
Movies that feel like Shaolin (2011)
If you loved Shaolin, the closest films we have are Once Upon a Time in China (1991), Invisible Target (2007) and The Legend Is Born: Ip Man (2010). All three share Shaolin's kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 9 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu and others, checked against today's data.
If Shaolin hit the spot, these will too

The same two preoccupations: martial arts, and kung fu
The difference: Made in the 1990s, in a different era of the craft

Both are Benny Chan's work, and they rhyme
The difference: Not nearly as contemplative as Shaolin

Common ground: martial arts
The difference: Leans harder into history than Shaolin does

One thread runs through both: mixed martial arts (mma)
The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

Kinetic where it counts, contemplative underneath

Kinetic action, and it commits to that

Drama with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

Benny Chan working the same nerve twice
The difference: Sits closer to comedy than Shaolin does

Both keep coming back to the same thing: kung fu

Contemplative action in both cases

Both are built on the same subject: mixed martial arts (mma)

Both lean on stillness more than on drama
In the mood for more kinetic?
all kinetic movies βThe best-reviewed films that share Shaolinβs defining feeling.









