The 2000s were an inventive period for the action genre. Previous decades, specifically the 80s, had produced some of the biggest blockbusters and action stars of all time, so filmmakers entered the new millennium with a high bar to clear. Martial arts movies found larger audiences, and thrillers and comic book adaptations became more ambitious with their storytelling and scale.
This transition is evident in the late 90s with the rise of The Matrix. The movie’s success helped usher in a new era where creatives were more willing to experiment with different styles. Advances in visual effects helped as well, but fight and stunt choreography have been, and always will be, an integral part of the genre. The following films are a few action staples from the 2000s.
Ip Man Jump-Started the Definitive Modern Martial Arts Franchise
Donnie Yen’s Ip Man is the modern, martial arts version of the Rocky franchise. Very loosely based on the life of Bruce Lee’s Wing Chun trainer, 2008’s Ip Man takes that inspiration and turns the character into a larger-than-life folk hero. Ip Man’s eldest son, Ip Chun, was hired onto the project as a Wing Chun consultant to ensure the martial art was represented faithfully.
Ip Man won Best Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards along with Best Action Choreography. Its success and Donnie Yen’s portrayal would lead to several sequels. The original film is still widely considered the best of the franchise and helped establish Yen as an international martial arts movie superstar.
Hot Fuzz Pulls Off Being a Parody and a Great Action Movie Simultaneously
Released in 2007, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s Hot Fuzz achieves a rare feat when it comes to parody films. It simultaneously pokes fun at action movie clichés while being a legitimately good action film itself at the end of the day. As real fans of the genre, Pegg and Wright were able to get their jokes off without completely undermining the movies that inspired them.
Hot Fuzz premiered to critical acclaim. On top of the comedic moments, the movie delivers a truly sharp mystery angle. The actors commit equally to the action sequences as they do the comedy ones, which is why it all works. Nearly 20 years after its release, Hot Fuzz deserves to be taken as seriously as the movies it makes fun of.
Kill Bill Vol. 1 Is a Perfect Action and Martial Arts Homage That Can Stand On Its Own
Quentin Tarantino has been known to wear his inspirations on his sleeve. WithKill Bill: Vol. 1, the director threw his love for old-school martial arts movies, samurai films, and bloody revenge flicks into one project. Despite the various genres and movies Tarantino pulls from, Kill Bill is more than capable of standing on its own merits as one of the definitive martial arts movies of its era.
Kill Bill grossed over $180 million worldwide against its $30 million budget. Legendary fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping worked with Uma Thurman and the rest of the cast on all the sequences. The Crazy 88 showdown is widely considered one of the best modern fight scenes.
Casino Royale Brought James Bond Back in a Big Way
After it was announced that Daniel Craig would be taking over the role of James Bond, he faced hate online from fans. The hate was short-lived, however, after the release of 2006’s Casino Royale. His first movie as Bond was a massive critical and commercial success, earning over $600 million worldwide at the box office.
Casino Royale is effectively a reboot of the Bond franchise, as Craig plays the legendary spy before he earned his stripes. As the character is young and raw, this allowed director Martin Campbell to lean heavily into the action sequences. The movie doesn’t completely replace what made Bond cool; there are still the wild locations and fast cars, but Craig gave the character a more physical presence.
The Bourne Supremacy Is One of the Most Influential Action Movies of Its Era
Directed by Paul Greengrass, 2004’s The Bourne Supremacy’s camera techniques faced backlash from fans initially. As the decade continued, the shaky cam would become more prominent in the genre as a whole. The style dropped the fresh, cinematic approach of the previous film and gave The Bourne Supremacy a grounded, gritty, and almost documentary-like feel.
The Bourne Supremacy and the franchise as a whole had a noticeable impact on action movies throughout the rest of the decade. It could be argued that the stylistic choices in the Bourne movies heavily influenced the return of James Bond in Casino Royale. The shaky cam style became so common that it was ultimately viewed as a negative, but its overuse only further highlights The Bourne Supremacy’s influence.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Changed Martial Arts Movies Forever
Alongside The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon revolutionized fight and stunt choreography in the action genre. The wire-fu choreography seen in the movie was prominent in Hong Kong Cinema for years, but Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon brought it to a wider audience on a huge scale. Yuen Woo-ping brought his expertise to The Matrix, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a huge international hit. At the time of its release, it was the highest-grossing foreign-language release in the United States ever. It received 10 Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars. Beyond being a great display of martial arts choreography, it tells a quality and worthwhile story.
The Dark Knight Injected Prestige into the Comic Book Movie
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is a masterpiece and shattered comic book movie expectations. Building on the foundation that the director established in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight pushed Nolan’s vision of Gotham City closer to the realm of a prestigious crime thriller than a campy comic adaptation. The movie feels like a Michael Mann crime epic.
The Dark Knight famously includes legendary performances, primarily from the late Heath Ledger. As the Joker, Ledger won a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. At the box office, The Dark Knight earned over a billion dollars worldwide. Nolan’s film effectively changed expectations of comic book movies moving forward.
