Directed by
Ronny Yu
Cast:
Jet Li …. Huo Yuanjia
Shido Nakamura …. Anno Tanaka
Betty Sun …. Moon
Yong Dong …. Nong Jinsun
Hee Ching Paw …. Yuanjia’s Mother
Yun Qu …. Grandma
Nathan Jones …. Hercules O’Brien
Brandon Rhea …. German Fighter
Anthony De Longis …. Spanish Fighter
Jean Claude Leuyer …. English Boxer
Mike Leeder …. Fight Referee
Jon T. Benn …. American Businessman
John Paisley …. English Businessman
Collin Chou …. Yuanjia’s Father
Masato Harada …. Mita
Zhigang Zhao …. Zhou’s Father
For his last Martial Arts epic, Jet Li seems to have chosen a story that helps his career come full circle. Though he has been an actor for about twenty five years, it was in the early to mid-90’s that the actor really hit his stride, starring in films that would become classics in the Kung Fu genre, including Once Upon a Time in China and My Father is a Hero. In 1994, Li starred in perhaps the ultimate modern Kung Fu film, Fist of Legend, a remake of Bruce Lee’s break out picture, The Chinese Connection. In the film, he played a fictional student of the real life Chinese hero Huo Yuanjia. With his final bow to the genre, Li now gets to portray the hero himself, showcasing Huo Yuanjia’s epic journey from selfish warrior to selfless champion in Fearless.
Playing this character would require Li to take his acting to a level that he’s never really had to reach before, and for the most part he’s able to pull it off. By using his body language and motion, Li gives the Wushu master a young vitality early on in the film, as if the middle-aged action star were back in his twenties. This early portion of Huo Yuanjia’s life shows him to be overly ambitious, at the expense of his loved ones. Consumed with personal glory, the maste’s life becomes a myriad of fights and drunken brawls, taking him on a path to destruction.
Li is able to switch gears halfway through the film, after the family of Yuanjia is massacred by an avenging enemy. A deep sorrow affects the warrior, making him a derelict wanderer until he happens upon a small village. Reminding me of the journey of Tom Cruise’s Nathan Algren in The Last Samurai, Yuanjia finds an inner peace amongst the common people of this village, learning the simple pleasures of a hard day’s work and finding love with a blind girl named Moon (Betty Sun).
Finally, Li is able to give Huo Yuanjia a full transformation in the last third of the picture. Gone is the brash fighter, instead making him a thoughtful champion of the Chinese people. Li is more stoic, yet still playful, creating a fully realized character as opposed to his usual rage filled combatant. It was important for Li to be able to really show the true nature of martial arts in this picture, as a way to better a person instead of just being able to hurt others. As he stands in a moonlit field, showing a grace to rival any great cinematic dance, it’s hard to argue that his goal wasn’t achieved.
Now this is not to say that this film is light on action at all. This Unrated edition even ups the brutality in various sequences, adding in some extra broken bones here and there. Just as he did on Fist of Legend, Li teams with Fight Choreographer Yuen Woo-ping for some truly creative sequences, including fights against other various martial arts styles, including Western boxing and fencing. It’s difficult to even pick the film’s best fight scenes, as each have something different to offer in terms of style and originality. A particular smackdown inside of a restaurant offers the biggest visceral thrill in the movie as Li and his opponent absolutely wreck the establishment using each other as a weapon.
Adding to the quality of these fights is the fact that wirework and CGI are kept to a minimum. This makes even the most ludicrous fights in the picture still have a real kick to them (no pun intended), and gives them a quality reminiscent of Fist of Legend, even if the film can’t come up to the same level of brutality. Make no mistake; fans worried if Jet Li would bring the goods should lay their fears to rest.
Unfortunately, the film’s direction is heavy-handed at times. Ronny Yu, best known for his Horror film entries in this country, including Freddy vs. Jason and Bride of Chucky, brings a nice visual style to the film’s action, but doesn’t have the deft touch of an Ang Lee or Zhang Yimou in the film’s quieter moments. Just as with his best Hong Kong film, The Bride with White Hair, Yu isn’t able to make drama of Fearless as interesting as the action, even with Li working at a level he has never been before.
Still, this martial arts film is every bit the worthy end that Jet Li could have hoped for. It is a terrific examination of the warrio’s spirit and finding the true nature of martial arts. Li gives probably his best performance and gives justice to the name of Huo Yuanjia, while still entertaining his audience. Fearless may not be the best of its genre, but it’s definitely a wonderful addition.
The Video
The print on this disc is absolutely terrific, especially in the restaurant fight scene, which could have been hard to see without a better print. The film is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1
The Audio
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is also quite nice, as each “swoosh” of movement and every “crunch” of breaking bones comes in perfectly clear.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Featurette, Deleted Scene, Trailers
Deleted scene – This is a pretty long deleted scene, at over five minutes. Li’s Huo Yuanjia saves a child from being beaten. Not sure why this scene was taken out, because it fits in pretty well with the rest of the film. Unfortunately, this disc does not include any of the footage that Michelle Yeoh shot for this film, which was deleted from the both the Theatrical cut and this “Unrated” cut of the movie.
A Fearless Journey – Even at just 15 minutes, this is a terrific Featurette, with Li getting to talk in depth about his career and his philosophy. All involved seemed to be proud to be working on this important film in Li’s career and talk about what amazing skill the star has. You can really tell this film was a project of passion for Li and he should be proud of what he was finally able to accomplish.
Trailers – You get trailers for Fearless as well as other Universal titles, such as the upcoming Hot Fuzz.
As thoughtful as it is entertaining, Fearless is a tremendous send off for Jet Li. Unforutnately, Universal didn’t exactly pack this DVD with extras, as we instead get both the “Unrated” and Theatrical versions of the movie on this disc instead. It’s a shame that not more of the deleted footage wasn’t included or a commentary. Still, this is a terrific movie that should satisfy Jet’s fans.
