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Donnie Yen Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

We’re ranking the films of martial arts legend Donnie Yen! We start with Yen’s Certified Fresh films, including his first starring role in folk hero tale Iron Monkey from 1993, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (where he played blind Force disciple Chirrut Îmwe), and 2002’s Hero, which became the first Chinese-language film to top the American box office. Along with its packed cast featuring Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, and Zhang Ziyi, Hero reunited Yen with Jet Li; the two had sparred in the epic Once Upon a Time in China II a decade earlier.

Yen’s versatility in choreography led to some of his first Hollywood appearances in the early 2000s (Blade II, Highlander: Endgame, Shanghai Knights), and he’s credited with popularizing in Asia both MMA (2007’s Flashpoint) and Wing Chun (the Ip Man series). Yen appears next in a highly anticipated match-up against Keanu Reeves in John Wick 4. Alex Vo

#1

Hero (2002)
Tomatometer icon 94%

#1
Adjusted Score: 101182%
Critics Consensus: With death-defying action sequences and epic historic sweep, Hero offers everything a martial arts fan could ask for.
Synopsis: In this visually arresting martial arts epic set in ancient China, an unnamed fighter (Jet Li) is being honored for... [More]
Directed By: Yimou Zhang

#2

Iron Monkey (1993)
Tomatometer icon 91%

#2
Adjusted Score: 100357%
Critics Consensus: Iron Monkey may not have the poetic lyricism of Crouching Tiger, it makes up for it in fun and energy.
Synopsis: In a desperate and unjust land, where government corruption rules the day, only one man has the courage to challenge... [More]
Directed By: Woo-Ping Yuen

#3

Raging Fire (2021)
Tomatometer icon 90%

#3
Adjusted Score: 91822%
Critics Consensus: Raging Fire forsakes character development to go all in on action -- and fortunately, writer-director Benny Chan Chi-Shun and star Donnie Yen are more than capable of delivering the goods.
Synopsis: Bong (Donnie Yen) is a highly respected hardline cop with a long history of success on dangerous cases. However, his... [More]
Directed By: Benny Chan Chi-Shun

#4
Adjusted Score: 106671%
Critics Consensus: Rogue One draws deep on Star Wars mythology while breaking new narrative and aesthetic ground -- and suggesting a bright blockbuster future for the franchise.
Synopsis: Former scientist Galen Erso lives on a farm with his wife and young daughter, Jyn. His peaceful existence comes crashing... [More]
Directed By: Gareth Edwards

#5

Ip Man 3 (2015)
Tomatometer icon 77%

#5
Adjusted Score: 78735%
Critics Consensus: Ip Man 3 isn't the most tightly plotted biopic a kung fu fan could ask for, but the fight scenes are fun to watch -- and at times, the drama is even genuinely poignant.
Synopsis: Martial-arts master Ip Man (Donnie Yen) takes on a crooked developer (Mike Tyson) and his gang of brutal thugs.... [More]
Directed By: Wilson Yip

#6

Mulan (2020)
Tomatometer icon 72%

#6
Adjusted Score: 91218%
Critics Consensus: It could have told its classic story with greater depth, but the live-action Mulan is a visual marvel that serves as a stirring update to its animated predecessor.
Synopsis: To save her ailing father from serving in the Imperial Army, a fearless young woman disguises herself as a man... [More]
Directed By: Niki Caro

#7

Ip Man 2 (2010)
Tomatometer icon 97%

#7
Adjusted Score: 97402%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In this film inspired by a true story, Wing Chun martial arts master Ip Man (Donnie Yen) and his family... [More]
Directed By: Wilson Yip

#8
Adjusted Score: 93489%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A martial arts teacher (Jet Li) protects his students and his aunt (Rosamund Kwan) from a mercenary.... [More]
Directed By: Hark Tsui

#9

Ip Man (2008)
Tomatometer icon 86%

#9
Adjusted Score: 86303%
Critics Consensus: At once beholden to the established conventions of the genre and delightfully subversive of them, Ip Man is one of the most exciting -- and refreshingly character-driven -- martial arts films in years.
Synopsis: The life story of Yip Man, the first person to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun.... [More]
Directed By: Wilson Yip

#10
#10
Adjusted Score: 85903%
Critics Consensus: Packed with action and featuring some of Donnie Yen's finest fighting, Ip Man 4: The Finale serves as a satisfying rebound -- and fitting finale -- for the franchise.
Synopsis: Ip Man and his son encounter racial discrimination after traveling to the United States to seek a better life.... [More]
Directed By: Wilson Yip

#11

Wu Xia (2011)
Tomatometer icon 84%

#11
Adjusted Score: 84117%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A martial arts master with a dark past wants to start a new and tranquil life. His tranquility is wrecked... [More]
Directed By: Peter Ho-Sun Chan

#12

SPL (2005)
Tomatometer icon 80%

#12
Adjusted Score: 16965%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When Detective Chan learns he has a fatal brain tumor, he makes it his primary mission to put gangster boss... [More]
Directed By: Wilson Yip

#13

Kung Fu Jungle (2014)
Tomatometer icon 74%

#13
Adjusted Score: 74191%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Released from prison, a kung-fu expert (Donnie Yen) tries to help the police find a vicious serial killer (Wang Baoqiang)... [More]
Directed By: Teddy Chan

#14
#14
Adjusted Score: 55506%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A police officer investigates the mysterious death of a suspect who was in his custody during a routine transfer.... [More]
Directed By: Tanigaki Kenji

#15

14 Blades (2010)
Tomatometer icon 67%

#15
Adjusted Score: 36366%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After he's framed for treason, a legendary royal guard (Donnie Yen) joins forces with a gang of outlaws to save... [More]
Directed By: Daniel Lee

#16

Shanghai Knights (2003)
Tomatometer icon 66%

#16
Adjusted Score: 71001%
Critics Consensus: A silly, anachronistic mess, but the pairing of Chan and Wilson makes the movie fun.
Synopsis: After taming the wild west in the comedy "Shanghai Noon," Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) and Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson) are... [More]
Directed By: David Dobkin

#17

Blade II (2002)
Tomatometer icon 57%

#17
Adjusted Score: 61833%
Critics Consensus: Though Blade II offers more of what worked in the original, its plot and character development appear to have been left on the cutting room floor.
Synopsis: Exploding from the pages of Marvel Comics comes the thrilling follow-up to the blockbuster "Blade." Half Man ... half vampire,... [More]
Directed By: Guillermo del Toro

#18

Chasing the Dragon (2017)
Tomatometer icon 63%

#18
Adjusted Score: 29703%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Illegal immigrant and drug kingpin Crippled Ho arrives in Hong Kong in 1963. He quickly and ruthlessly builds an underworld... [More]
Directed By: Jing Wong, Jason Kwan

#19
#19
Adjusted Score: 13485%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In 1906 Hong Kong, a newspaper editor and a tycoon learn of an assassination plot against Sun Yat-sen, and recruit... [More]
Directed By: Teddy Chan

#20

Special ID (2013)
Tomatometer icon 56%

#20
Adjusted Score: 25619%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An undercover cop (Donnie Yen) infiltrates one of China's most ruthless crime syndicates. He must risk everything to protect his... [More]
Directed By: Clarence Fok

#21
Adjusted Score: 47628%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Chen fakes his death and returns as a caped crime fighter.... [More]
Directed By: Andrew Lau Wai-Keung

#22
Adjusted Score: 53663%
Critics Consensus: xXx: Return of Xander Cage should satisfy fans of the first two installments, but its preponderance of set pieces can't quite make up for a tired storyline that fails to take the franchise -- or action fans -- anywhere new.
Synopsis: After coming out of self-imposed exile, daredevil operative Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) must race against time to recover a sinister... [More]
Directed By: D.J. Caruso

#23

Flashpoint (2007)
Tomatometer icon 43%

#23
Adjusted Score: 40640%
Critics Consensus: Flash Point features some nice mindless martial-arts action, but too much of the already thin story treads familiar ground.
Synopsis: Sgt. Ma Jun (Donnie Yen) is a Hong Kong police officer with a reputation for violent behavior. He is determined... [More]
Directed By: Wilson Yip

#24

Seven Swords (2005)
Tomatometer icon 25%

#24
Adjusted Score: 16965%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Seven exceptional swordsmen band together to save villagers from bounty hunters.... [More]
Directed By: Hark Tsui

#25
Adjusted Score: 23797%
Critics Consensus: Paling in comparison to its predecessor in every conceivable way, Sword of Destiny is a lazy sequel that never justifies its own cynical existence.
Synopsis: A martial arts master (Michelle Yeoh) assembles a band of fighters to protect a legendary sword from a warlord (Jason... [More]
Directed By: Woo-Ping Yuen

#26

Iceman (2014)
Tomatometer icon 17%

#26
Adjusted Score: 5283%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An imperial guard and his three traitorous friends become buried and frozen in time. When they wake up 400 years... [More]
Directed By: Wing-cheong Law

#27

Highlander: Endgame (2000)
Tomatometer icon 11%

#27
Adjusted Score: 12439%
Critics Consensus: The fourth and supposedly last Highlander movie is a confusing mess, complete with bad acting and dialogue.
Synopsis: This is the pulse-pounding final chapter, as one last battle is waged among earth's immortals -- and the fate of... [More]
Directed By: Douglas Aarniokoski