It’s easy to assume that the best fight in most martial arts movies it’s the climactic final battle, but henchman characters can sometimes put up better fights than the main villains they serve. In many cases, the martial arts villains are better than the hero, adding a layer of underdog excitement to the narrative. However, in some notable cases, the minion or henchman character who serves as a buffer between the protagonist and the final fight can be more memorable and even cooler than the central antagonist.
Henchmen characters in martial arts films often have more freedom to have more unique techniques, weapons, or even personalities that don’t have to worry about being the driving force behind the conflict. This often results in a minion or thug who puts up a more memorable fight than the overall villain. This is the case with some of the most important martial arts films of all time, demonstrating the genre’s unique sensitivity to exciting “miniboss” characters.
10
The three storms
Big problem in little China
Big problem in little China is a bizarre film in many ways, including its villains. Although the immortal sorcerer Lo-Pan is the powerful villain driving the film’s events, Jack Burton and Wang-Chi have to face all sorts of strange dangers to get to him, including literal monsters and shaggy-haired wild men. But by far the coolest and most dangerous of Lo-Pan’s bandit circle is the Three Storms trio, made up of Thunder, Rain, and Lightning.
From the moment they first appear, the Three Storms make it clear that they are no ordinary Kung-Fu fighters. Wielding the mystical powers of their namesakes, the Three Storms massacre entire societies of warriors, creating some of the film’s most thrilling and intense action sequences. Famously inspiring Raiding of Mortal Kombat The fame, surging electricity, iconic farmer hats, and over-the-top deaths of these villains create some iconic martial arts movie villains.
9
Gogo Yubari
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Quentin Tarantino’s terrifying love letter duology of martial arts films was filled with some colorful villains, particularly the various members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. Each of the Vipers that the Bride systematically kills one by one has her own unique appeal as a killer, but one of the Kill Bill The series’ best villains weren’t a Deadly Viper. Enter Gogo Yubari, O-ren Ishii’s top lieutenant and his most bloodthirsty subordinate, betrayed by her innocent schoolgirl appearance.
Wielding his meteor hammer with impressive dexterity, Gogo causes the Bride more trouble than an entire room of Crazy 88 gang members, beating her nearly to death. The Bride only manages to defeat Gogo thanks to quick thinking and improvised weaponry, easily being a lost cause against the 17-year-old homicidal young man in different circumstances. Fighting better than his own boss, Gogo seems capable of besting most of Tarantino’s other characters in a destructive hand-to-hand duel.
8
Bandit #1
Wheels for meals
In some rare cases, martial arts henchmen who are minor enough to not even be given a name can still steal the show. The best example of this happening is in Jackie Chan’s star vehicle Wheels at meals, a martial arts action comedy that sees Chan’s character facing off against a variety of criminal enemies. Played by Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, this nameless lackey gives Chan’s character a nearly insurmountable challenge at the end of Wheels for meals.
In their fight amidst the sophisticated dining room of a high-class mansion, Chan and Urquidez deliver the performance of a lifetime, with Urquidez’s real-life skill as a kickboxer being easily evident even in the fictional action. Thundering just millimeters from Chan’s head with kicks powerful enough to blow out candles, Urquidez’s thug far outmatches Wheels for meals‘forgettable main villain without saying a single word. Despite not having a name, this humble henchman is behind one of the best fights of Jackie Chan’s career.
7
Mad Dog
The invasion
The film that put Southeast Asian martial arts films on the map, The invasion is bold, brutally violent action filled with many memorable combatants. Among all of them, however, none stands out as much as the right-hand man of criminal villain Tama, known simply as Mad Dog. Played by one of the fiercest rising stars of 2010’s martial arts films, Yayan Ruhian, Mad Dog is Tama’s main muscle, giving the heroes of the Indonesian Police Force their deadliest challenge yet.
Mad Dog appears several times throughout The invasionquickly earning a reputation of infamy among the film’s heroes. First fighting Sergeant Jaka, Mad Dog later ends up facing Rama and Andi at the same time, holding their own in a lopsided deathmatch with brilliant fight choreography. With his signature Pencak Silat fighting style, Yayan Ruhian put himself on the map with his performance as Mad Dog in The invasionand deservedly so.
6
Hammer Girl
The attack 2
Not only is it the first entry into The invasion series that features some effortlessly cool secondary villains. The attack 2 introduced a new series of deadly assassins for Rama and Eka to face, many of them simply being named by descriptors that correspond to their weapon of choice. The most memorable of these is easily Hammer Girl, an assassin who enjoys brutal kills with her tool of trade.
Working together with her brother, Baseball Bat Man, there’s a lot to appreciate about Hammer Girl as a mysterious assassin, a mute, deaf woman who wields a pair of hammers with bone-crunching effectiveness via Tiger-Style Silat. The revelation of her missing eye when her glasses finally come off is an emotional moment that further fans the flames of the character’s aura. Never mind the fact that Hammer Girl is the driving force between some of the best fight scenes in The invasion series, particularly the train battle.
5
The hit man
Who am I?
After his fight with Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, Jackie Chan got into the habit of giving the best fights in his films to unknown actors playing nameless bad guys. The next step in this tradition was Who am I?, which marked the film debut of Dutch martial artist and actor Ron Smoorenburg, who appears as an unidentified henchman of Ron Smerczak’s villainous CIA agent. Smoorenburg and Jackie Chan face off in the film in a breathtaking rooftop battle that shows what both men are capable of.
Like a taekwondo assassin, Smoorenburg delivers some jaw-dropping kicks to Jackie Chan, who has to give it his all to keep up. Smoorenburg’s record as holder of the highest kick in the world at 3.3 meters high is put to good use in this fight scene, twisting his character into unbelievable shapes just to land a blow. Of course, in typical Jackie Chan fashion, the fight also includes a humorous beatdown in which both characters pause to wince in pain from a simultaneous blow to the shin.
4
cake
Enter the dragon
One of Bruce Lee’s best films, Enter the Dragon It would be nothing without some memorable enemies for Lee’s character to face. Despite being merely an opening for the film’s main antagonist, Han, Bolo Yeung’s self-titled character is by far the most alarming enemy encountered in Enter the Dragon. Due to his impressive physique as a stuntman and bodybuilding champion, Bolo is a force to be reckoned with the moment he steps on screen.
To introduce himself to the other fighters, Bolo flexes his size, strength and brutality, breaking another hapless fighter’s spine in half, cradling him like a folding chair. There are few better representations of the martial arts movie villain “tank” archetype than Bolo, whose intimidation factor far surpasses Han’s. It’s no wonder Yeung rose to prominence starring alongside other big names in martial arts cinema like Jean-Claude Van Damme in films like Blood sport.
3
Hua’s henchman
Dragons forever
Benny “The Jet” Urquidez returned to the silver screen to give Jackie Chan a run for his money as a nameless henchman once again in Dragons forever. This time, Urquidez serves a new boss, the film’s villain Hua, a dangerous drug dealer who finds himself in the crosshairs of Jackie Chan’s lawyer and martial artist character, Jackie Lung. No matter the changing circumstances, Urquidez’s character’s mission remains the same – beat Jackie Chan to a pulp.
This time, Urquidez is even more suited to the movies, throwing incredibly fast punches and kicks with more ferocity than ever before. His relentless attack forces Jackie Chan’s Lung to get serious like never before, limiting his usual ability to turn the environment around him to his advantage. Without speaking a single line of dialogue, Urquidez’s mischievous smile as he hypes up his opponent instantly makes him the best villain in any martial arts film he stars in.
2
Tin-Tin Law
New police story
THE Police story franchise was quite tired at the time New police story released in 2004. In keeping with the darker tone of the total reboot, New police story featured some deadly villains that were able to give Jackie Chan’s more recent interpretation of his classic character a break. Outsmarting the film’s main villain is newcomer Andy On, who plays delinquent young criminal Law Tin-Tin.
Andy On and Jackie Chan’s battle in a Lego store is one of the most thrilling set pieces in the entire franchise, with painful-looking buckets of bricks raining down on the two characters as they fight for dominance. The creativity of using Law’s backpack as a focal point of combat combines well with the speed and dexterity of both fighters, enhancing the character’s on-screen presence. Law also emotionally challenges Jackie Chan’s Chief Inspector Chan Kwok-wing, making him a fascinating and complex villain in more ways than one.
1
The Capoeirista
The Protector
Better known by his native name Tom-Yum-Goong, billed as The Protector In the United States, Tony Jaa’s Thai martial arts film sought to prove the power of Muay Thai as a combat system, taking on some extremely varied styles. To achieve this, Kham de Jaa faces a variety of opponents in his quest to recover the precious elephants stolen from him, including a gigantic wrestler and a graceful wushu swordsman. However, the fighter who steals the show is an anonymous capoeira practitioner who faces Kham in a burning temple.
Capoeira is an inherently flashy style, with dramatic yet powerful spinning kicks showcased beautifully in this encounter. Each capoeirista’s limb is tracked by water droplets that further highlight his impressive movements, giving Kham some of the biggest problems of any opponent in the film. The skill with which this anonymous combatant is able to literally dance around Tony Jaa’s furious attacks easily makes him one of the coolest minor antagonists ever. martial arts film.