The cinematic world of Hong Kong is possibly my favorite place to visit when I’m in the mood for a foreign film. I love all the art, history, culture, and gorgeous landscapes on display. But, I have to admit, it’s largely because of action. Since they started cooking up action films over there, they’ve changed the game for the entire world in that genre. Jackie Chan pioneered action comedies and Bruce Lee popularized Kung Fu. We have landmark Wuxia films like Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (a personal all-timer) and Zhang Yimou’s Hero that put the “art” in “martial arts”.
But Wuxia and martial arts comedies like those weren’t the only genre that Hong Kong invented. There is another genre that dominates action movies we see today in America. It’s called “Gun Fu” and it was invented by John Woo in 1986 with A Better Tomorrow. But it was perfected, popularized, and brought over to the US in his 1992 masterpiece, Hard Boiled.
Source: Decades: “Hard Boiled” and it’s Vitality to Action Cinema History – Q30 Television