In the great tradition of 1980s meat-headed, chauvinistic Hollywood beat-’em-ups, this is surely one of the best – an unapologetic slice of macho rebel-rousing that just about skirts the fine-line between being knowingly arch and totally obnoxious. Lithe dancer and martial artist Patrick Swayze – trained by Benny “The Jet” Urquidez – can’t hold a candle to the bulk of beefcakes like Schwarzenegger and Stallone (a trope constantly referred to in the movie with the recurring meta-gag, “I thought you would be bigger”), so as renowned nightclub bouncer James Dalton, he’s positioned more as a deep ..read more

Is Scott Adkins the natural successor to Jean-Claude Van Damme? Why did Andrew Koji almost quit acting only months before landing the lead role in the beloved kung fu series, Warrior? And can we expect a rematch between Indonesian action stars Joe Taslim and Iko Uwais? The answers to these questions and many more are revealed in Best of Actors, one of three compilation shows released simultaneously to celebrate the 100th episode of this podcast, which started life back in 2016. Over three episodes, I share some of my favourite conversations recorded over the last eight years of the show. On th ..read more

The life of a stunt performer is both exhilarating and dangerous, spectacular yet physically and mentally demanding. Stunt performers put their lives on the line every day for our viewing pleasure, yet are seemingly ostracised from the film world, especially in Hollywood where there is still no Academy Award for their service to the industry. Since this podcast was launched in 2016, I have had the pleasure of speaking to many of the leading voices in the stunt world, from stunt doubles and performers to fight trainers who work with huge movie stars to make them look awesome for the big screen ..read more

With financing and shooting schedules shrinking, how hard is it to make a decent action movie on a low budget? How can you make your lead actor look like an action hero if they refuse to train? And is there scope in the martial arts genre for tackling more challenging topics, like homophobia and racism? In Best of Directors – one of three compilation shows available now – I share some of my favourite conversations with directors who have appeared on the podcast since its inception in 2016. This includes: Hollywood stunt legend J.J. Perry, who made his directorial debut in 2022 with the vampire ..read more

Although Hong Kong action cinema might not be making waves the same way it did in the 1980s and 90s, there is still a rabble of filmmakers – people like Felix Chong, Herman Yau, Wilson Yip, and Soi Cheang – who continue to fly the flag for thrilling crime stories which are utterly unique to the territory. The latter, Soi Cheang (Mad Fate, Limbo, SPL II), continues his tradition of hardboiled, atmospheric, violent tales with this fight film – part triad revenge movie, part nostalgia fest, which recreates an iconic Hong Kong landmark, Kowloon’s infamous Walled City. In its lifetime, it was seen ..read more

Fast and furious rape-revenge movie from the multitalented Veronica Ngo, making her third directorial feature in a fascinating career which has seen her move from singing star to Hollywood to Vietnam’s biggest action filmmaker. A prequel to the excellent 2019 martial arts film, Furie – in which Ngo played a mother on the hunt for her kidnapped daughter – as director, she is unflinching in her depiction of Ho Chi Minh City’s seedy, sleazy side, and the violent criminal underworld who frequent it. As an actor, she plays a different character from before, Jacqueline, a mysterious matria ..read more

Hindi-language Indian action epic which crosses generations, hairstyles, and musical genres. Bollywood legend Shah Rukh Khan – aged 56 – defies the laws of aging (and gravity) playing two characters in the same film; a father and son ex-soldier vigilante duo who use extreme methods to make political statements and inspire social change in modern India. He holds up a metro train in order to con a rich scoundrel into donating his wealth to help India’s poverty-stricken farming community. He kidnaps the health minister to prove how much the state hospitals are lacking in basic provisions and vita ..read more

Refreshing, kooky UK indie from Nida Manzoor – making her feature film directorial debut – about two warring sisters in a British-Pakistani household in London. Teenager Ria Khan (Priya Kansara, exemplary) is a kung fu obsessed wannabe stunt performer with her own YouTube channel – “Khan Fu” – who finds it tricky to adjust to the news that her beloved older sister, Lena (Ritu Arya), is arranged to be married to the mummy’s boy, Silam Shah (Akshay Khanna). In a sinister twist similar to Get Out, there’s a brewing sense that not all is what it seems in the Shah mansion, so Ria and her school fri ..read more

Jeon Jong-seo steals the show in this slick Korean revenge thriller which follows the trend for bad-ass, female-led Asian punch-a-thons like The Villainess and the excellent series My Name. As ice-cold killer Ok-ju, she ends up smashing, shooting and flame-throwing her way through a gang of Korean drug pushers in her quest to find and kill Choi (Kim Ji-hoon), a billionaire playboy with a side-hustle in rape and revenge porn. One of his victims is Ok-ju best friend (and lover?), a ballerina named Min-hee (Park Yu-rim), who ends up taking her own life after being assaulted by Choi, sparking ..read more

“I was so sure that this is what I loved to do, that there was no doubt in my mind that my life was going to be related to this.” From Chile to Mexico to Hollywood – and back again – Marko Zaror’s incredible rise in the action world reached a new crescendo in 2023. Known as the ‘Latin Dragon’, Marko’s scene-stealing performance as the main heavy, Chidi, in Chad Stahelski’s masterpiece, John Wick: Chapter 4, saw him duel on-screen with fight legends Hiroyuki Sanada, Donnie Yen and Keanu Reeves; meanwhile, back in his home country of Chile, he reunited with his childhood friend – the filmmaker E ..read more