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


Hero
2002 · 1h 39m · HK
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.


Lost in Beijing
2007 · 1h 52m · CN
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.


Fearless
2006 · 1h 43m · CN
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.


Curse of the Golden Flower
2006 · 1h 54m · CN
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.


The Forbidden Kingdom
2008 · 1h 44m · CN
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.


House of Flying Daggers
2004 · 1h 59m · CN
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.


Unleashed
2005 · 1h 43m · CN
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.


CJ7
2008 · 1h 28m · HK
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.


Red Cliff
2008 · 2h 25m · CN
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.


Blood: The Last Vampire
2009 · 1h 31m · CN
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.


Still Life
2006 · 1h 48m · CN
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.


Devils on the Doorstep
2001 · 2h 19m · CN
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?


Red Cliff II
2009 · 2h 21m · CN
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?


Er Dong
2008 · 2h 30m
After her adopted son, Er Dong (Li Jun Bai), joins a gang, a single mother in rural China sends him to a Christian school, hoping he'll shape up. Er Dong soon falls for classmate Chang'e, and when the two run away together, they battle to survive. They aren't allowed to marry at 19, and Chang'e becomes pregnant . As problems accumulate, Er Dong struggles with fatherhood and a shocking secret from his past.


The Warlords
2007 · 2h 6m · CN
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.


Ip Man
2008 · 1h 46m · CN
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.


Peacock
2005 · 2h 24m · CN
Brings viewers into a small Chinese city and inspires familiarity with the rhythms of everyday existence, with people's dreams, shortcomings and illusions in a way that is universal.


Summer Palace
2007 · 2h 15m · CN
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.


Fire Boy: Super Hero
2008 · CN
No overview available


The Founding of a Republic
2009 · 2h 18m · CN
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.


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


Bodyguards and Assassins
2009 · 2h 19m · CN
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.


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


Kung Fu Dunk
2008 · 1h 38m · CN
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.


Singapore GaGa
2005 · 55m · SG
Singapore GaGa is a 55-minute paean to the quirkiness of the Singaporean aural landscape. It reveals Singapore's past and present with a delight and humour that makes it a necessary film for all Singaporeans. We hear buskers, street vendors, school cheerleaders sing hymns to themselves and to their communities. From these vocabularies (including Arabic, Latin, Hainanese), a sense of what it might mean to be a modern Singaporean emerges. This is Singapore's first documentary to have a cinema release. With English and Chinese subtitles.


Seven Swords
2005 · 2h 32m · AU
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.


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


The Secret of the Magic Gourd
2007 · 1h 24m · CN
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 · CN
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?


Zu Warriors
2001 · 1h 44m · HK
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.


Battle of the Warriors
2006 · 2h 13m · CN
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.


The Banquet
2006 · 2h 11m · CN
Crown Prince Wu Luan is in love with Little Wan but left heartbroken when she marries his father, the emperor. The emperor's brother, Li, kills him and Wu Luan tries to avenge his father's death.


Assembly
2007 · 2h 3m · CN
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.


Suzhou River
2000 · 1h 23m · CN
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.


The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng
2007 · CN
No overview available


The Children of Huang Shi
2008 · 2h 5m · AU
About young British journalist, George Hogg, who with the assistance of a courageous Australian nurse, saves a group of orphaned children during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937.


Tokyo Raiders
2000 · 1h 58m · HK
When a private eye, a jilted bride and a mysterious stranger join forces to track down an elusive mobster, there's more than trouble in the air.


Painted Skin
2008 · 1h 43m · CN
Painted Skin is based on one of Pu Songling's classic short stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Zhou Xun stars as Xiao Wei, a fox spirit that feasts on human hearts in order to maintain her lovely, youthful appearance. When General Wang Sheng (Chen Kun) 'rescues' her from a band of bandits and brings her home, trouble brews as the demon falls in love with the general.


City of Life and Death
2009 · 2h 12m · CN
In 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Japanese Army has just captured Nanjing, then-capital of the Republic of China. What followed was known as the Nanking Massacre, or the Rape of Nanking, a six week period wherein tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers and civilians were killed.


Wushu Warrior
2008 · 1h 25m · CA
China, 1862: Lord Lindsey rules the opium trade and enslaves the innocent. The only hope for the oppressed nation, is a covert group of trained Wushu Warriors - The Red Lotus Society – who will fight to restore justice to its people.
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.