Veteran action movie ace Sammo Hung, Japanese actor Kurata Yasuaki and action choreographer-turned director Tanigaki Kenji had a ball on Thursday in Tokyo as they took a light-hearted trip down memory lane to discuss the state of martial art action movies from Hong Kong.

In a panel discussion held in the confines of Tiffcom, the rights market aligned with the Tokyo International Film Festival, the three were seemingly selected to represent the past, present and future of the genre.

“Hong Kong’s place in the film world is well deserved. We worked so hard for it,” said Hung. “Nobody paid attention to us for ages, so we could do what we liked. Then, finally, our time came.”

Hung (real name Hung Kam-bo) has over 250 film credits according to the Internet Movie Database in roles ranging from actor and stuntman to producer and director. These include “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,...