avengers: Endgame starring a new hero, Shang-Chi, who gets roped into his father’s crime family once more. Shang-Chi has a best friend, Katy, who follows him wherever he goes even if she gets into mortal danger without knowing how to fight. They have a “will they, won’t they” vibe and their chemistry is through the roof. More so than their relationship, the villain, Xu who is also Shang-Chi’s father, is in heartache because he lost the love of his life, Ying. It gives the villain something more to work with than another evil dictator and also something that the audience can emulate.
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