# Hong Kong action — Woo, Lam, Tsui, To

> The Hong Kong action cinema of the late 1980s and 1990s is one of the most formally inventive genre bodies in film history. John Woo's ballistic ballets — The Killer, Hard Boiled — set the template. Ringo Lam gave it grit and claustrophobia (City on Fire). Tsui Hark produced half the decade at breakneck pace. Johnnie To eventually made the whole thing his own in the 2000s: Election, Exiled, Mad Detective. The list surfaces Hong Kong and Chinese-language action, crime, and thriller films from 1985 onward.

Source: <https://nextmovie4u.com/canon/hong-kong-action/>

## 30 films in this list

- **[A Brighter Summer Day](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/a-brighter-summer-day-1991/)** (1991) — ★ 8.3 · 383 votes · devastating, foreign-gem, cult
- **[The Departed](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-departed-2006/)** (2006) — ★ 8.2 · 16,129 votes · slow-burn, devastating, dread
- **[Ne Zha 2](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/ne-zha-2-2025/)** (2025) — ★ 8.1 · 667 votes · foreign-gem, atmospheric, cozy
- **[The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-witch-part-1-the-subversion-2018/)** (2018) — ★ 7.9 · 728 votes · foreign-gem, neon-soaked, mindfuck
- **[Let the Bullets Fly](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/let-the-bullets-fly-2010/)** (2010) — ★ 7.8 · 350 votes · foreign-gem
- **[Ip Man](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/ip-man-2008/)** (2008) — ★ 7.8 · 4,083 votes · foreign-gem, cult, devastating
- **[Bullet in the Head](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/bullet-in-the-head-1990/)** (1990) — ★ 7.6 · 311 votes · cozy, foreign-gem, devastating
- **[Police Story](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/police-story-1985/)** (1985) — ★ 7.5 · 1,035 votes · foreign-gem, cozy, cult
- **[The Mission](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-mission-1999/)** (1999) — ★ 7.5 · 178 votes · foreign-gem, cult, devastating
- **[Hero](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/hero-2002/)** (2002) — ★ 7.5 · 2,481 votes · devastating, foreign-gem, cult
- **[Fist of Legend](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/fist-of-legend-1994/)** (1994) — ★ 7.5 · 604 votes · foreign-gem, cult, late-night
- **[Kung Fu Hustle](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/kung-fu-hustle-2004/)** (2004) — ★ 7.5 · 3,152 votes · foreign-gem, cozy, cult
- **[Ip Man 2](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/ip-man-2-2010/)** (2010) — ★ 7.5 · 2,478 votes · foreign-gem, devastating, late-night
- **[The Legend of Drunken Master](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-legend-of-drunken-master-1994/)** (1994) — ★ 7.5 · 1,073 votes · cozy, foreign-gem, cult
- **[Iron Monkey](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/iron-monkey-1993/)** (1993) — ★ 7.4 · 324 votes · foreign-gem, cult, devastating
- **[Sleepless Town](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/sleepless-town-1998/)** (1998) — ★ 7.4 · 18 votes · foreign-gem, cult, devastating
- **[Big Brother](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/big-brother-2018/)** (2018) — ★ 7.4 · 254 votes · foreign-gem, cozy, devastating
- **[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-2000/)** (2000) — ★ 7.4 · 3,545 votes · foreign-gem, cult, devastating
- **[Striking Rescue](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/striking-rescue-2024/)** (2024) — ★ 7.4 · 163 votes · foreign-gem, dread
- **[Election 2](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/election-2-2006/)** (2006) — ★ 7.4 · 205 votes · foreign-gem, cult, devastating
- **[A Better Tomorrow](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/a-better-tomorrow-1986/)** (1986) — ★ 7.4 · 613 votes · foreign-gem, cult, devastating
- **[Operation Red Sea](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/operation-red-sea-2018/)** (2018) — ★ 7.4 · 432 votes · foreign-gem, devastating, dread
- **[The Calm Beyond](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-calm-beyond-2020/)** (2020) — ★ 7.4 · 77 votes · foreign-gem, dread, mindfuck
- **[The Red Violin](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-red-violin-1998/)** (1998) — ★ 7.3 · 450 votes · foreign-gem, cult, devastating
- **[Running Out of Time](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/running-out-of-time-1999/)** (1999) — ★ 7.3 · 172 votes · foreign-gem, cult, devastating
- **[Operation Condor](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/operation-condor-1991/)** (1991) — ★ 7.3 · 633 votes · foreign-gem, autumnal, cult
- **[House of Flying Daggers](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/house-of-flying-daggers-2004/)** (2004) — ★ 7.3 · 1,783 votes · foreign-gem, cult, devastating
- **[The Wandering Earth II](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-wandering-earth-ii-2023/)** (2023) — ★ 7.3 · 712 votes · foreign-gem, mindfuck
- **[A World Without Thieves](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/a-world-without-thieves-2004/)** (2004) — ★ 7.3 · 151 votes · foreign-gem, cult, devastating
- **[New Dragon Gate Inn](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/new-dragon-gate-inn-1992/)** (1992) — ★ 7.3 · 150 votes · foreign-gem, cult, dread

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