When Jackie Chan swept into the US mainstream in the mid-1990s, I not only got caught up in the wave of his popularity, I saw Jackie as an idol I’d needed for a long time. He had a big impact on my life, and not just in how I watched movies. I tried to emulate Jackie in many ways, sometimes in dangerous ways. You can read an in-depth essay I wrote about the huge mark Jackie Chan left on my life by clicking the link for the latest issue of Litmosphere, Spring 2025: The Young Master Wannabe.
One could easily make a list of Jackie’s best stunts or fights, but if you really want to sink into the experience, his movies are best. He’s been making movies for decades, some in the US, but many more in Hong Kong. and the rest of the world. I’ve seen most his movies dubbed in English, because that was what was primarily available years ago. My ascending list focuses primarily on versions of his movies available to the US market. Please note that the dates refer to the original international release for the movies.
10: Twin Dragons (1992)*: Yes, the common movie trick of having an actor play two parts has been done to death. Like many on this list, I like this movie mainly for the humor. One twin is dignified and has no clue how to fight, while the other is crass and a real brawler. Having polar opposites in characters creates some pretty awkward situations, and there are some impressive stunts in the movie as well. Twin Dragons is comparatively lighthearted compared to many others on this list.
9: Who Am I (1998): In the late 90s, distribution for some of Jackie Chan’s movies occasionally got caught in limbo. Who Am I was exclusive to HBO for a few years and thus, flew under the radar of many fans. This movie features amazing stunts, with Jackie sliding down the side of a skyscraper at one point. It features great fights too, with Jackie fighting an epic end battle, and even Dutch clogs make their way into another fight scene. If someone hasn’t seen this one, it could be called a hidden gem among Jackie’s 90’s movies.
8: Drunken Master 2 (1994), aka The Legend of Drunken Master: Us Chan fans in the west finally got to see a widespread theatrical release of this movie in 2000. In some ways, Jackie’s huge wave of popularity was beginning to fade by this point. He’d made a big splash with Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon, but Drunken Master 2 was far different in that it was filmed in the early 90s, and was more in line with classic kung fu movies that were typically popular in Hong Kong in the 70s. The movie features absolutely amazing fight scenes. Still, I don’t quite find it quite as charming as the lower budget original that can be found higher up on this list.
7: Operation Condor (1991): Once Jackie saw some success here in the US, many of his prior movies were released in a short time-span. He did two Armor of the Gods movies, which were inspired by Indian Jones, just with lots of stunts and kung fu. Operation Condor is a sequel, and is arguably better than the original. The sequel seemed enough of a standalone film here that no even seemed to notice when Operation Condor released. This movie is a really fun adventure, with good comedy and stunts as Jackie and his colleagues try to find a cache of old Nazi gold.
6: The Young Master (1980): Seeing as I named an essay after this movie, (check out that Litmosphere essay) it certainly had an impact on me. This is one of Jackie’s earlier films, and it held to the common tropes of classic kung fu movies where things take place in some preindustrial time period and one’s kung fu skill can determine their safety. Jackie filmed dozens of these types of movies in the late 70s, and The Young Master sees some of the beginnings of Jackie really getting into his groove as he mixes comedy and stunt-work into the movie. Even fights in the film transition from a classical choppiness to having much more fluidity. This was a benchmark movie for Jackie’s career, and was one of his best early films.
5: Rumble in the Bronx(1995): This is the keystone to Jackie’s career finally finding success in the US. So imagine the mid-90s where most action heroes were still muscle-bound and acting super macho. Sure, we had Van Damme, and Chuck Norris, but we’d never had a martial arts film where an actor did all their own stunts. At least, that was partly how Jackie was first marketed. Rumble in the Bronx didn’t just do well in theaters, it was so successful that Jackie soon became a household name here. He was in commercials, on talk shows, and his movies were hitting theaters every few months. As for Rumble in the Bronx, it’s a bit darker and more violent than many of his other films, but it’s has an excellent mix of stunts, fights, and even a good plot.
4: Police Story (1985): This one could have easily been released here in theaters. Actually, the third and forth movies were edited and released as standalones (Supercop and First Strike). Perhaps releasing Police Story in the late 90s would have had Jackie looking young enough to confuse audiences about his age. Anyhow, Police Story is full of great fights and stunts, and the mall scene at the end is one of the most action-packed of Jackie’s career. In my essay, I talk about how Jackie builds up to his amazing stunts, and the movie captures this art perfectly. His stunt, where he slides down a pole and breaks through glass is far worse than it appears, for the pole was live with electricity and it shocked Jackie the entire time he slid down it.
3: Dragons Forever(1988): This movie might be a little more difficult to find than others on the list. Not only does it star Jackie, but his “big brother” and “little brother” are in it too. Although of no blood relation, Jackie grew up in a intense kung fu training school/orphanage. These were two of the boys he bonded with best and stayed friends with over the years. Sammo Hung is a heavy and powerful fighter. Yuen Biao is extremely acrobatic. The fights, sometimes between these three as they bicker, are astounding. The story of the movie is very much based in Hong Kong, and it’s quite a great movie with lots of fights and even some love stories too.
2: Drunken Master(1978): Jackie’s career started with doing kung fu movies that fit the mold of everything else. In Drunken Master, he got to have a say in what he wanted to add to the movie, and that was comedy. It worked well, and this movie is arguably the reason Jackie began to break from the mold of other kung fu actors in the 70s. Drunken Master is funny, and it also has a classic story of a student being pushed to train harder, and to eventually learn the secret art of drunken kung fu. The training sequences with the old drunken master, and the display of skill in performing various moves of the 8 Drunken Gods, are just insanely impressive. Not to mention, the end fight scene is both funny and an impressive.
1: Wheels on Meals(1984): The early 80s was a great time for Jackie’s movies. He had enough clout to make the kind of action/comedy movies he wanted. Wheels on Meals, or Spartan X as it’s called in most places of the world, has a fantastic mix of fighting, comedy, and stunts. Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao join Jackie, and these three bicker through the movie like true brothers. I’d have to say this movie has the absolute best fight I’ve ever seen, where Jackie fights renowned kickboxing champion, Benny “The Jet” Urqiduez. Production rumors suggest part of the fight at the end is somewhat real in that Jackie and Benny were really exchanging some blows. The movie was filmed in Spain, and I’ll admit, things get pretty quirky at times. Like, really quirky. The plot features Jackie as a skateboarding waiter who soon gets caught up in a plot to save a royal heiress, of all things. This one might not have as much universal appeal as others on the list, but Wheels on Meals‘ niche charm is just plain fun, and I’ve loved it since the first moment I watched it.
