A Glean movie guide
Masterclass in Motion: Elite Fight Cinema
Pure adrenaline, perfectly framed.
From gritty brawls to poetic martial arts, these films define action choreography.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Raid: Redemption
A relentless showcase of Pencak Silat featuring some of the fastest, most intricate combat ever filmed.
Deep in the heart of Jakarta's slums lies an impenetrable safe house for the world's most dangerous killers and gangsters. Until now, the run-down apartment block has been considered untouchable to even the bravest of police. Cloaked under the cover of pre-dawn darkness and silence, an elite swat team is tasked with raiding the safe house in order to take down the notorious drug lord that runs it. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and news of their assault reaches the drug lord, the building's lights are cut and all the exits blocked. Stranded on the sixth floor with no way out, the unit must fight their way through the city's worst to survive their mission. Starring Indonesian martial arts sensation Iko Uwais.
- 02
John Wick
A masterclass in 'gun-fu' that blends tactical firearm precision with fluid Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Ex-hitman John Wick comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.
- 03
Police Story
Jackie Chan’s magnum opus of prop-heavy choreography and death-defying practical stunts.
Officer Chan Ka Kui manages to put a major Hong Kong drug dealer behind the bars practically alone, after a shooting and an impressive chase inside a slum. Now, he must protect the boss' secretary, Selina, who will testify against the gangster in court.
- 04
The Matrix
The film that revolutionized Western action by blending Hong Kong wire-fu with groundbreaking visual effects.
Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.
- 05
Ip Man
A graceful yet explosive demonstration of Wing Chun technique, highlighted by a legendary one-versus-ten duel.
A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan between the 1930s to 1940s during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Wilson Yip, the film stars Donnie Yen in the lead role, and features fight choreography by Sammo Hung.
- 06
Atomic Blonde
Features a grueling, hyper-realistic stairwell sequence that captures the true exhaustion of hand-to-hand combat.
An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.
- 07
Oldboy
Famous for its brutal, side-scrolling hallway fight that remains a landmark of single-take cinematography.
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.
- 08
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
A jaw-dropping display of Muay Thai athleticism performed entirely without the use of wires or CGI.
When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.
- 09
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
A vibrant, blood-soaked tribute to samurai cinema culminating in a massive, stylized sword-fighting climax.
An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.
- 10
Extraction
A technical marvel featuring a 12-minute continuous sequence of intense, close-quarters tactical combat.
A hardened gun-for-hire's latest mission becomes a soul-searching race to survive when he's sent into Bangladesh to rescue a drug lord's kidnapped son.
- 11
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
Combines high-stakes practical stunts with a visceral, highly praised bathroom brawl.
When an IMF mission ends badly, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill his original briefing, the CIA begin to question his loyalty and his motives. The IMF team find themselves in a race against time, hunted by assassins while trying to prevent a global catastrophe.
- 12
The Bourne Identity
Introduced a gritty, fast-paced editing style that brought tactical Kali and Eskrima to the mainstream.
Wounded to the brink of death and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne is rescued at sea by a fisherman. With nothing to go on but a Swiss bank account number, he starts to reconstruct his life, but finds that many people he encounters want him dead. However, Bourne realizes that he has the combat and mental skills of a world-class spy—but who does he work for?