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Known primarily for their work in The Five Deadly Venoms, a group of five martial arts actors starred in a slew of entertaining kung fu flicks. Martial arts movies have a tendency to recreate actor pairings that studio already know can lead to success. Jackie Chan's Three Dragons movies with Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung are a perfect example of this. Also worth mentioning are the various partnerships between Ti Lung and David Chiang in classic Shaw Brothers movies, as well as the films that boast Jean-Claude Van Damme and Scott Adkins as co-stars.

The vast majority of these actor team-ups are duos and trios, but that's not the case for the Venom Mob. Taking their name from their Five Deadly Venoms movie from 1977, the Venom Mob consisted of five actors, all of whom being talented martial artists. A long list of great kung fu movies managed to pack...

Few films have left as sour an impression as Arena Wars (2024). From the outset, it’s unclear what Brandon Slagle envisioned while piecing together this cinematic misfire, but one thing is abundantly clear: if this is the trajectory of his filmmaking, someone needs to stage an intervention—or perhaps convene a full-scale cinematic tribunal.

With Michael Madsen and Eric Roberts reduced to minor roles, the film awkwardly attempts to mimic the success of The Hunger Games but fails spectacularly. At its core, the plot revolves around Luke Bender, a prisoner offered a chance at freedom if he can survive the deadly Arena Wars. Does this story deliver any redemption for the film, or does it fall further into mediocrity? Let’s dissect the plot and find out.

Spoilers Ahead

Arena Wars (2024) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:

“Arena Wars” opens with a gripping scene where a prisoner battles fiercely against a masked warrior in the Arena.

The 1970s represent a supreme period in the context of martial arts movies. Although these films were being released as early as the 1920s, this decade effectively put the genre on the map and brought mainstream popularity with some of the best martial arts movie performances of all time. The love for martial arts cinema continued in the following years, with hit releases like The Karate Kid, which made such an impact it warranted a Karate Kid sequel 40 years later.

Without a doubt, the most legendary figure of this period was Bruce Lee. As a pioneer of cinematic martial arts, Lee's performances were so great they produced a new sub-genre known as Bruceploitation films that were aimed at emulating his style. While he is certainly a household name for this decade and beyond of martial arts movies, there are several more standout performances from the 1970s that majorly affected the genre.

“The Sword Stained with Royal Blood” is a Shaw Brothers production based on the wuxia novel of the same name written by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). The novel was first serialized in the Hong Kong Commercial Daily newspaper back in 1956. It became very popular upon its publication and led to numerous films and TV series adaptations. The novel itself has gone through several revisions and this production mostly touches on the encounter of Yuan Cheng Zhi, the main protagonist with the Wen family.

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Set during the end of the Ming dynasty, the story starts off with the execution of a betrayed but loyal Han general Yuan Chong Huan. His young son Yuan Cheng Zhi, with the help of a mute servant, finds shelter in the remote Mount Hua where the Master Mu of the Hua sect takes him in. Years later, Yuan grows up to be a...

Cheng Pei-pei, the pioneering Chinese actress dubbed the “Queen of Swords” and considered among the first female action stars who made her name in the Shaw Brothers classic Come Drink With Me and later had a memorable turn as the villain Jade Fox in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, has died. She was 78.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that the rumors are true. Our mother, Cheng Pei-pei, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones on July 17,” Cheng’s family said in a statement posted to Facebook. “In 2019, our mom was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative, atypical parkinsonism syndrome – unofficially, corticobasal degeneration (CBD). It is a rare disease with symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease, however, current treatments cannot slow the progression. She chose not to make this news public so that she could deal with her condition in private and spend her...

Shaolin Temple, like The Expendables, boasts a star-studded cast of kung fu movie legends from the 1970s and 1980s. The 1976 film brought together top actors like David Chiang, Ti Lung, and Alexander Fu Sheng, as well as the iconic Venom Mob. With Chang Cheh directing, Shaolin Temple successfully balanced multiple leading actors in a thrilling story of Shaolin monks preparing for battle.

Released 48 years ago, Shaolin Temple is the kung fu movie equivalent of The Expendables. Created by Sylvester Stallone, The Expendables franchise has a well-earned reputation for featuring the largest casts of action heroes ever assembled on the big screen. But while that's certainly true of Stallone's films, they're not the only movies to bring in impressive ensembles of actors for an action-packed adventure.

Though technically action films themselves, old school kung fu movies belong in sort of their own subgenre, with Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee obviously...

There are Kung Fu movies. Then there are Hong Kong Kung Fu movies. Starting in the ’70s, Hong Kong filmmakers dominated the martial arts genre with a unique brand of Hong Kong ballistic action, white-knuckle stunts, and exquisite fight choreography. Towering Hong Kong studios like Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest were the prolific grindhouses that brought us Bruce Lee and so many other action movie stars at an astonishingly bounteous rate.

If you’re already familiar with Bruce Lee’s work in Hong Kong cinema and aren’t sure where to go next on your martial arts movie journey, or which stars’ filmographies you should be checking out, here are five pivotal Hong Kong martial arts films worthy of your attention. Each of these movie either launched or are part of venerated Hong Kong franchises, so you’ll have plenty to watch once you dive in!

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin a.

When is a cult movie cult? It’s a question asked many a time with no real defining answer as everyone will have their own opinion. Does that also mean that a movie studio can be considered cult too? For all the box office success it had in its heyday, Shaw Brothers now is less known to the mainstream and is instead firmly in the hearts of those movie fanatics that quite probably read these pages. With their studio bound sets, buckets of fake blood and sheer theatricality, the movies had a distinctive look but by the time “The Kid with the Golden Arm” was released times were already moving on an. So how does it fare now over 40 years later?

“The Kid with the Golden Arm” is screening on Fantasia International Film Festival

Yang Hu Yun (Sun Chien) is asked to escort a valuable cargo. Aware that the Chi...

The Crippled Avengers (a.k.a. Return of the Five Deadly Venoms)

Written by Chang Cheh and Ni Kuang

Directed by Chang Cheh

Hong Kong, 1978

By taking a moment to look at Chang Cheh’s career as a director at the Shaw Brothers studio, one might come to notice that several of the stories he shared employed unorthodox protagonists, namely for their physical attributes. In the late 1960s, there was The One Armed Swordsman, which told the exploits of a talented young student whose misfortune in love led to his arm being chopped off. Determination, practice, and spirit proved doubters wrong as he became a great hero, bringing justice back to the land. Then came the many films starring David Chiang. While true that his characters were never hampered by any physical deficiency resulting from an accident or the malfeasance of others, he was by nature short and lean. Upon first glance,...