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Fearless (霍元甲) Fearless (霍元甲) tells the true, albeit romanticised, story of Huo Yuan Jia, a martial arts master from the turn of the last century, who founded the Jin Wu Sports Federation and tried to restore Chinese confidence at a time when national sovereignty was being eroded by Foreign spheres of influence following its defeat in the opium wars.
He accepted a challenge from the four industrial nations occupying China at the time—France, Britain, Russia and Japan—to demonstrate that China was not the "Sick Man of the East". Each country would send a combatant with the aim of beating Huo Yuan Jia into a pulp and reasserting their dominance over the potentially rebellious Chinese for whom Yuan Jia was something of a national hero.
At the start of the film Yuan Jia (Jet Li) is depicted as learning Wu Shu—Chinese martial arts—only for revenge and vanity. He is a skilled fighter and never loses a fight, but is arrogant, drinks too much and neglects his young daughter Jade. Following an argument with a rival, whom he kills in a spectacular fight, his family is murdered in revenge and he leaves Tianjin a broken man.
He's found, half-dead, by some villagers and nursed back to health by blind peasant girl Moon (played by the radiantly gorgeous Betty Sun). During this time in the country, Yuan Jia rediscovers his humility and returns to Tianjin to try and build bridges with his friends and attempts to restore Chinese national pride.
Jet Li claims that this will be his last martial arts film, and he's decided to leave the genre with a bang, as this movie contains some of the best fight scenes in recent history, choreographed by undisputed master of the craft Woo-ping Yuen. Fearless is wall-to-wall action, with fights ranging from the comedic to brutal and bloody. What sets this film apart from other recent Chinese martial arts films are the skills of the combatants. While other movies are forced to employ snappy editing to mask the shortcomings of the actors during fight scenes, Fearless has no such worries, and is a joy to behold. Each fight is unique and has its own personality, pace and style and if this really is Jet Li's last martial arts film, he's going out at the top of his game, in a movie that will be remembered as one of his best.
Jet Li is perhaps underrated as an actor, but in this film, he's given room by director Ronny Yu to develop a believable, flawed character. It's entirely possible that Li will continue to mature as an actor and will be able to tackle deep and meaty roles in a way rarely expected from martial artists turned actors.
The film is not without its flaws and the foreigners, such as the English and Japanese, are portrayed as one-note, scheming caricatures (although Shido Nakamura, who plays Yuan Jia’s Japanese rival, exudes nobility, initially refusing to take part in such an unfair, weighted fight). Fearless also plays fast and loose with the facts of Yuan Jia’s life (so much so that his surviving relatives threatened to sue the movie's producers), but it could be argued that this movie is only "based on" the real Yuan Jia’s life, and that the streamlining of facts and events make for a more dramatic movie.
In either case, this movie has an important message about what it really means to be a Wushu master: that pride always comes before a fall and respect for others is an important component of Kung Fu. Spiritual enlightenment should be the ultimate goal of a martial arts expert, not winning fights, and in this respect Yuan Jia’s life mirrors Jet Li's, for whom Buddhism has become an increasingly important part of his life.
Most fans, however, will want to know if Jet Li kicks some serious butt. On that basis alone, this movie cannot be faulted.
Jet Li and Fearless are discussed in the latest AudioSurgeon podcast
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