Martial arts movies are a blast to watch, and the best ones never get old. From Bloodsport to The Matrix, audiences can't seem to get enough of rock 'em sock 'em action flicks where the gloves come off, slow-motion becomes a must, and one stands victorious over their opponent.

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Many of the martial arts styles portrayed in movies over the decades have stood head and shoulders above the rest. Others, however, haven't fared quite as well— especially the novelty ones that were made up for overly gimmicky films.

Best: Muay Thai

Tony Jaa in Ong Bak

Muay Thai is widely regarded as one of the strongest and most effective martial arts styles in the world. It's also one of the most inherently brutal. This fighting style puts heavy emphasis on hard kicks and punches accompanied by devastating knee and elbows attacks. The style is rounded out with "teeping"— a kick designed to keep opponents at bay— and grappling attacks used in conjunction with knee and elbow strikes.

Muay Thai is extremely popular in martial arts films due to its viciousness. One of the best and most popular actors to bring worldwide attention to Muay Thai is undoubtedly the dazzling Tony Jaa, made famous for his eye-watering performances in Ong Bak and The Protector.

Worst: Karate

The Karate Kid brought the titular martial into the mainstream public consciousness in a way that preceding films simply weren't able to accomplish. After all, it centered around a PG-rated family film with a warm-hearted premise and a courageous, uplifting ending that is nearly impossible to top.

As a martial art, karate is far less effective for self defense than other styles like Brazilian Ju-Jitsu or Muay Thai. The early 1990s MMA scene quickly pulled the curtain back and demonstrated this fact, and karate has never been the same since. On film, karate looks like a devastating super-martial art, but that's a dramatic hyper-stylization of an otherwise mediocre style.

Best: Wing Chun

Wing Chun is an interesting martial art, and one steeped in controversy even to this day. MMA aficionados insist that it's completely useless in a fight, while experienced practitioners point out what a brutal, direct, and effective style it really is. In reality, Wing Chun can be quite lethal in the hands of an experienced practitioner. It's a dirty form of fighting that focuses on brutal strikes to the centerline including the nose, teeth, throat, and sternum.

On film, Wing Chun has been represented best by the popular Ip Man film series starring Donnie Yen in the titular role. It's one of the most accurate depictions of a martial art ever committed to film (sans some unrealistic wire work and over-the-top scenes), and it's dazzling to watch in a well-choreographed fight.

Worst: Gymkata

It's hard to watch the trailer for 1985's Gymkata without bursting into feverish laughter, not to mention the movie itself. Jonathan Cabot starred as Kurt Thomas, an American Olympic gymnast hired by a special intelligence organization to participate in a tournament in a foreign country for the betterment of his nation.

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Thomas utilizes "gymkata," a mixture of gymnastics and karate that razes his foes to the ground. The premise is silly, and the martial art is the exact polar opposite of cool. It's hard to imagine what director Robert Clouse was thinking, especially after having helmed the legendary Enter The Dragon starring Bruce Lee.

Best: Gun Kata

Any time martial arts is blended with gunplay, the result is going to look fantastic on screen. That's exactly what Equilibrium director Kurt Wimmer was going for when he and his team conceptualized Gun Kata, a signature fighting style of the film's Grammaton Clerics who keep order within a totalitarian state.

The on-screen battles are dazzling to watch as blows are both traded and blocked while each fighter seeks out an opening to pull the trigger and claim victory. It's hard to imagine Gun Kata as a full-fledged real world martial art, but it certainly has a home in movies, also being featured in Wimmer's Ultraviolet and making it perhaps the only completely fictitious style of movie martial arts to appear in multiple films.

Worst: Aikido

Steven Seagal popularized the use of Aikido in his films beginning way back with 1988's Above The Law. Seagal managed to take a primarily passive and defense-based martial art and turn it into a vehicle for some of the most brutal depictions of violence ever seen in martial arts movies.

Trouble is, Aikido has long been criticized for being relatively useless in a fight. It has no real offensive techniques, and that's a major problem when it comes to adequately protecting one's self. It's a noble martial art, but it has neither the substance nor the style to go a long way in real life nor on film.

Best: Keysi

Keysi was made popular by Christopher Nolan's phenomenally successful Batman film trilogy, and it served as the principal style used by the Dark Knight to fight crime. It was founded by Justo Diéguez and Andy Norman who possessed first-hand experience in the world of brutal street fighting.

The martial art is recognizable for the Pensador, a defensive high guard head cover technique that can quickly be used to throw punches and elbow strikes, among others. It has since been featured in many films including Mission Impossible 3, Jack Reacher, and Quantum of Solace. 

Worst: Capoeira

There's no denying that Capoeira is absolutely incredible to watch. It first gained mainstream prominence in 1993's Only The Strong starring Mark Dacascos, and has since been featured in The Quest, Kickboxer 4, and The Protector, starring Tony Jaa.

The problem with Capoeira is that it was never intended to be a martial arts fighting style, but a dance-oriented form of demonstrative art. It also focuses all of its techniques one-hundred percent on the legs, which means no punches, elbow strikes or grapples. This is over-specialization of the worst kind, especially when it comes to winning a fight.

Best: Brazilian Ju-Jitsu

Brazilian Ju-Jitsu first gained mainstream prominence thanks to the rise of the MMA fighting scene in the 1990s. Fast forward 25+ years and nothing much has changed. BJJ is still one of the most effective martial arts ever conceived, and its ability to put a quick end to fights in either brutal or compassionate fashion is astonishing.

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BJJ has been popping up in nearly every action movie with a martial arts premise. It features heavily in the John Wick film series, but it first gained attention in the original Lethal Weapon when Mel Gibson uses the famous triangle choke to subdue Gary Busey's character Joshua.

Worst: Tai Chi

Tai Chi can be excellent for anyone who wants to get active and train in an art focused around spirituality and positivity. Unfortunately, it's rather useless in a fight. That's not a knock on Tai Chi, just a reality. Its under-representation in the MMA circle is a demonstrable example.

On film, Tai Chi can be nice to watch. Audiences have seen it in many films to great and small degrees, including Keanu Reeves' Man Of Tai Chi, released in 2013. It certainly is a martial art, just not one designed around combat. As such, it needs to be amped up considerably on film to be taken seriously as a lethal fighting style.

NEXT: 10 Most Underrated Martial Arts Movies