The Kix Collection: Martial arts movies
Browse full collectionIf it’s martial arts movies you love, Showmax has you covered with the Kix Collection.
Showmax has no less than 30 Asian movies from Kix, including a buffet of classics from the kung fu masters themselves: Bruce Lee (The Way of the Dragon and Game of Death), Jackie Chan (Police Story, Wheels on Meals, Crime Story, and Armour of God) and Jet Li (Dr. Wai in the Scripture with No Words and Once Upon A Time in China), as well as classics like Iron Monkey (see below), Three (see below), The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, and A Chinese Odyssey, a two-part fantasy comedy from BAFTA-nominated writer-director Jeffrey Lau (Kung Fu Hustle), starring BAFTA nominee and Kung Fu Hustle lead Stephen Chow as the time-travelling, now-human Monkey King, who’s been reincarnated as the Joker.
Bruce Lee
The Way of the Dragon (1972): A man visits his relatives at their restaurant in Italy and has to protect them from brutal gangsters. This classic starring Bruce Lee culminates in a fantastic fight in the Colosseum.
Game of Death (1978): To find the people trying to kill him, a martial arts movie star fakes his own death. This classic stars Bruce Lee.
Jackie Chan
Wheels on Meals (1984): Thomas (Jackie Chan) operates a food truck in Barcelona and uses his kung fu to help his private investigator friend protect an heiress who is targeted by a gang.
Crime Story (1986): Inspector Eddie Chan (Jackie Chan) is tasked with tracking down a kidnapped businessman. One of the kidnappers operates within the police force and is determined to stop him.
Police Story (1985): A police officer in Hong Kong is framed for the murder of a dirty cop. Now he must find a way to clear his name. This classic sequel to Crime Story stars Jackie Chan.
Armour of God (1986): Jackie Chan stars as a treasure hunter with a bumbling sidekick who is sent on a quest through Europe to find a mysterious treasure held by a shadowy group of monks.
Jet Li
Dr. Wai in the Scripture with No Words (1996): Jet Li stars as a writer with many personal problems. He escapes reality by living vicariously through one of his lead characters, in a quest for a mythical scripture.
Once Upon A Time in China (1991): Amid foreign incursion, martial arts master Wong Fei Hung (Jet Li) fights to defend his community against corrupt officials, local gangsters and a rival in martial arts.
Helios (2015): Amid foreign incursion, martial arts master Wong Fei Hung (Jet Li) fights to defend his community against corrupt officials, local gangsters and a rival in martial arts.
More classics
Iron Monkey (1993): Hailed by Oscar winner Quentin Tarantino as “one of the greatest kung fu movies ever made,” Iron Monkey tells the legendary tale of one man with the courage to challenge an unjust system and bring hope to the poor and the oppressed.
Starring martial arts screen legend Donnie Yen (Rogue One, IP Man, Mulan) and Yu Rongguang (The Karate Kid (2010), Shanghai Noon), Iron Monkey is written and produced by multi-award-winning Once Upon a Time in China director Tsui Hark, and directed by renowned martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping – the action director for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Matrix and Kill Bill.
Iron Monkey holds a 91% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Hollywood Reporter calls it “a cinematic marvel,” while The Houston Chronicle says it’s “pure ballet, pure candy for the eyes.”
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978): A man studies kung fu at the Shaolin Temple so that he can fight against the oppressive Manchu government. Starring Gordon Liu.
Dragon Hero (1979): A good-natured kung fu kid gets caught up in conflict between rival schools and rival countries, and has to fight for justice, honour and friendship. Chin Kar-Lok plays a Drunken Master.
3 Musketeers (1993): Alexandra D’Artagnan, a junior member of the NSA, uncovers a plot to assassinate the American president. He enlists the help of three infamous international spies to stop it.
The New Big Boss (1997): A young man seeks out the Wolf (Donnie Yen), a legendary undefeated warrior. When he sees that the Wolf is now an old man, he prompts him to retell his past glories.
The Bare-Footed Kid (1993): A poor young man from the countryside arrives in the city to work with the friend of his dead father. When the family’s dye shop is burnt down by a local strongman, he decides to fight back to protect them all.
A Chinese Odyssey Part I: Pandora’s Box (1995): The Monkey King is reincarnated as a human with no recollection of his former life. He uses Pandora’s box to travel through time to fulfil his true destiny, but ends up chasing after two jealous women.
A Chinese Odyssey Part II: Cinderella (1995): After using Pandora’s box, the Monkey King finds himself stuck centuries in the past, where he encounters his old master, an array of villains and his true love.
Modern classics
Three (2016): Crime thriller Three centres on a cornered criminal who goes to extraordinary lengths to buy time for his cohorts to rescue him from police custody.
Directed by multi-award-winner Johnnie To (Breaking News, Election, Sparrow), Three stars Zhao Wei (Mulan, Red Cliff) and Wallace Chung, who was named Best Actor at the Shanghai International Film Festival for his role.
Three has a 93% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with IndieWire saying “there’s something remarkable about watching a master like Johnnie To reverse-engineer an entire thriller from one idea he just had to try – in this case, a shootout unlike any you’ve seen before.”
Heroes Amidst Turmoil (2014): This is a story about a Chinese hero who is willing to put his and his family’s lives at risk to protect some national treasures from falling into the hands of foreign thieves.
The Blood Brothers (2018): An ex-con seeks revenge against the childhood friends he believes let him take the fall for a crime they committed together.
Initial D (1998): After winning his first competition, Takumi focuses his attention on drift racing, a sport he has unknowingly perfected while delivering tofu in his father’s Toyota AE86.
Black Maiden Chapter Q (2019): Mei is adopted by a family who already has an adopted daughter, Rana. The girls become close but when the family business collapses, only one of them can afford to stay. Revenge is soon on the cards.
Black Maiden Chapter A (2019): In this continuation of Black Maiden Chapter Q, Mei and Rana have exacted their revenge. But they soon find out that there’s more to the story than meets the eye.
Alien Predator (2018): In an expedition to Antarctica to locate a pyramid, a team of archaeologists and scientists find themselves caught in a battle between two species of terrifying creatures.
Seoul Raiders (2015): A special agent from Japanese National Security teams up with a skilled thief to find a pair of plates used to make counterfeit US dollars. When the plates are stolen and taken to Korea, they must pursue the culprit.
Unbeatable Youth (2014): Warlord Lei holds a fighting competition and brings in strong fighters from eight countries, intending to put the traditional Chinese martial arts to shame. A group of kung fu masters step up to reclaim their honour.
Encroach (2018): A new student at university is unnerved by the constant strange noises she hears in the dormitory. When she’s attacked, she realises the college has some dark secrets.
Kung Fu Chefs (2009): Cookery and kung fu combine in this knockabout comedy about a disgraced chef who trains a young protégé for his new restaurant and an upcoming competition.
Street Racer (2008): After serving time for a tragic accident, an illegal street racer is dragged back into his old high-speed world in the side streets of LA’s highways.
Times of Warlords (2007): China is divided between warlords and Lei is the most evil of them all. He tries to cover up his connection with Japanese officials by killing all the witnesses, but a group of patriots rise up, determined to stop him.
