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.
Around 1900, Huo -- then in his twenties -- continues to fight in tournaments. His determination is such that his entire life begins to revolve around championships, and the prospect of becoming the top-ranked fighter in Tianjin turns into a die-hard obsession, despite the repeated warnings of his best friend, Nong (Dong Yong), to cut back. Huo ignores these admonitions, then turns conceited and ultimately refuses to hear an additional word of caution, until his arrogance leads to the death of a fighter and Nong's decision to abandon him as a friend. Driven into exile, Huo journeys to southeastern Asia, where he works alongside rice farmers and divests himself of conceit, then gently touches the spirit of a blind girl. When he finally returns to Tianjin, he has transformed, internally, into a different person altogether. A huge hit in Hong Kong when originally released into theaters in 2006, Fearless was often touted as Jet Li's final film in the wushu school of martial arts. The picture is based on the real-life story of Huo Yuanjia, founder of the Jingwu school of martial arts. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
There's a lot of martial arts movies that come our way -- they could have dazzling fight sequences, long takes of great choreography, or even poor action sequences, but almost all of them have one thing in common: poor storytelling (except Ip Man 1 & 2). "Fearless" doesn't exactly manage to completely trump the martial
arts epidemic, but it's better than most, coupled with great choreography that rivals with the few greats. The story is entertaining, not much more beyond that. Near the end, it begins to hit the cheesiness line. However, the action sequences has incredible camerawork and editing that makes it incredibly gripping. You'll have a great time with "Fearless".
Li makes a comeback from his terrible run of Hollywood action flicks with this martial arts epic that not only celebrates the roots of Wushu but embodies every theme about the Asian-movie-genre; honor, wisdom, discipline, and heart.It's everything it has to be and nothing more, but appropriately so. An incredibly
fitting farewell from Jet Li, the man who brought us the Wong Fei Hung films.
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