Below are 10 of our favourite adventures in Asian cinema from the 21st century.
1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Ang Lee’s ode to the wuxia classics of his homeland is an epic martial arts drama featuring a stolen sword, forbidden love and fantastical duels that defy the laws of physics. Winner of four Oscars, and boasting an all-star cast, the film unlocked the secrets of Chinese cinema for a new generation of international viewers.
2. Spirited Away (2001)
After taking a wrong turn in the woods, young Chihiro is separated from her parents and enslaved by the grotesque owner of a mysterious bathhouse, teeming with magical creatures.
A breakthrough feature for Hayao Miyazaki, the film drew comparisons to the work of Lewis Carroll in its dazzling interweaving of the real world with the fantastical.
3. Ong-Bak (2003)
Thai martial arts star Tony Jaa somersaulted onto our screens in this modern-day quest about a naive villager (Jaa), who travels to Bangkok in search of a stolen sacred statue.
Fortunately, he is schooled in the martial art Muay Thai, prompting a procession of jaw-dropping acrobatics that cemented Thailand’s position as an action market to be reckoned with.
4. Antarctic Journal (2005)
Blending survival thriller with supernatural horror, Antarctic Journal sees Song Kang-ho ( Parasite ) lead a daring expedition to the South Pole. En route, they discover a journal from a similar British attempt 80 years earlier, immaculately preserved in the ice.
But as they read about their predecessors, eerie similarities emerge, revealing sinister, otherworldly forces at work that threaten their very lives.
5. The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008)
An exhilarating homage to Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun and Jung Woo-sung star as a thief, a hitman and a bounty hunter, marauding through the Manchurian desert in search of a cache of Chinese treasure.
With the Japanese army on their tail, director Kim Ji-woon conjures up a quick-witted, endlessly entertaining adventure.
6. 13 Assassins (2010)
In a shocking departure, cult filmmaker Takashi Miike delivered this stately samurai epic in the grand tradition of Akira Kurosawa. Koji Yakusho plays an ageing warrior, tasked with leading a dozen assassins to kill a monstrous warlord.
Their journey becomes one of personal reflection and dutiful sacrifice, culminating in a gorgeously staged, hour-long skirmish.
7. Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010)
After beginning the millennium with a string of underwhelming efforts, Hong Kong action maestro Tsui Hark found his form again with this rip-roaring murder mystery.
Like a Tang dynasty Sherlock Holmes, with lashings of fantasy and kung fu, the film follows Andy Lau Tak-wah’s rebellious Detective Dee as he investigates cases of spontaneous combustion in the Empress’s court.
8. The Monkey King 2 (2016)
Aaron Kwok Fu-shing inherits the role of Sun Wukong for this infinitely superior sequel to the Donnie Yen box office smash, accompanying the young monk Xuanzang (William Feng) on his journey west.
Gong Li steals the show, as a villainess, baby-eating sorceress, in this lavish, beautifully realised fantasy that is far and away the best of the recent Monkey King movies.
9. Baahubali: The Beginning/The Conclusion (2015/2017)
S.S.Rajamouli’s staggeringly ambitious – and successful – two-part epic tells the story of a simple villager (Telugu star Prabhas) who discovers that he is heir to a great, yet tumultuous, kingdom. Bursting with intrigue, romance, revenge, and mind-boggling action, Baahubali is five hours of unadulterated entertainment that redefines the meaning of adventure.
10. Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds (2017)
After dying in a selfless act of heroism, a firefighter (played by Cha Tae-hyun) must navigate the seven realms of the afterlife as his life on Earth is evaluated. From its startling visual effects to its showy all-star cast, Along with the Gods recalls the British classic A Matter of Life and Death in its heart-warming blend of spectacle and melodrama.
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