If this really is Jet Li's last martial arts film as the marketing materials claim, he's going out on top.
Fearless (2006)
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Reviews Counted:105
Fresh:78
Rotten:27
Average Rating:6.8/10
Consensus: Fearless is a brilliantly choreographed, beautifully filmed endcap to Li's quarter decade of epic martial arts glory.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for violence and martial arts action throughout
Runtime: 5 hrs 45 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:2006
Box Office: $24,571,445
Synopsis: Already a boxoffice hit in Asia, Jet Li's Fearless, directed by Ronny Yu (helmer of the Hong Kong classic The Bride with White Hair), is Jet Li's final martial arts masterpiece, capping a... Already a boxoffice hit in Asia, Jet Li's Fearless, directed by Ronny Yu (helmer of the Hong Kong classic The Bride with White Hair), is Jet Li's final martial arts masterpiece, capping a tremendous body of work in that genre. Jet Li's Fearless reunites the actor and martial arts superstar with producer Bill Kong (Hero) and action choreographer Yuen Wo Ping (Unleashed) as he portrays martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia, who became the most famous fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century. Huo faced incredible personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness and into history, forever defining the true spirit of martial arts. His self-discovery, and the choices he made, inspired his nation. The son of a great fighter who did not wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, the bullied Huo Yuanjia resolves to teach himself how to fight - and win. Years of training enable him to ace match after match in his home region of Tianjin. But as his fame as a martial arts master grows, so does his pride. After an ill-advised fight leads to another master's death, members of Huo's family are slain in revenge. Grieving and ashamed, Huo wanders the country in shock. Near death, he is rescued by women from an idyllic village, and is offered simple kindness and generosity that help him heal and regain his equilibrium over a period of several years. Huo realizes that the future of martial arts lies in sportsmanship and not brutality, and he rejoins society to apply what he has learned. Returning to Tianjin, Huo takes steps to come to terms with his past and restore his family's name. His evolving, graceful Mizong (Missing) Fist method of fighting brings Huo renewed success, and he forms the progressive Jingwu Sports Federation. Taking note, duplicitous members of the Foreign Chamber of Commerce engineer a Shanghai tournament pitting Huo against four fighters, each representing the major foreign powers in China. Huo commits to the bout and faces off against, respectively, a British boxer, a Spanish swordsman, a Belgian soldier, and a Japanese martial artist. What happened that day in 1910 has never been, and will never be, forgotten in China. [More]
Starring: Jet Li, Nakamura Shidou, Sun Li, Dong Yong
Starring: Jet Li, Nakamura Shidou, Sun Li, Dong Yong, Michelle Yeoh, Anthony De Longis
Director: Ronny Yu
Director: Ronny Yu
Producer: Bill Kong
Screenwriter: Chris Chow, Christine To
Composer: Shigeru Umebayashi
Studio: Focus Features
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Reviews for Fearless
If you're going to retire from the biz, might as well do it with some style.
It also seems fitting that Li, one of the world's great martial arts stars, wraps up his career by playing one of the founding fathers of modern martial arts.
[Li] may be serious about this retirement nonsense; for an athlete, he is at the outer reaches of a career. And yet one hopes this is not the case. Fearless represents such an apex that it leaves one wanting more of the same -- much more.
Li's physical performance is terrific, as usual, and it's with wistful feelings that we watch him put a final whuppin' on his last adversary.
[Li's] pandering to the domestic (Chinese) market with a tired, formulaic martial-arts melodrama dressed up as epic.
Though always charismatic, Li's most expressive when he lets fists fly.
The movie turns into an inspirational, uncomplicated biopic in which, yes, a series of awesomely violent fight scenes indicate that our worst enemy can be found between our ears.
A lavish biopic that gives Li one of his juiciest roles but is relatively light on the action his fans have come to expect.
This is one of [Li's] best movies, and is definitely a must for even those who are not chopsocky fans
In Ronny Yu's sweeping film based on the life of wu shu master Huo Yuanjia, the retiring action star manages to tug a few heartstrings while breaking plenty of bones.
As a way to go out, I can't imagine anything more beautifully appropriate.
The action scenes are disappointingly conventional, constrained for the most part to one-on-one ring matches with inferior opponents.
A rather hokey script weighs down Jet Li's final Wushu (martial arts) movie.
Too often it seems to be just another action fantasy that teaches pacifism while indulging in brutality.
Perhaps predictably, the final work in Li's on-screen martial-arts career won't be the film to remember him by.
The 43-year-old actor claims that this will be his last martial arts epic. That's too bad when movies like this and 2002's Hero find him just hitting his stride.
This is clearly Yu's best work since his 1993 Hong Kong hit The Bride With White Hair.
Boldly conceived and handsomely produced, Fearless emits the kind of idealized glow that used to define Hollywood movies.
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