The 40 most popular 2000s chinese movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


The Forbidden Kingdom
2008 · 1h 44m
country: China
An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself travelling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.


Unleashed
2005 · 1h 43m
country: China
Raised as a slave, Danny is used to fighting for his survival. In fact, his "master," Bart, thinks of him as a pet and goes as far as leashing him with a collar so they can make money in fight clubs, where Danny is the main contender. When Bart's crew is in a car accident, Danny escapes and meets a blind, kindhearted piano tuner who takes him in and uses music to free the fighter's long-buried heart.


Hero
2002 · 1h 39m
country: Hong Kong
During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.


CJ7
2008 · 1h 28m
country: Hong Kong
A poor construction worker, who struggles to keep his son in private school, mistakes an orb he finds in a junkjard for a toy which proves to be much, much more once the young boy starts to play with it.


Summer Palace
2006 · 2h 15m
country: China
Yu Hong leaves her home village and starts university in Beijing, where she develops a consuming and compulsive relationship with another student. The student riots from 1989 then ensue and take a toll on their lives.


Curse of the Golden Flower
2006 · 1h 54m
country: China
During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as his wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.


Lost in Beijing
2007 · 1h 52m
country: China
A look at modern-day life in China's capital centered on a ménage-a-quatre involving a young woman, her boss, her husband and her boss's wife.


Red Cliff
2008 · 2h 25m
country: China
In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.


House of Flying Daggers
2004 · 1h 59m
country: China
In 9th century China, a corrupt government wages war against a rebel army called the Flying Daggers. A romantic warrior breaks a beautiful rebel out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.


If You Are the One
2008 · 2h 4m
country: China
Qin Fen, a funny, honest, single inventor, met a girl called Smiley, who was in agony of her boyfriend's betrayal. They traveled to Hokkaido, tried to help Smiley cure her pain in heart, and both of them gradually found their true love and life redemption during the journey.


Ip Man
2008 · 1h 46m
country: China
A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan between the 1930s to 1940s during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Wilson Yip, the film stars Donnie Yen in the lead role, and features fight choreography by Sammo Hung.


Fearless
2006 · 1h 43m
country: China
After going through a series of tragic events in his life, martial arts master Huo Yuanjia returns to Tianjin and must fight four international soldiers, in order to safeguard his nation's pride.


Red Cliff II
2009 · 2h 21m
country: China
The battle of Red Cliff continues and the alliance between Xu and East Wu is fracturing. With Cao Cao's massive forces on their doorstep, will the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu survive?


The Warlords
2007 · 2h 6m
country: China
The civil war in China has ruined many lives including General Pang's. A wounded General Pang is saved by a beautiful young woman along with two other men. Together they vow to eradicate the rebels.


Seven Swords
2005 · 2h 32m
country: Australia
In the middle of the 17th century, the Manchus conquered China and founded the Ching dynasty. Due to widespread uprisings against the new rulers, the study and practice of traditional martial arts is forbidden and punishable by death. The unscrupulous leader of a troop of mercenaries takes advantage of this situation to make a fortune with the bounty on his head.


Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon
2008 · 1h 41m
country: China
The aging Zhao embarks on his final and greatest campaign, a road to adventure that will crown his name in glory for all time.


Cloud
2007
country: Unknown
The film mainly tells the ups and downs and lingering love story between the young female writer Liu Yin (Peng Dan) and the young female college student (Deng Jiajia).


Dragon Tiger Gate
2006 · 1h 34m
country: China
Three young martial arts masters emerge from the back streets of Hong Kong to help the powerless fight injustice.


Still Life
2006 · 1h 48m
country: China
A town in Fengjie county is gradually being demolished and flooded to make way for the Three Gorges Dam. A man and woman visit the town to locate their estranged spouses, and become witness to the societal changes.


Blood: The Last Vampire
2009 · 1h 31m
country: China
On the surface, Saya is a stunning 16-year-old, but that youthful exterior hides the tormented soul of a 400-year-old "halfling". Born to a human father and a vampire mother, she has for centuries been a loner obsessed with using her samurai skills to rid the world of vampires, all the while knowing that she herself can survive only on blood like those she hunts.


Devils on the Doorstep
2001 · 2h 19m
country: China
During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The village leaders convene to interrogate the prisoners. The townspeople then struggle to accommodate the prisoners. One is a bellicose Japanese nationalist, the other a nervous translator. Will the townspeople manage to keep the prisoners until the New Year?


An Empress and the Warriors
2008 · 1h 39m
country: China
After the death of her father, a woman is forced to take over as empress and fight to save her kingdom.


Suzhou River
2000 · 1h 23m
country: China
After getting out of prison, small-time crook Mardar stumbles upon a woman who looks exactly like his long-lost lover, who he attempted to kidnap 3 years ago.


Zu Warriors
2001 · 1h 44m
country: Hong Kong
King Sky, the sole disciple of the Kun Lun Sect, falls in love with his master Dawn. Dawn is killed when Insomnia destroys the Kin Lun Mountain. King Sky waits for two hundred years and meets Enigma, who is the reincarnation of Dawn, and in love with her again. However, Insomnia's Blood Clouds is ready to destroy Zu.


Bodyguards and Assassins
2009 · 2h 19m
country: China
In 1905, revolutionist Sun Yat-sen came to Hong Kong to meet revolutionary comrades. The Qing government sent a group of killers to murder him. Ordinary citizens from all walks of life joined together, blocking the streets and fighting off the assassins to keep Sun Yat-sen safe.


The Secret of the Magic Gourd
2007 · 1h 24m
country: China
When schoolboy Wang Bao discovers a magical gourd that can instantly grant his every wish, the awkward child suddenly becomes a hero amongst his curious classmates. When the gourd proves more of a burden than a blessing and the boy decides to get rid of it, he quickly discovers that's easier said than done.


Mulan: Rise of a Warrior
2009 · 1h 55m
country: China
When barbarian hordes threaten her homeland, the brave and cunning Mulan disguises herself as a male soldier to swell the ranks in her aging father's stead. The warrior's remarkable courage drives her through powerful battle scenes and brutal wartime strategy. Mulan loses dear friends to the enemy's blade as she rises to become one of her country's most valuable leaders — but can she win the war before her secret is exposed?


Kung Fu Dunk
2008 · 1h 38m
country: China
Shi-Jie is a brilliant martial artist from the Kung Fu School. One day, he encounters a group of youths playing basketball and shows off how easy it is for him, with his martial arts training, to do a Slam Dunk. Watching him was Chen-Li, a shrewd businessman, who recruits him to play varsity basketball at the local university.


The Founding of a Republic
2009 · 2h 18m
country: China
The tale of one man who fought against the tyranny of a ruler and led his people in battle in the ultimate sacrifice for his country.


A World Without Thieves
2004 · 1h 53m
country: China
A con-team couple head west after taking a city businessman for his BMW. But an encounter with a naive young carpenter traveling home with his life savings challenges their fate as thieves.


Assembly
2007 · 2h 3m
country: China
Follows a soldier trying to gain recognition for comrades who died in 1948, at a turning point in the civil war between the communists and the nationalist forces of the Kuomintang.


Invisible Target
2007 · 2h 9m
country: China
When the Ronin Gang robs an armored car, three cops — Chan, Fong and Wai — go on the warpath. Each has a personal interest in bringing down Ronin leader Tien: he killed Chan's fiancée, humiliated Fong and kidnapped Wai's brother.


Warriors of Heaven and Earth
2003 · 1h 54m
country: China
A Chinese emissary is sent to the Gobi desert to execute a renegade soldier. When a caravan transporting a Buddhist monk and a valuable treasure is threatened by thieves, however, the two warriors might unite to protect the travelers.


Battle of the Warriors
2006 · 2h 13m
country: China
In 370 B.C, China was separated as seven nations and several other small tribes, one of these being the city state of Liang. The nation of Zhao is led by the terrifying Xiang Yangzhong who orders his troops to conquer the small city. Leaping to the defense of the people of Liang is 'Ge Li' from the Mo-Tsu tribe, their last hope from the terrors of Yangzhong's troops.


Dragon Squad
2005 · 1h 50m
country: Hong Kong
A team of Interpol agents arrive in the city to testify against a local crime lord. However on the way to court the vehicle carrying the Triad boss is attacked and the crime lord snatched, not by his own people but by another foe.


Mao’s Last Dancer
2009 · 1h 57m
country: Australia
At the age of 11, Li was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he falls in love with an American woman. Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet.


Confession of Pain
2006 · 1h 50m
country: China
In a city of love and prosperity, a city of lost hope and premature death, veteran detective Hei feels it all: the hurt, the helplessness, the horror. When his father-in-law, the billionaire benefactor Kim, is gruesomely murdered in his palatial mansion, he enlists the assistance of his former partner turned private detective.


Getting Home
2007 · 1h 50m
country: China
A black comedy about a farmer who tries to bring home the body of his friend, who died far from their town.


Connected
2008 · 1h 50m
country: China
A debt collector receives a call from a woman who is kidnapped by an unknown gang. He thinks it is a joke but soon, he realises that it is not a prank.


Crazy Stone
2006 · 1h 38m
country: China
Three thieves try to steal a valuable jade that is tightly guarded by a security chief. But the security guards are not the only obstacle these thieves are facing. An extremely unlucky internationally known master thief is also trying to get a hand on this piece of precious jade. What would be the final destination of this piece of crazy stone?
The 2000s ran on digital transition: DV cameras democratized production while CGI reached the point of photorealism. It's also when the fantasy epic and the modern superhero film established their commercial dominance.
Chinese cinema encompasses the Fifth Generation directors who broke through internationally in the 1980s, the wuxia martial-arts epic, and one of the largest domestic box offices in the world.