Jackie Chan is one of the premier icons of martial arts cinema, helping to define the genre since the 1970s and pushing genuine real-life techniques in his films. Chan has developed the unique ability to blend complex fighting seamlessly moves with slapstick humor, becoming a trademark of his most iconic films. He has garnered a legendary reputation for his insistence on performing his own dangerous stunts and, combined with his unique comedic style and timing, have made him an international superstar.
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The majority of Chan’s most hilarious and exhilarating fight scenes are a mix of creativity, athleticism, and surprise that keep the audience in suspense at never knowing what could happen next. His ability to use everyday objects and his surroundings is unmatched, from fighting with wooden clogs in Who Am I? to avoiding industrial saw machines in Mr. Nice Guy. Chan is an expert at balancing the humor and intensity of the action, utilizing his physicality and genuine martial arts ability to create some of the biggest loud-out-loud moments in all of action cinema.
10 City Hunter (1993) – The Chun-Li Fight
Starring Jackie Chan As Ryo Saeba
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City Hunter Shinjuku Private Eyes PG-13ActionComedy Cast Jackie Chan Runtime 100 Minutes Main Genre Action
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In the Hong Kong action comedy City Hunter, Jackie Chan stars as Ryo Saeba, a womanizing private detective who is hired by a wealthy business magnate to locate his missing daughter. During his adventure, his partner and love interest, Kaori, ends up facing a whole gang of various assailants before ending up on a cruise ship that has been taken over and hijacked by terrorists. The most memorable scene in the film happens when Saeba ends up with an electric shock and ends up hallucinating he is Chun-Li from the Street Fighter video game franchise.
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Just on the surface, the concept of this fight is hilarious, with Chan in full costume and makeup as Chun-Li. Chan mimics her moves perfectly, complete with the iconic multi-kicks and vibrant sound effects that helped make Street Fighter famous. His mannerisms and fighting style are spot on, with momentary giggles, and the fact it takes place inside a hallucination in an arcade makes it all the more surreal. The scene is definitely the stand-out action sequence from City Hunter and the funniest moment in the whole film.
9 Project A (1983) – The Bicycle Chase Fight
Starring Jackie Chan As Sergeant Dragon Ma
In Project A, Chan stars as Sergeant Dragon Ma alongside his two ‘brothers’ in martial arts cinema, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao. The story follows Ma as a coast guard who has been battling sea pirates who are importing and selling weapons. A film known worldwide for one of Jackie Chan’s most incredible stunts, hanging and falling from the hand of a clock tower some 60 feet in the air, it also features one of the most intricate and complex bicycle chase fights of all time.
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Related Jackie Chan’s 10 Best Old School Kung Fu Movies, Ranked
Jackie Chan’s old-school kung fu filmography is unrivaled, with such classics as Drunken Master, New Fist Of Fury, and Dragon Fist.
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Dragon Ma steals a bicycle from the Hong Kong Police Force Captain and embarks on a chase sequence through alleyways as the police force all try to catch him. The scene is funny in many ways, Chan’s skill and theatrics on the bicycle are amazing to watch, and the variety of tools and techniques he uses to escape, including jousting with a pole of clothes, knocking on doors so they open in front of his assailants and using his bicycle as a catapult and weapon. Chan’s creativity and humor are on full display with this perfectly choreographed sequence.
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8 Who Am I? (1998) – The Wooden Clogs Fight
Starring Jackie Chan As Jackie Chan
Who Am I? is a spy action comedy starring Chan as part of a multinational military Special Force Unit. It tells the story of a covert group of CIA operatives who are experimenting with a new energy source before being double-crossed by one of their own, causing a helicopter accident intending to kill all involved. When Chan’s character wakes in a remote tribal village with no recollection of who he is or how he got there, he must piece together his life before and avoid a host of hitmen who, in one scene, chase him towards a market full of stalls.
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In a nearly five-minute-long action sequence, Chan faces off with a slew of enemies after they chase him into a street with a set of market stalls, with hilarity ensuing. Chan knocks into a wooden clog stand and knocks dozens onto the ground; he views this as a weapon, not an inconvenience. He pops two clogs onto his feet and gets to work, throwing, kicking, and stomping with great comic effect. The close combat is beautifully choreographed, with Chan literally kicking their asses, and the overall slapstick and surreal nature of the clogs makes for a brilliant fight sequence.
7 Drunken Master II (1994) – The Outdoor Courtyard Fight
Starring Jackie Chan As Wong Fei-Hung
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Drunken Master II RActionComedy
Drunken Master II is a martial arts film directed by Lau Kar-leung and starring Jackie Chan as Wong Fei-hung. Set in early 20th century China, the story follows Wong Fei-hung as he employs his unique style of drunken boxing to combat corrupt officials and foreign agents smuggling valuable artifacts. The film is renowned for its intricate choreography and traditional kung fu elements.
Director Chia-Liang Liu , Jackie Chan Release Date February 3, 1994 Writers Edward Tang , Man-Ming Tong , Kai-Chi Yuen , Rod Dean Cast Jackie Chan , Lung Ti , Anita Mui , Felix Wong , Chia-Liang Liu , Ken Lo , Kar Lok Chin , Ho-Sung Pak Runtime 102 Minutes Main Genre Action Expand
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In one of Jackie Chan’s best old-school Kung Fu movies, Drunken Master II he reprises his role as the eccentric and hilarious Wong Fei-Hung. Following on from the original, he continues his journey, learning and utilizing the drunken boxing kung fu style to disarm a multitude of henchmen after he and his family get embroiled in a plot by the British Consul in China trying to secretly smuggle Chinese artifacts into Britain.
In the most comical scene of the film, Wong must fight with a gang of henchmen in an outdoor courtyard surrounded by local stands. Using his drunken boxing style, Chan sloppily yet accurately dispatches all who come before him. Chan’s facial expressions and knowing vocals are a thing of beauty to watch, with one sequence seeing him attacked with a small table but reversing it on his attacker before briefly using it for a rest mid-fight. The slapstick nature of the fighting technique and Chan’s incredible athleticism make this one of his best comedy fight scenes.
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6 The Accidental Spy (2001) – The Naked Market Fight
Starring Jackie Chan As Buck Yuen
Chan stars as Buck Yuen, a frustrated and less-than-successful exercise equipment salesman who yearns for more adventure and excitement from his mundane life. One day, Yuen, following a hunch about two suspicious-looking men, inadvertently ends up stopping a bank robbery and gains public attention for his heroics. Due to this, he is pulled into an international criminal plot involving a spy network, the CIA, and a new biological weapon, Anthrax II.
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The 9 Jackie Chan Films On This List: |
IMDb Rating: |
|---|---|
|
City Hunter (1993) |
6.3/10 |
|
Project A (1983) |
7.2/10 |
|
Who Am I? (1998) |
6.8/10 |
|
Drunken Master II (1994) |
7.5/10 |
|
The Accidental Spy (2001) |
5.8/10 |
|
The Tuxedo (2002) |
5.4/10 |
|
Rush Hour (1998) |
7.0/10 |
|
Mr. Nice Guy (1997) |
6.2/10 |
|
The Myth (2005) |
6.1/10 |
While visiting a Turkish bath, Yuen is accosted by a group of thugs looking to rob him. Yuen escapes out of the bath in nothing but a towel but is quickly forced into his birthday suit. Chan fighting while naked is wildly entertaining, but the genuine embarrassment he portrays is truly hysterical. Chan uses various plates, robes, and items to cover himself while also fighting back. The best part is probably when he falls back onto two mounds of different colored spices, forced to keep fighting with two different colored cheeks, as he displays impressive technique throughout his escape.
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5 Rush Hour (1998) – The Massage Parlor Fight
Starring Jackie Chan As Chief Inspector Lee
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9/10 Rush Hour PG-13ActionAdventureComedy
Rush Hour is an action/adventure comedy that stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. When the F.B.I. becomes agitated over dedicated Hong Kong Inspector (Lee) being sent to Los Angeles to rescue the Chinese Consul’s kidnapped daughter, he is forced to team up with a reckless and loudmouthed L.A.P.D.detective (Tucker) to keep him front interfering. Despite the differences between the two, they’ll put them aside to prove themselves and save the girl while finding themselves caught in a notorious crime lord’s crosshairs.
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*Availability in US Cast Ken Leung , Chris Tucker , Tzi Ma , Tom Wilkinson , Jackie Chan , Mark Rolston , Rex Linn , Elizabeth Peña Release Date September 18, 1998 Director Brett Ratner Studio(s) New Line Cinema Distributor(s) New Line Cinema Writers Ross LaManna , Jim Kouf Runtime 98 minutes Expand
In one of Chan’s most famous roles of all time, he plays Chief Inspector Lee in Rush Hour, directed by Brett Ratner. Lee, a dedicated and fastidious detective, who is forced to team up with the brash and loud LAPD detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) when a Chinese diplomat’s daughter is kidnapped in Los Angeles. The two form an unlikely but memorable partnership in this ‘buddy cop’ comedy, with fast-paced action sequences and hilarious dialogue throughout.
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Chan and Tucker’s chemistry in the massage parlor fight sequence is electric, with the two squaring up to dozens of goons, all dressed in a variety of delicately laced robes. Tucker drops a series of brilliant one-liners throughout the sequence, and the two flow together as seamlessly as a ballet recital. The action is exhilarating, with the main source of humor coming from Tucker’s dialogue and their innovative use of the chairs and towels around them to help gain an advantage, before a cutaway shows them forced to run through the streets naked to safety.
4 The Tuxedo (2002) – The Hotel Room Fight
Starring Jackie Chan As Jimmy Tong
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The Tuxedo PG-13ThrillerActionComedyScience Fiction
The Tuxedo is a 2002 action-comedy film starring Jackie Chan as Jimmy Tong, a cabbie-turned-chauffeur who inadvertently steps into the world of espionage. When his millionaire employer is incapacitated, Jimmy dons a high-tech tuxedo that transforms him into an unwitting secret agent.
Director Kevin Donovan Release Date September 27, 2002 Writers Michael J. Leeson Cast Jackie Chan , Jennifer Love Hewitt , Jason Isaacs , Debi Mazar , Ritchie Coster , Peter Stormare , Mia Cottet , Romany Malco , Daniel Kash , Jody Racicot , Scott Wickware , Anthony Christian Potenza , Karen Glave , Scott Yaphe , Boyd Banks , Colin Mochrie , James Brown , Paul Bates , Noah Dalton Danby , Cecile Cristobal , Kim Roberts , Fred Rutherford , Jordan Madley , Phoenix Gonzales , Craig Eldridge Runtime 98 minutes Expand
In The Tuxedo, Chan portrays a one-of-a-kind taxi driver, Jimmy Tong, who can get his customers to any location in the shortest amount of time. With his reputation, he lands a job as personal chauffeur to Wealthy Clark Devlin, who, unbeknownst to Jimmy, is an international spy. After Clark is murdered, his new trusted confidant locates his watch and Tuxedo, which grants the wearer superhuman abilities when wearing it, and the best scene in the film involves a hotel fight scene as Jimmy is still trying to get used to his new discovery.
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In one of Chan’s most brilliant fighting sequence concepts, he is cornered in a hotel room as he attempts to pull on his ‘life-saving’ pants. Chan rotates around the hotel room floor like a spinning top, trying to avoid blows while getting dressed. Once zipped up with Chan’s unparalleled comedic timing, the pants take on a life of their own, easily dispatching the bad guys in a series of gravity-defying stunts. Chan’s facial expressions and nonchalant attitude as the pants do his fighting are both comical and perfectly timed, making it one of the funniest fight sequences in his career.
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3 Rush Hour (1998) – The Priceless Vase Fight
Starring Jackie Chan As Chief Inspector Lee
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Continuing on from the massage parlor fight scene, Rush Hour is a film with many of Chan’s most hilarious and well-choreographed fight sequences. Most sequences involve a variety of escapades and slapstick moments that intersperse with dynamic martial arts blitzes. This one, however, is a little different from the norm, taking place in quite a close quarter, isolated situation with a predicament and outcome that is absolutely played to perfection in one of Jackie Chan’s most important films of his career.
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Set in a Chinese Art exhibition, Chan is fighting with priceless vases all around. As the men knock into them, Chan does everything he can to keep them upright while fighting for his life. The physical skill and comedic timing make you feel like you are witnessing Chan at his absolute peak, with him balancing the priceless vase in between landing blows. Chan is truly a master of subverting expectations and crafting a combination of gracefulness and brutality. Chan defeats the enemies and saves the vase; relieved, he walks away while a stray bullet shatters the vase in the background.
2 Mr. Nice Guy (1997) – The Construction Site Fight
Starring Jackie Chan As Jackie
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In the comedy action film Mr. Nice Guy, directed by Sammo Hung, Chan stars as Jackie, a TV chef who inadvertently gets involved in a war between the Mob and a street gang called The Demons. A TV journalist records a cocaine deal gone wrong between the rival crews with Giancarlo, the mob boss, killing the leader of The Demons. After discovering her recording, they give chase, and the journalist runs into Jackie, who helps her escape, but not before accidentally swapping tapes, causing Jackie to become the Mob’s new target.
The scene and the equipment almost become characters themselves, with wooden planks, rollers, and pipes all playing a part.
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In one of the more chaotic, creative, and hilarious fight scenes of Chan’s career, the characters end up at a construction site, with Chan next to many dangerous mechanical tools. Chan is the master of using his surroundings, with some slapstick elements, including almost getting his genitals caught in a circular-saw or forcing an attacker into a rotating cement mixer. The scene and the equipment almost become characters themselves, with wooden planks, rollers, and pipes all playing a part. Chan’s unique athletic ability, combined with his comedic timing of the stunts, make for one of his funniest fights.
1 The Myth (2005) – The Sticky Conveyor Belt Fight
Starring Jackie Chan As Meng Yi
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The Myth is a Chinese martial arts fantasy film starring Chan as Meng Yi; while it is an epic and expansive narrative featuring many large-scale, iconic battle scenes, it is sometimes the simplest and most creatively structured fight scenes that are the most memorable. When Meng Yi runs into Samantha and attempts to help her evade capture from the oncoming henchman, they find themselves in a rat glue paper factory, with the most incredible and laugh-out-loud fight scene in Chan’s entire filmography.
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Chan again subverts all expectations, with a fight usually warranting fast-paced, dynamic action with constant flowing movement, but with incredible creativity, he does just the opposite. Chan and his attackers all land on a conveyor belt made of rat glue paper. Once something hits, it sticks, so the fight scene is a series of awkward landings, intricate motions, cleverly used props and clothes, and various evasive means to stick his enemies to the floor. In a game of ‘the floor is lava,’ Chan outwits his opponents and creates one of the funniest and most memorable fight scenes in film history.
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