4. Gareth Evans
A Welshman in his early thirties directing an Indonesian martial arts extravaganza is not something you hear every day, but Gareth Evans has directed one of the finest martial arts movies in recent memory. Nobody knew who Evans was until last year when The Raid was released to storming reviews and then everybody wanted a piece of the Welshman. The Raid is an unbelievable thrill ride, featuring some of the finest action sequences you will ever see - they are choreographed like the subtle beauty of ballet. A star has also been made in lead, Iko Uwais, who if he gets what he deserves will be turned into the next Tony Jaa or Donnie Yen and reach worldwide acclaim for his work. After finding little work in his home country, he received an offer to direct a documentary on the martial art, Pencak Silat and after falling in love with the martial art and the whole culture of Indonesia, he decided to relocate and become part of the Indonesian film industry. Action movie cinema has been dying for someone like Gareth Evans to have the tenacity and ambition to create a pure and beautiful action flick and the impressive box-office takings on limited screens shows that there is an audience for this type of film outside of Asia. Evans will inevitably make the transition to Hollywood, where hopefully he can replicate his success with larger budgets and bigger stars.