Listage: Seven Martial Arts Movies That Anyone* Can Enjoy

Enter the Dragon- The mother of all kung-fu movies, but it also happens to be a decently taut action thriller. Bruce Lee was one intense dude, and the tournament scenes could personally kick Jean-Claude Van Damme’s ass into next week.

Rush Hour- I personally enjoy a lot of Jackie Chan movies, but this one has a little something for everyone. A good cop/buddy picture with Jackie Chan-style action sequences. (And it has a pretty fair sequel, including Zhang Ziyi, who will appear again on this list.)

Miracles (aka Qiji) - I choose this one to be my representative of Jackie Chan’s early Hong Kong career. It's a loose remake of Pocketful of Miracles. The plot and acting is typically goofy but amusing enough to keep you going between amazing Jackie stunts. The final fight scene is incredible, maybe his best ever.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon- This is the first of what I have begun to call the martial/art flicks. I define this sub-genre by a heavy dependence on beautiful scenery, cinematography, dance-like fight sequences and a plot tinged with romanticism. Speaking of beauty, it stars the nubile and flexible Zhang Ziyi.

The House of Flying Daggers- Another martial/art flick, another opportunity to mention the lithe and multi-talented ZZ. This film is even more oriented towards dance/choreography visual themes- not totally dissimilar to watching one of those golden-age Hollywood musicals.

The Karate Kid- Yes, this is a martial arts movie, and it’s a feel-good family drama. Johnny is a superb archetype of the teenaged-rich-popular-asshole character. We all love to root for the old guy from Happy Days and Vinnie's cousin, but let's face it, we'd root for a rutabaga if it were up against Johnny. Plus, it's highly quotable to an almost Airplane-ish degree. Sweep the leg!

Kung-Fu Hustle- This one has a uniquely strange visual style, and it’s just plain fun and funny.

*By anyone, I mean you don’t have to like kung-fu movies in general, but you do need to be willing to read subtitles. When I saw 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' for the first time, people actually walked out of the theater when they realized (gasp!) there were subtitles! Fools! Because A, dubbing is annoying, and 2, it would have been a magnificent movie even if you never understood a word of what was being said.