10 Martial Arts Movie Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Original

There are many beloved martial arts movie sequels - we rundown martial arts sequels that surpass the standards of their predecessors.

Several martial arts movie sequels have managed to greatly outdo their predecessors. Martial arts films are like any other genre, in that some of their stories are specifically designed to be one-offs, while others are the beginning of a franchise. The latter tends to be a fairly common scenario and has often led to such popular martial arts movie franchises as The Karate Kid, Kickboxer, and the Ip Man movies.

There are also numerous examples of the second installment of a martial arts movie series completely surpassing the original. In some cases, it is simply the case of a superior sequel with bigger and better action scenes being made. In other cases, part two of a martial arts franchise even ends up being so good as to become regarded as the true beginning of its respective series. Here are 10 martial arts movie sequels that are significantly better than their predecessors.

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10. Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown

Michael Jai White would make his directorial debut with 2011's relatively standalone sequel Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown, with White portraying former MMA fighter Case Walker. Walker takes a quartet of young fighters under his wing to prepare them for the upcoming MMA tournament known as "The Beatdown."+ Never Back Down 2 is worthy of The Karate Kid as a mentor-student story while its MMA battles are expertly orchestrated by Larnell Stovall. As with the Undisputed franchise, the Never Back Down series would hit its stride with part two, with Never Back Down: No Surrender and Never Back Down: Revolt later following.

9. Ong Bak 2: The Beginning

After 2003's Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior put Tony Jaa on the map, he would follow up with an even more exhilarating prequel in Ong Bak 2: The Beginning, co-directed by Jaa and his mentor Panna Rittikrai. Jaa plays Tien, a young warrior trained by a group of outlaws who seeks revenge for the murder of his parents as a child. While Tony Jaa showcased Muay Thai in the first Ong Bak, Ong Bak 2 sees him blend it with other martial arts like kung fu, silat, and jiu-jitsu to create a whole new fighting style, with the movie's cliffhanger ending also leading into its (underrated) sequel Ong Bak 3.

8.  Police Story 2

Jackie Chan dials up the outlandish antics of 1985's Police Story to 20 in its 1988 sequel Police Story 2, with Chan directing and reprising his role of Hong Kong cop Chan Ka-kui. In Police Story 2, Chan is in hot pursuit of a Hong Kong gang, with the movie also putting him through greater emotional stakes in his increasingly turbulent romance with his girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung). Police Story 2 is as Jackie Chan as a Jackie Chan action-comedy can get, with Chan utterly punishing himself in the movie's incredible stunts and fight scenes, including a particularly explosive showdown with Benny Lai.

7. Best Of The Best 2

1993's Best of the Best 2 elevates the stakes of its 1989 predecessor to a do-or-die Colosseum smackdown, with Tommy Lee (Phillip Rhee) and Alex Grady (Eric Roberts) determined to avenge the death of their friend Travis Brickley (Chris Penn). Ralf Moeller's fearsome Brakus is by far the best villain of the Best of the Best franchise, an egomaniacal fighter ruling over his Colosseum as both gladiator and Caesar. Best of the Best 2 also cements Phillip Rhee as one of the great unsung martial arts movie stars, Rhee's blend of Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido being arguably the purest showcase of Korean martial arts in a Hollywood movie.

6. John Wick: Chapter 2

The Baba Yaga is indeed back in 2017's John Wick: Chapter 2, with Keanu Reeves's John Wick, coerced into a new assassination mission and soon finding himself a marked man in the underground assassin culture. Director Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves prove unequivocally that 2014's sleeper hit John Wick was anything but a fluke, outdoing the first film with gun-fu and martial arts battles that would help push Hollywood action movies to a new level. John Wick: Chapter 2 would firmly establish the John Wick series as the premiere contemporary action movie franchise, as seen in the follow-ups John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4.

5. Ninja II - Shadow Of A Tear

Scott Adkins and Isaac Florentine would create one of their crowning achievements in 2013's Ninja II: Shadow of a Tear, with Adkins's Casey Bowman out to avenge the murder of his pregnant wife. Shadow of a Tear surpasses its 2010 predecessor Ninja to an astonishing degree with Adkins unhinged as a ninja warrior with a vendetta. Shadow of a Tear is as non-stop action as a ninja movie can get, with Casey's battles with Tim Man's Myat and Kane Kosugi's Nakabara the absolute peak of what a ninja movie can offer.

4. Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing

Isaac Florentine's Undisputed 2: Last Man Standing would arrive in 2007 as a completely unexpected straight-to-DVD sequel to 2002's Undisputed, only to give the Undisputed franchise a life that it had never had. After former heavyweight boxing champion George "Iceman" Chambers (Michael Jai White) is sent to a Russian prison, he must fight the in-house MMA champion Yuri Boyka (Scott Adkins) for his freedom. Undisputed 2 delivers a winning MMA formula, while Adkins would return as Boyka in Undisputed 3: Redemption and Boyka: Undisputed, with the MMA anti-hero coming to be revered among martial arts movie lovers as The Most Complete Fighter in the World.

3. Drunken Master II

Jackie Chan would return to the role that launched his career in 1994's Drunken Master II, with Chan once again putting his comedic spin on China's legendary kung fu folk hero Wong Fei-hung. With the power of Drunken Fist and a little industrial strength alcohol by his side, Chan's Wong Fei-hung battles artifact smugglers in the most jaw-dropping martial arts fights of his career. Drunken Master II's final showdown pits Chan against his high-kicking former bodyguard Ken Lo in one of the most breathtaking fight scenes of all time - one that is made even better by one of Chan's most harrowing stunts of falling into a bed of flaming coals.

2. Once Upon A Time In China II

After the groundbreaking success of 1991's Once Upon A Time In China, Jet Li would return for his finest hour as Wong Fei-hung in 1993's Once Upon A Time In China II, with Wong battling both foreign occupiers and the White Lotus society. Returning director Tsui Hark knows how to make a true martial arts epic, and brings an even stronger command to the sweeping scope to make Once Upon A Time In China II one of the best Wong Fei-hung movies ever made. Jet Li's charismatic energy and physical dexterity as Wong Fei-hung is as effortless as ever, while Donnie Yen embodies a highly formidable adversary in Nap-lan Yun-seut.

1. The Raid 2

While Gareth Evans's The Raid: Redemption would thrive on simplicity, his 2014 sequel does the opposite with a 150-minute run time and a multi-tiered crime story. The Raid 2 sees Jakarta cop Rama (Iko Uwais) go undercover to infiltrate a Jakarta crime family, only for rising crime boss Bejo (Alex Abbad) to spark a gang war. With a more complex plot as its foundation, The Raid 2 goes wild with amazing martial arts fights. Highlights include a prison riot, a nightclub battle with gang enforcer Prakoso (Yayan Ruhian), and Uwais battling Cecep Arif Rahman in the best knife fight ever put to film.