Summary

• Mark Dacascos, a martial arts legend, showcased intense fighting skills across various genres in his best movies.
• Despite some critical reception, Dacascos gave committed performances, with Double Dragon standing out for its punk rock style.
• From his breakout role in Only the Strong to his notable role in John Wick: Chapter 3, Dacascos has left a lasting impact in action cinema.

Martial arts icon Mark Dacascos has been a mainstay of the action genre for more than 30 years and starred in some incredible action, kung-fu, and assorted fighting movies over the years. While not as well-known as other martial arts movie stars like Chuck Norris, Jet Li, or Jean-Claude Van Damme, his best movies still pack a serious punch and he’s a legend among martial arts movie enthusiasts. With experience playing compelling heroes and sinister villains, the best Dacascos movies were categorized by variety as he showcased his intense fighting skills across action, comedy, drama, fantasy, and historical period films.

While Dacascos had prominent roles in major Hollywood blockbusters such as John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum there’s so much more to this fourth-degree level black-belt fighter who was also a student of d Muay Thai, capoeira with Amen Santo, and Wushu martial arts (via Inside Kung-Fu.) Able to hold his own among the best martial arts stars of all time, Dacascos’ career has been a mixed bag when it came to the critical reception of some of his films, but this never stopped him from giving impressively committed performances across the board. There were so many incredible Decascos martial arts movies.

10 Double Dragon (1994)

Mark Dacascos as Jimmy Lee

Even Mark Dacascos' greatest failures had something to offer to martial arts lovers with a tendency towards a B-movie aesthetic, and no movie met this quality more than Double Dragon. Based on the video game series of the same name, this early Dacascos' film involved two brothers, an ancient Chinese talisman, an evil gang, and a race to absolute power. With a punk rock style, epic action sequences, and clever special effects, Double Dragon also suffered from poor writing, a clunky story, and amateurish performances. Dacascos' shone in his fighting sequences but his acting left a lot to be desired.

9 Redemption: Kickboxer 5 (1995)

Mark Dacascos as Matt Reeves

The trailer for Redemption: Kickboxer 5 touted Mark Dacascos' as the next big martial arts hero and compared him to Chuck Norris, Steven Segal, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, as he starred as Matt Reeves in the fifth entry in the Kickboxer series. Sadly, Dacascos never reached the career highs of these other fighters, his role in Redemption did significantly showcase Dacascos' star power and skill as an onscreen martial artist. Unfortunately, Redemption was not as compelling as the original 1989 Van Damme Kickboxer movie, but it acted as a worthy entry in the long-running Kickboxer franchise.

8 Nomad (2005)

Mark Dacascos as Sharish

Despite beautiful cinematography and bombastic action sequences, Nomad suffered from a subpar script and disappointing acting.

Mark Dacascos played the ruthless general Sharish in the intense Kazakh-Russian historical epic Nomad. With orders to kill the child prophesized to defend his land from Mongolian Jungarinvaders, Dacascos showed off his more sinister villainous side in this stunning coming-of-age tale that bombed at the United States box office. Despite beautiful cinematography and bombastic action sequences, Nomad suffered from a subpar script and disappointing acting. Nomad was worth watching for those interested in Dacascos’ career as he was well cast in his role, but the disparity between the beauty of its camera work and its lackluster narrative was jarring.

7 China Strike Force (2000)

Mark Dacascos as Tony Lau

The Hong Kong action movie China Strike Forced featured two notable names to Western audiences, Mark Dacascos and Coolio, two performers that viewers wouldn’t necessarily associate with one another. With versions available in both Cantonese and English, China Strike Force featured Dacascos as Tony Lau, an associate of Coolio involved in the drug trade and embroiled in an epic chase featuring motorcycles, racing cars, and helicopters. An over-the-top nail-biting thriller, China Strike Force was an unappreciated action gem that deserved more recognition.

6 Crying Freeman (1995)

Mark Dacascos as Yo Hinomura

There was a lot to admire about Christophe Gans’ adaptation of Kazuo Koike’s action manga series Crying Freeman as Mark Dacascos was well cast as Yo Hinomura the brainwashed assassin. Dubbed the ‘Crying Freeman’ Hinomura shed a tear for every victim he killed as was indoctrinated into killing for a Triad secret society. With aspects of the occult, a cult favorite appeal, and a compelling lead in Dacascos, Crying Freeman was a kung-fu fantasy film that packed a serious emotional punch and was an expert blend of intense slow-motion action sequences as well as containing solid dramatic elements.

5 Cradle 2 The Grave (2003)

Mark Dacascos as Ling

Mark Dacascos shared the screen with none other than the martial artist legend Jet Li in Cradle 2 the Grave, a thrilling tale of a kidnapped daughter, stolen black diamonds, and an intense game of cat and mouse. Cradle 2 the Grave featured Li and DMX in just one of a long list of martial arts star meets hip hop rap artist movies made in the early 2000s. Dacascos played the antagonist role of Ling, a powerful thief out to get the diamonds for himself in a fun movie that did not force viewers to think too hard.

4 Brotherhood Of The Wolf (2001)

Mark Dacascos as Mani

The French historical action movie Brotherhood of the Wolf was loosely based on the legend of the beast of Gévaudan and featured Mark Dacascos in a supporting role as Mani, an Iroquois companion to the Knight Grégoire de Fronsac. On a quest to defeat a mysterious beast terrorizing the county, Brotherhood of the Wolf was incredibly over-the-top and absurdly entertaining due to its daring action sequences and mythological aspects. A cult favorite, Brotherhood of the Wolf blended action, drama, fantasy, and history and was an enjoyable and flamboyant mix of genres.

3 Drive (1997)

Mark Dacascos as Toby Wong

A high-energy, action-packed, chase film, Drive had an absurdly enjoyable plot and fantastically well-choreographed kung-fu fight sequences.

The action sci-fi martial arts movie Drive starred Mark Dacascos as a biologically advanced superhuman with advanced speed and agility named Toby Wong. On the run from Chinese-hired hitmen, Wong and his companion Malik Brody had to evade danger while their pursuers did everything in their power to capture them. A high-energy, action-packed, chase film, Drive had an absurdly enjoyable plot and fantastically well-choreographed kung-fu fight sequences that showcased, even in a direct-to-video release, that Dacascos was one of the most impressive action stars around.

2 John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)

Mark Dacascos as Zero