Some martial arts movies are capable of becoming even more enjoyable on each rewatch. With many films, the first viewing is always the best, naturally because not knowing what comes next brings a huge level of intrigue to the experience. But not all movies need this element to entertain.

It’s worth noting that in this area, the martial arts genre holds a mᴀssive advantage. Martial arts films tend to have greater rewatch value than movies in most other genres, and a big part of that is the fact that there’s generally more attention on the action than the story. So knowing how it ends is not as impactful on the second, third, and fourth viewings.

This idea applies to a long list of martial arts movies, but it’s especially true of certain standout entries, from Bruce Lee’s Way of the Dragon to Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Bloodsport.

Way Of The Dragon

Enter the Dragon may be Bruce Lee’s martial arts masterpiece, but even it doesn’t hold as much rewatch value as Way of the Dragon. In a sense, Way of the Dragon is the definitive Bruce Lee movie; after all, it’s the only one of his four completed movies where Lee serves as the star, the writer, and the director.

In other words, he has a personal stamp on this film in ways that he never achieved on any of his other three movies. With each viewing of Way of the Dragon, you get a better feel for who Bruce Lee was as a filmmaker, from his visual style to his approach to humor. You also get to notice all the little details, including the cat oddly lurking in the fight scene between Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee.

Wheels on Meals

Wheels on Meals is one Jackie Chan movie that never gets old. Among a handful of movies that co-starred Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, and Sammo Hung, the 1984 martial arts fan-favorite sees the trio team up in a fight to protect a young woman from a mob boss in Barcelona.

There’s so much to appreciate about Wheels on Meals that it’s difficult to take it all in in one viewing. The best part of the movie, of course, is the final showdown between Jackie Chan and Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, but the humorous dynamic between the two main characters and the female lead, the slapstick comedy, and Richard Ng’s hilarious cameo shouldn’t be overlooked either.

Drunken Master

Another Jackie Chan film worthy of repeated viewings is Drunken Master, a film widely credited with turning Jackie Chan into a kung fu movie superstar. Directed by Yuen Woo-ping, Drunken Master is one of Jackie Chan’s best movies, and it’s not hard to see why, as the film is packed with well-choreographed fight sequences, many of which laced with the actor’s soon-to-be signature slapstick style.

After watching it for the first time, it’s easier to pay more heed to the film’s other strong points, given that Jackie Chan’s performance alone doesn’t make it great. There’s also Hwang Jang-Lee, whose amazing kicking skills are a joy to watch, and Yuen Siu-tien, who is extremely funny as Sam Seed, the main character’s drunken mentor.

Ip Man

Undoubtedly one of the most impressive martial arts movies of the 21st century, Ip Man tells the story of Master Ip Man, the Wing Chun grandmaster who taught kung fu to a teenage Bruce Lee. The first installment in the four-movie Ip Man series delivers a remarkable, multi-layered performance from Donnie Yen, which can be appreciated even more after seeing how his arc develops through the franchise.

Other elements worth paying attention on subsequent viewings is how intricately the film built Donnie Yen’s action sequences around Wing Chun and its rich take on 1935 China.

Bloodsport

Bloodsport is more than just a showcase of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s fighting talents, which are on full display in the final showdown with Bolo Yeung’s character. Both performances are worth watching more than once, but so are the other styles depicted in the film.

As a martial arts tournament movie, Bloodsport is able to bring together fighters of many martial arts disciplines, making its choreography considerably more diverse and eye-catching than most films in its genre.

Best Of The Best

Best of the Best is in a similar category as Bloodsport, as it too is a 1980s martial arts tournament movie where much of its appeal stems from a large of stable of fighters with diverse styles.

The many dynamics between the team of five martial artists and their coach combine to help create an adrenaline-pumping, emotionally-driven story, supported by a spectacular soundtrack full of great ’80s rock songs.

Fist Of Fury

Fist of Fury isn’t Bruce Lee’s greatest movie, but it’s still an incredibly fun outing for the actor, and a key building block when it comes to the star’s image. It doesn’t matter that we already know what happens in Fist of Fury after the first watch, especially since it was never a mystery in the first place; the real entertainment to be found here is the excitement of seeing Chen Zhen’s vengeful crusade gradually unfold onscreen.

The huge fight at the karata dojo where Bruce Lee takes on a horde of Japanese fighters, the iconic nunchucks sequence, and the grand finale where Chen Zhen makes his ultimate sacrifice give Fist of Fury several scenes that deserve to be seen more than once.

Five ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Venoms

Typically, mystery movies aren’t known for their rewatchability, but there are exceptions to that – one of which is Five ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Venoms. In Five ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Venoms, a martial artist is tasked with locating with his master’s other five students, who have each learned a different style. He has to figure out which ones are good and which ones are bad, and form alliances to beat the evil Venoms.

If you’ve already seen Five ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Venoms, you may remember who’s on whose side, but the underlying mystery only accounts for a portion of the fun to be had watching Five ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Venoms. Whether you’ve seen it once or five times, the various fighting styles and personalities of the six main characters give the movie a special, enduring quality.

Clan Of The White Lotus

Clan of the White Lotus was directed by Lau Kar-leung, one of the greatest martial arts directors of all time, so it’s no surprise that it has one of the thrilling showdowns ever to be seen in an old-school kung fu movie.

Clan of the White Lotus is worth rewatching for that alone, but also to enjoy Lo Lieh’s gleefully wicked performance as the evil, white-haired kung fu master. Quentin Tarantino once called Lo Lieh “the greatest actor” in the martial arts movie genre, and it’s easy to understand why after watching Clan of the White Lotus.

The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter

Four years after Clan of the White Lotus, Lau-Kar Leung put together another all-time great martial arts movie when he directed The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, which makes the most of Gordon Liu’s kung fu skills and the director’s talents at choreography.

There’s so many moving parts to the fighting in the film, particularly in regards to the wide-scale fight at the end, that one viewing isn’t enough. Not only that, but Eight Diagram Pole Fighter has one of the funniest scenes in martial arts movies.