Jet Li's Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia) (Legend of a Fighter) (2006)
Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 109
Fresh: 80 | Rotten: 29
Fearless is a brilliantly choreographed, beautifully filmed endcap to Li's quarter decade of epic martial arts glory.
Average Rating: 6.3/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 13
Fearless is a brilliantly choreographed, beautifully filmed endcap to Li's quarter decade of epic martial arts glory.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 136,168
Movie Info
Fearless opens in Shanghai, China, circa 1910, when wushu master Huo Yuanjia (martial arts superstar Jet Li) prepares to battle one Japanese opponent, Tanaka (Shidou Nakamura), and three American opponents (Anthony de Longis, Jean-Claude Leuyer, and Brandon Rhea) in a massive tournament. The picture then cuts back to Huo's boyhood in the city of Tianjin, in North China, circa 1880, when his father forbids him from engaging in martial-arts training. He must therefore slip off and train covertly.
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Jet Li
Huo Yuanjia -
Betty Sun
Yueci -
Dong Yong
Nong Jinsun -
Shidou Nakamura
Tanaka Anno -
Collin Chou
Huo's father -
Paw Hee Ching
Huo's mother -
Nathan Jones
O'Brien -
Masato Harada
Mita -
-
-
-
-
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (114) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (80) | Rotten (29) | DVD (27)
I think this is a terrific film.
Top CriticIt takes time for the film to bounce back to the heights of its opening scene, but about midway it does.
Every so often there is a hand-to-hand fight scene to cut the boredom -- the best is set atop a precipitously high wooden tower in a village square -- but even these don't set themselves apart from anything we've seen before.
Jet Li movies are still pretty cool, but they appear to be heading in an unfortunate direction.
It boils down to a simple but elegantly told morality tale with beautiful sets and scenery and plenty of bracing action.
A movie that condemns the tendency of global culture to intrude everywhere while embracing the very things that kick multiplex doors down around the world.
Part bio-pic, part wuxia, Fearless melds the best of both genres and in the process makes something greater than the sum of its parts, commenting both on its genre and human nature in general, both as they are now and what they could aspire to be.
Jet Li's final fight; teens OK.
A honorable send-off
Every action sequence is imaginatively mounted, from a dizzying fight on a high tower, to the sight of Li taking on a wrestler twice his size...
Teamed up with veteran director Ronny Yu and renowned choreographer Yuen Wo Ping, Mr. Li does some of his best work here.
More of a message movie designed for mainland China than a karate chopsocky for consumption in the West where a martial arts movie has to be about butt-kicking to generate any traction.
Not so much a message film as it is a martial-arts epic with a philosophical backdrop. And it is utterly sincere without being treacly or preachy.
Fracassa como exemplar de artes marciais e, o que é ainda pior, como homenagem a um homem que inspirou grandes atletas e atores (incluindo o protagonista desta produção).
As energetically corporeal as it is touchingly spiritual.
Li carries the load on his shifty shoulders in a nostalgic wushu period piece that is philosophically solemn yet kinetically impish in its reflective spirit.
Fearless has some of the best choreography I've seen in years, and Li handles the task with his usual finesse.
The film is about more than complex stunts and breathtaking acrobatics. It's about a man who learns the pitfalls of pride and becomes a national hero in the process. And it's a good time at the movies.
It's a treat for fans of historical martial arts epics and especially for fans of Jet Li, who won't be the ones to tell the star if he's starting to show his age.
If Li must leave his signature genre, better this entertaining bit of history than the wall-to-wall boredom of Hero.
The martial arts master's final epic is great when the fists and feet are flying.
Do you really mean it, Jet Li?
No matter how you slice it, Fearless is Li in his prime.
"Fearless" not only talks the talk, it walks the walk -- or side snap-kicks the side snap-kick, if you want.
Ultimately a picture preaching about the cost of violence that shies away from real, visceral consequence.
... Fearless is a richly layered tale of redemption
Audience Reviews for Jet Li's Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia) (Legend of a Fighter)
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Jet Li's Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia) (Legend of a Fighter) yet.
What's Hot On RT
Jack the Giant Slayer and...
War Rages in 300: Rise of an Empire
See the Desolation of Smaug trailer!
Where does This Is the End rank?
Latest News on Jet Li's Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia) (Legend of a Fighter)
July 30, 2008:
Total Recall: Jet Li's Best-Reviewed FilmsThis week, with The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor hitting theaters, we thought it would be a...
July 7, 2008:
RT on DVD: Dark Knight, Mummy 3 Sneak PeeksThis week, we dispense with the news and cut to the chase to bring you two huge new gift sets timed...
May 19, 2008:
RT on DVD: National Treasure 2, Diary of the Dead, Plus Salo News!Exciting announcements abound this week (Fearless Director's Cut! A new Little Mermaid movie!...
Fresh Links
Featured
Movie: ID: 248007514 Title: Jet Li's Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia) (Legend of a Fighter) Release Date: 2006-09-22 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 3 Status: 1
The Looks of Johnny Depp
To celebrate the star's birthday, BuzzSugar looks at the many faces of Johnny Depp.
10 Egregious Product Placements
Rolling Stone wonders if The Internship goes too far... then provides 10 examples of movies that did.
Horror Movie Mistakes
Moviefone offers up 8 of the most obvious glaring errors in popular fright flicks.
10 Bad Movies That Look Great
Sometimes even terrible movies can be beautiful; here are 10 of them, from HitFix.
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Featured on RT
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Jack the Giant Slayer and Quartet 9
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Man of Steel Sets June Record 96
- Weekly Ketchup: Man of Steel Sequel In the Works 162
- Five Favorite Films with Joss Whedon 118
- Bonus Footage of the Cast & Crew of Man of Steel 1
- Critics Consensus: Man of Steel Is Up, Up, and Okay 277
- Total Recall: Superman Movies 143
Top Headlines
-
Sony Sets Dates for Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4
3
-
Man of Steel 2 Rumored for 2014
3
-
No Loki in The Avengers 2
1
-
Watch Natalie Portman's The Professional Audition
0
-
John C. Reilly's Guardians of the Galaxy Role Revealed
5
-
Arnold Schwarzenegger Confirms His Expendables 3 Return
1
-
The Muppets...Again! Is Now Muppets Most Wanted
0
Foreign Titles
- Jet Li's Fearless (DE)
- Fearless (UK)
