The Bollywood phenom Sharukh Khan oozes charisma in director Farhan Akhtar’s 2011 blockbuster, Don 2. King Khan plays the titular Don 2, an aggressively sensual crime lord and master thief who is equal parts mysterious as he is untouchable.

Shaw Brothers’ 1982 effects extravaganza Buddha’s Palm is a laser sword through the eyeballs straight to the brain. Star Wars and Kung Fu is like Peanut Butter and Chocolate and boy what a decadent treat this movie is.

Donnie Yen’s 2011 reinvention of the one-armed swordsman, Wu Xia, does indeed have a sword and someone with one arm; it also dazzles with the unbridled charisma of a late, great Jimmy Wang Yu.

Crisp martial arts with only a hint of Donnie’s artificial speed tampering makes this some of the most enjoyable and visceral choreography of Donnie’s recent works. If only Donnie would push the fast forward button on his long-suffering dramatic moments.

Also featuring action icon Kara Hui alongside Donnie and Jimmy Wang Yu, the bona fides are there, and Takeshi Kaneshiro brings a dark, brooding noir to his grizzly but handsome flawed detective. Doesn’t quite know what it wants to be but parts of it are truly great, skip to the good bits with us below:

Whether you know it as Armour of God or Operation Condor II, this 1986 Jackie Chan behemoth of a film is a smorgasbord of action, comedy, adventure and love triangle drama. Director, producer, writer, star (and probably caterer as well) Jackie Chan throws everything at you and leaves you gasping for air.

Yuen Woo-Ping’s 1990 Hong Kong action thriller Tiger Cage 2 features a cringe inducingly uneven Donnie Yen performance as divorcee ex-cop opposite the gorgeous owl-eyed Rosamund Kwan. This film also features an incredibly young and perfectly cast villain Robin Shou (Liu Kang of Mortal Kombat fame) who is comically evil and invincible to everything but pipes.

Monkey Punch's ever enduring Lupin the Third character sees a new 2019 adventure directed by Takashi Yamazaki. Always a fun romp with tight storytelling, colourful and vibrant characters and compelling action, the Asian Action Cast find so much to enjoy and roundly recommends you commit your eyeballs to it.

Kan Eguchi's criminally understated 2021 action flick, The Fable: A Hitman Who Doesn’t Kill, sees Junichi Okada's 'The Fable' navigate what is both a more intimate, and more tensely action packed story than the original Fable. Listen as to why the Asian Action Cast recommends this for asian action viewing.

Who wants a Sci-Fi Andy Lau special effects laden Wong Jing directed film? Turns out not many people. Future X Cops is Wong Jing's 2010 seemingly rehashed Future Cops script with more CG, less fun, charisma, plot and pretty much everything else.

When dangerous criminal thugs run out of control, the only ones that can stop them are a team of stuntmen and special effects wizards! This 1986 martial arts gadget fest starring ‘female Jackie chan’ Hsiao-Lao Lin is bananas in the best way.

When the world needs a hero and Bruce Lee is gone, Jackie is busy and budget is tight, who do you call? Super Stunt man and all round action hero MARS!

Wellson Chin's 1986 action comedy stunt circus Naughty Boys is a Jackie produced action spectacle starring Mars, Carina Lau and Kara Hui. Amazing fights (expect no less with Jackie behind the scenes) and nonsensical plot, it is HK action at its finest.