It’s no secret that here at JoBlo we love action movies. Whether it’s Rambo blowing shit up, John Wick kicking some ass, or Dirty Harry delivering a fantastic one-liner, no matter what movie it is or what part of the year, there’s never a bad time to enjoy that pure adrenaline rush. However, today we’re going to dive deeper into one of our favorite subgenres of action cinema… the martial arts genre!
Thanks to the Shaw Brothers films and the GOAT that is Bruce Lee, martial arts action films made quite the impact here in the United States, until two actors changed EVERYTHING for the modern-day Western martial arts flick. The Drunken Master himself Jackie Chan… and the man with the Black Mask — Jet Li. Both men have a heavy bevy of films and franchises under their belts — The Expendables, Rush Hour, Hero, Police Story, and Lethal Weapon 4 to name a handful. While these two legends ran in the same circles, it wouldn’t be until 2008’s The Forbidden Kingdom that saw Chan and Li share the screen for the first time. Hopefully, that’s not the only instance where the two stars work together on the same production, but for now, we’ll have to settle things here.
So gather your sparring gear and sharpen your swords because it’s time to throw Jackie Chan and Jet Li into the fan-fueled rage in the cage that is… FACE OFF!
This episode of Face Off is written by Jay Saint G, narrated by Shawn Knippelberg, and edited by Jay Saint G. But don’t let us have the final word — tell us in the comments which international action star is your favorite — Jackie Chan or Jet Li?