Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks

A competent, thorough and enjoyable documentary charting the history of kung fu cinema from the earliest Peking Opera films through to The Matrix. As a cranky old hermit who has spent the last 25 years steadily devouring every chop socky flick I could get my grubby hands on, there wasn't much here that I didn't already know...but to those neophytes who are currently discovering Hong Kong action cinema of the 70s and 80s, this is an excellent resource/retrospective.

A long overdue doc on kung-fu movies is worth 100 points on its own & this does a great job of detailing the history & the many offspring that came from it. But it starts feeling too long once you start realizing it's made by people with a "woke" agenda who prioritize less famous females & unheard-of indies over far more popular males & whites. Cynthia Rothrock & some guy she influenced get 10 minutes, while the huge popularity of Van Damme & especially visceral arm-breaker Seagal is ignored

It serves its function of getting you in the mood for kung fu goodness. While it isn't a 100% comprehensive martial arts film history, it is quite thorough. There are a few substantial legends omitted like Jet Li and Donnie Yen, (who are briefly shown in montage, but never discussed). I certainly did not expect the film to end with an entire section devoted to Who Saved Captain Alex. A fast-paced, enjoyable lite-doc.