If you’d actually paid attention to the plot, you’d realize this isn't about gratuitous nudity—it's about the characters' motivations. I can't stand it when people fail to grasp the point of a movie and then try to start a fight over it.
Man, how long would that list actually be if I included every single icon who ever left a mark on action cinema? Unfortunately, I'm stuck with a 10-slot limit for this poll. I didn't include Terrence or Bud Spencer, and I could never bring myself to forgive Carradine.
mellowrider50 said:Just wanted to brag a bit—just finished watching Masters of the Universe (I have the power !!!!). If I weren't so lazy, I’d go check out Ty's trigger.
I've got some Masters at my place, too. Nothing beats that end credits scene where Skeletor rises from the water and says, "I'll be back." Wait, where have I heard that before? 😁 Honestly, Dolph Lundgren was perfect for the part.
driftingowl27 said:I owe the poll creator an apology; I didn't see his intentions clearly at first. Bruce Lee and Dzeki have been removed. 🙂
No big deal.
mellowrider50 said:I have one question for the poll creator: why on earth isn't Dolph Lundgren on this list?
As it is. Eric Jackson43 He said Dolph Lundgren and Jeff Dacascos would make the cut, but there’s a ten-slot limit on the poll. I’d throw David Carradine in there too, but it is what it is.
Funny how everyone calls me by that name. Thread starter 😁
Zachary Bennett3 said:In that movie, Dolph Lundgren mows down more ninja wannabes than Martin K تمام Dudikoff and Bradley combined in all of American Ninja.
A total of 181 ninja wannabes fell before The Punisher. In Masters of the Universe, it was only 47. Over his career, he’s taken down more than 550 villains. Impressive, indeed.
Eric Jackson43 said:Right, and he doesn't fit into the category mentioned above. You could put him in a different pool where you'd compare him to Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sonny Chib, Sammo Hung, or even Buster Keaton (yeah, he belongs there too), along with Chuck Norris and the rest. He definitely isn't in the same league as the actors listed earlier.🙂
Let's say this list—aside from Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee—is essentially a collection of fighters who mostly starred in American films during the 80s and early 90s. They aren't even the same genre, really (if you can even call "American karate movies" a distinct genre 😁).
And damn it, I can't believe I overlooked a living legend like: David Carradine.
Someone should shoot me.
mellowrider50 says the last two don't belong here at all, and it’s totally unfair to the legends listed above to have them on this list
True. This thread was supposed to be fun... You pick your favorite from the group and talk about their craziest scene or movie. Instead, we're spending most of our time arguing over why Jet Li isn't on the list. The moderator would be doing us a favor by just removing Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
My apologies. I was referring to the quality of the films (and in Lorenzo's case, his TV series). Lorenzo is decent, though he isn't someone I'd recall after all these years. But Jet, Bruce, and Jackie? As I've said before, they don't belong in this conversation. Jet blew up in the 90s, and now he just churns out trendy bullet-fu movies in the vein of The Matrix. Jackie is a massive superstar. Bruce is practically a household name. Everyone knows who Bruce Lee is. As for the actors on this list, they're only known by people who follow martial arts cinema closely—and even then, there are kids today who haven't the slightest clue who Jean-Claude Van Damme is.
I just remembered two others: David Bradley Jeff Speakman
Look, people, Lamas is on this list because he’s a total disaster. Jet Li isn't a disaster, which is why he didn't make the cut. I mean, am I actually delusional enough to think Seagal is one of the greatest fighters ever? Of course not. This is a list of B actors.
BTW, I can't edit the list. That's reserved for the moderators.
In my opinion, Bruce Lee and Jackie (or even Jet Li) don't belong on this list because they aren't B class like the guys mentioned above. It would have been better if driftingowl27 had included Billy Blanks or Marc Dacascos, or someone else entirely. Now everyone is just going to vote for Bruce, and we'll never actually find out who the greatest fighter—or faker—really is.
Eric Jackson43 said:What about George Pendowski, Billy Drago, Mr. T, and Frank Zagharino? Out of that bunch, I’m backing Bost Yeung—he’s the real deal. (He fought Bruce Lee, if I recall correctly, though his name is actually Yeung Tzse.) You also overlooked the Tae Bo master, Billy Blanks.
The poll is limited to ten spots, unfortunately. That's why Cynthia Rothrock, Dacascos, Lundgren, John Saxon, Brian Thompson, Billy Blanks, Eric Roberts, Adrian Paul (would Lambert fit in then?), Patrick Swayze, and Wesley Snipes made the cut. You can't fit an entire army of martial arts legends in here—not even including The Karate Kid.
As for Billy Drago, I'm not sure he qualifies as a fighter. I have a friend who claims to have seen his entire filmography; I'll ask him. To me, he's just a psychopath who loves holding his pistol between his nose and eye like he's kissing it. He has a scene like that in almost every movie he's in. He's more of a pop culture icon than a combatant.
I'm casting my vote for Dudikoff. In his movies, the man takes down entire armies of genetically enhanced ninjas single-handedly. I spent most of my childhood wanting to be a ninja... but with a red belt.😉 (I still remember those specific hand signs Joe uses to create a smoke screen, giving him just enough time to change into his red-belt ninja suit.) I included links to photos of the nominees in my first post.
Who’s the real heavyweight among these "actors"? Or better yet, who walks away as the winner if they all met in an underground tournament on top of Ben Lomond? Let's be honest—if you were watching a movie starring any of these guys back in the day, it was almost certainly some illegal karate tournament plot. Most of you probably haven't heard of half these names, but if you spent any decent chunk of the 80s glued to action-karate flicks (honestly, what else was playing in the 80s?), you've definitely seen most of this crowd.
P.S. Marc Dacascos and Dolph Lundgren weren't just acting. Dammit.
Here are the fighters, just so people can put a face to the name:
They completely butchered Sabretooth in the movie. In the comics, he isn't just some mindless brute; he’s Wolverine's primary nemesis.
But in these films, they always seem to favor raw animalistic rage over actual intelligence. Take Bane in 'Batman & Robin', for example. In the comics, he’s actually one of the few people to ever truly take down Batman by breaking his spine. Since Batman is arguably one of the most brilliant superheroes out there, it's hard to buy the idea that he was bested by an idiot.