#Best Michelle Yeoh Movies, Ranked

Michelle Yeoh, the Malaysian beauty queen-turned-actress, has done it all. She started her career in 1983 when she was named Miss Malaysia at twenty years old. After shooting a commercial with Jackie Chan, she began acting in Hong Kong action films, but in 1997 she found her global break after appearing in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. Her next major film, the wuxia Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a smash hit globally, creating an avenue for more wuxia and Chinese films to enter Western markets successfully.

Ever since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Yeoh has become a familiar face in Hollywood. From Crazy Rich Asians to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, she’s continued to give stellar, solid performances with the occasional nod to her roots in martial arts movies. Yeoh, whose native languages are English and Malay, has even learned Mandarin to show her commitment and was banned from entering Myanmar due to her role as Aung San Suu Kyi in The Lady. After thirty years in the industry, Yeoh is still going strong and has many more exciting projects coming in the new Avatar movie and Everywhere All At Once. Until then, here are her best movies ranked.

8 Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha is a movie about a young Japanese girl and unique cultural traditions. However, the majority of its main cast isn’t Japanese, despite controversy. Chiyo Sakamoto (Zhang Ziyi) is sold, with her sister, by her family to a geisha house, where they are trained to become proper geishas and make money. The movie follows her struggles being a geisha in Japanese society before World War II begins. The movie’s visual style is unique, utilizing color and scenery to convey more depth. Despite a lackluster script, the film’s strength lies in its acting.

Related: Everything Everywhere All at Once: Cast, Plot, Release Date

7 Reign of Assassins

Reign of Assassins marked Yeoh’s return to the wuxia genre in 2010. Yeoh is Drizzle, an assassin who wants to turn her back on the life she’s lived. When she gets ahold of the remains of a mystical Buddhist monk, she puts herself in grave danger to do a noble deed and return the remains to their resting place. Romance and martial arts weave together to create an immersive experience. The storyline is nuanced and complex, allowing the characters ample time to become noteworthy as they dance across the screen in well-choreographed fights.

6 Police Story 3: Super Cop

Released in 1992, Police Story 3: Super Cop had Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, and Michelle Yeoh joining forces. Chan was already an established regular in the Police Story movies, but Yeoh, a newcomer, stole the show. She portrays the Interpol Director of the Chinese police force, and after a drug lord’s activities become too dangerous, she sends Chan to save the day. Yeoh performed all of her stunts in the movie, including a motorbike trick. The movie’s best known for its series of stunts, which don’t disappoint, especially after the characters move to the Thailand and Malaysia fight scenes.

5 Master Z: Ip Man Legacy

The Ip Man series is legendary in the martial arts movie world, and Yeoh starred in the 2018 edition Master Z: Ip Man Legacy. Cheung Tin-Chi, a previous character defeated by Ip Man, has left behind the martial arts world after his duel with Ip Man. He opens up a grocery store and lives a normal life, but as a series of incidents begin to crop up in his life, he finds out that it isn’t so easy to walk away from it all. This movie is a distinct departure from the previous Ip Man movies and focuses on the meaning of life.

4 Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians took the world by storm when it came out; it was the first movie since Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club to feature a cast where the majority was of Chinese descent. A Chinese-American economics professor (Constance Wu) travels back to Singapore to meet her boyfriend’s (Henry Golding) family, but it turns out they’re a lot richer than she is and his mother (Michelle Yeoh) disapproves of her. The movie grapples with themes of immigration, hardship, and the lavish, excessive world of the wealthy. Crazy Rich Asians had an overwhelmingly positive reception, opening the path to more Asian representation in Hollywood.

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3 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was one of the most anticipated releases of 2021, and it did not disappoint. With a studded cast consisting of Simu Liu, Michelle Yeoh, the legendary Tony Leung, and Awkwafina, the acting and direction of the movie were stellar, giving a solid representation of Asian culture backed under the Marvel name—a feat previously done with Black Panther. What makes Shang-Chi unique is this: it blends fantasy, martial arts, and realism, creating a tale that is both relatable and mythological.

2 Tomorrow Never Dies

Michelle Yeoh skyrocketed to global acclaim after appearing in Tomorrow Never Dies, the eighteenth film in the James Bond series. At this point, there were no more of Ian Fleming’s original novels to adapt, so screenwriters took an entirely different approach to create a new story. Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is sent into the field to monitor a terrorist, but as he uncovers a plot to start a war between the U.K. and Russia, he knows he needs to take action. Yeoh stars as his sidekick, a Chinese Ministry of State Security agent sent to investigate what’s going on.

1 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon unfolds like a comic book blending Eastern and Western filmmaking. Filmed in Mandarin, the story begins in the 1800s Qing Dynasty when a warrior steals a sword with lore behind it, thus sparking conflict and a manhunt. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a film with many layers. The story is driven by the three lead female characters and a desire to break free from gender roles. The film has epic fights and rich visuals, making it a treat to watch. The movie was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best International Feature, and was a hit at the box office.

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